Worst and Best Commentators

[n3ss 0]

I absolutely loathe Rick Jeanneret

Joe Beninati is waaaay better

[Machinehead2k5 32]

Jack "Homer" Edwards

[Jason Harris 31]

Jack "Homer" Edwards

Jesus, man, we already have to put up with the guy if we want to watch B's games -- did you really have to add to our misery??!!

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I can't stand Errey or Edwards. Maybe there is something with commentaters whos name begins with E

[chippa13 1844]

To be fair, the "Get up!!!" was pretty funny, and, let's all be honest, the Habs have long had the reputation of embellishing.

[Jason Harris 31]

I just read that Jack signed an extension with NESN.

I hate it when TV producers think that polarizing personalities are good for ratings, particularly since people are obviously tuning in for the product, not the announcers. This isn't a talk show where people will watch just to shout at the TV at some of the inane things the panelists say. My observation this year was Jack was seldom (if ever) on the Versus or NHL games when they would pick up the local feed; it was always the other team's announcer, regardless where the games were. That seems to give an indication what the rest of the hockey world thinks of NESN's star pupil.

[nhhockey8 0]

I'm just curious but why does everyone hate Jack Edwards? I actually enjoy his commentating. I know he's not tge most educated when it comes to the actual hockey part of it, but I enjoy his enthusiasm.

[crazyhick 19]

i love edwards, he's not a fred cusak but i'll take him. He is pretty moronic when it comes to his rants, but his enthusiasm is fantastic. I always love when the B's play the Habs and he completly goes homer.

mcguire annoys the crap out of me because he doesn't pick his spots to do color commentary. it's about every 5-8 seconds and i think he just misses the sound of his voice.

Panger in that spot is dead on. He knows when to chime in and doesn't yell into the mic every 5 seconds.

[Jason Harris 31]

While Edwards' enthusiasm for the Bruins seems genuine, his delivery is insincere. I have no problem with people who have a unique way of speaking, but when it's obvious that he has practiced these unique phrases, it doesn't come across as spontaneous; instead, it seems he does that to call attention to himself. Brick says he likes Edwards, which I find shocking if he's telling the truth, because Jack's voice is (lamentably) grating; he speaks know-it-ally about hockey, which is annoying given his lack of knowledge; he acts tough when talking about the opposing players, which is annoying coming from a 158 pound man 80 feet away; and, to top it off, he has a terrible sense of humor. I sometimes think the producers put up one of those lights about Brick that says, "LAUGH" when Jack tries to tell a joke.

I don't mean this as meanly as it sounds, but the personality of his broadcasts reminds me of the kid you couldn't stand having around, but couldn't get through to him to leave.

All that said, he is enthusiastic, so if he could just spend the summer learning how to come across sincerely, I'd have no problem with the guy. Unfortunately, I fear he's going to view this election as a mandate.

[Chadd 916]

Brick says he likes Edwards, which I find shocking if he's telling the truth...

Jack was always a nice guy when I saw him. Always had time to shoot the breeze a bit and was great with all the kids. I'm not a fan of the way he calls Bruins games, but he was a really good guy.

[dangle 0]

To put it nicely...I'd rather gouge my eyes with shards of glass than listen to Rick Jeanneret.

[Jason Harris 31]

Jack was always a nice guy when I saw him. Always had time to shoot the breeze a bit and was great with all the kids. I'm not a fan of the way he calls Bruins games, but he was a really good guy.

Actually, that makes sense, Chadd, because I read an interview with him a couple of weeks ago and he seemed far more measured. Maybe Jack is the announcing equivalent of those guys we each have on our teams who are nice away from the rink, but just a jerk on the ice. However, because Jack did seem okay in the interview, and becaue you say he came across as a good guy, I think it's fair to say he has created an announcing persona, which actually is more of a schtick.

And, unfortunately, that schtick detracts from the enjoyment of watching the games he announces.

[HockeySavants 5]

Best TV: Pat Foley/Edzo, Jack Edwards (love his trolling and one liners), Rick Jeanneret, and Garry Thorne

Best Radio: John Wiedeman (Blackhawks) /Dave Goucher (Bruins) / Mike Lang (Penguins)

Worst TV: Pierre Maguire, Doc Emrick (botched the Kane Cup Goal, never forgive him for that), Joe Beninati, Randy Hahn (sounds like a 30s horse racing announcer

Worst Radio: Tim Saunders (Flyers; his goal calls are annoying), David Mishkin (Tampa Bay; again needs to relax on goal calls)

[Chadd 916]

Worst Radio: David Mishkin (Tampa Bay; again needs to relax on goal calls)

He was here in Hershey before he got the Tampa job, so happy to have him leave

[chippa13 1844]

Interesting to see someone not like Randy Hahn. I actually think he does pretty good and knows to leave the color to the color guy. One of my beefs with Edwards is that he'll attempt to toss in a little analysis and Brickley always corrects it.

[psh 25]

I can't stand Errey or Edwards. Maybe there is something with commentaters whos name begins with E

Errey, Edwards, and Jeanneret are easily my least favorites. I really dislike homers, especially when they seem incapable of appreciating anything about the visiting teams. That seems to denigrate the value of the game, itself and it does fan, including home fans, a terrible disservice. They're missing half the game. I know many, if not all, of these guys have a financial interest in their home teams, but come on. You're not going to be fired for admitting that your team committed a penalty or that the visiting team showed some character or made a beautiful play.

