CBC Scores On Its Own Net . . . Again

To the surprise of many, Hockey Night in Canada regular Greg Millen was nowhere to be found on CBC’s coverage of the first two games of the Canadiens-Penguins series. Instead, veteran play-by-play broadcaster Bob Cole was paired with analyst Garry Galley in the booth, with third man Glenn Healy providing commentary from behind one of the nets. Although this trio was used together during the first round Senators-Penguins matchup, it was thought that Galley was only there because of his regional assignments with the Ottawa Senators during the regular season. Once the Senators were eliminated, he was supposed to cede his place to Greg Millen, who is Cole’s regular broadcast partner. So why didn’t this happen?

Sports media columnist William Houston suggests that Millen “appears to have fallen out of favour” at CBC and that it was the network’s decision not to use the “once presumed successor to Harry Neale” beyond the first round. But could the story be the other way around? Is it possible that Millen, tired at being given second tier assignments and regional telecasts, told CBC where to go? After all, Millen spent years slowly climbing the ladder at Hockey Night in Canada and must resent being relegated to back-up duties.

From his early days working as the “junior” alongside the likes of Dick Irvin – Millen was there in 1995 when Patrick Roy had his meltdown against the Detroit Red Wings – the young analyst eventually graduated to work the late game of the doubleheader with Chris Cuthbert. In 2007, Millen worked his first Stanley Cup Final alongside Bob Cole and Harry Neale. The next year, with Neale out of the picture, Millen was the sole analyst with Cole. But that was it. Craig Simpson – who arrived at the network in 2007 – called last year’s Final with Jim Hughson, and the two are expected to do the same this year and well into the future. Whereas it took Millen 12 years to receive his first Stanley Cup assignment, Simpson was handed the reins after only two seasons – and at Millen’s expense. It would be understandable if Millen were more than a little ticked-off. The respective parties are keeping pretty quiet on the issue: When columnist William Houston asked the executive producer of Hockey Night in Canada why Millen was no longer being used, her response was “because Garry Galley is”. As for Millen, his only comment was “have a good summer”.

Whether the public broadcaster was thrown a curve ball by Millen’s sudden departure, or whether the network itself was responsible for pulling the plug, the larger short-term question is why pick Garry Galley as Millen’s replacement? The highest ranking analyst after Simpson and Millen, based on assignment frequency during the regular season, wasn’t Galley – it was Kevin Weekes. Should we be reading anything into the fact that Weekes was overlooked? Is CBC trying to alienate its entire stable of commentators or just the television viewers that have to watch a first-rate series picked apart by a fourth-tier analyst?

I have nothing against Garry Galley personally, but the whole setup that CBC has going for this series is wrong. Galley is an Ottawa Senators guy – he hasn’t been assigned to another team all season long, and it isn’t fair to either him or the viewers at home that he be thrust into the spotlight of the Canadiens-Penguins matchup, trying to analyze two teams with which he isn’t very familiar. And then there is this whole business about having Glenn Healy behind one of the nets, providing sporadic commentary during the game from his “unique vantage point”. I know CBC elected not to cover the Canadiens first round series against Washington, but didn’t the public broadcaster realize that Montreal was getting badly outshot in these playoffs and that posting an analyst behind the other team’s net for two of the three periods may not be the best move? How, exactly, can Healy contribute to the telecast when all the action is taking place at the other end of the ice? With Galley unsure of what to say, Healy can’t come to the rescue, and the whole arrangement results in a heavily disjointed broadcast that puts Hall of Fame announcer Bob Cole between a rock and a hard place. He can't be too happy.

What amplifies all these problems for CBC are the quality telecasts TSN put together for the Canadiens-Capitals first round series. CBC’s second round coverage, to-date, pales in comparison. If CBC alienated fans in the first round by its absence, the public broadcaster continues to alienate the same fans this time around by its presence - only now an important chunk of on-air talent has joined the collective voice of discontent.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:
Flyers at Bruins - Game 2, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Canucks at Blackhawks - Game 2, 9 p.m. (CBC)/(RIS)