The Toronto Maple Leafs have one year to give their Hall of Fame play-by-play man Joe Bowen the parting gift of a lifetime.
Since 1982-83, Bowen has been at the mic for either television or radio for the Maple Leafs, and not once have they won a Stanley Cup.
Bowen announced Friday that the 2025-26 season will be his last. If the Maple Leafs could win a Stanley Cup (who are we kidding here?) it would put a bow on Bowen's outstanding career and allow him to pass the mic off to his successor with a Stanley Cup ring.
And speaking of his successor, the perfect one might be in the place where it all started for Bowen.
David Bowen, Joe's son, does play-by-play for the OHL's Sudbury Wolves for the CKLU-FM radio station and will graduate from university the same year Joe leaves the booth.
There will be tons of interest in this job, but the Leafs would do themselves a favor by considering David. He's young, smart, energetic and he has a couple of years' experience.
And as Joe told me for a piece I did on the two of them, "He's a lot better than I was at his age."
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