Rick Jeanneret obit

Rick Jeanneret (1942–2023), Hall of Fame NHL broadcaster  

He was not on the list.

Rick Jeanneret was a Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Buffalo Sabres, the longest serving play-by-play announcer in NHL history.

For many NHL fans, Rick Jeanneret’s name is synonymous with hockey broadcasting. The Canadian-born broadcaster began his career at CHUM in Toronto, then moved around between several stations, including CKLY in Lindsay, Ontario, and CHVC in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In 1963, he began doing color commentary for the Niagara Falls Flyers, a Junior A hockey squad, and moved to play-by-play in 1965.

When he began calling games for the Buffalo Sabres, however, he began his journey to the Hall of Fame. Jeanneret called every Sabres season from 1971-72 to 2021-22. For the first half of that tenure, he did it while also serving as the morning disc jockey for CJRN-AM in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In his later years, he began calling fewer games, especially after being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but continued to be a mainstay for the team.

His best-known call might be of Brian May’s overtime goal against the Boston Bruins in 1993. The win secured a sweep and won the Sabres their first playoff series in a decade. Jeanneret’s call is punctuated by screams of, “May Day! May Day!” Jeanneret is a member of the Hockey, Buffalo Broadcasting, Buffalo Sabres, and Greater Buffalo Sports Halls of Fame, among other honors.

Notable quote

“May Day! May Day! May Day! May Day!”—from the 1993 NHL Game 4 playoff broadcast

Jeanneret was a Canadian citizen of Swiss descent. He was born on July 23, 1942, in St. Catharines, Ontario, and raised in Terrace Bay, Ontario. He was known for his energetic delivery (especially during big plays and fights), colorful player nicknames, passionate goal calls, and his trademark suspenders worn on air and uncanny resemblance to late comedian Rodney Dangerfield.

Jeanneret announced every Sabres season from 1971–72 through 2021–22. The inaugural season was announced in its entirety on radio by Ted Darling, and for seven games on television by then-unknown Dave Hodge, who the next year left to become the host of Hockey Night in Canada.

Jeanneret worked alongside Jim Lorentz for over 20 years before Lorentz retired. Harry Neale, former color commentator for the Toronto Maple Leafs regional broadcasts and was a commentator on Hockey Night in Canada until the end of the 2006–07 season, was Jeanneret's partner through the 2011–12 season. Former Sabres enforcer Rob Ray was the ice-level reporter with him and Neale for five years and was Jeanneret's partner for the MSG Network and WGR, occasionally alternating with Martin Biron.