NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens - Source: Imagn

"Won’t be the same without you!": NHL fans react as legendary Leafs broadcaster Joe Bowen announces his retirement following 2025/26 season

Modified Jun 13, 2025 15:21 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs will lose one of their key broadcast members, iconic announcer Joe Bowen, to retirement. Fans who watch Leafs contests will not hear his familiar voice anymore after the 2025-26 season.

Bowen has been with the team since 1982 as a play-by-play announcer, so the vast majority of fans haven't watched a Leafs game that wasn't called by Bowen. They'll do so for the first time after next season.

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Bowen officially took to X to confirm that the next season would be his final, and NHL fans reacted in the comments. Most wished him well, while plenty were sad to see him go.

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"God Bless you Bonsie! hands down the best in the biz!," former player Carlo Colaiacovo said.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to listen to your calls over the years! Congratulations and enjoy this season!" another fan added.

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"Congrats on a marvellous career! Time to go out with a Stanley Cup!" one exclaimed.

"An absolute legend, an even better person, and as synonymous with the Leafs as almost anyone in the franchise's history," another praised.

Bowen said this was his dream job and that he was "blessed" to do it for such a long time.

Broadcast insider mourns imminent retirement of Joe Bowen

For one more season and only one more, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have their games called by Joe Bowen. After that, someone else will take over for the iconic broadcaster.

The Maple Leafs are losing Joe Bowen (Imagn)

Via the Toronto Sun, a broadcaster insider said:

“It’s definitely the end of an era. Joe is a throwback. A real vibrant personality who fans would gravitate to and feel like he was one of their own. He had his own style, which is part of it. But he also found a way to attract listeners from generation to generation.”

In his announcement, Bowen thanked everyone for coming along on the ride for the last four decades. He also said he hopes the Leafs can break their growing Stanley Cup title drought before he retires. This year, they fell in the second round of the playoffs.

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Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

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