Bob McKenzie says goodbye...sort of.

[Poster]

McKenzie was part of the hockey establishment and only told us what he was allowed to tell us. He knows a lot more than he says.

Some say that’s just good journalism and of course it is but let’s not think he was anything but a talking head and in complete cahoots with the league on crafting their message.

Insider? Yes! Telling us inside info? Only the stuff we were allowed to be told.

Always stayed on the fence too with qualifiers. He would says “it could happen but maybe it won’t”. “I’m not saying it won’t happen, but it might!”

Meh, happy retirement Bob.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by madmike

In Canadian media? No way. Doubt he'd even be close.

Salary - $500k
Net worth $10m

https://playerswiki.com/bob-mckenzie

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Poster

McKenzie was part of the hockey establishment and only told us what he was allowed to tell us. He knows a lot more than he says.

Some say that’s just good journalism and of course it is but let’s not think he was anything but a talking head and in complete cahoots with the league on crafting their message.

Insider? Yes! Telling us inside info? Only the stuff we were allowed to be told.

Always stayed on the fence too with qualifiers. He would says “it could happen but maybe it won’t”. “I’m not saying it won’t happen, but it might!”

Meh, happy retirement Bob.

But then why do we suppose that he broke the biggest stories and the most stories over the years? It's not that he was told what to say and only said what he was "allowed."

In this business, information is currency. Bob knows a lot of it. GMs would call HIM to ask him what's going on. He'd offer up pieces of info in return for news that he could report. It's a true art and he did it better than anyone.

[BigT112]

He was overtaken by Friedman as the top NHL Insider a long time ago IMO. Nevertheless, was one of the the first, if not the first "insider," and that legacy has made hockey and hokey reporting more exciting and engaging. Wish him the best.

[united]

I am going to miss Bob McKenzie tremendously. I admired that he rarely offered a stance or opinion on anything and just went with what he knew, acknowledging that nobody probably cared about his stance on all but the biggest issues (concussions for instance). I don't give a #### about any media person's opinions all I want is information that is as accurate as possible which is exactly what he delivered.

I also loved that he had no interest in creating artificial interest or engaging in arguments, debates, or trying to one-up other reporters. Unfortunately he his a rare breed and it seems TSN is grooming Seravalli as his replacement however Seravalli is the definition of manufacturing shock intentionally.

[MRCboicgy]

I guess it's just Mike Commodore, the real Insiderrrrrr

[d_phaneuf]

This is great news for Friedman, when his deal is up have to think TSN throws the bag at him, especially if they want to get nhl back nationally I'm a few years