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Legendary HNIC broadcaster makes shocking admission about working Leafs games
Photo credit: Anne Marie Sorvin - USA Today Sports
Legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Jim Hughson discusses the highs and lows of calling Maple Leafs games every Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Fort St. John, British Columbia native had a broadcasting career that spanned 42 years, where he covered the Vancouver Canucks, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Expos, and the Toronto Blue Jays specifically, as well as his high profile position on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada that spanned from 2005 to 2021.
Growing up as a Vancouver Canucks fan, Jim Hughson was given the opportunity to broadcast for the Canucks between 1979-82 as well as 1994-2008 and while it had it's moments under the sun, it wasn't easy appeasing the general public:
"I found that as a broadcaster -- and everyone knew I was a Vancouver guy and that I lived in the city -- local people didn't think I was a big enough fan and the other guys thought I was too much of a fan."
Hughson was also a commentator for the Maple Leafs between 1982-1987 but was the main broadcaster for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Due to the position, he was found to be the voice of the Maple Leafs with most of the country tuning in every Saturday. He discusses the highs and lows of that position and how social media completely changed how broadcasters were being assessed:
"One of the downsides of having the top chair in Hockey Night in Canada is basically you become a Toronto Maple Leaf broadcaster because you're there every Saturday, whether they're good or bad. As the years have gone by, I've noticed a real change in fandom, a part of it social media I think... the local fan base expects their broadcasters to be like them.
They want fans and if you're not you must hate them and that's the problem you get when you're broadcasting on the national level out of Toronto is that they want a local broadcast but at the same time the broadcasters are broadcasting to every corner of the province. You know, you might be broadcasting a game with the New York Islanders playing and the young men who play for the Islanders are from all different parts of Canada as well and their people are invested in it as well.
It's really a hard one to win in that sense and now you get judged every day on social media or every minute on social media, which has changed the aspect of broadcasting for the guys that are still doing it entirely."
They want fans and if you're not you must hate them and that's the problem you get when you're broadcasting on the national level out of Toronto is that they want a local broadcast but at the same time the broadcasters are broadcasting to every corner of the province. You know, you might be broadcasting a game with the New York Islanders playing and the young men who play for the Islanders are from all different parts of Canada as well and their people are invested in it as well.
It's really a hard one to win in that sense and now you get judged every day on social media or every minute on social media, which has changed the aspect of broadcasting for the guys that are still doing it entirely."
Being the voice of the Maple Leafs every Saturday essentially tabbed Hughson as a Leafs broadcaster, even though that wasn't the case. He was given the highest profile broadcasting position in the country on the most popular day of the week and it just so happened that the Maple Leafs played at 7:00 PM (EST) - every week. Sometimes he wasn't as enthusiastic, other times he raved about the other team just as much as he was raving about the Leafs, and some took exception, which gave way to the surge of social media.
Now retired and having been out of the game since 2021, Hughson seems to be at peace with everything and as the interviewer mentions at the end, he got out at the right time with social media having had a lot more prominence and pull over the last few years. Nevertheless, he will always be remembered for his service on being the voice of Hockey Night in Canada for 16 years.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 17 | 303 ANSWERS Legendary HNIC broadcaster makes shocking admission about working Leafs games Who was the best play by play commentator on Hockey Night in Canada? | ||
| Jim Hughson | 21 | 6.9 % |
| Bob Cole | 229 | 75.6 % |
| Chris Cuthbert | 10 | 3.3 % |
| Other | 43 | 14.2 % |
| List of polls | ||