Reports: Are Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph Returning to the Maple Leafs Radio Booth Next Season?
According to multiple reports, a contract between Maple Leafs owners/rightsholders Bell and Rogers along with Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph is being “worked out”.
Toronto Maple Leafs radio play-by-play man Joe Bowen and color analysts Jim Ralph may be making a return to the booth next season.
On Wednesday, yyzsportsmedia.com first reported that there were signs pointing to a return of Bowen and Ralph to the radio booth for the 2023-24 season.
On Thursday, Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reported that a contract between Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, along with radio carriers owned by Bell and Rogers was being "worked out" and that "nothing official is completed."
There was some doubt cast by Bowen during the final call of the Maple Leafs' final playoff game in 2023 when the club was eliminated by the Florida Panthers.
During the handshake line, Bowen chose his words carefully in the event he might not be back.
"Well partner, 41 years of doing this, 3550 games, if this is the end of the line, it's been a hell of a run for us," Bowen said. "I've enjoyed every moment of it. Hopefully, we'll be back next year. But we're not sure of that yet."
Joe and Jim did not go on the road all season long until the second round of the playoffs, calling road games from the studio of whichever radio station had the game that night (Bell and Rogers split the 82-game regular season schedule evenly).
In a summer full of media layoffs, the return of Joe and Jim would certainly be good news. But as of this writing, nothing is official yet.
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