Longtime Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Scott Oake to retire after 2025-26 season
One of the fixtures of Saturday night for Canadian hockey fans is ready to hang up the microphone.
On Saturday night, longtime Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster and current host of Sportsnet’s After Hours, Scott Oake, announced that the 2025-26 season will be his last in the role, a job he has held since 1989.
“I hoped to go out quietly, but that ship has sailed,” the 72-year-old-old said on air from Edmonton after the Edmonton Oilers fell 5-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights. “The decision to retire is mine, I’m going out on my own terms, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity, because not everybody in this business gets it.”
While the April 11 matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks will mark his final regular-season broadcast and farewell to the “After Hours” interview series he helped build in 2000 and again in 2016, Oake will continue to be part of Canadian coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
His retirement comes as the latest in a string of hockey retirements in the media and around the game, including longtime Toronto Maple Leafs play-by-play broadcaster Joe Bowen, who will call his final game on April 15, following Toronto’s elimination from playoff contention.
Outside of his time in front of the camera, Oake has been honored as a member of the Order of Manitoba and Order of Canada, the highest civilian honors in the province and country.
Additionally, he founded the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre in Winnipeg following his son’s overdose death in 2011 and penned a memoir about addiction, loss and hope in 2025, titled “For the Love of a Son.”
Following his retirement announcement, the tributes began pouring in across social media.
“A pros pro. Scott Oake has played a huge part of my hockey coverage over his career. What an incredible run,” former NHL defenseman Chris Pronger shared of Oake’s retirement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Wishing you all the best in retirement.”
Oake’s retirement announcement also came on a formative day for veteran Canadian broadcasters as well, with famed curling and multisport commentator, Vic Rauter, making his final call earlier in the day at the 2026 men’s World Curling Championship.