SIMMONS SAYS: Hockey Night In Canada has a new name, but an old host

Published Sep 06, 2026  •  Last updated 23 minutes ago  •  9 minute read

The Hockey Night In Canada panel in action last season. From left: Kevin Bieksa, Ron MacLean, Elliotte Friedman and Chris Pronger.   Photo by SPORTSNET FACEBOOK PHOTO

Hockey Night in Canada has been Ron MacLean’s show for a long, long time.

Article content

Article content

Article content

His control. His content. His puns. His obscure musical references. His rambling. His point of view.

For a long time it worked and for a long time MacLean was a giant as host of hockey’s largest show.

Now, the name of the show is gone and CBC, the anchor network, is gone and hockey will remain on Rogers Sportsnet on Saturday nights with a new title but the same old host.

The show needed to be changed long before CBC left as hockey host, but they took the name with them. And the only way the show could be changed, really, was with someone new, fresh and young in charge.

Oddly, there is talk of Elliotte Friedman leaving Sportsnet and talk of Kevin Bieksa heading to an American network and they have been, in recent years, the best reason to tune in to HNIC.

Friedman as the story-breaker and insider. Bieksa as an outspoken analyst of the game and those who play it. The rest of the show between periods, too much of it controlled and too often contrived, and a world away from intermissions that once brought in Don Cherry for the first period and the Satellite Hot Stove in the second.

Article content

Article content

MacLean will be back, but with whom? Kelly Hrudey has been let go. Jennifer Botterill, who wasn’t ready for national prominence, is apparently heading to a different night of hockey. Hockey Night was never the work stage to learn on, it was a place to succeed.

The opportunity to change the show for Sportsnet was never as evident as it is now. But the one change they had to make — to give the show a new look, a new sound, a new feel — wasn’t done.

Jays have to wrap a wild-card berth early

After Saturday, there are just 19 games left in this Blue Jays season. For the Jays to make the playoffs and have any chance of succeeding, they need to have Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano ready to start at the top of their rotation for the wild-card round. If they don’t have that, they’re really operating shorthanded. Basically, that means the Jays would need to be comfortably in a wild-card position with three games to go in the regular season to be able to set up their rotation accordingly for the playoffs. Which would mean going 11-5 or 10-6 over the next 16 games. Not impossible, just difficult … This past month of the baseball season has been a combination of fun and funny. Funny in a sad kind of way when you see the poor quality of ball being played around the American League. The Seattle Mariners have been terrible all season long and now look like they’ve packed it in. Also terrible, the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers. That the Jays are in a race with these teams along with the similarly crappy Cleveland Guardians tells you just how weak the league really is. Give the Guardians credit for this much: In their double-header on Friday against Detroit, another lousy team, they were down 6-1 in the first game, and trailing 3-0 in the nightcap and somehow found a way to win both … As of Saturday morning, the Guardians were two games over .500. The Jays haven’t been two games over .500 since March 30 when their record was 3-1 … The Blue Jays have Jesus Sanchez wearing No. 12, Roberto Alomar’s old number. That means that 12 has been worn by just about the greatest fielder in Jays history and the worst one … Louis Varland is having the third best closing season in Blue Jays history, which is saying something. He’s behind only the late Duane Ward in 1994 and Tom Henke of 1987 for dominant closing seasons in Toronto … Daulton Varsho is hitting .175 in Houston. Brett Bateman, who seems to do a little bit of everything, is hitting .330 since taking over from Varsho in centre field. Bateman has scored 16 runs in 23 Blue Jays games. Varsho has scored eight in 28 games for the Astros … Tough summer for two of Alex Anthopoulos’ former lieutenants in Toronto. Perry Minasian was fired as GM in Anaheim and Dana Brown was pushed out as GM in Houston … Not sure Yordan Alvarez can hold on to his Triple Crown position over the final three weeks. He’s leading in batting, but only by a few points, tied for the lead in home runs, tied for the lead in RBIs. There’s been just one Triple Crown winner in the past 59 years and that was Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers in 2012. Before him, Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 … How much does Vladimir Guerrero Jr. change what the Blue Jays do? Well consider this, Guerrero has had 33 games with two hits or more this season. In those games, the Jays are 29-4 … So much talk about what’s wrong with Vladdy, or where he should hit in the lineup. One thing to understand: No one has been around him longer than manager John Schneider. This is Guerrero’s 11th professional season, Schneider has been his manager or a coach on the staff for 10 of those years.

