Remembering Greg Millen, an NHLer, broadcaster and prankster who made his colleagues feel like family

New York Times

08-04-2025

'Scoops! Scoops!'
I always knew when I was in the same arena as Greg Millen.
That familiar greeting would come echoing down a hallway somewhere on the NHL circuit before I'd even had the chance to lay eyes on him.
'What's up, Scoops? What scoops are you working on today? What trouble are you stirring up now?'
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The barrage of questions and accusations would arrive in rapid succession and inevitably be punctuated with a hearty chuckle. That was vintage Millsey. Quick to deliver a good-hearted needle and always with the last laugh.
By that point, he'd already spent more time behind a microphone than he did tending a goal crease in the world's best hockey league, but he never lost sight of the player's point of view.
During the years he worked as Sportsnet's analyst on Toronto Maple Leafs games, he never missed an opportunity to tut-tut the beat reporters when he felt we were pushing a storyline a little too far or barking up the wrong tree.
Whether it was myself, Jonas Siegel, Mike Zeisberger or any of the other reporters covering the team on a regular basis, we always knew that Millsey was reading our work. He wasn't shy about making it known. The man made sure he was incredibly well-prepared every time he stepped into the booth to call a game, although he probably would have bristled if I had characterized his vociferous consumption of the Toronto media in those days as actual research for the job.
You always knew when Millsey was working a game.
Not so much by his booming baritone or a signature call on the broadcast, but the spilled coffee in the press box. The man absolutely loved to pull a prank and seemingly never tired of his old standby: sticking a pin in the bottom of a paper coffee cup before finding a safe place to watch while an unsuspecting reporter fumbled around with a leaky next pour.
That gag was cited by more than one Toronto-based media member on an 'in memoriam' text chain that started up Monday night after the NHL Alumni Association announced Millen had passed away suddenly at age 67.
His playing career spanned more than 600 games over 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings in a league that bears little resemblance to the one that exists today. Millsey would often tell stories about the perils of traveling commercially in his era and delighted in pointing out the various other creature comforts that were unavailable to players in the 1980s.
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He went on to occupy one of the most coveted broadcast seats in the sport, working regularly on 'Hockey Night in Canada' and earning a spot alongside legendary play-by-play man Bob Cole — including for Cole's last game at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 6, 2019.
However, what I always appreciated most about Millsey was the fact he had so many interests beyond the game he loved. He spoke often with colleagues about his growing family, which includes wife Ann and children Caroline, Emily, Allison and Charlie. He was passionate about the Master's degree in leadership he earned from the University of Guelph in 2014, which led him to outside teaching and consulting work.
In recent years, our paths didn't cross nearly as frequently.
I haven't been on the road as much as I once was during the regular season, while Millsey mostly worked Calgary Flames broadcasts. When last we exchanged texts, we wished each other a Merry Christmas and I told him that I missed hearing his regular Leafs observations.
'Miss the crew as well but thankfully my new Calgary family is a good group!!' he replied.
You'll note his use of the word family in that text. It's how he treated his colleagues.
Which brings me to the other side of Millsey.
Early in the 2015-16 season, my mother Linda became unexpectedly ill and I took a leave from my job covering the Leafs beat to help my family manage that situation. My mom wound up fighting for two months following a Glioblastoma diagnosis before dying in January 2016. Her funeral was held in my hometown of Cobourg, Ont., at the outset of the NHL's All-Star Weekend in Nashville, which prevented a lot of colleagues from being able to attend.
About the last person I expected to see walk through the doors that morning was Millsey, but there he was. He made the 45-minute drive on his own and came to pay his respects despite never having met any members of my immediate family.
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Unless you've been through that kind of loss yourself, it might be difficult to understand just how meaningful his gesture was for me during an incredibly difficult time. It was massive. It blew me away.
And it breaks my heart today to know that Millsey's family is now navigating its own crashing waves of grief and sadness after losing him without warning far too soon.
May they eventually find solace in their warmest memories.
Because here's the thing about Greg Millen: Beneath the curmudgeonly veneer he occasionally adopted and that good-natured ribbing he always dished out was a man with a heart of gold.
A man of great integrity.
A man who always found his own unique way of not letting colleagues lose sight of the fact that there are much more important things in life than the games or the scoops.
(Top photos: Noah Graham and Graig Abel / Getty Images)