Kelly Hrudey was told on 19 June 2026 that Sportsnet would not renew his contract, and he waited until 5 August to tell anyone. When he did, he did it himself, in a video on his own account, and he thanked the viewers who had hated him as warmly as the ones who had not. He also said something that most people in his position do not.
Why did Kelly Hrudey leave Sportsnet?
He did not choose to. Sportsnet did not renew his contract for the coming season, ending a run on Canadian hockey broadcasts that began in 1998. He has said he was told on 19 June and described what followed as big changes in his life.
| Kelly Hrudey: the record | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Hockey Night in Canada studio analyst, and the Behind the Mask segment |
| Also | Color commentator on Calgary Flames regional broadcasts |
| Born | 13 January 1961, Edmonton, Alberta |
| Playing career | Goaltender, 1983-84 to 1997-98, three NHL clubs |
| Drafted | 38th overall, second round, 1980, by the New York Islanders |
| Broadcasting | Hockey Night in Canada from 1998; Sportsnet from August 2014 |
| Status | Contract not renewed, told 19 June 2026, made public 5 August 2026 |
| What he does now | Not announced. He has said it is not a retirement |
Sportsnet gave no reason, and none has been reported. The network issued no statement explaining the decision.
Was Kelly Hrudey fired?
No, and the distinction matters because it’s how the question is usually phrased. A contract that is not renewed is not a dismissal. His deal ran through the end of a season, and the network chose not to extend it, which is the ordinary way long broadcasting careers end.
What makes his case unusual is only its length. He had been on Canadian hockey broadcasts for 28 seasons when the decision came, 16 of them for the CBC and 12 for Sportsnet, and he had been one of the two or three faces of the sport on Canadian television for most of that time.
He said it is not a retirement, and nothing has been announced since
This is the part worth holding on to. Hrudey said plainly that the end of the Sportsnet contract was not a retirement, which left the obvious question open, and as of November 2026, no employer, network, club, or production has announced a role for him.
Kelly Hrudey spent longer on television than on the ice
| Year | Role | Employer |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Analyst, after retiring as a player in July that year | CBC, Hockey Night in Canada |
| From 1998 | Full-time studio analyst, and the Behind the Mask segment | CBC, Hockey Night in Canada |
| 2007 | Helped launch the Hockey Night in Canada radio show | Sirius XM |
| 2008-09 | Lead studio team alongside Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman | CBC |
| August 2014 | Joined full-time as the network took over the national rights | Sportsnet |
| From 2014 | Color commentator on Calgary Flames regional broadcasts, with Rick Ball | Sportsnet |
| 2026 | Contract not renewed | — |
He played 15 NHL seasons and then talked about hockey on television for 28.
Kelly Hrudey’s playing record: 677 games across three clubs
| Club | Seasons | GP | W |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 1983-84 to 1988-89 | 241 | 106 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1988-89 to 1995-96 | 360 | 145 |
| San Jose Sharks | 1996-97 and 1997-98 | 76 | 20 |
| Career | 15 seasons | 677 | 271 |
His career record is 677 games, 271 wins, 265 losses and 88 ties, with 17 shutouts, a 3.43 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage. In the playoffs, he played 85 games and won 36, at 3.29.
His best years were in Los Angeles, where he won 26 games in each of two straight seasons and reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1993, losing to Montreal. The Islanders traded him to the Kings in February 1989, and San Jose signed him to a two-year deal in July 1996 before trading for Ed Belfour midway through his first season there.
The night Kelly Hrudey made 73 saves
On 18 April 1987, he played a seventh game against Washington that went to a fourth overtime period and ended 3-2 to the Islanders. He faced 75 shots and stopped 73, which stood as the record for saves in a single game for more than three decades.
That night is why his name survives among people who never saw him play, and it’s what the Behind the Mask segment was built on: a goaltender explaining goaltending.
Kelly Hrudey’s route to the NHL: 38th overall and a WHL all-star season
The Islanders took him in the second round in 1980, 38th overall, out of the Medicine Hat Tigers, where he spent three junior seasons and made the Western Hockey League’s second all-star team in 1980-81. He then played in the Central Hockey League for the Indianapolis Checkers before the Islanders brought him up.
He arrived in a dressing room that had just won four Stanley Cups in a row, and spent his early seasons splitting the job with Billy Smith.
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