Bounce000 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 And not a soul will wheep. Jack Edwards' long and legendary run as the voice of the Boston Bruins is set to come to an end at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, the team announced on Tuesday. He will continue on the NESN broadcasts until the conclusion of the Bruins' post-season run. “I grew up a Bruins fan, and who had more fun than us over the last two decades?” said Edwards. “In collaboration with Bruins and NESN leadership, I recently decided that the time has come for me to finish my shift as the voice of the Boston Bruins. I am no longer able to attain the standards I set for myself, to honour the fans, the players, the Bruins organization and NESN with the best they all deserve.” “I retire from broadcasting not with a heavy heart, but gratefulness for a 19-year-long joyride,” Edwards continued. “I owe my career, my own pursuit of happiness, to the love and support of my family. I thank every member of the Bruins and NESN for your loyalty, helping me to achieve and live out a lifetime goal, high above the ice.” The storied play-by-play broadcaster spent 19 years in the booth for Bruins games on NESN but has been covering sports for 45 years, starting in the 1980s at various networks across New England. He would later move on to ESPN in 1991 and end up at NESN in 2005. “I join the Bruins organization, NESN and hockey fans everywhere in congratulating Jack on an incredible career,” Charlie Jacobs, CEO and alternate governor of the Boston Bruins, said in a press release on Tuesday. “Jack’s voice has been the soundtrack for generations of Bruins fans that have experienced so many incredible moments. His presence has been felt around the globe and he will forever be a part of the Bruins legacy.” Boston is set to take on either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins hold a one-point advantage over the second-place Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 It's embarrassing for NESN to have kept him on air this long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnarcore Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 Who had more fun Jack? Tampa Bay and the Penguins come to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 19 years on the air, means most of those that listened really liked the way he did it. Congrats to Jack, hope his recent disability goes into remission, and he has a great retirement. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
112 Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 When I first caught wind of what was happening with his play-by-play I was concerned for his health, but apparently he's cognitively all there. It's still concerning, of course, but it's far from the worst possibility for him. I hope he gets his jump back and enjoys retirement. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Hated his play by play. I will not miss him on the air. Hope he stays healthy and enjoys retirement though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyville88 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Never understood why he got so much love. Hated his accent and felt he blew every call Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 This is a very classless post, @Bounce000. He is retiring because he has developed a concerning speech impediment. It's really bad right now. He has visited various neurologists and doctors in Boston but they have not been able to identify anything wrong with him. At the end of the day, he is a person whose mental faculties are preventing him from continuing to do his job. I discussed this several times over the course of the season: Quote At the end of the day, it's NESN - the only people watching this on cable are people from the Boston area. Edwards said he got checked by Harvard doctors and was fortunately given a clean bill of health (no sign of cancer/stroke), but he himself can't identify what the problem is. But he is receiving speech therapy. If the Bruins fanbase wants to show their support because they love Edwards, let them. I think it you're taking it too far by criticizing him the way you are right now. It's a commendable thing for a fanbase to support their ailing commentator - we see it in sports all the time. For sure, they are putting up with some really rough play-by-play. I mentioned watching the Bruins-Canucks game how he struggled to get out the word "Canucks" and stressed the "CA" instead of the "NUCKS" (eg. CAnucks). Compare Edwards in the past to what he is now. He was always the biggest homer of them all, but he had a literal theatrical flair to his commenting style (the kind you'd see on Broadway) unlike anyone else in hockey. But most importantly, he could keep up with the play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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