The Boston Bruins introduced on Tuesday that play-by-play man Jack Edwards is retiring after the 2023-24 season, ending a two-decade run because the voice of the group. It was one of many wildest careers of virtually any play-by-play announcer within the league as Edwards persistently introduced an unmatched degree of ardour, homerism and, sure, even some controversy to the sales space.
Edwards grew up a Bruins fan and didn’t conceal that reality throughout video games. He needed the group to win, and he didn’t care who knew it. It produced some legendary calls, together with lots of the ones that may be heard on this top-10 countdown.
There have been some occasions, nonetheless, when that zeal bought him into some sizzling water.
Again in 2019, he confronted criticism for referencing “dangerous hockey karma” when then-Dallas Stars defenseman Roman Polak was injured throughout a play, sparking a profane response from Polak’s agent, Allen Walsh.
He additionally bought himself into some sizzling water when he made unflattering feedback concerning the weight of ahead Pat Maroon when he was a member of the Minnesota Wild.
As play-by-play announcers have change into extra robotic and boilerplate in recent times, Edwards undoubtedly stood out amongst his friends together with his ardour and willingness to become involved within the motion.
It made for a number of the wildest broadcasts within the league.
Whereas incidents just like the Polak and Maroon calls have been regrettable and deserved the criticism that got here together with them, it was largely a optimistic expertise to listen to such a novel model of play-by-play.
Particularly for a neighborhood broadcast that’s geared towards the house followers. Whereas no person desires to listen to an announcer overtly rooting for a group on a nationwide broadcast, in the event you tune right into a Bruins recreation on a Boston channel, you in all probability anticipate a neighborhood slant (with the identical being true for any group in any metropolis). Edwards introduced that in a manner that just about no different announcer ever has within the trendy period.