Article content

Clippers fans are the hardest hit

The NBA threw the book at fans of the Los Angeles Clippers with the Kawhi Leonard punishment. Leonard got off almost scot-free with a rather insignificant fine that he’ll make up when he eventually signs with the Toronto Raptors. Owner Steve Ballmer was fined $30 million, which is huge, until you consider that Ballmer’s net worth is around $178 billion, which makes him the ninth richest man on Earth. This is essentially lunch money for Ballmer. He won’t miss a penny of it. But the Clippers, the team, lose five first-round picks, which means their fans, who did nothing wrong, get penalized severely for actions of those who cheated on their behalf … It is wonderful to witness the genuine joy and emotion there is in the relationship between Kyle Lowry and Raptors fans. But understand this in the big picture: There are 30 teams in the NBA. There are 27 teams for which Lowry would not be considered the greatest player in franchise history, had he played for them. The Los Angeles Lakers, for example, have had Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James atop their greatest player list.  Not exactly room for Lowry there. The Celtics. would have Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Jayson Tatum to pick from. The Raptors’ greatest player list is as pencil-thin as Chris Bosh, who would be on the list along with Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Vince Carter. Pretty short list considering the Raptors have been around 31 years and there’s no place for Vincenzo Esposito, the best name in team history. Second best Raptors name: From the Leafs greats, Keon Clark … Had the Canadian men’s basketball team played the kind of tenacious defence it did the other night against Argentina in World Cup qualifying, it might have come away with a medal from Paris in 2024.

Article content

Leafs ranks from 1967 Stanley Cup champs thinning out

Still standing from the Maple Leafs championship team of 1967: Frank Mahovlich, 88; Dave Keon, 86; Brian Conacher, 85; Pete Stemkowski, 83 and Mike Walton, the kid, at 81. Keep celebrating them while they’re still around … If Cale Makar is worth $20 million US a year, what’s Quinn Hughes worth, $19.9 million? … Here’s what you need to know about the Edmonton Oilers this year: The best players on the team — maybe in the league — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, are going into the season truly believing they will be the best coached team in the NHL, under Mike Babcock. We’ll see how long that lasts … The Washington Capitals had 95 points last season and didn’t make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Then they added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner to their lineup … Can the Maple Leafs get to 95 points after a 78-point season? … Brandon Brisson has an NHL shot but, according to some scouts, AHL feet. He’s the newest Leafs signee. He’s not your third- or fourth-line kind of player, a little Nick Robertson-like, but there is likely no place for him on the Leafs’ first two lines … Don’t get caught up comparing  the I-want-a-trade circumstances of Connor Hellebuyck to those of Brady Tkachuk, the aforementioned Hughes or now Dylan Larkin. Hellebuyck wants out of Winnipeg, not out of Canada. His reasons are mostly personal and have little to do with the Canadian dollar, cold weather or taxes … By rules, NHL teams are now being forced to travel with three goalies, the third one being an emergency backup. And yet some of those teams will not travel with their radio broadcasters because of the cost involved … The Blue Jays don’t always do everything right but the way in which they celebrated Buck Martinez last Saturday and the brand new in-stadium Hall of Excellence museum was top-shelf. And while it needs to remain exclusive, there are so many fascinating Jays players — from Paul Molitor to John Olerud, Jimmy Key to Devon White, Fred McGriff to Lloyd Moseby, Jesse Barfield and Pat Hentgen who are all worthy of some kind of recognition, just not for the Hall itself. Maybe they can come up with a secondary way of honouring players. The Hall of Excellence needs to be only for the greatest of the Jays greats. Tom Henke should be next, followed by Edwin Encarnacion. And then we wait for a while. Maybe 13 more seasons.

Article content

Novak Djokovic looked like a beaten superstar

It’s pretty much official now that the end is near for Novak Djokovic. Watching him lose in the first round at the U.S. Open, all bent over, throwing up, taking pills, being massaged courtside was difficult. We had 20-plus years of the greatest three-man rivalry of any sport — Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. We’ll never see anything like it again … I’m not much of a fashion person, but I think if you’re playing tennis in the U.S. Open, or anywhere else for that matter,  the you should wear sleeves … My dad used to say that nothing good happens after 2 a.m. Denis Shapovalov was eliminated from the Open on Friday night, Saturday morning, at 2:07 a.m.  … Poor Shapovalov. Every match, he’s playing is against two people, his opponent and himself … The U.S. Open is like a great buffet with the menu changing every night. So much to see. So much to nibble on. All of it fascinating  … George Wells, former Argo, former Ticat, former Roughrider, former pro wrestler of consequence, has passed away … If the Argos had competent special teams or even average kicking, their record would be 7-4, not 5-6 heading to Labour Day, which is still kind of incredible considering how few home games they’ve played because of soccer’s World Cup … Why wouldn’t Tim Hortons continue to pay for the name of the football stadium in Hamilton? Doesn’t it just fit? … What a great job for someone smart, progressive, aggressive and opportunistic. Commissioner of the WNBA. The league that likes to ignore all that Caitlin Clark has done for them is looking for a new boss. The way the league has treated Clark would have been a lot like the NBA ignoring Larry Bird and Magic back in the day … The comedian Robert Klein explaining the law of supply and demand: “We have the supply,” Klein used to say, “so we can demand whatever the eff we want.” Which is kind of like selling Leafs tickets … The great Bob Newhart would have been 97 today … Happy birthday to Matthew Schaefer (19), Leylah Fernandez (24), Candy Maldonado (66), Stan Jonathan (71), Greg Rusedski (53), John Wall (36), Steven Kwan (29), Kevin Willis (64), Elena Delle Donne (37) and Braun Strowman (43) … And hey, whatever became of Martina Hingis?

(Steve Simmons is Canada’s longest serving sports column

Article content