Ron McLean - is it time to retire?

[CroFlames]

There are tons of guys out there who have brains full of historical tidbits they can throw out continuously.

Jeff Marek & Pete Loubardious immediately come to mind. Pete would be ####ing awesome as HNIC host actually.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

There are tons of guys out there who have brains full of historical tidbits they can throw out continuously.

Jeff Marek & Pete Loubardious immediately come to mind. Pete would be ####ing awesome as HNIC host actually.

I think at one point, Jeff was probably considered the heir apparent to Ron. Maybe back during the old iDesk days.

[PepsiFree]

Strombo was maybe before his time but he was exactly the type of personality and skillset that is immensely popular online today. The most popular podcast and youtube shows either have hosts that are highly entertaining in their own right, or are excellent at shining the spotlight on the people they have on the show and making them the star while facilitating exceptional interviews and exchanges.

Ron is basically the antithesis of everything that draws viewers now.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Strombo was maybe before his time but he was exactly the type of personality and skillset that is immensely popular online today. The most popular podcast and youtube shows either have hosts that are highly entertaining in their own right, or are excellent at shining the spotlight on the people they have on the show and making them the star while facilitating exceptional interviews and exchanges.

Ron is basically the antithesis of everything that draws viewers now.

The fact of the matter is, Strombo is almost, to a 'T,' the exact kind of person I think I'd hate.

But I think he'd have been perfect for that gig, but they never gave him a chance to really grow into the role or get comfortable and at the nearest sign they panicked and ran home to Momma MacLean.

Its like Sportsnet had no idea how long it took for other people to grow into that role.

But its time to shuffle Ron off to the 'Old Broadcaster's Home.'

Conveniently it is located right to the Yellowstone Ranch's Train Station. Would you look at that!

[CroFlames]

I never liked Strombo.

It's like he was trying to be cool like Biz, but just came across as a wannabe Peter Mansbridge instead.

[Redrum]

He should've never been back after being a hold out like 20+ years ago.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I never liked Strombo.

It's like he was trying to be cool like Biz, but just came across as a wannabe Peter Mansbridge instead.

I think you hit the nail on the head with him. Today he would fit in fine I think but it was just too much of a sudden switch for the public to adjust to, and it came across as the network trying to hard to come across as casual and cool. Today they have finally adjusted to a split between old school (Maclean, Hrudy) and new school (Botterill and Bieksa), but still have a bit of a problem with guys trying to fit in too hard (Friedman). If he wasn’t their resident insider he just wouldn’t fit in. I do think Kyle B who personally I thought was a phony Maclean previously, is a pretty green authentic guy now, and fits in alright. The panel today isn’t bad.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I never liked Strombo.

It's like he was trying to be cool like Biz, but just came across as a wannabe Peter Mansbridge instead.

Maybe but he never really got a chance to fully settle in as it's the type of shift that will require several years to translate. Eventually HNIC and the Canadian broadcasters have to move forward to start attracting younger audiences as while it's not as bad as the CFL, my boys and their friends aren't tuning in every Saturday night like we did a lot when young and I can't blame the young crowd for finding better things to do when the broadcast still has Ron bringing up irrelevant stories from 20-30 years in the past. You keep catering to an aging audience too long and you end up with CFL issues of your viewership numbers overly tilted into an elder demographic.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Maybe but he never really got a chance to fully settle in as it's the type of shift that will require several years to translate. Eventually HNIC and the Canadian broadcasters have to move forward to start attracting younger audiences as while it's not as bad as the CFL, my boys and their friends aren't tuning in every Saturday night like we did a lot when young and I can't blame the young crowd for finding better things to do when the broadcast still has Ron bringing up irrelevant stories from 20-30 years in the past. You keep catering to an aging audience too long and you end up with CFL issues of your viewership numbers overly tilted into an elder demographic.

I felt more or less the same way. The thing about Strombo was that he was younger and I felt, more in tune with the modern game and not a shill for the Refs.

But the network simply had no patience.

