Rumor: Bieksa, Hrudey and Ron MacLean are out at Sportsnet

According to multiple online reports, there will be "sweeping changes" to Sportsnet's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast panel next season with the likes of Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey, Kevin Bieksa and Jennifer Botterill. Former longtime Rogers/Sportsnet employee Howard Berger reports that Elliotte Friedman will return to the panel, however.

More from Berger:

We may not recognize the Hockey Night In Canada panel next season. Based on what I’m told, only Elliotte Friedman is safe from the changes and cost–cutting measures on the horizon.”

- Howard Berger

More from Berger, specific to long-time Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean:

Hockey Night studio commentators Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey, Kevin Bieksa and Jennifer Botterill remains to be determined, but MacLean’s future, in particular, seems tenuous. For the bulk of 37 years — by far the longest tenure of any person — MacLean has hosted Hockey Night intermissions, taking over (in 1986) from Dave Hodge.

- Howard Berger

Honestly... what took so long?

Look, I grew up watching Ron MacLean. I loved him. The same thing could be said for other HNIC stales though like Don Cherry, Bob Cole and Harry Neale. The fact of the matter is that everyone has an on-air best before date and MacLean's is well past his at this point. He's stale, tired and, frankly, kind of annoying. If I have to hear him wax on poetically once again about some issue that no one cares about I might go insane. It seems to me that the guy lives just to come up with pithy anecdotes that make him smirk. Just set up the hockey game, dude... kick it over to the experts and let us hear their analysis. I don't need to hear your thoughts on a Robert Frost poem...

As for the rest of the staff, I quite like Hrudey and Botterill. Losing them from the panel would be a tough break for Canadian hockey fans. But losing Bieksa... that's ridiculous.

Bieksa has proven himself to be one of, if not THE, sharpest mind in hockey broadcasting. He's smart, he's quick and he has real life experience of what it like to live the life of an NHL player. Sportsnet should be doing everything in its power to lock him up to a long-term contract. Of course, they won't though... because this is the same company that has employed MacLean for the past decade.