CBC – Canucks Broadcast Corporation

First off, congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks on winning the Western Conference Final over the San Jose Sharks in a hard fought and well contested five game series. Each game was entertaining and closely matched throughout, though in the end Vancouver’s depth and timely goal scoring was the difference in the series. As entertaining as the product was on the ice, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the broadcast put forth by the CBC, or as I now call them the “Canucks Broadcast Corporation”. The play by play team of Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson and Glenn Healy were not shy in hiding their fondness for the lone Canadian team remaining in the playoffs; this angle is one that should be muted and the game should presented in a less bias manner.

Hughson has never been shy in expressing his fondness for the Canucks over the years and thus has affected the way he calls the games he is working. It is unprofessional and takes away from the game being watched by the fans, unless the broadcast team is strictly covering that specific club regionally, I find it hard to understand how a network airing the games nationally has let it’s on air talent carrying such a tone throughout? In the past this same debate has been mentioned when Bob Cole and Harry Neale covered Toronto Maple Leafs, while similar discussions were brought to light during the Dick Irvine days covering the Montreal Canadiens.

I have heard from others, fans of the Canucks or neutral fans, that have also noticed the language used on a nightly basis throughout the playoffs by the aforementioned trio during the Canucks games. Understandably, the CBC wants to cater to its audience across the country that are eager to see a Canadian team win a Stanley Cup for the first time in 18 years, but in doing so, there should be more transparency in how the games are called and analyzed as not all of the viewers are cheering for the Canucks.

It is a sad day when this topic has to be discussed not only once but now twice.  The game should be the main attraction with zero bias, something that has become a growing issue as the playoffs have progressed.