I have long been a fan of Doc Emerick. I think he's just about as good as it gets in any sport. He knows his stuff, and he obviously loves it, but he doesn't reduce it to gimmickry. I really like Thorne's voice, but he's definitely lost a step--maybe it's just that he's not as involved anymore. And I love just about any Canadian broadcast I hear, not to mention the between periods analysis. Imagine if there was anything half as thoughtful as the Satellite Hotstove discussions during an NFL game. I might watch a football game again.

[Vinny_R 1]

Because I'm french canadian and I have a long love/hate relation with my Canadiens, I watch nearly every game. By chance I understand english enough to listen the games on CBC because we used to have the worst duo of announcers in history. Pierre Houde is the caller, often off topic not telling the game and when he does it, it annoying as hell. He is also too much on the balls of players like Crosby and Ovie, that everything they does in a game is like if it was the first time he see this. And the ''color commentator'' was (because he lost his job this summer) Benoît Brunet, an ex-player that have been on the injury list more thant on the ice and continuing to compare today's hockey to when he was playing. By chance we have Dany Dubé and Martin McGuire on the radio to make us forget about the two idiots on the TV.

By the way, sorry for the bad spelling, I'm not really good for writing in english.

[Steve_v3 289]

Jack "Homer" Edwards

I can't wait to see what he has to say when he calls Pouliot's first Bruins game.

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

I wish I had a dollar for every time Pierre McGuire makes an observation and finishes it with, "Eh Edzo and Doc?". He always sounds like a little kid trying to get approval from his mommy and daddy.

[bigdmac 12]

I wish I had a dollar for every time Pierre McGuire makes an observation and finishes it with, "Eh Edzo and Doc?". He always sounds like a little kid trying to get approval from his mommy and daddy.

Unfortunately, you would put the world in a devastating debt.

[iceman8310 105]

bring back gary thorne. Doc Emerk is terrible

[Jason 65]

Because I'm french canadian and I have a long love/hate relation with my Canadiens, I watch nearly every game. By chance I understand english enough to listen the games on CBC because we used to have the worst duo of announcers in history. Pierre Houde is the caller, often off topic not telling the game and when he does it, it annoying as hell. He is also too much on the balls of players like Crosby and Ovie, that everything they does in a game is like if it was the first time he see this. And the ''color commentator'' was (because he lost his job this summer) Benoît Brunet, an ex-player that have been on the injury list more thant on the ice and continuing to compare today's hockey to when he was playing. By chance we have Dany Dubé and Martin McGuire on the radio to make us forget about the two idiots on the TV.

By the way, sorry for the bad spelling, I'm not really good for writing in english.

I watch many of the Habs games on RDS. I'm a life long fan. I'm Anglo and I only understand about 10% of what is being said in french, but I have to say that I have always loved listening to Pierre Houde. His voice is fantastic. Nobody says "Le tir, et le but!" quite like he does. I've often wondered what francophone fans thought of his game calling as they would obviously be better judges of it. In my case, ignorance is bliss I guess. At least Benoit Brunet isn't doing colour anymore. I always heard complaints about him.

Oh yeah, and it must be said for the nth time that Jack Edwards is a total douche and is a disgrace to hockey. His homerism clouds his judgement beyond that of pretty much any other home announcer. I would imagine that he was bullied as a child and now likes to act tough behind his microphone to feel big. The video below is an example of just how biased and non-sensical this guy is. Let's keep in mind that the Bruins were heavily favored in this series and just barely got out of it alive. "The free and independent states." Hahaha. I guess Quebec isn't free and independent.

[hamstercaster 2]

Personally, I like Pierre Houde's way of calling the game. Yes he wanders off at times but I think it often adds to the game. It's gotten "even" better now that Marc Denis stands between the benches at ice level. I find Marc Denis to be pretty good as well. Benoit Brunet, not so much although he's better at being an in between periods analyst. Either way, this tandem definitely beats the hell out of Claude Quenneville and whoever else was by his side over the years at La soirée du hockey on the French CBC.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Bob Cole is my absolute fave.

[Steve_v3 289]

I watch many of the Habs games on RDS. I'm a life long fan. I'm Anglo and I only understand about 10% of what is being said in french, but I have to say that I have always loved listening to Pierre Houde. His voice is fantastic. Nobody says "Le tir, et le but!" quite like he does. I've often wondered what francophone fans thought of his game calling as they would obviously be better judges of it. In my case, ignorance is bliss I guess. At least Benoit Brunet isn't doing colour anymore. I always heard complaints about him.

Oh yeah, and it must be said for the nth time that Jack Edwards is a total douche and is a disgrace to hockey. His homerism clouds his judgement beyond that of pretty much any other home announcer. I would imagine that he was bullied as a child and now likes to act tough behind his microphone to feel big. The video below is an example of just how biased and non-sensical this guy is. Let's keep in mind that the Bruins were heavily favored in this series and just barely got out of it alive. "The free and independent states." Hahaha. I guess Quebec isn't free and independent.

In my opinion, Jack's biggest problem is he constantly injects his opinion when he has no clue what he is talking about. Like when he said how Benoit Puliot was "One of the greatest disappointments in NHL history." Of coarse when he became a Bruin the next year he was a great guy all of a sudden. He constantly gives his opinion about players and the like.

In 2011 Dan Pallie delivered a head shot to Raymond Sawada a rookie for the Stars. He called it live as a great hit, and in real time you can see how he could see it that way. But when you slowed it down it was very obvious that he came from the blind side and made contact with the head. He repeatedly kept insisting it was a good hit. Only after the period had ended he finally admitted it was a bad hit.

He obviously rehearsed that one.

I for one, love when Dave Strader & Brian Engblom do games on NBCSN.