Ron MacLean roasted over 12-year media rights agreement between NHL and Rogers

It was made official on Wednesday morning : the NHL Board has unanimously approved a 12-year, $11 billion (CAD) deal that grants Sportsnet the exclusive national broadcasting rights for NHL games in Canada. The new agreement includes national rights across all platforms, including TV, digital and streaming in all languages, for the regular season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and special events.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and the executives of Rogers held a press conference on Wednesday, which was hosted by Ron MacLean, who ended up trending more than the agreement itself. Fans on social media were ruthless with MacLean, begging the NHL and Rogers to sack MacLean before the deal kicks off.

Without mercy, fans were roasting MacLean, whose perception by the fanbase has drastically changed ever since former hockey analyst Don Cherry was fired from Hockey Night in Canada.

Since Cherry’s departure, MacLean has often become the target of criticism from fans on social media and it was no different on Wednesday during the press conference:

The new deal will commence with the 2026-27 NHL season and will be more than double the annual value of the previous contract, and seeing that the press conference was host by MacLean, unfortunately for the frustrated fans, it means that he will be around for a while longer…