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Ray Ferraro

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Ray Ferraro
Born (1964-08-23) August 23, 1964 (age 60)
Trail, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Hartford Whalers
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Los Angeles Kings
Atlanta Thrashers
St. Louis Blues
National team  Canada
NHL draft 88th overall, 1982
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1984–2002

Raymond Vincent Ferraro (born August 23, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current broadcaster for ESPN/ABC and select Vancouver Canucks games on Sportsnet. He played for 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers (1984–1990), New York Islanders (1990–1995), New York Rangers (1995–1996), Los Angeles Kings (1996–1999), Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2002), and St. Louis Blues (2002).

Playing career

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Ferraro was a prolific scorer in junior hockey, including a 108-goal and 192-point season for the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Brandon Wheat Kings in 1983–84. He also was a member of the 1982–83 Portland Winter Hawks squad that won the 1983 Memorial Cup. Ferraro's teammates on the championship-winning team included Cam Neely, Mike Vernon, Brian Curran, John Kordic, and other future NHLers.

In his NHL career, he scored 408 goals and 490 assists for a total of 898 points in 1,258 games spanning 18 seasons. He was named to the NHL All-Star Game in 1992, held in Philadelphia. He also had two 40-goal seasons.

Ferraro had a memorable Stanley Cup playoff run for the New York Islanders in 1993, scoring two overtime goals against the Washington Capitals as the Islanders defeated both the Capitals and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Ferraro assisted on David Volek's game- and series-winning goal during overtime of Game 7 against the Penguins. The goal advanced the Islanders to the Wales Conference Finals, which they lost to the eventual champion Montreal Canadiens. Ferraro finished that playoff season with team-leading totals in goals (13) and points (20).

Broadcasting

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Ferraro retired from the NHL on August 2, 2002. He has worked for ESPN hockey broadcasts, including on NHL 2Night with John Buccigross and Barry Melrose, where he began working while still an active player.[1][2] On that show, Ferraro was often referred to as "Chicken Parm" by Buccigross after an accident with Chicken Parmesan moments before going on the air. He later worked as a studio analyst for the NHL on NBC, as a colour commentator on Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on Rogers Sportsnet West, and on Sportsnet's other hockey programs.

Ferraro works as a colour commentator and studio analyst for TSN Hockey, including the 2010 Winter Olympics for CTV. After Pierre McGuire left TSN for NBC/Versus, he became the lead colour commentator.[3][4] After Rogers Media, the parent of TSN's rival Sportsnet, gained the national NHL rights with effect in the 2014–15 NHL season, Ferraro became a colour commentator for the network's regional NHL telecasts, primarily working Toronto Maple Leafs games.

On May 5, 2014, EA Sports announced that Ferraro would be an "Inside-the-Glass" reporter for NHL 15 along with play-by-play commentator Mike Emrick and colour commentator Eddie Olczyk. The trio worked together for five years.[5] On November 23, 2015, Ferraro became the first hockey broadcaster to broadcast a game where his child also played in the same game, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Boston Bruins at the Air Canada Centre.[6]

During the 2019 NHL Awards, Ferraro was promoted to lead color commentator in NHL 20.[7] Also in 2019, he and Darren Dreger started a podcast, The Ray and Dregs Hockey Podcast, hosted by TSN.[8]

On April 7, 2008, Ferraro returned to ESPN to call his first-ever Frozen Four as a replacement for Barry Melrose, who left ESPN to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning.[9][10] With Ferraro switching from NBC to ESPN, there have been repeated rumours that the lead team of Gary Thorne and Bill Clement might re-partner at ESPN as well.

With ESPN regaining the rights to air NHL games, Ferraro returned to ESPN/ABC for the 2021–22 season, this time as lead colour commentator, sharing with Brian Boucher.[11][12][13][14] That season also saw him work him work his first ever Stanley Cup Finals series as a colour commentator at his ice-level analyst position, and he teamed with Sean McDonough, Boucher, and Emily Kaplan for the entire series.[15] Ferraro left TSN after the season to focus on his work at ESPN/ABC[16][17][18] and after Boucher left the network for TNT, he became the lead colour commentator on August 29, 2023.[19][20]

On September 19, 2023, Sportsnet announced that Ferraro will be a colour commentator for the Vancouver Canucks regional broadcasts on Sportsnet for select games and that Dave Tomlinson will call most Canucks games.[21][22] He co-hosts a podcast with Darren Dreger called the Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast.

Personal life

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As a youngster, Ferraro played in the 1976 Little League World Series.[23]

Ferraro currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia[24] with his wife Cammi Granato (married in 2004).

Ray has four sons, Matt and Landon from a previous marriage, as well as Riley (born December, 2006) and Reese (born December, 2009) with Cammi.

His brothers-in-law are former NHL head coaches Tony Granato and Don Granato.

