The New Jersey Devils surprised everyone on Monday. The shocking move didn’t affect their roster and who was on the ice -- in fact, it affected who would be in the broadcast booth and on viewers' television screens.
New York sports radio legend Don LaGreca was announced as the team’s new play-by-play broadcaster on MSG Networks. He replaces Bill Spaulding, who held the position for the past three seasons following the retirement of Steve Cangelosi. Franchise legend and three-time Stanley Cup champion Ken Danyeko remains the color commentator.
LaGreca is a long time radio host for ESPN New York, being with them since the station's inception. He can currently be heard on “Don, Hahn and Rosenberg” with cohosts Bart Hahn and Peter Rosenberg. Prior to the end of last year, he and Rosenberg were a part of the trio that broadcast “The Michael Kay Show” with New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay. LaGreca often went viral for his over the top and comical “rants” about various topics on the show.
LaGreca is a longtime hockey fan who grew up watching the Devils in New Jersey and considers this gig his “dream job." His co-host Bart Hahn was quick to let viewers know of his fandom with a 1995 cup tattoo LaGreca has (he later added “2000,” but the “2003” championship is interestingly missing). When it comes to hockey broadcasting, LaGreca was the radio host of the New York Rangers. Fans might be skeptical that his professional relationship is taking him from one side of the Hudson River Rivalry to the other.
LaGreca is also a friend here at Puck Prose. A few seasons back, we interviewed him about his hockey-centered sports betting segment “Ice Picks” and the NHL's approach to sports betting. We were invited back a few weeks later after the 2019 NHL Draft where the Devils and Rangers had the first and second overall picks and we discussed the state of New York hockey.
LaGreca told us about growing up a Devils fan all those years ago and watching them win the 1995 Stanley Cup. Let’s be clear, his Devils fandom was never a “secret” from anybody. As for the people saying “but he was the Rangers broadcaster” -- remember, that was a professional relationship. Very few of us will ever be in a situation where an NHL team is signing our paychecks. That’s not a fair criticism to say “well, he worked for the enemy."
Think if you know anyone who’s ever wanted to work in hockey (maybe that’s yourself). Think to yourself if you were offered your dream job in the sport, but it would be for a team you don’t necessarily root for, would you take it? If you’re serious about pursuing a career in sports entertainment and know how difficult the career field is, you’d most likely say yes. Like we mentioned before, the Devils and Rangers are an interesting example because they’re division rivals less than 15 miles from each other in the same media market.
The timing of this all is interesting in the sense that LaGreca’s decades-old role as “Michael Kay’s sidekick” ended last December. Then the job of replacing Sam Rosen as lead New York Rangers broadcaster went to Kenny Albert. MSG Networks had let go popular team reporter Erika Wachter last season. Now LaGreca and Kay find themselves as sportscasters on competing regional sports networks (Kay broadcasts Yankee games on YES Network).
Bill Spaulding was well liked by fans and received a goodbye message from the team as well as releasing his own heartfelt message. LaGreca might not be traveling far, but being on the opposite end of one of the NHL’s closest rivalries is sure going to take getting used to.