Kelly Hrudey Was More Than a Good Hockey Broadcaster

Every once in a while, someone leaves the hockey business, and you realize you're going to miss the person more than the broadcaster. That's how I feel about Kelly Hrudey.

Hrudey recently announced that Sportsnet was letting him go, and there was something very Kelly Hrudey about the way he did it. He essentially told us himself in a video. There was no bitterness. No settling scores. No long list of grievances. Just a remarkably generous explanation of what had happened and some very kind words about the people he'd worked with.

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. That's the Kelly Hrudey people have come to know.

Hrudey was great as a broadcaster for HNIC and the Flames.

He had a pretty good career as a goaltender before he ever put on a headset. He played more than 1,000 NHL games, appeared in the Stanley Cup Final with both the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings, and spent the latter part of his career in Calgary.

There were better goaltenders along the way. There are probably better broadcasters, too. But I'm not sure there are many better people. And that's what I'll remember.

For years, Hrudey was part of the Hockey Night in Canada panel, sitting alongside people with very different personalities and perspectives. He had a way of making the conversation better without needing to make himself the centre of it.

He listened. He explained. And he seemed genuinely interested in other people. That's not always easy to find in television.

Hrudey was always generous with his hockey analysis.

He was generous with his analysis, likely because he knew how hard it was to be an NHL player. He was generous with his knowledge. And, perhaps most importantly, generous in spirit. That's why I'll miss him on the panel.

Hockey is full of players and broadcasters who are very good at what they do. That's part of the business. We rank them, debate them and move on to the next one. But every once in a while, someone comes along who reminds you that there's another way to measure a career.

Not just by the games you played or the broadcasts you delivered.

Kelly Hrudey leaves the Hockey Night in Canada panel with a pretty impressive résumé.

But I suspect the thing he'll leave behind with the people who knew him is something much more valuable. A lot of good memories. I'll miss seeing him on Hockey Night in Canada. But somehow, I don't think this is the last time we'll see Kelly Hrudey around hockey. At least I hope not.