TSN needs new voice for CFL as Cuthbert jumps to Sportsnet
When a revered sports broadcaster — admittedly not a spring chicken — crosses the road, there is frenzied activity on both sides.
On Friday, the legendary Chris Cuthbert joined Sportsnet’s National Hockey League broadcast team, creating a buzz over there and a hole in TSN’S coverage of Canadian Football League games, should there be any of those this year.
TSN suddenly needs a lead play-by-play caller for their marquee property and the best bet looks like Rod Smith, current host of their panel of expert analysts. He’s also an old pro, yet a handful of years younger than Cuthbert, who is 62. Smith has certified play-by-play chops and the same undying love for the
CFL that Cuthbert always exuded, which is a plus.
Rod Black is now TSN’S most senior play-by-play man on football, but he seems to generate too much negative fan reaction to be considered for lead duty.
Fortunately for TSN, they have built some depth at the position. A source said Edmonton-based morning radio host Dustin Nielson warrants more than the eight games he did as a rookie last season. Gord Miller has play-by-play experience, too, but is primarily a hockey announcer.
And it appears TSN stress-tested Vancouver-based Farhan
Lalji by handing him the hosting duties for the CFL draft earlier this spring. The COVID-19 pandemic rendered the draft a seriously tough gig, as Lalji and analysts Duane Forde, Davis Sanchez and David Naylor were all set up in their various homes and had to deal with a clunky 1.5-second delay any time they tried to engage in banter. It forced them into a repetitive order of commentary.
Lalji also had to deal with a trade — Calgary sent the No. 1 pick to B.C. — before the show was really even underway, adding to the complications. On balance, he handled it with poise and professionalism, and if that was in fact a test of his ability to lead a broadcast, he passed it, and now deserves more than the single game of play-by-play duty he’s been getting most years out on the left coast.
“I’m not leaving them high and dry,” said Cuthbert. “They’ve got a lot of options and I’ll let those guys decide what the best
options are. But Dustin is a rising star, and what he did last year was just outstanding. I can really appreciate somebody coming in on the fly for the first time. He made an impact right off the hop. Talented guy who treated the game with the respect I think it deserves.”
Cuthbert has worked 25
Grey Cups and more than 800 CFL games as a reporter and announcer, and was in the booth for the past 15 years with TSN, starting with a pre-season tilt in Halifax. His biggest regret, he said Friday, is the fact he’s leaving before Halifax lands a CFL franchise.
But the clock was ticking on his ability to return to his roots as a hockey announcer for CBC, ESPN, NBC, Super Channel, and Sportschannel America.
“I think what really happened, during the pandemic is you start reassessing life,” he said. “I’m in my 60s and there are six more years of the hockey deal (on Sportsnet), so if I waited,
I’d be pretty well 70 before I had a chance of calling the NHL again.”
The heart strings were being plucked daily, too, as Sportsnet replayed standout games that Cuthbert had called: Mark Messier’s Game 6 guarantee and Patrick Roy’s last game at the Forum among them.
“You are reminded of those games on Saturday nights; those last a lifetime. It brought me back. Am I going to get that chance again? Did I do enough, or is there more I’d like to do?” said Cuthbert.
He wanted more.
“As we got closer to my contract expiring, my agent asked, ‘Would you like to find out if there is interest elsewhere?’ He did and there was. I did have an offer from TSN, as well. It wasn’t like they were kicking me to the curb. It’s tough to leave those people. Stew Johnson, who I had to call, is one of the finest guys in the business.”
Once the news broke on Twitter, there was an outpouring from people wishing him well, praising Sportsnet for the “get” and wondering about TSN’S replacement options.
“I wouldn’t be going to Sportsnet if I wasn’t excited about the opportunity,” said Cuthbert. “Hockey Night has always meant so much to me. Even when I left, I felt there was part of me that always wanted a chance to go back, and there are still things I haven’t done. But the decision is excruciating, because of 15 years of working with great people and doing what you love. The CFL means a lot to me and still will.”