Rogers thinks outside the box for its hockey package

When Rogers Media shocked the hockey and broadcasting worlds by spending $5.2 billion to commandeer Canadian NHL rights for the next 12 years, it vowed it would present the game in a new way.

While the jury will have to sit on that one at least until the first broadcasts in October, the media giant is showing already that it isn't afraid to shake up things.

It went deep into left field to hire two of the four main play-by-play men for its national broadcasts. While there were a few surprises that octogenarian Bob Cole was going to be joining Jim Hughson as part of the big team, that was nothing compared with the jaws that dropped when Paul Romanuk and Dave Randorf were hired.

After all, Romanuk left for England almost a decade ago and was seen only sporadically on Canadian television, most notably doing Spengler Cup games. Randorf was best known as TSN's CFL host even though he did Montreal Canadiens regional games and a lot of international hockey.

Those surprises, though, aren't the end of what Rogers has planned. While most are being kept under wraps, Rogers revealed Tuesday that the role of curmudgeon Don Cherry will be changing.

He'll still be doing Coach's Corner on Saturday nights with Ron MacLean, but he won't be the voice of Hockey Night In Canada any more.

``I've been a fan of Don for a long time, but I think the big difference will be that Don will not be the editorial voice of the show," said Scott Moore, president of NHL and Sportsnet for Rogers. ``He'll have his opinions, which we want, but there will be a lot of opposing opinions, too."

That will be a refreshing change for those (guilty!) who complained for years that Cherry's opinions dominated the discussions on the show, as if whatever Cherry said had to be parroted by the rest of the on-air crew. The phrase ``as Grapes says" was almost as prominent as the Hockey Night In Canada theme song.

Moore also believes the addition of Romanuk and Randorf will provide a refreshing change.

``I'm really excited to have Paul Romanuk on board," said Moore, who attended Ryerson with Romanuk. ``He's a long-time friend and in my opinion one of the best play-by-play guys in the world.

``I still think he's got one of the great voices in sports. We've got Bob Cole and we've got Paul Romanuk, the current Bob Cole and potentially the next Bob Cole."

In one of those six-degrees-of-separation moments, Romanuk tweeted Tuesday that his first job in hockey broadcasting was compiling statistics at HNIC for Cole.

Moore says he and Romanuk kept in touch over the years, even after Romanuk followed his wife to England when he lost his job in the wake of The Team sports radio station's demise.

``When he left to go to the U.K., we always talked about when would be the right time for him to come back," Moore said. ``We talked two years ago about him potentially coming back, but I didn't really have something that would have been the right fit for him."

Moore said he was in contact with Romanuk ``within an hour" of announcing the NHL deal and the rest is history.

As for Randorf, despite his success as a football host, hockey was always his first love.

``Dave really wanted to concentrate on hockey and this was ideal for him," Moore said. ``He has a younger look and feel and brings a new energy to it."

Like Romanuk, Moore and Randorf go way back. While in college studying broadcasting, Randorf arranged a tour of TSN and Moore took him around. When it was over, Moore asked for his resume and Randorf sheepishly admitted he hadn't thought to bring it.

When Moore hired him away from TSN, Randorf dropped off a resume on his desk. ``I didn't forget this time," he joked.

Hughson comes full circle at the national level, being one of Moore's first hirings 16 years ago when Sportsnet launched. He followed Moore to CBC and it was only natural he take the next step.

He's likely to be the main guy, though Moore says that isn't carved in stone.

``Jim has had a history of calling the Stanley Cup final and I would expect at this time that would continue," he said. `But there are no promises at the moment."

Though Cole has had his ups and downs in recent years, Moore said bringing him aboard was a no-brainer.

``He can still bring it," he said. ``He brings an excitement and a passion for the game. I think he's got certainly another season in him and we'll see how it goes. But if he has as strong a year next year as he did this year, I think you'd want to keep him around for sure."

The other big change involves the addition of the Sunday night package, which will feature a Canadian team every week but one -- the day after all Canadian teams play on Hockey Day In Canada. And that annual event is what the Sunday game on City will resemble.

A million-dollar mobile studio will travel coast to coast and cover 26 different cities -- places like Red Deer, Kelowna and Kingston -- with the sites having some key tie to that night's game. MacLean will host that night's show, something Moore says, ``elevates things to a different level."