Former Vancouver Canuck Fan Favorite Kevin Bieksa Opens Up On Life After Retiring From NHL

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Cooper Godin
November 11, 2024 (5:30 PM)

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Former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa recently sat down with Irfaan Gaffar to share his move from the NHL to being in the broadcasting world.

Two years after Kevin Bieksa hung up the skates and called time on his professional hockey career, he made a big leap into the broadcasting world, landing an analyst role on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada.

In the years since he took on the job with Sportsnet, the former Canucks defenceman has been nominated three times for 'Best Sports Analyst' at the Canadian Screen Awards, finally winning in 2024.

Kevin Bieksa discusses move into broadcasting world after retirement

On a recent edition of the Down To Irf podcast, hosted by Irfaan Gaffar, Kevin Bieksa spoke about his transition from a professional athlete into the broadcasting world.

Bieksa said that his interactions with members of the media throughout his time in the National Hockey League made him more comfortable about the decision to take on an analyst role in retirement.

"I just think those interactions I had with you and with Dan Murphy and Shorty over the years made me very comfortable with it. I didn't think I'd get into media to be honest with you afterwards. I thought I'd kind of be more on the coaching side, but the media opportunities were presented to me. I was told when I retired, don't say no to anything. Try everything once and if you don't like it, you don't have to." Bieksa said.

The 43-year-old also touched on how the 2019 NHL All Star Game with Sportsnet was his first real media gig and it gave him the passion to continue this as a career.

"When I was still kind of trying to figure out if I was going to continue to play, I had Sportsnet kind of ask me if I'd work the All Star Game. That was kind of the first thing. It was in San Jose. It was close. I was living in California. And I said if I'm not playing I'll do that. So I went there and that was kind of my, other than doing a couple things with Scott Oake, I don't want to belittle that, but it was just a couple little hits during a game. The All Star Game was my first real jump into this. I was doing a three-way colour with Craig Simpson and Jim Hughson. Two pros, like two of the best. That was kind of the start for me to do that. And then I liked it and I tried a few more things. I had a really unsuccessful podcast with Ryan Kesler. I'm just kidding, it was good. We had about 13 episodes. We had some good players on. That also warmed me up to the possibility of doing media. It's just something that kind of fell in my lap. I like it. I ran with it. I love the flexibility it gave me. I was still able to be around my kids at home during the week, which was important because I have missed so much of their lives from playing." Bieksa said.

Kevin Bieksa has become a beloved analyst on Hockey Night in Canada, with Vancouver Canucks fans and other fans of the game too, tuning in every Saturday night to hear what he has to say. It's great to see him enjoy being in the media world and having success in it as well.