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John Kelly (born July 25, 1960, in Ottawa, Ontario) is a hockey play-by-play announcer for the St. Louis Blues. He is the son of the late Dan Kelly.[1] Kelly joined his father in the broadcast booth, for a Blues game against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 17, 1988, in which his Blues team defeated the Flyers for the first time in Philadelphia since January 6, 1972 before his dad died on February 10, 1989.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] He joined the Blues' broadcast team for the 1989–90 NHL season[11] and remained on the job until summer 1992, when he joined the then-fledgling Tampa Bay Lightning.[12][13]
Three years later, he joined the Colorado Avalanche, who were moving from Quebec City,[12][14] where they had spent 23 seasons as the Nordiques. He documented two Stanley Cup Championships in Denver, in 1995–96 and again in 2000–01. He became well known in Denver for his proclamation, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!" after a big score by the Avs and, "SAVE BY ROY!" after a good save from former Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy. He left the Avalanche after the 2003–04 season to rejoin the Blues on their telecasts after the 2004–05 NHL lockout[15][16] and finally called the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals on local radio in the second period of every game.[17]
On January 13, 2000, he was confronted by Pittsburgh Penguins coach Herb Brooks for suggesting that Matthew Barnaby faked an injury after being hit by Alexei Gusarov with 27 seconds left.[18] Brooks was suspended two games for that confrontation on January 18,[19][20][21][22] having been suspended indefinitely since January 15.[23][24][25][21][26] Gusarov was suspended two games for the hit the day before.[27][21]
His younger brother Dan P. Kelly was the Blues' radio announcer from 1997 to 2000, before spending the next four seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.[12]
In addition to the Blues, he also worked the 2006 NHL playoffs on Outdoor Life Network (now NBCSN). During the mid-1990s, he worked on select regional telecasts for the NHL on Fox. In the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, he substituted for Mike Haynes, the broadcaster who took over his play-by-play role for the Avalanche, on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, due to Haynes' health problems before he returned next season.[28][29][30]
Kelly, whose minor league hockey assignments included the St. Catharines Saints and three years with the Adirondack Red Wings,[12] obtained his realtor license during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. He also subbed for Marv Albert on Rangers broadcasts during the late 1980s.
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