Rangers TV voice Sam Rosen to retire after 2024-25 NHL season
Hockey Hall of Famer Sam Rosen announced Tuesday that he will call one more season of New York Rangers games on MSG Network before retiring. The 77-year-old has been behind the mic for 40 seasons of Rangers hockey, including the unforgettable 1993-94 Stanley Cup championship campaign.
“I would probably say to you, are you kidding? How can anyone last that long … do the same thing?” Rosen said on a conference call with reporters. “It’s been a wonderful ride. I loved sports growing up. I played sports growing up and to be involved in sports the way I have been has been just the thrill of a lifetime.”
Rosen’s dream ending would be if the Rangers win the Stanley Cup again next spring.
“So it’s time to spend a little more time with my wife, with my family and to go out on top,” Rosen explained. “Fans have been great and they’ve been so complimentary and they’ve inspired me. I realize that I’ve touched a lot of people and it’s now time to say thank you very much and put a big, big bow on it because I think everyone is in agreement at the Garden and at the network that this will be a big finish and I’m hoping the Rangers will have a big year to cap it all off.”
Rosen is beloved by generations of Rangers fans for his passion, sense of humor and incredible broadcasting talent. He had a memorable 20-year run with former Rangers goalie John Davidson as his broadcast partner. He and Joe Micheletti will work their 19th season together in the MSG booth in 2024-25.
Rosen also called games with Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito after he replaced Jim Gordon as Voice of the Rangers.
“Forty plus years of brilliance in the booth, with an unparalleled passion and love for the fans, the sport, the athletes, the coaches and everyone associated with the NHL,” Micheletti said.
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Rangers legendary broadcaster Sam Rosen announces retirement plans
Photo courtesy Sam Rosen
Rosen will be forever remembered for his classic “It’s a power-play goal!” call whenever the Blueshirts score on the man advantage. And his iconic “The waiting is over! The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup Champions! And this one will last a lifetime!” call when the final seconds ticked off the clock in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final still sends shivers down the back of any true Rangers fan.
Born in Germany, raised in Brooklyn since he was two, Rosen is a New Yorker through and through. He attended Rangers and Knicks games at the old Madison Square Garden, and remains a serious Yankees and Giants fan, as well.
But the Rangers? The Rangers were always his passion, his true love in the sports world. It’s those feelings he naturally brought to his work which make him the beloved figure he is today. And it’s heartening to know that Rosen is as good a person as he is a broadcaster.
Of course, he’s a great play-by-play announcer. So great that Rosen was named the 2016 recipient of the Foster Hewitt Award and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. And this summer he was enshrined in the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame.
Perhaps, there’ll be a new banner raised to the rafters at MSG in honor of Sam Rosen in the near future.
“I’ve been living out a dream for the last 40-plus years,” Rosen said. “To be able to call the games for the team I’ve been cheering for since I was a 10-year-old kid in Brooklyn has been magical, and to be there to see the Rangers win the Stanley Cup in 1994 was one of the greatest moments of my life. Rangers fans are the best in the world, and to be able to be in their living rooms for so long talking about the team they love has been the privilege of a lifetime. I’m excited about this season and can’t wait to get going.”
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