Confirmed with Link: Rick Peckham Appreciation Thread (retiring after 2019-2020)

[DFC]

RP calls the game very objectively and impartially (unlike many other PBPs in the league). And yet you can tell he's a Lightning fan through and through. He rarely let's it show though which makes moments like his Point or Stamkos goal calls so much more awesome. It's like he forgets for just a moment that he's in the booth and joins his fellow Bolts fans screaming and losing his mind.

He has also a very broad knowledge about the game and the other teams. I'm glad he got the chance to call several games and playoffs series on national TV as well. Other teams' fans quickly realized that we have such a gem on our hands. Damn, he'll be missed.

Agreed. You can tell he's pulling for the Bolts, but, at the same time, he doesn't do a lot of the (apologies for the political term) "spin" that you see with a lot of pbp guys. Nor did he make the game about him or his calls, like a Jack Edwards type, or even Mishkin. He just sort of stays out of the way, and lets the emotion build naturally.

 

[Hoek]

I don't see them going for a pure homer type like Mishkin after going out of their way to get Engblom. That would be a weird partnership considering how impartial Engblom tries to be (to the point that when he first started here it was annoying how little he would take our side in things).

 

[The Macho King]

I don't see them going for a pure homer type like Mishkin after going out of their way to get Engblom. That would be a weird partnership considering how impartial Engblom tries to be (to the point that when he first started here it was annoying how little he would take our side in things).

I doubt it's Mishkin. We're probably going to go for another national name.

This sucks though. I love Peckham.

 

[berlin]

I saw a game at the old Boston Garden (vs senators) and the Lightning were staying at the same hotel. It so happened that Rick and Chief were staying directly across the hall. I was probably 15 yrs old and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Forget the fact that the players were staying just a few rooms down. I was sleeping 30 feet away from Rick and Chief! Anyway they were cool, pretty sure it was Ricks first season ( Lightning’s second or third season).

 

[These Are The Days]

World freaking class by Peckham. I wish he had done more playoff runs. I remember watching this game simply because he was calling it. I didn't have any vested interest. Chris Cuthbert is the only other guy I'll really do that for because even though he's not the best you'll ever hear, he's got a charm about him that doesn't wear out its welcome and he doesn't often commit to the sins of redundancy (looking at you Kevin Quinn who calls every shot as "Let's it go!") or being overly flamboyant (looking you Doc Emrick saying stuff like "Waffleboarded!") or being too much of a homer or cynic (looking at you Jim Hughson kissing Vancouver's tail every game and delighting in Leafs failure) or the classic Romanuk of getting every name but Auston Matthews wrong on a given night. TL;DR: he's probably the one national broadcast guy I'd settle for.

But Peckham? Great voice, fluid calls, never redundant, rarely flamboyant, never too much of a homer/cynic on a national broadcast and to this day I can only find "Dimitri Kucherov" as his name blunder.

God I'm gonna miss him

 

[Felonious Python]

man for his last season hope we win the cup for him to go out! we were close when bobby Taylor left his last year in 2015

I'm pretty sure we didn't know that Chief was moving to the studio during that run though.

The organizational ethos is 'world-class' though, which is an important distinction from 'nationally known' given how much NBC's crew is disliked. It's also not a homerism thing. The national crews of TSN and Sportsnet are generally liked, but naturally not as well known to casual TB fans.

Paul Romanuk seems like the most accomplished UFA, but he's also moved to London for 9 years before to further his wife's career, so it may not be a simple task to just hire him.

I don't see us getting Chris Cuthbert. As great as he is, he calls the Olympics and the Leafs. He's got a pretty sweet gig already.

My mind went to Victor Findlay partly because it has a 'next man up' feel. He's already working international hockey games on networks like TSN only a few years out of school but doesn't have an NHL home.

It's a lot of 'right place, right time'. Lukas Favale with the Crunch even is excellent, or Bob Mills, or Jesse Liebman, but Sun Sports would probably feel more comfortable with a guy with the national tv experience already, and I'm trying to factor that in.

They may want to throw John Shannon a consultancy fee. He's on the market himself, but he's quite accomplished as a producer. He's hired guys like Paul Romanuk and Ron MacLean.

 

[These Are The Days]

I'm pretty sure we didn't know that Chief was moving to the studio during that run though.

The organizational ethos is 'world-class' though, which is an important distinction from 'nationally known' given how much NBC's crew is disliked. It's also not a homerism thing. The national crews of TSN and Sportsnet are generally liked, but naturally not as well known to casual TB fans.

Paul Romanuk seems like the most accomplished UFA, but he's also moved to London for 9 years before to further his wife's career, so it may not be a simple task to just hire him.

I don't see us getting Chris Cuthbert. As great as he is, he calls the Olympics and the Leafs. He's got a pretty sweet gig already.

My mind went to Victor Findlay partly because it has a 'next man up' feel. He's already working international hockey games on networks like TSN only a few years out of school but doesn't have an NHL home.

It's a lot of 'right place, right time'. Lukas Favale with the Crunch even is excellent, or Bob Mills, or Jesse Liebman, but Sun Sports would probably feel more comfortable with a guy with the national tv experience already, and I'm trying to factor that in.

