Albert talks excitement to call Stanley Cup Final in Q&A with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. Today, we feature Turner Sports play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert.

Kenny Albert is looking forward to calling his 10th Stanley Cup Final as a play-by-play announcer when the Florida Panthers visit the Vegas Golden Knights for Game 1 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS).

It will be Turner Sports' first telecast of a Cup Final after reaching a seven-year multimedia rights agreement with the NHL in 2021.

"A lot of excitement, given that its TNT's first Final, plus having the entire pre-game show (crew) on the road with us, which we experienced last year during the Western Conference Final," Albert said. "That was our last round last year, so they were on road. Just being around Wayne Gretzky, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter and last year, it was Rick Tocchet. This year, it will be Henrik (Lundqvist).

"Having those guys around, it gives it an even bigger feel."

The 2021 Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens was Albert's first on television (following eight on the radio) after he succeeded Mike "Doc" Emrick as NBC Sports' lead NHL play-by-play announcer. Albert and analysts Eddie Olczyk and Keith Jones have been Turner's lead NHL broadcast team the past two seasons and they've been waiting for this chance to call a Cup Final together.

It will also be farewell series for Jones, who was named president of hockey operations for the Philadelphia Flyers on May 11.

"We've all known each other for such a long time, but we've really bonded, and we had a real good chemistry amongst the three of us," Albert said. "It will be Keith's last go-around because he's leaving, but we've been talking about this for two years. The opportunity for our group, for Turner to broadcast the Stanley Cup Final will really be special."

In a Q&A with NHL.com, Albert discussed his memories of his first Cup Final, calling the longest game of his career, learning about Jones' new job, and his upcoming book, "A Mic for All Seasons."

How did you end up calling your first Cup Final in 1994 between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks?

"That was with NHL Radio and that was a crazy, last-minute thing because Howie Rose had called the '93 Final on national radio, with Mike Keenan (the Rangers coach in 1994), ironically. I was working in Washington in 1994 and I wasn't at any games of the [Eastern Conference Final between the Rangers and New Jersey Devils] because I was working down there with the Capitals, but I was also working at WTOP radio, so I had a day job. So, for the entire Rangers-Devils series, I was just in DC and then in the middle of that series, probably around Game 3 or 4 or the day between, I got a call asking if I would have any interest working the Final for NHL Radio if the Rangers made it because Howie would have his Rangers' responsibilities (Rose worked the Rangers brodacast)."

What was it like for you and your father, Marv Albert (who called Rangers' games on the radio at the time) to both get to call the Cup-clinching win in Game 7 against the Canucks?

"He didn't do all the games. He was busy because the (New York) Knicks were in the (NBA) Final at the same time. He was bouncing back and forth between the Knicks-Houston (Rockets) series, so Howie did most of the (Rangers) games. But they were both there for that last game. They alternated. … It was cool to both be involved in that Game 7. The other part of that is I met my wife during that series. We met after Game 5, that's the first time we ever met, and if the Rangers had won that night (to win the Stanley Cup), I probably would've stayed at the Garden and gone to some party. She was out with some of other friends of mine, and I would not have met them had the Rangers won Game 5."

So, if Dave Babych doesn't score the winning goal for the Canucks, you would've never met your wife?

"In my book, I wrote that exact line. If Dave Babych doesn't score …"

How long did it take you to recover from calling Florida's 3-2 quadruple overtime win against Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final?

"I think it actually took a couple days for the body to recover. I was fine during the game. I felt like I had energy. It was the longest hockey game I ever called. I had done three triple overtime games, but never four. One of the things that I think really helped as far as our energy level, and I'm sure Eddie would agree, is that our booth was not in the upper press box. We were on the concourse level behind Section 117. … Sometimes when a game goes that long, you have to remind yourself and manufacture the energy because it's such a long game, but by being there with the crowd right in front of us and around us, that wasn't a factor where it might have been it we were upstairs.

"I know others and maybe Eddie wouldn't necessarily agree, but I think as a broadcaster when you start to go that long no matter if it's a baseball game -- and I once worked a 20-inning game -- or a long hockey game, at that point you want to be part of history. So, I was totally fine if it had gone to a fifth overtime because only five games had gone that long. … It ended at 1:54 a.m. By the time we left and got back to the hotel, it was about 2:30 or 2:45 and the next day I woke up earlier than I wanted. I think I woke up at 9:30 and it felt like I either just got hit by a truck or came off a red-eye flight and didn't sleep. My legs kind of felt like Jell-O, and I realized I stood for a good portion of the game."

How did you learn Jones was getting the Flyers job?

"None of us knew anything about it. He kept it so close to the vest, so quiet. I was with him literally for the two weeks leading up to him taking the job and, looking back there were some clues that I didn't realize at the time. A couple of times during the first and early in the second round when he had a couple days off, he went back to Philly instead of Florida where his family is now, which I thought was a little unusual. But he really kept it so quiet, which he had to. If I ever had a secret, I could trust it with him.

"We all found out the day before Game 5 of the Devils-Carolina (second-round) series. We all had dinner together and that's the day the news broke."

This Cup Final will be his TNT farewell?

"I guess it doesn't feel like it yet because he's been with us for just about every game. He's looking at his phone a lot more because he's constantly getting emails and texts and on the phone working two jobs at once. All parties were great about him still working the conference final and Final, so that wasn't an issue. But he is a lot busier. He went back to Philly between Games 3 and 4 (of the conference final). He had a bunch of meetings that day and I think now he's taking advantage of the time between the series to do some other Flyers' work, but he'll be there with us (at the Final). He said to us, 'I don't like not finishing things.'"

Finally, when is your book coming out and what's it about?

"They tell me late September, early October. I got all the final edits and corrections and stories in by the middle of April, so, unfortunately, the four-overtime game won't be in there. It's already on its way to the printer, so I'll have to do a sequel. It's basically a compilation of early life and then early years in broadcasting, a chapter on the (Baltimore) Skipjacks years (in the American Hockey League), a chapter on Fox and how that all came about in '94, then a chapter on each sport, memorable games: hockey, football, baseball, basketball. There's a chapter on travel tales. … a chapter on the 250 or so analysts I've worked with in the different sports.

"There's a chapter on all the different Olympics I've worked. There's a chapter on the COVID years and how we handled the broadcasts doing a lot of games off monitors and stories about being in the bubble. There's a chapter on family stuff. Also, a chapter on advice for young broadcasters. I speak to so many high school and college kids and broadcasting camps in the summer. So, a lot of advice on the preparation and what goes into it. So, it's really a combination of all that stuff and funny stories that I hope people will be interested in and laugh at."

Photo courtesy of WBD Sports