On Monday morning, news broke that the legendary Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick is retiring from NHL broadcasting.
http://gty.im/136069425
Now, the question is, who will replace Emrick on NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, two strong candidates to replace Emrick are Kenny Albert and Mike Tirico.
From New York Post:
“While Kenny Albert is a strong candidate to replace Mike (Doc) Emrick on NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals, a name that cannot be ruled out is Mike Tirico.
Albert, 52, could very well be the next man up, as he is NBC’s No. 2 NHL play-by-play man, having done conference finals and the Olympics for years. But Tirico, the face of NBC Sports, figures to be in the discussion when its network executives decide what to do next.
Tirico is a hockey guy and has called a few games for the network over the past few years.
Tirico, 53, is the host of the Olympics, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” studio show, the Triple Crown and the network’s golf events. He also calls Notre Dame football. He is scheduled to replace Al Michaels full-time on “Sunday Night Football” broadcasts after the 2022 Super Bowl.”
Who do you think should replace (though he is not truly replaceable) Doc?
I’d try to get Gary Thorne for a couple years before he retires. After that I’d go back to Steve Levy and Darren Pang. Thorne and Bill Clement and Pang/Levy were the best combos in hockey history. They’re still around, use them please!