NHL analyst Mike Milbury comes out on NBC after 14 years on the network. The news came Monday when NBC unveiled its line of game and studio comments for the 2021 NHL season and Milbury was absent.
“We are grateful to Mike for all of his contributions to our coverage for 14 years,” NBC Sports said in a statement. “But he won’t be back on our NHL ad team. We wish him well.”
Milbury, a former coach and GM of the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, was removed from coverage of NBC’s Stanley Cup playoffs in August after his live comments about players who weren’t so distracted by the bubble. the league because there were no women in the league bubble.
Milbury and analyst Brian Boucher were discussing the benefits of the NHL playoff bubble during the broadcast of the Islanders ’victory over the Washington capitals.
“If you think about it, it’s a fantastic environment in terms of: if you like to play and enjoy with your teammates for long periods of time, it’s a perfect place,” Boucher said.
“Not even any women here to upset your concentration,” Milbury replied.
The NHL condemned the comments as “insensitive and insulting.” The league said it communicated its concern to NBC, its US TV partner.
In a statement released through NBC Sports shortly thereafter, Milbury apologized for the incident.
“It was not my intention to despise anyone,” Milbury said in the statement. “I was trying to be irreverent and I took a step too far. It was an unfortunate mistake to take me seriously.”
Milbury had been marked by insensitive comments several times during his tenure on NBC, including other cases last season. In a qualifying phase game between Pittsburgh and Montreal, Milbury said playing on an empty field was like being in a college women’s hockey game.
NBC’s broadcast lineup introduces other adjustments in 2021. Mike “Doc” Emrick, the preeminent voice of the NHL games on NBC and NBC Sports for 15 years, announced his retirement in October. Kenny Albert, Brendan Burke and John Forslund were named in the highest turnover for the roles played by Emrick’s absence.
The network also announced it would incorporate unemployed coach Mike Babcock and retired NHL veterans Ryan Callahan and Dominic Moore to help cover the studios. The Maple Leafs fired Babcock as head coach in November 2019 after a start to the 2019-20 season with a 9-10-4.