New York Rangers Daily: Don Maloney explains why brother Dave’s TV gig is ‘quite a coup for him’
As you’re very likely aware, the self-proclaimed “tribal caller” Dave Maloney is replacing the retired Joe Micheletti as the New York Rangers TV analyst on MSG Networks beginning this upcoming season.
The move comes after Maloney served for 20 years as the team’s radio color commentator.
So, following a conversation on my RINK RAP podcast last week with Captain Dave about the new gig, it seemed only right to find out exactly what younger brother Don has to say on the matter.
“Well, we always thought he had a face for radio, so this is quite a coup for him!”
If you know the Maloney brothers even just a little bit, you know quips and sarcasm are a big part of their relationship. So, for that to be Don’s initial comment about Dave on the most recent episode of the pod is totally in character.
In fact, in my windup to the audience about my three-decade relationship with Don, I segued into how after working with Don at the Islanders, I had the chance to work with Dave at the Rangers for a decade.
That prompted this interjection by the younger sibling.
“Yeah, sorry, I’ll apologize for the whole family about that!”
But you should know it goes both ways. When I told Dave last week that my best friend growing up in Queens (shoutout to Crister Larson!) bought a No. 12 Rangers jersey with “Don Maloney” stitched on it back in the day, he fired back with a quip of his own.
“Yeah, well, that’s because his jerseys were available on the [sales] rack and mine were all sold out.”
You get the idea. If the back and forth between these two Rangers legends was a tennis match, we’d be in a fifth-set tiebreak at Wimbledon by this point.
But all joking aside, there’s deep appreciation, respect and love between the brothers, who were also Rangers teammates. Dave at 68 is two years older than Don, and was Rangers captain when his younger sibling was called up from New Haven of the American Hockey League in February of 1979 and proceeded to score in his NHL debut at The Garden on his first shot against the Boston Bruins.
Together they helped the Rangers stun the Islanders in the playoff semifinals that spring and advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in five games to the Montreal Canadiens. After their playing days, each made his way back to the Rangers. Don was assistant general manager working under, first, Neil Smith and then Glen Sather; Dave as radio analyst, working primarily alongside Kenny Albert, who’ll also be his partner on MSGN next season.
“I’m very, very proud of him. You know, you just don’t show up at 6 o’clock for a 7 o’clock game and say, ‘So, what do you want to talk about tonight?’ There’s so much work and preparation that goes into it,” Don told me on RINK RAP this week. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of prep. And I always admired Dave for the amount of time he put in for the radio work. He’s always been a great partner with Kenny Albert, I think they do a great job. I’m really, really happy for him.”
Don added that he thinks it’s pretty cool Dave will be in the same role that one of their former teammates — and good friends — filled at the highest level for years.
“J.D. really set a standard,” Maloney said about former Rangers goalie, TV analyst and team president John Davidson. “You think about through the 80s and 90s and where he went and became this global ambassador of the game. And anybody that knows John Davidson, his personality, he’s upbeat, he’s funny, but has a very good mind. … He’s a really well-liked, easy person to listen to. He made it simple, even for us players, to understand what was going on on the ice.
“Dave had a good model to follow and he’s done really well in his own right.”
Don shared so many other stories and insights that are well worth listening to during our conversation.
You can check out the entire interview on YouTube or can LISTEN HERE.
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