Rumor: Pierre McGuire is back!

One of the most polarizing figures in the National Hockey League is set to soon make his return to a television screen near you.

According to a report from YYZ media, an outlet that specializes in analyzing the ins and outs of the business that is Toronto sports media, McGuire is set to make his return to a hockey broadcast in very short order as a member of the Sportsnet team. Jonah of YYZ media is reporting that, despite numerous cuts that have been made at Sportsnet recently, McGuire is going to be brought on board as part of Sportsnet's upcoming coverage of the 2022 National Hockey League Entry Draft set to take place in Montreal, Quebec this week.

McGuire has not been a full-time member of the NHL broadcast since NBC lost the rights to television the NHL to TNT and ESPN in the league's most recent TV rights deal. In the interim he joined the front office of the Ottawa Senators organization in what was deemed a controversial move, even prompting this particularly heated reaction from former NHL general manager Doug MacLean.

"Seriously what the hell is going on in Ottawa," said MacLean back in January. "Ottawa ends on a real high last year... and the owner brings McGuire in there, are you kidding me?"

"And all of a sudden now where is McGuire?" asked MacLean. "I read every day he was doing articles two months ago and all of a sudden he has disappeared. He's Waldo in the hockey world right now. He has disappeared off the face of the earth when they haven't been winning games. I can't believe it's a great working environment with McGuire, Dorion and Eugene right now."

"I didn't get it when it happened and I  certainly don't get it now."

McGuire would be handed his walking papers just a few short months later after MacLean's comment, bringing his tenure with the Senators to an end less than a year after it had started.

There will no doubt be some fans happy to see McGuire back on TV, and some who aren't so happy about the development, and if Jonah is correct it sounds like he may be here to stay.