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“This is the biggest crowd I’ve seen in here with no food being served,” Miller said.
Generally that area of the building is where the pre-game meal is served and Miller quickly decided to make a quip about this – lightning the sad mood around why Miller was sitting there addressing the people in the room in the first place.
The 78-year-old Miller announced his retirement from the broadcast booth, a move that was not unexpected*after a rash of recent health issues over the last year. He said he hopes to call the Kings’ last two games this season and then will officially call it a career.
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“After 44 years 3,351 broadcasts, 57 years in radio and TV, I think it’s time to retire and hopefully have some quality time left with my family,” Miller said, while sitting next to his wife Judy.
Miller joined the Kings as the team’s play-by-play voice in 1973 and quickly endeared himself to Los Angeles hockey fans with his genuine personality and ability to tell stories along with his skill at accurately calling the action on the ice. Miller was in the booth for the “Miracle on Manchester” and called Wayne Gretzky’s 802nd goal, which set a league record.
In 2000, Miller received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was also inducted in the Los Angeles Kings Hall of Fame and the Southern California Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In 2006, Miller received the 2,319th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The press box at Staples Center is named for Miller and his photo is on its wall.
During Los Angeles’ 2012 Stanley Cup Final appearance, even though NBC had the broadcast rights to the series, the Kings gave Miller and analyst Jim Fox a chance to record their own call of the team’s championship, which the Kings made available via DVD.
“I mean it was clear when I walked around with him during (2017 NHL All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles), what he means to the Kings. He couldn’t move very far without being asked to either pose for a photograph and/or sign an autograph,” Nashville Predators play-by-play man and former Kings broadcaster Pete Weber said. “I mean that’s how much he means to that team and really, I thought he meant it even back in 1978 after he had just been there five years.”
Late in January of 2016, the Kings announced Miller would undergo bypass surgery and miss the remainder of the season. On Thursday, Miller divulged that last May he suffered a transient ischemic attack, which he described as “kind of a – a mini stroke that comes and goes and in an hour-and-a-half it may be gone and you feel fine, but you did have a stroke.”
He then returned to the team’s broadcast for 2016-17 in a limited capacity, doing mostly home games.
Former NHL on ESPN voice Gary Thorne, former Dallas Stars voice Ralph Strangis, TSN’s Chris Cuthbert, and*original Kings voice Jiggs McDonald*all filled in for Miller at points. Strangis has picked up a bulk of the games recently.
Miller then suffered a mild stroke around all-star weekend in late January, which led to his eventual decision to retire.
“I’m (feeling) pretty good I think,” Miller said when asked about his health. “The only thing that concerns me and probably always will is how quickly the strokes that I’ve had have come on with, for me, very little warning like that TIA that I had. One morning I got out of bed and was like ‘what’s wrong with my arm?’ and ‘why can’t I tie my shoelaces?’ And went right for the emergency room. Then the attack the other day at the all-star break, where right up until then I was hosting those events that (Kings president of business operations) Luc (Robitaille) talked about with (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman and interviews with Hall of Famers. I did four hours of those on Thursday night and they went well and I felt fine. And then all of a sudden to find out something happened like that makes you think about being on the road, being in an airplane, being in your room alone in a hotel in the middle of the night. It gives you reason to stop and think about what’s going on.”
Even though the tone and tenor of Thursday’s news conference was sad to a degree, there were some light-hearted moments. Miller explained how “Branko Radivojevic” was the hardest name he had ever said during a broadcast and unfortunately was forced to try to pronounce it several times during a Kings/Coyotes game.
“The game started, not only was he playing (and not scratched), the first five minutes I don’t think anybody else touched the puck and I couldn’t remember his name. I was calling him Stoyanovich,” Miller said.
Miller’s retirement in some respects closes an era of legendary broadcasters in the Los Angeles area. Longtime Dodgers voice Vin Scully just completed his final season in 2016 and in 2002 former Lakers voice Chick Hearn died at the age of 85.
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Miller used the news conference to point out that the next voice of the Kings will hopefully have a chance to create a new legacy with the team’s fans and create a different, but unique connection. The team has yet to announce how it will move forward with broadcasts the rest of the year. Instead, the focus of Thursday was on Miller and giving him his moment announce his time as voice of the Kings had come to an end.
“I think whoever gets the job, just do the job the best of your ability. Be yourself and take it from there,” Miller said. “My opinion is, sometimes maybe the first year or two fans are like ‘I don’t like that guy. He’s not what I heard before.’ And then they get used to hearing it. You have a whole generation of new fans coming up who are youngsters and they’re growing up listening to another voice and pretty soon they’re going to say ‘I like that guy, he’s really good.’ I think that could certainly happen in any sport with somebody coming in and taking over. “
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooperMORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS