Mike Haynes, who has broadcast Avalanche games from the team’s inception in 1995, both on radio and television, has resigned his TV play-by-play position with Altitude, BSN Denver has learned.
Altitude sent a company-wide email saying Haynes had resigned, for unspecified reasons. Exactly why Haynes resigned is not clear, but Altitude executive producer Ken Miller said the decision was made by Haynes – not made for him.
“He has his reasons, but Mike is the best person to comment on that,” Miller told BSN Denver.
BSN Denver has reached out to Haynes, but has yet to receive a response.
Miller said a search for Haynes’ replacement is underway, but probably won’t be finalized anytime soon, with the season still around four months away.
Haynes came to Denver in 1994 to do the radio play-by-play for the Denver Grizzlies of the International Hockey League. When the Avs moved to Denver in 1995, Haynes and color man Norm Jones continued their respective roles with them.
In 2005, Haynes moved to the TV side as play-by-play man, with Peter McNab, where the two have been ubiquitous since. Some of Haynes’ calls will live on forever in Avs’ lore, including his “How do you like them apples, Gilmour?” call when Joe Sakic fought Chicago’s Doug Gilmour and got the best of him.
More details on the Haynes story will be told as they become known.
0 Comments (20 conversations)
aaroncali
Sad day for the avalanche family. I’ve loved listening to Mike Haynes for the last 2 decades. He will really be missed.
robfields911
Hopefully it’s not health related, he’ll be missed!
kevincloud
Bummer. I like Mike and enjoyed his calls. Wish him the best.
Smooflay
Get him on the podcast this summer
Skyler Thomson
This is the worst news!!!:( ahhhh
Gummer
Moser!?
socalavsfan
Im literally distraught.
Speedlimit9
That guy truly hated Detroit, and it made the games more fun to listen to.
Ron Mexico
I’d love for Lakewood’s own Kevin McGlue get an opportunity in some capacity.
JeffD
He will definitely be missed.
Macca9229
I am going to be the voice of dissent, but I am not going to miss MH. Avs games really lack insight and feel like too much of a homer-run broadcast. When you watch some of the other teams, you get a look into why a goal was scored, the defensive breakdowns, the mans right position to break up a play, etc. When watching the Rangers (Rosen and Micheletti) or the Blues (Kelly and Pang) or half a dozen other teams, it feels like those franchises really hire top notch hockey talent to call the games for both the casual and serious fan. I am hopeful he Avs bring in a big time talent to both call the game and get more out of McNabb.
Dan G
The homerism of the broadcast is not really Haynes and McNab’s fault. They are paid by the same people who pay the players and are following corporate orders. Must say that this year was better than previous ones. It used to be like State TV.
mladen
I agree, But having said that I don’t think he was the same after his brain surgery several years ago. Couldn’t seem to follow the game for long periods of time
WesDogg
I’m bummed about losing Mike but I’ll be really bummed if they don’t give Marc Moser a chance on TV.
Chris DeMott
Moser does seem to be the obvious choice to me as well. I’ll miss MG though.
ljp78
Sad for Mike (regardless of the reason, I have no idea), happy for Avs broadcasts. It’s time for someone new. The easy choice would be Mose, but he’s really made such a niche for his style on the radio, it would be a bummer if he were on tv and had to temper himself. I’m hoping for someone new that we haven’t been familiar with.
tele_mon
I miss him already! Hope they give it to Moser, even if his delivery has to be tempered a bit. I remember Mike Haynes being much more fired up on the radio, too, but he made the switch, and I thought he was a big improvement over John Kelly at the time. I’ll miss him keeping the Avs-Wings rivalry alive all these years after the Avs talent faded faster than Detroit’s.
Bob_W
Whether you liked him or not it is the end of era. It brings back to me memories from 2005. The lockout was over and the Avs were entering the new era of salary caps and rule changes with a new coach, Coach “Q” and a new TV voice as John Kelly had quit before the lockout to return to his hometown of St. Louis. The new guy was Doug Macleod. He came with credentials from the Penquins and Coyotes and at least one article I read referred to him as “award winning”. He was a disaster. He didn’t seem to know the players’ names, he rambled on while he was supposed to be doing play-by-play, and I remember during an early season game at the end of a period when he was giving the summary he referred to it as the 1st quarter. He was fired after about 20 games and Mike Haynes took over the job.
He was also on Mystery Alaska!
Rich
It is terrible news to see Haynes leave Alitude but Mose is my choice to be his replacement…
Go Avs!
Forsberholic
Look, did he have some good calls over the years? Yes, but the level of quality for your average game call was pretty low. Calling the wrong players, missing blatant events in the game, not explaining stoppages, etc. Time for someone new. If Mose isn’t in the mix, Avs are doing it wrong. Good luck Mike.
Gieser0909
Maybe the new guy won’t say the word shutout every other sentence in the third period
Chris DeMott
touche.
knhl72
Mike will be missed. He “officiated” our wedding on the ice in 2004. Nice guy, passionate about hockey. Thanks for the memories, Mike!
BHGodlyGovt
So, are they going to promote Mark and Kyle to the play-by-play, or just keep them as the intelligent but hilarious peanut gallery that they are on the pre, intermission, and post shows? Lol. But seriously. And keep Mose at the radio. I have to listen to the radio sometimes, and it would be a huge disappointment to listen to a game without his energy and insight. Don’t lose us the best radio broadcaster in hockey!!!!! Bring in someone else.