Peter Maher, Longtime Voice of the Calgary Flames, Dies at 79

Peter Maher, the radio broadcaster who served as the voice of the Calgary Flames for 33 seasons, died on August 13, 2026, at the age of 79.

Born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Maher began broadcasting at age 14, announcing lineups for the local softball league before working stints in the International Hockey League and North Shore Hockey League after high school. He launched his professional broadcasting career in 1977, calling play-by-play for the Toronto Maple Leafs on radio, before becoming the first-ever radio voice of the Calgary Flames when the franchise relocated to Calgary in 1980.

Maher went on to call every Flames game for 33 consecutive seasons on CFAC, the city’s all-sports station, becoming a defining voice of Calgary hockey. He called the team through some of its most memorable moments, including the 1986 Stanley Cup run, the franchise’s 1989 Stanley Cup Championship, and the improbable run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. Maher became known for his catchphrases “Yeah Baby!” during big moments and “You can put it in the win column!” after every Flames victory.

Beyond his work with the Flames, Maher called the hockey broadcast for Sportsnet during the 2010 Winter Olympics, including Sidney Crosby’s iconic overtime “Golden Goal” that secured gold for Canada, a call heard on radios across the country. In November 2006, Maher was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a media honoree, receiving the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, and he was also inducted into the Campbellton Sports Hall of Fame, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, and the Maritime Sports Hall of Fame.

Maher retired in April 2014 after calling a total of 2,954 Flames games and 3,162 NHL games overall. That November, the Flames honoured him by naming the broadcast booth at the Scotiabank Saddledome after him.

Across more than three decades behind the microphone, Maher became one of the most recognizable and beloved voices in Canadian hockey broadcasting, remembered as an inseparable part of the Calgary Flames’ identity for generations of fans.