from the CP,

Radio broadcast crews for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks are not on site for road games this season. The English radio crew for the Montreal Canadiens also remains grounded.

Remote coverage that was previously a necessity due to travel restrictions has become the new normal for radio broadcasters who are being told to stay home and call road games off a screen.

“It’s not perfect, far from it, I’m somewhat embarrassed that we’re not there,” said longtime Maple Leafs radio broadcaster Joe Bowen. “But that’s the situation that it is. So we’re trying to do the best we can under what we feel are some difficult circumstances.”..

“COVID presented lots of challenges for the league, including for our broadcasters,” Gary Meagher, the NHL’s senior executive vice-president of communications, said in an email. “They adapted to calling games remotely for the better part of two seasons with a dedication to their craft.

“While 95 per cent of our broadcasters are now back to calling games in-arena, we know that the handful of radio crews that are still calling games remotely are providing their fans with the unmatched professionalism to which they are accustomed.”...

Broadcaster Paul Romanuk, who has called hockey and Raptors games over his career and made remote calls for Olympic coverage, said there is much to be gained by in-person staffing.

When a call is made from a screen, Romanuk said, the radio crew is simply limited in its ability to deliver the best possible product.

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