Earlier this off season, the Islanders lost two of their MSG hockey reporters in Deb Placey and Rob Carlin. Placey was moved to the Devils telecasts, while Carlin moved down to Baltimore to be near his wife, who is expecting the birth of twins.
This left a pretty big hole in the Islanders telecasts, with MSG slow to name a replacement. Yesterday, MSG Network finally named a replacement in Peter Ruttgaizer.
Ruttgaizer, a Toronto Native, isn’t a newcomer to the sport of hockey – having covered the Colorado Avalanche recently for Altitude Sports Network. He’s also done work for CBC Sports, EastLink Television, TSN in Winnepeg and CTV in Toronto covering professional and junior hockey as well as the CFL.
Here are a few clips of Ruttgaizer in action:
In a story on the Islanders website, Ruttgaizer had this to say:
“I’ve always thought about working with the MSG family, and the Islanders are an up-and-coming hockey team with a great history, so I’m honored to have this opportunity,” said Ruttgaizer. “MSG Network and MSG Plus are two of the premiere sports networks in the country and I’m excited to get started with Howie, Butch and the talented production staff.”
As you can tell from the video clips above, Ruttgaizer sounds professional and has knowledge on the game. He’s also said the right things about the organization, which is what we want to hear as fans. Carlin and Placey were great in their own ways, but sometimes change is ultimately not a horrible thing.
The MSG telecasts will still be held down by long time play by play man Howie Rose, with the color being called by Islanders alumni Butch Goring.