They may want to throw John Shannon a consultancy fee. He's on the market himself, but he's quite accomplished as a producer. He's hired guys like Paul Romanuk and Ron MacLean.

I like Favale but he's still got some way to go. Dan D'Uva got the gig with the VGK on the radio and while he's probably not in any kind of a hurry to leave, it would be awesome to have promoted a great broadcaster who called Crunch games. He would be a fantastic complement to Engblom's inside the glass approach to broadcast because D'Uva has fantastic energy like Steve Cangialosi of the Devils but he doesn't sound like he stepped on a Lego. But 3 years (once the year is done) on radio isn't a bad run though, so I'm optimistic he could get it.

Agreed on Cuthbert. I'd love him but he's not realistic. D'Uva is on my short list

 

[These Are The Days]

A little bit of D'Uva for the first time in a couple of years

 

[LightningStrikes]

I asked the main boards who might be available. They suggested John Walton (Caps radio PBP who also did some games on NBCSN), Ralph Strangis (former Stars PBP) and Mike Haynes (former Avs PBP).

 

[Felonious Python]

I asked the main boards who might be available. They suggested John Walton (Caps radio PBP who also did some games on NBCSN), Ralph Strangis (former Stars PBP) and Mike Haynes (former Avs PBP).

I liked Mike Haynes' reel. For a home broadcaster, I like higher emotion that matches what the fans feel.

I've also got to wonder a bit about the younger fans. Esports has 'shoutcasters' where everything is hype off the charts.

Brian Engblom's Wikipedia page also mentioned post-game work with Colorado, so he's probably wired in there.

 

[LightningStrikes]

I liked Mike Haynes' reel. For a home broadcaster, I like higher emotion that matches what the fans feel.

I've also got to wonder a bit about the younger fans. Esports has 'shoutcasters' where everything is hype off the charts.

Brian Engblom's Wikipedia page also mentioned post-game work with Colorado, so he's probably wired in there.

Yeah, Haynes wouldn't be a bad choice. Has tons of energy and gets quite excited.



Most may know him from this though (hilarious):

 

[The Macho King]

f*** no to Haynes. My roommate was an Avs fan back in the day and I had to listen to his ass too much. I loathe him.

 

[These Are The Days]

**** no to Haynes. My roommate was an Avs fan back in the day and I had to listen to his ass too much. I loathe him.

I could find you, buy you a drink and high five you and it still wouldn't be enough to like this status.






Hell no on Haynes

 

[Stammertime91]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but given the circumstances and if we see hockey played again, I really hope Peckham considers one final season if this is it for the 2020 season. Would be a shame. Just my two cents. Gonna miss him!

 

[The Gongshow]

I was thinking a little while ago he called his last Stamkos game without even realizing it (due to the injury) and now he's pretty much called his last Tampa game. I know it was his last season but he was probably cherishing the last handful of games. He wanted to go out on his terms but sadly got cut short of that

Thanks for everything Rick

 

[Felonious Python]

I was thinking a little while ago he called his last Stamkos game without even realizing it (due to the injury) and now he's pretty much called his last Tampa game. I know it was his last season but he was probably cherishing the last handful of games. He wanted to go out on his terms but sadly got cut short of that

Thanks for everything Rick

SUN could split the season with a new guy, although not every candidate may be very willing to accommodate that. If we get a national guy, we might need a fill-in PbP anyway.

On the other hand, having the end taken out of his hands could be a bit of a relief. It's a disappointment, but it avoids the emotional stress at the end of the year.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

being many fans of many teams in last many years etc... i had a lot of great announcers... id like him a little more lightning upset at times but a great man and wonderful job... not sold on engblom even today i listen to rick honestly and like his style

 

[DistantThunderRep]

We should send a fan appreciation message to Peckham. He will be sorely missed, a shame this is his last year.

 

[Felonious Python]

I normally don't cross-post, but being able to tweet at RP is so rare, I thought I'd put it here too.

 

[Stammertime91]

Ask him to reconsider!!!

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

A well deserved honor for RP!

 

[Felonious Python]

John Forslund's contract wasn't renewed in Carolina.

Coincidentally, he replaced Rick Peckham as the Whalers tv broadcaster in 1995...





Forslund/Engblom is like a national 'b' crew. (so was Peckham/Engblom for that matter, but NBC didn't get it)

I would feel a bit bad for not giving whoever the 'next man up' in the industry is the job. As great as Forslund is, at 58-years-old, he won't be in TB for decades, and always buying free agents instead of growing them yourself is more expensive.

He is an American though, which would nullify any visa issues a Canadian broadcaster may have during the pandemic.

 

[These Are The Days]

Well if former Crunch play by play man Dan D'Uva wants to come back I don't think it would be such a bad choice. He's been the radio play by play announcer for the VGK since day 1 and considering he's seen a lot of our current staff, it would not be too dissimilar to a homecoming. He's not a bad option at all and we'd have him for years. If we replaced Peckham with Forslund we'd just be spoiled beyond words. It's like having a top 5 announcer (that no one knows about) and then replacing him with the one guy you can say is better -albeit not by much.

It's gonna take some time to get used to "VASILEVSKIY SAYS NO!" if Forslund actually came here