from Neil Best of Newsday,

Stan Fischler saw his first hockey game in 1939 and will see his next on Friday night when he covers the Islanders’ home game against the Canadiens for MSG Networks. But come the end of this season, he no longer will be a regular presence at New York-area NHL rinks.

The man known for decades as “The Hockey Maven” plans to announce before Friday night’s game his retirement from television to spend more time with his two sons and five grandchildren, who range in age from 9 to 15.

His eldest son, Ben, lives in Portland, Oregon. His youngest, Simon, lives in Israel. So commuting to the Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden will not be an option.

“I have more energy than I probably had 10, 15, 20 years ago,” Fischler said, but with his 86th birthday looming March 31 — the same birthday as Gordie Howe and Pavel Bure, he quickly noted — he decided to move on.

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