Skip to main content

Longtime NHL Broadcaster Dave Strader Passes at 62

Longtime NHL broadcaster Dave Strader passed away at the age of 62 on Sunday, following a battle with cancer. The hockey world was filled with condolences for the man known as "The Voice."

Longtime NHL broadcaster Dave Strader passed away at the age of 62 on Sunday, following a battle with cancer. The hockey world was filled with condolences for the man known as "The Voice."

Strader's career in hockey began with the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings before being promoted to the big-league club in 1985. He also spent time calling puck for ESPN's National Hockey Night before stints with the Panthers, Coyotes and Stars, as well as national games for NHL International and NBCSN. His resume includes three Olympics, 18 consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame with the 2017 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, the sport's highest honor for broadcasting. He will be honored at the HHOF NHL Media Awards Luncheon on November 13.

He was sidelined for much of the 2016-17 season after being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer in the bile duct, in May of 2016, eventually returning to the booth for a handful of Stars games, including a national call. 

• For ‘The Voice’ Dave Strader, return to the booth amid cancer fight is the ‘best medicine ever’

Strader received support from the Stars, who wore a microphone sticker with 'DS' on it affixed to their helmets; fellow broadcasters around the league pinned the same logo to their lapels.

Shortly following the announcement of his passing, an outpouring of condolences and respect from around the hockey world began. Here's a small sample of how Strader is being remembered: