After a dozen years of relentless mediocrity, you might think that Sportsnet hockey broadcasts would be relegated to a special niche in purgatory with other specimens of human folly, like corduroy bell-bottoms, bass solos and coaches named Dad.
Instead, the regrettable Rogers appendage known as Sportsnet now has more power than ever, with an $11 billion, 12-year contract grafted onto the current nightmare. The new deal kicks in this season, leaving Canadian viewers to dig deep if they wish to watch their favourite team on television, never mind taking out a second mortgage to buy tickets to a game.
The latest deal means the death, after 74 mostly honourable seasons, of the NHL on Hockey Night in Canada, a Canadian institution that even Don Cherry and Ron MacLean couldn’t destroy. And it means the end of free NHL hockey, unless you’re willing to curl up with your radio dial and use your imagination to recreate the scene.