For the first time since 1952, CBC will no longer air National Hockey League games.

The news was announced in a joint statement by Sportsnet, the exclusive Canadian rightsholder, and CBC.

“After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with a new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milano/Cortina Olympic Games,” the statement read. “Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition. This has been a terrific partnership, and both parties look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate in the future.”

A joint statement from Sportsnet and CBC: pic.twitter.com/vgVBI2u1nn

— Sportsnet PR (@SportsnetPR) June 16, 2026

CBC has carried NHL games on television since 1952. The broadcasts, known during the regular season as Hockey Night in Canada, were produced by CBC Sports until the end of the 2013-14 season.

Due to financial issues at CBC, the public broadcaster was unable to reach an agreement with the NHL. Instead, the NHL signed a 12-year, $5.2 billion exclusive deal with Sportsnet in November 2013. However, Sportsnet announced its intention to sublicense its broadcasts to CBC to maintain the Hockey Night in Canada brand. Unlike previous agreements, these broadcasts were produced by Sportsnet rather than CBC Sports.

Under this sublicense, CBC continued to air Hockey Night in Canada, as well as key events such as the NHL All-Star Game and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The NHL renewed its deal with Sportsnet in March 2025 with a new 12-year exclusive agreement worth $11 billion. At the time, it was not announced whether Sportsnet’s sublicenses would continue. In addition to CBC, Sportsnet also sublicensed Monday night games to Amazon Prime Video and French-language broadcasts to TVA Sports.

It is likely, however, that this will not be the end of over-the-air NHL games in Canada. Rogers Communications, which owns Sportsnet, also owns the over-the-air network Citytv.

But this is a major blow for CBC, which has greatly reduced its sports programming in recent years. Other than the Olympics, CBC does not carry any other major sports events. It does have a smattering of other, more niche offerings, the most prominent of which is the PWHL.

According to a press release, CBC intends to replace Hockey Night in Canada with a new Saturday primetime show that will feature Canadians “competing at home and at the biggest events around the world.” A similar show will also be launched on CBC’s French-language equivalent, ICI TÉLÉ.

“As Canada’s Olympic network every day through 2032, our increased commitment will include more in-depth storytelling, more live sport, and more coverage of Canadian athletes at home and abroad,” CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson said.

It is entirely possible that shifting more toward Olympic sports will benefit CBC, but the end of a 74-year broadcast arrangement for Canadians’ favorite sport will undoubtedly be a major loss for the network.

The post ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ leaves CBC after more than seven decades appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Ron MacLean, one of Canada’s most beloved hockey broadcasters, issued an apology for a remark he made on-air before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Prior to the Carolina Hurricanes winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise history with a shutout win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6, Hockey Night in Canada aired a skit that caused MacLean to make a controversial joke. The skit was meant to parody a scene from The Hangover, where Sportsnet reporter Kyle Bukauskas jokingly finds Stanley Cup keepers Phil Pritchard and Craig Campbell passed out on a rooftop after a night of partying in Las Vegas.

Ron McLean actively trying to get himself into an early retirement tonight by making a roofie joke.

“the roofies, they’ll get you every time.”

Don’t even try to suggest this isn’t worse than what Cherry was done in for. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/gFp0omVe8m

— Daniel Perianu (@perianudan) June 15, 2026

After Bukauskas failed to wake Pritchard and Campbell, Sportsnet went back to MacLean, who commended the skit before adding, “The roofies, they’ll get you every time.”

Roofie is commonly slang for any sedative used as a date-rape drug.

MacLean later apologized on the broadcast for using the term so lightly.

Ron Maclean apologizes for this comment #NHLplayoffs#StanleyCuphttps://t.co/QvldmCKbHkpic.twitter.com/1NqXYu6ZgG

— bnpeki Matthew Knies Enjoyer (@bnpeki) June 15, 2026

“We had a fun spoof on the movie The Hangover, and I referenced a scene in the movie where Mike Tyson’s tiger is put to sleep,” MacLean said. “The Keepers of the Cup, of course, are asleep in the skit, and I used the term, the slang term for the drug, which has far more serious connotations in reality, and I should have made that connection. I did not.”

“I know I triggered some people,” he continued. “I know I offended some people with that remark, and I feel very badly for that. And I want to thank you for bringing it to my attention, to our attention, I’m very sorry.”

This is not the first time MacLean has needed to apologize for something said on-air. In 2021, he issued a statement after making a joke that many considered homophobic. MacLean was also on Hockey Night in Canada in 2019, when longtime analyst Don Cherry launched an offensive rant about immigrants that led to his firing. Sportsnet has not issued a public comment on MacLean’s “roofie” joke from Sunday night.

The post Ron MacLean apologizes for ‘roofie’ joke during Stanley Cup Final broadcast appeared first on Awful Announcing.