Ferraro was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.[25]

Transactions

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Video games

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Ferraro was the color analyst for EA Sports' hockey video games from 2014 to 2023. He was the ice level reporter starting in NHL 15, working with NBC Sports' Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk.[5] He partnered with new play-by-play man James Cybulski, starting with NHL 20.[26][27] Starting with NHL 24, Ferraro was replaced by Cheryl Pounder.[28]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Trail Smoke Eaters BCJHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1981–82 Penticton Knights BCJHL 48 65 70 135 90 — — — — —
1982–83 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 50 41 49 90 39 14 14 10 24 13
1982–83 Portland Winter Hawks MC — — — — — 4 1 2 3 4
1983–84 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 72 108 84 192 84 11 13 15 28 20
1984–85 Binghamton Whalers AHL 37 20 13 33 29 — — — — —
1984–85 Hartford Whalers NHL 44 11 17 28 40 — — — — —
1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 76 30 47 77 57 10 3 6 9 4
1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 80 27 32 59 42 6 1 1 2 8
1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 68 21 29 50 81 6 1 1 2 6
1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 80 41 35 76 86 4 2 0 2 4
1989–90 Hartford Whalers NHL 79 25 29 54 109 7 0 3 3 2
1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 15 2 5 7 18 — — — — —
1990–91 New York Islanders NHL 61 19 16 35 52 — — — — —
1991–92 New York Islanders NHL 80 40 40 80 92 — — — — —
1992–93 Capital District Islanders AHL 1 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1992–93 New York Islanders NHL 46 14 13 27 40 18 13 7 20 18
1993–94 New York Islanders NHL 82 21 32 53 83 4 1 0 1 6
1994–95 New York Islanders NHL 47 22 21 43 30 — — — — —
1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 65 25 29 54 82 — — — — —
1995–96 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 4 2 6 10 — — — — —
1996–97 Los Angeles Kings NHL 81 25 21 46 112 — — — — —
1997–98 Los Angeles Kings NHL 40 6 9 15 42 3 0 1 1 2
1998–99 Los Angeles Kings NHL 65 13 18 31 59 — — — — —
1999–2000 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 81 19 25 44 88 — — — — —
2000–01 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 81 29 47 76 91 — — — — —
2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 61 8 19 27 66 — — — — —
2001–02 St. Louis Blues NHL 15 6 4 10 8 10 0 3 3 4
NHL totals 1,258 408 490 898 1,288 68 21 22 43 54

International

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Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1989 Canada WC 9 1 5 6 8
1992 Canada WC 6 2 1 3 6
1996 Canada WC 8 0 4 4 2
Senior totals 23 3 10 13 16

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Out of Bounds: An interview with John Buccigross". old.post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Robenhymer, Julie (April 30, 2016). "Ties After Three Periods Send the Fans to Twitter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Koo, Ben (June 28, 2011). "Industry Moves- Charissa Thompson To ESPN and Pierre McGuire Leaving TSN". Awful Announcing. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "Pierre McGuire leaves TSN for Versus, NBC". National Post. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "EA SPORTS NHL 15 Starts a New Generation of Hockey Videogames This Fall". EA Sports. May 5, 2014. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  6. ^ Feschuck, David (November 24, 2015). "The father, the son and a night to boast". Toronto Star. Toronto Star. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Makuch, Eddie (June 21, 2019). "NHL 20 Game From EA Revealed: Battle Royale, Cover Star, Release Date, New Commentary Team, And More". GameSpot. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "The Ray and Dregs Hockey Podcast". TSN. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  9. ^ "Eagles Carry Seven-Game Win Streak To Denver For 2008 NCAA Frozen Four". Boston College Athletics. April 7, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning hires Barry Melrose as its new head coach". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. June 24, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  11. ^ Marchand, Andrew (May 10, 2021). "ESPN adding Ray Ferraro, Brian Boucher as NHL analysts". New York Post. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  12. ^ The Athletic Staff. "Ray Ferraro and Brian Boucher to join ESPN as NHL analysts: Sources". The Athletic. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  13. ^ Coryell, Grace (June 29, 2021). "Dynamic, Diverse and Accomplished Team to Present ESPN's NHL Coverage to Fans". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  14. ^ "Ray Ferraro's move to ESPN all about work-life balance". theprovince. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  15. ^ Best, Neil (June 3, 2022). "ESPN's ups and downs in Year 1 of hockey's return to the network". Newsday. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  16. ^ "Hockey commentator Ray Ferraro announces his departure from TSN | Offside". dailyhive.com. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  17. ^ "Ray Ferraro leaves TSN after 14 years". HockeyFeed. October 11, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  18. ^ Bondurant, Jordan (October 18, 2022). "Ray Ferraro Steps Away From TSN Obligations Entirely". Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  19. ^ Marchand, Andrew (August 29, 2023). "Brian Boucher joins TNT's NHL coverage". Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Brian Boucher to join NHL on TNT as their "between the benches" analyst, reuniting with his former NBC teammates". Overtime Heroics. August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  21. ^ "Sportsnet announces 2023-24 Vancouver Canucks broadcast schedule". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  22. ^ Ewen, Steve (September 19, 2023). "Canucks: Dave Tomlinson calling games with John Shorthouse, with help from Ray Ferraro".
  23. ^ "Notable Little League Graduates" (PDF). LittleLeague.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2016.
  24. ^ Fitz-Gerald, Sean. "Ray Ferraro, a son's career-long grind, and the Olympic 'lightning bolt' that makes it all worthwhile". The Athletic. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  25. ^ "Soccer legend Christine Sinclair leads B.C. Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025". cbc.ca. October 16, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  26. ^ Bertz, Matt. "Breaking Down The 16 Biggest Changes Coming To NHL 20". Game Informer. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  27. ^ Arts, Electronic (July 26, 2019). "EA SPORTS - NHL 20 Gameplay - Broadcast and Presentation Overhaul". Electronic Arts Inc. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  28. ^ TSN ca Staff (August 17, 2023). "Cheryl Pounder to replace Ray Ferraro as NHL 24 colour commentator". TSN. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
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