Sam Rosen is almost ready to stop living his dream.
Rosen, the longtime voice of the New York Rangers on MSG Networks, announced Tuesday, one day after his 77th birthday, that this season would be his last in the announcer’s booth.
“That’s what I grew up with,” Rosen told NHL.com. “I grew up in New York. I grew up in Brooklyn. I grew up a Rangers fan. To do that for so long is incredible. You don’t keep count while you’re doing it, but when you get to that point, you can look back and say, ‘Hey, that was a pretty good run.’ And of course 1994 is the ultimate because they won the biggest prize of all, and they won it at the Garden, and nothing could be better.”
Rosen began commentating Rangers games at MSG in 1977-78 as a replacement for Marv Albert on radio and Jim Gordon on television. He signed his first full-time contract with the network in September 1982 while serving as studio host for MSG Networks and became the Rangers’ primary television commentator in 1984-85.
This season will be his 40th as a full-time live commentator for Rangers.
Rosen is known for his signature “It’s a power play goal” call and for his legendary call during the Rangers’ Stanley Cup win in 1994, when he said at the final whistle of their seventh game against the Vancouver Canucks, “The wait is over. The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup champions. And that title will last for life.”
“I grew up a Rangers fan and heard Sam on television. It has been a great pleasure to get to know him personally during my years as a player and manager,” said Chris Drury, Rangers General Manager and President. “Sam will forever be associated with New York Rangers hockey and Sam and his family will always be a part of our Rangers family.”
Rosen is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and was named the 2016 winner of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. Rosen was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame this summer.
Rosen also commentated on various sporting events for ESPN from 1979 to 1988. He was a boxing commentator for MSG Networks from 1982 to 1993. He commentated on the Stanley Cup Final on NHL Radio from 1996 to 2008 and the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. He also commentated on NFL games on Fox for over 20 years.
During his time at MSG Networks, Rosen had three main broadcast partners. He worked with Phil Esposito for the first two seasons, John Davidson for the next 19, and this season will be his 19th with Joe Micheletti.
“More than 40 years of brilliant work in the dressing room, with an unparalleled passion and love for the fans, the sport, the athletes, the coaches and everyone associated with the NHL,” Micheletti said. “You made everyone who worked with you better people and you helped us all reach heights that would not have been possible without your support. You added us all to your long list of friends. For all these reasons and many more, your legacy will last a lifetime.”
Rosen said the decision to end his career at the end of next season was a personal decision and the result of a long-standing family discussion.
“It’s always about how long do you want to do this? How long do you want to keep doing it?” Rosen said. “I’ve always thought as long as I feel good and I’m excited about it and I still enjoy being on the road and I still enjoy being in the Games, I’m fine. With each year that goes by, the hard parts get a little less. The traveling gets a little harder. The Games are never a problem. The Games are what I look forward to the most. But then comes the realization that it’s time to say, ‘OK, you’ve had a great run and get out there while you’re still strong and people appreciate what you’re doing.’
“When you get out, you want to come out victorious and feel good, and that’s what I want.”
He said it was important to have one final season because it allowed him to travel around the league and say goodbye to friends as he slowly gets used to the realization that it was over.
“I’m just hoping to have a great season,” Rosen said. “I know it’s great professionally because I get to work with some of the greatest people you could ever meet and be with and travel with. I just hope the Rangers have a good run and that I can be a part of it and that we go out with a bang.”
