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Sam Rosen is entering his 40th season as the voice of the New York Rangers, and it’ll be his last as he plans to retire at the end of the season. So, to kick it off on home ice, he got a very cool tribute from NHL referee Wes McCauley.

The Rangers opened their season on the road Wednesday night with a 6-0 annihilation of the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a couple of days off, they were back in action on Saturday for their home opener against the Utah Hockey Club.

Before puck drop, McCauley took a moment to point up to Rosen in his broadcast booth in a very cool show of respect for an illustrious career.

“Take a look down at the opening faceoff,” Rosen’s broadcast partner Joe Micheletti said. “That’s Wes McCauley who’s pointing at you. Do you know why? Because he appreciates your years.”

“Thank you, Wes,” Rosen said. 

“Your 40th season, Sam,” Micheletti said after McCauley dropped the puck. “And everybody loves you!”

Micheletti then explained that as soon as there was a whistle they were going to scoop up that puck and give it to Rosen.

That’s just awesome. I’ve always loved listening to Rosen call games. I remember when I was a kid and my dad got the NHL Center Ice cable package and I thought it was so cool to hear other team’s broadcasters. 

I also didn’t have a choice because we lived in Pennsylvania, therefore, we couldn’t get the Flyers broadcasters because of blackout restrictions. 

Still, the three that really stood out to me just because I loved their voices and style were the late, great Rick Jeanneret of the Buffalo Sabres, Mike “Doc” Emrick (who was calling Devils games at the time), and Rosen. I think those were all on MSG Network, by the way. What a lineup they had in the early to late aughts. 

Jeanneret passed away last year, Emrick retired a few years ago, and obviously, Rosen will call it a career come the end of this season. So, I think I’m going to be tuning into some more Rangers broadcasts than I normally do just to give Rosen my own tip of the cap on an incredible career.