Tampa Bay Lightning: A Look At New TV Color Analyst Brian Engblom

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a new color analyst in Brian Engblom. Lets take a look at how he made his way from the ice to the broadcast booth.

At one time just like many broadcasters were once back in the day, Brian Engblom was on the ice playing for an NHL team. He endured the ups and downs of the season and knows exactly what it feels like to play 82 games in six months. He knows what it means to win Lord Stanley’s Cup (three times for a matter of fact) and has much knowledge about the game of hockey. Now, Brian Engblom brings that knowledge to the broadcast booth as the new color analyst for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Engblom started his NHL career with the Montreal Canadians after being selected 22nd overall by the team in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft. He was a 6’2 200 lb left-handed defenseman who played his college hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After spending some time with Montreal’s AHL affiliate and winning the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s top defenseman, Engblom spent the next six years in a Canadians uniform playing on the teams blue line. He helped the Canadians win three straight Stanley Cups between 1977-79.

Engblom was later traded to the Washington Capitals as he was establishing himself as one of the league’s top defenseman and spent two seasons with the Caps before moving on to play with the Los Angeles Kings. He spent two seasons with the Kings and finished his career with the Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames before retiring after the 1986-87 campaign due to major surgery needed to remove bone spurs from his spinal column.

Engblom finished his 11-year NHL career with 659 games played. He tallied 29 goals and 177 assists during his time in the league, and unfortunately had his career cut short due to the major surgery he had done after the 1986-87 season. However, Engblom would continue to stay involved with the game from a different perspective.

After retiring, Engblom would see himself working for many major networks around North America. He started with ESPN as an in-studio NHL analyst from 1992-2004 along with Versus. He later took a job with the Columbus Blue Jackets as the team’s color analyst during the 2005-06 season. After that, he moved on to the same position with NBC Sports Network and covered both regular season action and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now at age 60, Engblom will be in the broadcast booth along side play-by-play announcer Rick Peckham covering Tampa Bay Lightning telecasts. He is replacing Bobby “The Chief” Taylor who held that position since the beginning of the 1993-94 season. He stepped away from the position because he wanted to spend more time with his wife Jan. Though he will not be leaving the team entirely and will move to an in-studio role during television broadcasts, his rants about officiating and the way he unintentionally called J.T. Brown “T.J. Brown” will forever be missed.

Brian Engblom was a really nice hire and will serve well as the new color analyst for the team on the TV side. This move was hard for Tampa Bay Lightning fans to hear as we all have grown so accustomed to hearing The Chief’s voice during broadcasts, but Engblom will be a great addition and will provide quality insight about the game with all TV viewers.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Year In Review: J.T. Brown

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