John “Cheech” Garrett, 74, suddenly on April 27. A colour commentator on Vancouver Canucks regional broadcasts for more than two decades, Garrett started as a player, initially drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 1971. He went on to play for the Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Canucks, before retiring at the start of the 1985-86 season. Garrett made his broadcast debut on CTV as an intermission analyst, alongside Pat Burns, during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while still an active player with Hartford. He joined CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada during the 1986-87 season as a colour commentator, going on to serve as lead colour commentator on Edmonton Oilers broadcasts before leaving in 1998 to join Sportsnet where he was a studio analyst on national broadcasts and handled colour for regional Calgary Flames games. Garrett started as the Canucks colour commentator on Sportsnet Pacific in 2002-03, initially paired with Jim Hughson and later John Shorthouse. He retired from Canucks regional broadcasts at the close of 2022-23 season. Most recently, he’d been serving as an analyst for the Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights first-round playoff run. Read more here. 

Jim McSweeney, 95, on April 25. McSweeney is best known as the voice of Golden West Broadcasting’s Radio Southern Manitoba network morning show for three decades. He arrived at Radio Southern Manitoba – which grew beyond CHSM Steinbach and CFAM Altona to include CJRB Boissevain – in 1967, but began his career hosting evenings at CKDM Dauphin in 1951, in addition to calling play-by-play hockey. He moved to Winnipeg in 1955 and CKRC, until the station moved to a rock format, causing a number of on-air announcers to leave. He joined CFRW in 1965, hosting mornings alongside CJOB founder Jack Blick. He arrived at CFAM Altona in 1967, where he was dubbed the “Morning Minstrel.” He retired from Golden West in 1996 at age 77, with the distinction of having hosted the longest-running morning show in Manitoba history. In retirement, he and his wife Tina moved from Winnipeg to Elliot Lake, ON, and later Kingston.

Dan McLean, 78, on April 24. Originally from Orillia, McLean began his broadcasting career at a radio station in Welland at age 15. After stints at stations in Kitchener-Waterloo, Regina and Saskatoon, he made his foray into television at Hamilton’s CHCH-TV in 1971 as a commercial announcer and later host of “Mid-day.” He went on to work at the station for 37 years, establishing himself as main anchor for 25. After getting caught up in layoffs in late 2008, he joined Bayshore Broadcasting’s Mix 106.5 (CIXK-FM) Owen Sound from 2010-13, serving as morning news co-host. Among the accolades he earned over the course of his career was an RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award and a Broadcaster of the Year honour from the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB), in addition to an OAB Howard Caine Community Service Award. He was named Hamilton’s Citizen of the Year in 2001 and inducted into Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction in 2010. McLean was also known for his charity work for the Hamilton and Burlington United Way, McMaster Children’s Hospital, and Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre.

John Murtha, 64, on April 18, following a year and a half long battle with cancer. Murtha’s 35-year radio career began in his hometown of Lindsay, ON. He moved north to Elliot Lake, before settling in Sault Ste. Marie where he had a lengthy career at Rogers Sports & Media stations CJQM-FM (formerly Country 104.3) and KiSS 100.5 (CHAS-FM) as both a news announcer and reporter.

Pat Hewitt, 62, on April 17, following a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis. A graduate of the Ryerson University Journalism program, Hewitt started her career in 1983 as a publicist and later news writer at Citytv. She moved over to Standard Broadcast News in 1987, serving as a reporter/editor and Entertainment-Lifestyles Editor. She transitioned into a similar role with the Canadian Press in 1994, as a general assignment reporter, editor, videographer, and photographer for the wire service, covering everything from politics to courts and breaking news. Hewitt left CP in late 2011 to join CTV News Channel as a Senior News Writer and Supervising Weekend Writer. She was part of the team that won the RTDNA Charlie Edwards Award for Spot News in 2017.