Kelly Hrudey says goodbye to Hockey Night in Canada as contract expires

Kelly Hrudey says his time on Hockey Night in Canada has come to an end.

Hrudey, 65, said in a video social media post late Wednesday that he was told on June 19 that his contract would not be renewed for next season. He joined Hockey Night in Canada on a full-time basis immediately after his retirement as an NHL player in 1998.

"I thank you, the viewer. You might have hated me or loved me — I'm OK with either," he said.

Rogers Communications took over exclusive Canadian national broadcast rights for the NHL beginning in the 2014-15 season, airing games on Sportsnet and Citytv properties, though Hockey Night in Canada games still appeared on CBC-TV in a sublicensing arrangement through this past season.

During his time with the show, Hrudey worked both in the booth at NHL arenas during games broadcast by HNIC and in studio in Toronto, working alongside show host Ron MacLean and other analysts.

Hrudey enjoyed a nearly two-decade NHL career as a goaltender with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. For several years that experience framed the Behind the Mask segment on HNIC, where he analyzed the play of NHL goalies.

Toward the end of his playing career, when his teams didn't qualify for the postseason, Hrudey joined HNIC for its playoff coverage, impressing the show's producers enough to ultimately land a full-time role upon retiring.

Hrudey on Wednesday thanked the show's directors, production staff and hair and makeup crew, joking that the latter "did an impossible job."

"You weren’t a co-worker to me, you were a friend," he said of longtime and former colleagues.

Hrudey, who was born in Edmonton and lives in Calgary, has used his platform over the years to advocate for mental health,