When Ralph Strangis announced his departure from the Dallas booth, there was no getting around the fact that he couldn’t be replaced. The sheer history and length of Strangis’s connection to the franchise is almost unparallelled in hockey, and even a Bob-Cole-in-his-prime voice wasn’t going to bring the same sort of properly parochial panache and franchise-specific savoir faire that followed Ralph out the door to Venice Beach or wherever he chooses to spend the summer.
That said, what voice would rank second behind Strangis when it comes to both longstanding familiarity with the franchise and its fans?
You might recognize the name of one of the leading candidates: It’s analyst Daryl Reaugh.
“Razor has come at us hard,” Lites said. “He really wants to do it. He’s done play-by-play and is really good. We’re keeping our options open.”
That, of course, would necessitate a new analyst.
But there appears to be a favorite Lites wants to pair with analyst Reaugh. He didn’t say who that might be. Only that the candidate “is a national guy we really like.”
Negotiations apparently have begun.
[DMN]
My first thought upon reading this was that, should Razor actually take the wheel, Darren Pang needs to immediately resign from the Blues and join Razor as the Stars’ new color analyst. There is ample precedent for such a move, as I vividly recall an incident around six or seven years ago when the Stars were playing the Coyotes (who employed Pang at the time), and Pang and Razor actually switched booths for a period. it was kind of weird, and kind of cool, and it absolutely confirmed (to me) that Darren Pang harbors a not-so-secret love for the Dallas Stars. This was further confirmed when he came over to the Blues about five years ago in anticipation of re-alignment in order to stay as close to the Stars franchise as possible. It makes sense, I tells ya.
Barring my far-fetched-but-will-totally-happen scenario, another “national” name that has been tossed out is that of Dave Strader, former Coyotes(!) play-by-play man and partial perpetrator of a rather sordid name-calling event from last year. Yes, that one. I know, I know, but hey, at least he’s a pro, and Jim Lites does seem clear in his desire to bring in an “established” voice. For my part, I don’t actually care for the timbre of his voice, particularly when it wavers and trails off in a gravelly sort of fashion as he gets excited.
As for other candidates, well, here’s a list of the NBC folks, and here’s a sort-of current list of all the voices around the league. Consider it either a shopping list or a “compares to” advertisement of some kind. And if you’re starting to get greedy and looking at Jim Hughson (who actually was paired with Razor in NHL ’98 for EA Sports) or somesuch Canadian broadcast talent, well, you can just hold your horses, because SportsNet signed all the good ones last year, and you know that behemoth of a sports machine ain’t letting any of the good ones go.
It’s hard to know precisely what the Stars are looking for, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not going to be an out-of-the-blue hire. You will probably know the name they bring in, and even if it’s just for a couple seasons until Razor does switch to the other microphone, there’s no doubt that we’re going to miss Ralph quite a bit this year. Change is hard, you know.
Oh, I forgot one more name, and it might be tops on the list in my eyes (or ears). Chris Cuthbert would make it a bit easier to withstand Ralph’s departure, just sayin’. If there’s any way in the world the Stars can get Cuthbert, I would be ecstatic. That’s where I’m setting the bar, and y’all with it.
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Did Jamie Benn and/or Ales Hemsky burgle a jewelry store on Friday? Only they know the answer for sure, but also, no, because to burgle it they would have had to go in at night when no one was there, and it sounds like it was a good ol’ fashioned broad daylight holdup. Phew, they’re innocent. Close one.
Your @DallasStars players representing Team Canada: @tseguinofficial #eakin #spezza pic.twitter.com/dtZhMCnipd
— TylerSeguinProblems (@SeguinProblems) May 18, 2015
There are lots of reasons to be excited about the Stars’ players who went to Prague for the IIHF Worlds. Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin led the ENTIRE WORLD in points and goals, respectively. [DMN]
Speaking of Ralph, he has begun contributing to NHL.com as a writer. His recent piece on Brad Richards is a good read, so check it out. [NHL]
However did the stupid Ducks once again ruin my prediction for their series? Goaltending, mostly. Check out the stats behind the spats, if Ducks players wore spats. They do not wear them. [TSN]
Oh no, a Ducks player says they are deeper than Chicago, and Chicago’s coach thinks that is not true. We got ourselves a hootenanny a’brewin’, folks! [Pro Hockey Talk]
The Red Wings have renamed the trophy for the winner of the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament the Matthew Wuest Trophy in honor of the late founder of CapGeek. Wonderful gesture, this. [DFP]
And yet another CapGeek replacement has sprung up. Check out the Stars page for [hockeyscap.com]
Add the Blues and Sharks to the list of teams that want Mike Babcock. Every team is on that list already, so I guess just write “x2” next to those teams or something. [Pro Hockey Talk]
Who ended up winning the tournament MVP for the IIHF Worlds? The absolute best hockey player, of course. [IIHF]
Said hockey player will also be returning to Florida for at least one more year, but he is seriously done with international competition now. I’d say he’s had a good run of it. [NHL]
When I said “goaltending” for the difference in the Ducks/Hawks game, I wasn’t joking:
