Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - Rick Jeanneret has had a Hall of Fame career as the radio and television voice of the Buffalo Sabres.
For more than 50 years, Jeanneret has been on the call for some of the most infamous games and plays in Sabres franchise history, and has captivated his audience with his enthusiastic delivery and coloful persona over the airwaves.
As he enters his 51st season as the voice of the Sabres, Jeanneret announced this past Friday the 2021-22 season will be the last of his career in the broadcast booth, wrapping up a legacy as the longest-tenured play-by-play man with one single team in NHL history.
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While Jeanneret will not be on the broadcast for all 82 games this upcoming season, he knows that it is time to step away.
"I think it's enough. In fact, I know it's enough," Jeanneret said with Martin Biron and Craig Rivet during "The Instigators" at the Sabres Alumni Golf Tournament on Monday. "This is going to be a strange season for me. No matter what happens on the ice, it's going to feel strange. It's been coming for 51 years, and it's time. It's time."
Jeanneret began his broadcasting career with the Sabres during the 1971-72 season as their official radio play-by-play voice. He eventually made the transition over to calling games on television when the team started simulcasting its games on both TV and radio.
Over the course of his career, Jeanneret has earned the highest of honors, locally and nationally, for his work with the Sabres. In 2011, Jeanneret was inducted into the Sabres Hall of Fame along with former Sabres forward Dale Hawerchuk. In 2012, he earned an induction into both the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Perhaps his greatest honor came in November of 2012 when Jeanneret was the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award recognizing "distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting." This also meant an induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Although Jeanneret has been recognized as one of the greatest voices in hockey over the years, he owes his work to the fans of Buffalo and their passionate loyalty and support.
"I've had such a huge, wonderful association with the fans of the Buffalo Sabres over the last half century. It's an incredible part of my life, the fans," Jeanneret said.
The fans were a huge reason why Jeanneret decided to make the 2021-22 season his final one in the Ted Darling Memorial Press Box at KeyBank Center.
The 2020-21 season saw a majority of home games in Downtown Buffalo left vacant of fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While some fans were able to attend games in the later portion of the season, it was on a very limited basis compared to having a full capacity crowd of 19.070.
"My interactions with the fans at KeyBank Center have been one of the thrills of my career, one that was sorely missing over the past year," Jeanneret said in a message to Sabres fans via the team's official Twitter account on Friday.
Not only is Jeanneret hoping to have fans back in attendance this season at 100% capacity, he's hoping he'll be able to spend the 2021-22 season with his fellow companions in the press box, which includes his long-time color analyst Rob Ray.
"The camaraderie, yeah, I'll miss that. That's a given" Jeanneret said. "I'm hoping that we're going to be back to a little more normalcy this year in that we can work in the same booth and we don't have to be spread out halfway across the press box trying to do a broadcast, which was the situation last season. I'm hoping that's going to happen, but I still don't know."
When asked if there is any specific call that will stick with Jeanneret from the years he spent calling games for the Sabres, the 79-year-old said there is one call that will forever last with him and the fans of Buffalo, young and old.
"I guess because it's stood the test of time so well, it would be 'May Day'. Even with the youngsters today, they know what it is," Jeanneret said. "You have to remember that Brad May not only scored the goal, but he beat a pretty good defenseman, first of all, to get in there, Mr. Raymond Bourque.
"Somebody said to me once, and I'll always remember this, 'How did you know to come up with the call, 'May Day! May Day! May Day!'? I said, 'Well, I know one thing: it didn't come because I planned on it.' He hadn't scored in something like 18 games. I have no idea where it came from. I don't know where it came from. All I know is that it worked."
You can listen to Jeanneret's entire interview below: