It’s not the way Joe Bowen once envisioned his exit season with the Maple Leafs would unfold.

He’ll only call home games again from Scotiabank Arena, with road contests restricted to a barren studio monitor, while the team has yet to provide him a signature Stanley Cup winning script with just one spring remaining.

But the 74-year-old Hockey Hall of Fame play-by-play man, known for his booming vocal cords, is at quiet personal peace as his final season approaches. He’s been through a few seismic shifts in the broadcast industry in nearly half a century, that took him from radio to television and back to radio, working for multiple networks while visiting far flung cities in an ever-expanding NHL.

Since COVID-19, however, the buzz of calling Leafs games from road arenas, especially those packed with blue and white fans and meeting his legion of friends , was cut for financial and logistical reasons by MLSE’s broadcast parents.

During at least one off-season there was concern Bowen and his long-time witty colour analyst Jim Ralph wouldn’t have their contracts renewed in favour of a simulcast.

“I am a old curmudgeon and I don’t take change well,” Bowen said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed (when his travel ended).

“Yet it’s not the reason I’m leaving (having announced his decision in summer). I’m my own worst critic and I’m not always at my best anymore.

“I realize I’ve been at this a long time and it’s been great. I hope the next young man who comes into my spot will enjoy it as much as I did .”

On Thursday, the club announced an official tribute night for Bowen, Dec. 16 at Scotiabank Arena during the game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Bowen called his first Leaf game on Oct. 6, 1982 versus the Blackhawks, at the old Stadium, the Madhouse on Madison.

He’d navigated a nervous taxi ride through what was one of the Windy City’s worst neighbourhoods and was dogged by technical difficulties at the rink that weren’t cleared up until right at puck-drop.

That was almost 3,800 games ago for the Sudbury native.

“It’s the fans who have kept me going,” Bowen said. “It’s supposed to be a job, but I sit beside Ralphie every night and it’s like going to a bar, watching a game and joking around. We just have to make sure we get the score right at the end.”

When Sam Rosen ended his 40-year-career with MSG Networks, the Rangers’ broadcaster was feted in every visiting rink on his ‘farewell tour’.

But with a celebration date now determined and Wednesday’s season opener against the Montreal Canadiens in sight, Bowen is going to make the most of his last season, no matter his locale. What he’ll remember most is the quiet pride of breaking pioneer Foster Hewitt’s record of 41 years at the mic — “my idol”, he said — reaching 44 by the spring.

The last time Bowen dropped a ceremonial puck as he’ll do in December was for his 2,500th game, a gesture by then general manager John Ferguson Jr.

“Nobody represents the passion of Leaf Nation more than Joe,” said current GM Brad Treliving in a release. “His signature voice has been the soundtrack for so many iconic moments for the team over the past 44 years.”

Bowen said he was “overwhelmed” when told of the tribute and looks forward to his whole family being on the ice, too.

“Dave Haggith (an MLSE’s senior vice-president) and I went through the games and we thought Chicago was a good match with how I started. Nick Foligno is their captain and I called a lot of games with his father Mike playing for the Sudbury Wolves and later the Leafs, so it’s great Nick will be at centre that night.”

Bowen has a book in the works with former Toronto Sun sports editor Scott Morrison for a release sometime in 2027. A Leafs Cup run would be the ideal closing chapter, but as much as working into next June is Bowen’s desire, no Cup wouldn’t mean career unfullfilment.

“You’d bet I’d want to call one Cup,” said Bowen, who was in the booth for four conference championships between 1993 and 2002. “But it wouldn’t be as upsetting as people might think. I’ve just too much fun doing this along the way.”

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