Members of NHL community and beyond pay tribute to legendary broadcaster Bob Cole

By The Canadian Press on April 25, 2024.

Legendary broadcaster Bob Cole poses before calling his last NHL hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Montreal, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Broadcaster Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Members of the NHL community and beyond paid tribute Bob Cole on Thursday after the legendary broadcaster died at age 90.

He died Wednesday night in St. John’s, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.

Cole, an influential voice in broadcasting for more than half a century, brought life to some of hockey’s biggest games.

TNT hockey broadcaster Ed Olczyk, a former Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs forward, reminisced about admiring Bob Cole’s big-game presence during his time playing in Canada.

“Just a super genuine hockey lover,” Olcyzk said Thursday in Denver, where the Colorado Avalanche and the Jets were preparing to continue a first-round series on Friday.

“Obviously his call is so connected to ‘Hockey Night in Canada.’ Having played six years in Winnipeg and three years in Toronto, any time that he would walk into the room, you knew it was a big game. Just a great man.”

Avalanche star defenceman Cale Makar was a rookie when Cole called his last games during the 2018-19 season, but he strongly admired Cole’s legacy.

“He was such a legendary announcer and such an awesome human being,” Makar said. “That’s a tough loss for the hockey world.”

Avalanche superstar forward Nathan MacKinnon remembers Cole as “an amazing person.”

“Super funny and just a great guy,” MacKinnon said. “Some of the best calls of all time.”

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe called Cole an “icon.”

“Someone who touched the game in so many ways,” Keefe said in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs were preparing for Game 4 of their series on Saturday. “The voice of hockey not just in Toronto, but in our country.”

Cole’s reach extended beyond hockey. He skipped Newfoundland at the 1971 Brier and 1975 Canadian men’s curling championship, served as quiz master on “Reach for the Top” and worked for the Newfoundland government.

“I think he’s going to be remembered as a Newfoundlander that really made it on a big scale,” said six-time Brier champion Brad Gushue, who also hails from St. John’s.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.

– With files from Gregory Strong in Denver.