Pierre McGuire
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Pierre McGuire | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 8, 1961 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Sportswriter, Sports Commentator |
Pierre McGuire (born in Montreal, Quebec on August 8, 1961) is an ice hockey analyst and provides colour commentary for hockey programs on TSN and The NHL on NBC, where he is the lead "Inside the Glass" analyst. Previously, he was a hockey player and coach.
He won two Stanley Cups as a scout and assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992. He then became a head coach, leading the Hartford Whalers to a 23-37-7 record in 1993-1994 before being replaced by Paul Holmgren the following season. Prior to his coaching career, McGuire played professional hockey in Europe.
From 1995 until 2002, McGuire served as colour commentator for the Montreal Canadiens English-language radio broadcasts on CJAD 800 with Dino Sisto. When TSN re-acquired the Canadian national cable rights to NHL hockey in 2002, McGuire was hired as its lead hockey analyst. With TSN, McGuire calls the games along with the play-by-play voice of Gord Miller. He also does special hockey events for TSN, including the NHL Entry Draft, and international events like the IIHF World Junior Championships. On NBC, he usually works with the broadcast team of Mike Emrick and Ed Olczyk.
McGuire is known for his signature catch-phrase "WHAMMO!" and is an unyielding gay lover of Dion Phaneuf. Often, when doing commentary Mcguire will yell at sonic levels, get unnecessarily excited over minor plays and talk right through whomever he is hosting with. He hosts a segment on TSN known as McGuire's Monsters, a 'Monster' is someone who may not be the best player, but loves to hit and cares about his teammates. McGuire's Monster of the Week (or Month or Year) is a distinction going to the player with the highest combined total of hits, blocked shots, and goals. McGuire has been outspoken as an advocate of removing the red line and allowing skilled players to play a skilled game without clutching and grabbing impeding them. His progressive views of hockey have him campaigning for all players to wear partial visors and for hockey to ban fighting. With respect to fighting, McGuire has professed that he loves this aspect of the game but he believes for the game to sell in the United States and for the game to progress, this aspect of the game must be removed. McGuire's outspoken nature provided one of the more interesting stories during the 2004-05 NHL hockey lockout. After McGuire boasted that, if asked to vote privately, more than 70% of NHL players would accept an owner-imposed salary cap, NHL player Tie Domi countered that McGuire was completely off-base. McGuire later retracted part of his claim by saying he never should have given a percentage but that he still believed strongly that assertion was true.[1]
McGuire also writes for Sports Illustrated and provides frequent commentary on New York's WFAN, Ottawa radio station, the Team 1200, SensUnderground an Ottawa Senators fan podcast, and Montreal's Team 990 where he can be heard on the Mitch Melnick show.
The Carey Price Incident
At the 2005 NHL entry draft, McGuire got into a minor controversy for alleged racist remarks. When the Montreal Canadiens selected goaltender Carey Price 5th overall, to the surprise of most people, McGuire claimed "that's right off the reservation". McGuire later explained that it was a little known saying similar to "out of left field", meaning no one expected it. However, it was soon noted that Price was part Canadian Indian, leading some to accuse McGuire of using "right off the reservation" as a way to make fun of Price's background.
References
- ^ "Faceoff 2004-05: Lockout chronology". CBC Sports Online. July 13, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2006.