Sportsnet parts ways with long-time hockey analyst Kelly Hrudey. Are more changes coming?

There has been speculation of sweeping changes in personnel for Sportsnet's NHL broadcasts

Published Aug 05, 2026  •  Last updated 58 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Hockey broadcaster and former NHL goaltender Kelly Hrudey. Photo by Gerry Kahrmann /Postmedia Network

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Big changes are coming to Canada’s national NHL broadcasts, as one of the more prominent voices on Sportsnet has been let go by Rogers. 

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Kelly Hrudey, the former NHL goaltender turned studio analyst, announced the move on X on Wednesday night, telling his followers that he no longer will be part of the iconic Canadian telecasts.

“On June 19, I was told that my contract was not going to be renewed for the upcoming season,” Hrudey said on a video he posted to his official X account. “So big changes in my life.”

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Hrudey’s announcement was the first of what is speculated to be a number of changes to national NHL broadcasts as Sportsnet embarks on a new contract, one that will no longer see games broadcast on CBC.

The long-time studio panelist, working most recently alongside host Ron MacLean, Kevin Bieksa and Jennifer Botterill, has been a staple on national telecasts since the 2014-2015 season.

He entered broadcasting after his playing career ended in 1998 and gradually rose in prominence and impact.

“I jumped right into broadcasting for the next 28 years of my my life,” Hrudey said of his post-playing career. “I look back and I think you, the viewer, who might have hated me or loved me. I’m okay with either.”

In the video posted on Wednesday, Hrudey went on to thank his co-workers — in front of the camera and behind it, raising a glass of red wine to them. The personable Hrudey, now 65, had an 18-year NHL playing career that begin in 1981 with the team that drafted him, the New York Islanders.

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In 2007, he won a Gemini Award as Canada’s best studio analyst for his work on Hockey Night In Canada, then exclusively on CBC.

“For all of you … cheers,” said Hrudey, who also has been a long-time game analyst on Calgary Flames regional broadcasts.. “This is not a retirement.”

The feeling of respect Hrudey had for his colleagues was mutual, as evidenced by longtime Hockey Night producer John Shannon’s X post on Wednesday.

“A True Professional,” Shannon wrote. “A Hockey Lifer. A Friend. Congratulations on this chapter Kelly!”

What’s next for Sportsnet broadcasts?

There has been speculation of sweeping changes in personnel for the national rights-holder, but Hrudey’s is the first ball to drop.

In June, CBC and Sportsnet jointly announced that they would be parting ways and that the Hockey Night In Canada branding of Saturday night NHL games would be no more. That announcement ended a 12-year partnership between the two broadcasters.

That move coincides with the beginning of a new national NHL rights deal held by Rogers, a 12-year, $11 billion dollar pact that kicks in for the 2026-27 season.

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Among the changes viewers can expect is the parcelling of some of the games to streaming services, a process that has already begun with Prime Video jumping aboard on a sub-licensing agreement for exclusive rights to Wednesday night hockey.

Left unsaid in the aftermath of both announcements was how the look of Sportsnet coverage might change, what other voices will leave, and who will replace them. There certainly are interesting times ahead as the network embarks on the richest deal in Canadian broadcast history.

While not referring to Hrudey specifically, there has been widespread criticism that the look of the shows had grown tired, especially in comparison with some of the more vibrant presentations on U.S. broadcasts produced by TNT and ESPN.

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