[Yeah_Baby]

Ron starting that gig at 28 and still having that role now, effectively blocking at least 2.5 generations from taking that role when they're read sure is something. You see it across all industries but it feels so stark here.

[Paulie Walnuts]

He hasn't even changed with the times, well I guess he did try out skinny jeans in Canmore.

Look at a guy like Ernie Johnson on TNT, he isn't a young guy but he is able to adapt.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Part of this is that there is oodles of young talent that could handle the role that he is blocking. At some point in your career you want to give the next generation a chance. Unless your ego is so massive that you don't care about that type of thing.

I think Ron is literally just trying to stay on long enough to be in the seat when his favorite team wins. That's the endgame for him at this point.

Unfortunately for him, he will continue to be wrong just as he has since their first rebuild began.

And now he's just wasting airtime blathering on about the past and the oilers.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

He hasn't even changed with the times, well I guess he did try out skinny jeans in Canmore.

Look at a guy like Ernie Johnson on TNT, he isn't a young guy but he is able to adapt.

Ironic, because I'm led to believe skinny jeans are out now.

[DeadShot]

For me, Ron is a perfect example of "you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain"

Used to really respect him and he was a quintessential part of Hockey Night in Canada throughout my childhood...the yin to Cherry's yang.

But it's a stark lesson in how times change and the if you don't adapt and keep rolling out the same tire schtick, it gets really old really fast.

I haven't been able to stand him and his rambling stories for a long time now, which sucks because I think he did a lot for the game over the years, but now most people will only remember how awful he's been for the past decade.

They keep trying different things to make the intermissions more relatable, but the one thing they aren't trying is the one that's so obvious to the rest of us...put Ron out to pasture and start looking for the next generation's voice of HNIC.

[CroFlames]

Pay Darryl a dump truck full of money to be the new curmudgeon on a revamped Coach's Corner.

Find a particularly dislikable media personality (Eric Francis comes to mind) and watch Darryl absolutely destroy him on air.

Just like Ron & Don in the old days. Even the young people will tune into that.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by DeadShot

I haven't been able to stand him and his rambling stories for a long time now, which sucks because I think he did a lot for the game over the years, but now most people will only remember how awful he's been for the past decade.

Him turning into an embarrassing shill for McDavid and the Oilers doesn’t help his case either. That s*** is insufferable.

[bluejays]

Regarding Ron, I wonder if he’s owed severance being a long time employee despite being a contractor. If there’s an employment lawyer they can probably opine.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

I still like the idea of Boudreau.

Likable guy who had a mean side when needed. Seems to have great insight and speaks in language that would engage viewers at home.

Him and Sutter would be epic.

[Erick Estrada]

I always thought Torts would be fantastic for a rebirth of Coaches Corner as he's passionate and opinionated.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Maybe but he never really got a chance to fully settle in as it's the type of shift that will require several years to translate. Eventually HNIC and the Canadian broadcasters have to move forward to start attracting younger audiences as while it's not as bad as the CFL, my boys and their friends aren't tuning in every Saturday night like we did a lot when young and I can't blame the young crowd for finding better things to do when the broadcast still has Ron bringing up irrelevant stories from 20-30 years in the past. You keep catering to an aging audience too long and you end up with CFL issues of your viewership numbers overly tilted into an elder demographic.

That’s not an NHL or a HNIC thing, though - younger sports fans simply don’t watch live game broadcasts in the numbers that fans used to. That’s why you see mostly old dudes doing commentary in every pro sport, in every country. The leagues know the marketing landscape and don’t believe younger commentators will move the needle to attract younger audiences. They’re sticking with known quantities so they don’t lose the 55+ crowd as well.

Their strategy to engage younger fans is stats, gambling, videogames, and social media attention on star players, not full game broadcasts.

A YouGov report last year found that just 31% of global sports fans ages 18-24 watched live matches, compared with 75% for those 55 and over. Instead, the study found younger viewers were more likely to watch highlights clips or interact with star athletes via social media, while a large portion engage with their preferred sports through video games.

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