Leafs’ broadcaster Joe Bowen to retire after 2025-26 season

One of the best voices in the game’s history is ready to ride off into the sunset.

In a post on social media on Friday, longtime Toronto Maple Leafs play-by-play broadcaster Joe Bowen announced that the 2025-26 season will be his last on the air.

Next season will be Bowen’s 44th season on the call in Toronto, first starting out in October 1982. Since then, the Sudbury native has called close to 3,800 games, relaying many unforgettable moments to Leafs Nation.

“I have been totally blessed to be able to do ‘My Dream Job’ for this long,” Bowen wrote. “Thanks so very much to all who have made this wonderful career possible.”

Bowen thanked many people, including longtime color commentators Harry Neale and Jim Ralph. He also mentioned the fans, who the 74-year-old admits have been a driving force behind his remarkable career.

Bowen also stated that he longs for his final season on the air to be a fruitful one for the Leafs, the team he grew up cheering for, as they continue to try and win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1967, when Bowen was 16 years old.

“I sincerely hope that this will be the ‘One Before I Am Done’ season for the Leafs as they chase that elusive Cup.”

Since his first game at the old Chicago Stadium almost 43 years ago, Bowen has been heard on the radio while also spending several years on television for regional broadcasts up until 2014. His connection with Leafs fans is something that few broadcasters have ever been able to do. While there were many instances in which he showed his fandom, Bowen has always given a fair shake to the opposing team, which seemed to be an easy thing to do when the Leafs were a rough team to watch through much of the 80s and for years after the 2004-05 lockout.

Even though the team had some hardships, Bowen was on the call for many of the team’s memorable moments throughout modern history. From the team’s incredible runs in the early ’90s with Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark to the franchise’s playoff runs while Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker were at their peak, as well as the current age of young stars like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner capturing the imagination of fans from far and wide, Bowen has been there to tell you their stories, seemingly enhancing the players’ and team’s greatness.

Bowen received the ultimate recognition as one of hockey’s best broadcasters in 2018, when he earned the Hockey Hall of Fames’ Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.

Prior to working for the Leafs, Bowen was the voice of the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League, as well as a brief spell with the American Hockey League’s Nova Scotia Voyageurs.