NEW YORK – The National Hockey league today announced that Sam Rosen has been named the recipient of the 2024 Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
The annual award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, was presented to the National Hockey League by the New York Rangers in 1966. It honors the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport’s development.
Rosen, 77, who was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been a prominent and inspirational voice in hockey since the early 1980s and is celebrating his 40th and final campaign as the television play-by-play voice of the New York Rangers this season.
“After four decades, Sam Rosen’s golden pipes, dedication to his craft and unabashed passion for our game as the television voice of the New York Rangers still resonate,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “When Sam is doing play-by-play, he not only keeps viewers abreast of the game and its surrounding stories, he uniquely sweeps up his audience in the unmatched excitement of hockey. Few fans can remember a time when Sam Rosen was not the voice of New York Rangers hockey. As fine a man as he is a broadcaster, and for a career spent in remarkable service to the game in the United States, Sam Rosen is a worthy recipient of the 2024 Lester Patrick Trophy.”
Rosen’s iconic signature call, “It’s a power play goal!” and his words as the Rangers secured the 1994 Stanley Cup championship in Game 7 of the Final, “The waiting is over, the New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup champions, and this one will last a lifetime!” are indelible nuggets of franchise lore.
In addition to his time behind the Ranger microphone, which began in a backup role in the 1977-78 season, Rosen was the voice of the Stanley Cup Final on NHL Radio for 13 years, from 1996-2008, and also called nationally-televised NHL games on ESPN, in addition to assignments on multiple other sports, from 1979-88. His hockey play-by-play credits also include the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and, outside of the hockey world, he lent his talents to FOX Network NFL telecasts for 23 seasons (1997-2019) and to boxing on MSG Networks for over a decade (1982-1993).
Rosen has captured four New York Emmy Awards for his Ranger telecast work, as well as eight additional nominations for achievement in play-by-play. He also received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2016, earning him membership in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and he was a 2008 inductee of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. In July, he was honored with membership in the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame.
Rosen will be formally honored as part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh, at the Omni William Penn Hotel. That event will include the enshrinement of U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2024 honorees Matt Cullen, Brianna Decker, the late Frederic McLaughlin, Kevin Stevens and the 2002 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.
Past winners of the Lester Patrick Trophy include Joe Bertagna (2003), Warren Strelow (2022), Jack Barzee (2021), Lynn Olson (2020), Dr. Jack Blatherwick (2019), Jim Johansson (2018), Peter Lindberg & Dave Ogrean (2017), Mark Howe & Patrick J. Kelly (2016), Jeremy Jacobs & Bob Crocker (2015), Bill Daly & Paul Holmgren (2014), and Kevin Allen (2013). For the full list of Lester Patrick Trophy recipients please click here.
