Hockey Night in Canada...on TSN?!

Last night came word that Pierre LeBrun has joined TSN as one of its analysts. To me, LeBrun is one of the best in the business in what he does, so naturally, I think this is a major coup for TSN. This announcement comes mere weeks after another Pierre, McGuire, announced he was "taking his talents down south". Pretty darn good tradeoff if you ask me.

LeBrun, of course, leaves his role on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) as one of its panel members of the Satellite Hot Stove. Just last week CBC lost another HNIC member in Jeff Marek, who joined Sportsnet. With all the tribulations the CBC has faced the last few years (losing the rights to the Olympics, namely), it only leads to questions of whether this is a telltale sign of its demise. I'm sure some will point to a few years ago when they elected not to pony up to maintain the Hockey Theme, which naturally, was scooped up by, you guessed it, TSN.

I will say, the thought of CBC no longer holding the rights of HNIC in a few years is kind of sad. It's what I, along with many other Canadians, grew up with. It's nearing its 60th birthday and you'll have grandparents telling their grandkids nowadays how they would all gather every Saturday night around their black and white TV with the fireplace crackling in the background to watch hockey. Personally, it helped define my childhood -- you just knew what you were going to watch every Saturday and it led to some of the most fun times with family and friends. And it's still carrying over to today. And sadly, it may be coming to an end.

Perhaps I am putting the cart before the carriage, but you can also see the writing on the wall. Now, all that needs to be done is for Ron MacLean to leave CBC for the channel's utter collapse. Seriously...what is TSN waiting for?! (I think he'd be out of the price range for Sportsnet). He's one of the best in the business and not only would he be your face of hockey, he'd be one of the better Olympic hosts (it was an absolutely crime not seeing him hosting the 2010 Vancouver Olympics).

Now I do think TSN would do a great job, but it'd take some time adjusting to. CBC is just synonymous with HNIC. Plus, you will no longer be able to catch a Saturday night game(s) at a remote cottage in the heart of winter on an old school TV whose bunny ears have to be fiddled with for 2 minutes just so the fuzziness doesn't overall distract your viewing pleasure. It's small subtle things like that that will be missed.

I suppose though, if anything, the reuniting of the perfect unison of the Hockey Theme and HNIC would make things feel natural once again.