Hockey Fans React to Rumor Jeff Marek and Sportsnet Cut Ties

A report surfaced on Thursday morning that shocked the hockey world on social media. According to Jonah of @yyzsportsmedia: “Details are scarce but multiple sources tell me that for unconfirmed draft reasons, @JeffMarek will likely be no longer performing duties at Sportnet hockey. Details to follow. This would appear to include his podcast duties too.” After some confusion over what the term “Draft reasons” meant, the account followed up with:

“There is a ton of speculation as to the cause of the apparent separation, however all we can confirm is he was at draft & then he wasn’t hasn’t been heard from since & told most likely won’t be back either.”

This is huge news if true. Marek was a regular on Sportsnet broadcasts and his 32 Thoughts podcast with Elliotte Friedman was among the most popular hockey podcasts in the world. If he’s gone from the network, for whatever reasons, it’s a huge change for audio and video programming as NHL fans know it.

The early reactions have been varied, but most are of the agreement that Sportsnet is making a huge mistake if they are letting Marek leave. Fans wrote messages like the following:

“If the rumors about Jeff Marek are true, this is just piss poor pathetic on Sportsnet. Marek is a class act, and a gem to the hardcore hockey fan.”

“32 Thoughts is appointment listening material. The Jeff Marek show was the best version of the noon-hour hockey show. Hope everyone is okay. I don’t really know what my hockey consumption is like without Jeff.”, wrote @LukeMcGrath97

Cam Robinson, content director at Elite Prospects, wrote: “Jeff Marek is not only tremendous at his job, but he’s also one of the most genuine and kind people I know.”

We’ll be sure to update this story as more news about this potential split is revealed.

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