Denis Potvin

What the heck is the deal with this guy?

At first I liked him, but the more I listen to him the more he drives me insane. He has this annoying problem where he doesn’t like to finish sentences, he never seems like he is really “prepared” with stats, etc…, he often forgets peoples’ names (a couple weeks ago, he couldn’t remember Keith Tkachuk’s first name – he called him “Walter” or something), and he seems to not understand basic rules of the English language (eg: sentences are supposed to have a subject and a verb). A lot of the time, it seems like Dean Brown doesn't know how to react to his random babblings.

The man just appears like he isn’t mentally agile enough to be involved in a fast-paced hockey broadcast. I don’t know how long he’ll be doing the colour commentary for our beloved Sens, but I hope it’s not much longer. I am sick of him. He seems like a perfect Sportsnet employee – subpar when compared with the competition.

Here here! I'm having issues with his monotone delivery too, but he has to be more prepared, this is a serious job to have.

He's also a ridiculous homer.

tim1_2 wrote:What the heck is the deal with this guy?

At first I liked him, but the more I listen to him the more he drives me insane. He has this annoying problem where he doesn’t like to finish sentences, he never seems like he is really “prepared” with stats, etc…, he often forgets peoples’ names (a couple weeks ago, he couldn’t remember Keith Tkachuk’s first name – he called him “Walter” or something), and he seems to not understand basic rules of the English language (eg: sentences are supposed to have a subject and a verb). A lot of the time, it seems like Dean Brown doesn't know how to react to his random babblings.

The man just appears like he isn’t mentally agile enough to be involved in a fast-paced hockey broadcast. I don’t know how long he’ll be doing the colour commentary for our beloved Sens, but I hope it’s not much longer. I am sick of him. He seems like a perfect Sportsnet employee – subpar when compared with the competition.

How he landed that job is beyond me. He really really really sucks at what he is supposed to be doing. I hope they get rid of him after this season. He's brutal. He doesn't even know Sens player names which is very concerning. They have to hire someone else, ASAP.

SpezDispenser wrote:Here here! I'm having issues with his monotone delivery too, but he has to be more prepared, this is a serious job to have.

He's also a ridiculous homer.

Yes and no. I find that he's pretty hard on the home players when they make mistakes. My impression of him is that he has expectations sometimes that are a little closer to what he achieved than what players are really capable of.

By the way, he's a francophone, so that might explain some of the issues with the English language. I think he's real good overall.

"Potvin Sucks"?

Dash wrote:"Potvin Sucks"?

Heeheehee...I was going to use that as my thread title, but didn't.

Anyway, I don't care if he's francophone or not, his English skills are poor, his preparation is poor, and his delivery is beyond poor.

It's nice that he was a great player, but that doesn't mean anything when you move to the broadcast booth, unless your knowledge of the game comes across coherently to the viewers. In this case, that is NOT the case!

Edit: Oh, and I don't care if a guy is a homer or not...Dean Brown is a ridiculous homer, and I don't have a problem with that.

tim1_2 wrote:

Dash wrote:"Potvin Sucks"?

Heeheehee...I was going to use that as my thread title, but didn't.

Anyway, I don't care if he's francophone or not, his English skills are poor, his preparation is poor, and his delivery is beyond poor.

It's nice that he was a great player, but that doesn't mean anything when you move to the broadcast booth, unless your knowledge of the game comes across coherently to the viewers. In this case, that is NOT the case!

Edit: Oh, and I don't care if a guy is a homer or not...Dean Brown is a ridiculous homer, and I don't have a problem with that.

It's a matter of opinion. I find him quite good.

In fairness, Tkachuk's nickname is Big Walt.

But yes, Potvin is senile.

and he puts "Young" in front of every player on the team basically. "Young Wiercioch", "Young Greening".

Big Ev wrote:and he puts "Young" in front of every player on the team basically. "Young Wiercioch", "Young Greening".

I do that too. No wonder I like him

I don't mind him though. It's Dean Brown who is the real problem. Awful awful broadcaster.

Big Ev wrote:I don't mind him though. It's Dean Brown who is the real problem. Awful awful broadcaster.

Oh my heavens!!!

As a play-by-play guy, I don’t mind Dean Brown. I find he does a good job of calling the action. Sometimes he gets sidetracked during the play, and he is quite the homer, but overall, I feel he calls the game properly. The colour commentary is where you need the smart guy, and Potvin just doesn’t fit the bill. He’s the Bob Cole of colour commentators.

Hmm why did people complain about Gary Galley? He was great.

Potvin's analysis on goals and mistakes is really good, but goodness he can't remember names and often refers to the senators as 'panthers'. He's made quite alot of mistakes in his commentary and I'm hoping we get someone else (hopefully convince galley to come back).

With Dean Brown....I don't think he's that bad at all. You need a little homer sometimes and its good to have that nice consistent 'voice' of the senators, whether you like or not. And his play-by-play skills are obviously good; he works for cbc as well. Just get him a better partner than Potvin. I know our fans complain a little too much about everything....including commentary, but they're spot on with this one about Potvin.

I thought Galley was great. He brought that experience of having played at a high level along with the ability to speak coherently (for the most part).

Yeah, I had forgotten that Potvin liked to call the Sens the Panthers. When he actually provides understandable insight, it’s great, but those moments are few and far between.