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Cal Clutterbuck’s main focus during his 17-year NHL career was being physical, forechecking well, chipping in offensively when he could, killing penalties, and occasionally chirping guys on the other team, anything he could contribute to help his team win.

He never expected – and proclaimed he never wanted – to be in a broadcast booth, but this season, he’s jumped right into an analyst position at MSG Networks.

“You can probably ask that entire locker room, and they’d probably giggle and say ‘yeah, that guy said he’d never do any of these things,’ and here I am doing all of those things,” Clutterbuck said. “Feeling like a bit of a hypocrite at the moment, but it is what it is.”

Clutterbuck’s former teammates – who can confirm they didn’t think he had an interest – are excited to see him break into broadcasting.

“He’s always been really knowledgeable, so I’m not surprised he’s doing well at it, but I guess you can say it's surprising because he always said it was something he wasn't going to do,” Noah Dobson said with a laugh. “I’m happy for him.”

“It’s awesome,” Matt Martin said. “He’s doing a great job with it and he's enjoying it, he’s a smart guy and has always thought of the game from a high level. I think he gives fans and MSG a lot of insight into what's going on, not only on the ice but inside the locker room and where the mindset is at.”

Clutterbuck joined a rotation of other players turned analysts in Thomas Hickey, Cory Schneider and Butch Goring, who broadcast Isles games alongside Shannon Hogan and Brendan Burke. From his debut on Opening Night, Clutterbuck hopped on a moving train and picked up TV nuances on the fly.

“I was very surprised with how little direction he needed technically,” Hogan said. “Early on, we did a segment with Cal and Cory where we were talking about net-front presence. And I was very impressed with how able he was able to move from one part of that segment to the other, without a whole lot of handholding. He made it seem effortless and fun.”

Clutterbuck is no stranger to being on TV. His 17-year NHL career included countless on-camera interviews and live moments under bright lights, but there are some aspects of production that he had to adapt to quickly.

“The biggest learning curve is getting your point across in a certain amount of time,” Clutterbuck said. “It’s tough sometimes, because you want to get your idea out and sometimes it feels like you’ve been talking for a long time. But in reality, you’ve only been talking for 15-20 seconds.”

From producers talking into your ear while you’re trying to articulate your thoughts on air, to learning camera spotting, learning TV can be difficult. Hickey, who joined MSG broadcasts in 2022 after playing parts of 14 pro seasons, can attest to how tricky the timing can be.

“You might have a good point to bring up, and you’ve thought about what you’re going to say but you have to cram it into 10 seconds, or you need to stretch something without being redundant or saying the same thing multiple times,” Hickey said. “Those are the big challenges.”

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Hickey, who was teammates with Clutterbuck for nearly a decade (2013-2022), helped him settle in. With the analyst position being a reactionary one – where no two plays are alike and are impacted by a butterfly effect from the previous play – Hickey said it’s an asset to have another set of eyes when breaking down a play live on air.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me to have another player to bounce things off of,” Hickey said. “We see the game similarly in a lot of ways, but it’s nice to have a reference point to say, ‘Hey did you see that like I did?’ so to have that for our broadcast, we’re lucky to have someone who led the NHL in hits and had a really unique career, it’s valuable for us.”

Clutterbuck and Hickey are very close to the current Islanders team, both on and off the ice. Since they know the players’ tendencies during game action, Clutterbuck and Hickey can dive into the pro game for fans to understand in a digestible way, while taking fans into the team’s mindset and locker room dynamic.

“It’s a good way for me to stay connected to the team and the game in a fun way,” Clutterbuck said. “I’ve spent so many years in hockey that I know hockey well enough that that part of it’s not difficult at all. It’s fun to be able to share a little knowledge with the fans.”

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The Islanders’ broadcast crew has a unique dynamic. Hickey, a skilled puck-moving defenseman, Schneider, a goaltender known for his size and athleticism, and now with a physical forward in Clutterbuck, whose 4,029 hits still lead the NHL, they all see the modern game from a different perspective.

That, along with color commentary and storytelling from four-time Stanley Cup Champion Butch Goring, creates well-rounded and insightful coverage of every Islanders game.

“I think it’s a perfect generational balance,” Hickey said. “It’s nice to have that back and forth with Butch because we all see the game differently and had different experiences, sharing thoughts and deferring to each other. It makes our broadcast so much stronger and it’s unique to have all those personalities together.”

Clutterbuck has been able to show more of his personality on camera as time goes on, giving fans - who have always known him from his rough-and-tumble career - a glimpse to a side of him they haven’t seen.

“From that first broadcast to where he is now, he’s been able to be more himself,” Hogan said. “I think fans are getting the chance to see the real Cal Clutterbuck, the funny Cal, the guy in the room, the one that everyone knows, when before fans just saw his tough exterior. He has a bit of a sparkle to him, a little pizzazz, he has an it-factor."

As Clutterbuck continues to bring a unique perspective, valuable insight and some occasional lighthearted chirping to the MSG broadcasts, he credits the whole crew who have helped him make it a seamless transition.

“They’re all great, the whole crew is fantastic,” Clutterbuck said. “The producers, the directors, everyone who works there has been really great and helpful. They’ve made it a breeze.”