Dan Dunleavy (born September 27, 1965)
[ ] is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
sportscaster for the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
. He was formerly a sportscaster with
Sportsnet 590 The Fan, and
Rogers Sportsnet.
Career
Hockey
Dunleavy is currently the play by play voice for the Buffalo Sabres on
MSG Western New York and
WGR 550 radio in Buffalo. From 2016 until 2022, Dunleavy rotated with Hall of Fame announcer
Rick Jeanneret, who was to retire after the 2016-17 season. Rick changed his mind about retiring despite the agreement he and the Sabres signed with Dunleavy, leaving Dunleavy to work on a year by year time table with the hope of eventually taking over as was offered by the NHL franchise. To partially compensate, Dunleavy's role has also expanded to include filling in as studio host for Brian Duff when not substituting for Jeanneret.
Dan was about to call his third season of Toronto Maple Leaf radio play by play on The FAN590 and TSN1050 in the 2013-14 NHL season, when Buffalo approached him about taking over for Jeanneret. Dunleavy accepted, mainly because of his concerns about being split between the two Toronto stations, each owned by two of Canada's biggest multimedia conglomerates (
Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
and
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...
), both of whom also held ownership stakes in the Leafs. The Sabres signed Dunleavy to a five-year contract that expires in 2018; Dunleavy has turned down other offers during his time with Buffalo and remains in negotiations for a contract extension. On May 9, 2021, unsure of whether or not he would return to the Sabres, he posted a potential farewell message in the event that he did not renew his contract. The Sabres publicly stated that they were interested in renewing Dunleavy's agreement.
Since the last update, Dan has renewed once again as the voice of the Buffalo Sabres indefinitely.
From December 2004 through January 2011, Dan called the World Junior Hockey Championships on The FAN Radio Network, alongside Jack Miller. That run included five straight gold medal wins for Canada, two gold medal wins for the United States and one gold medal win for Russia.
In 2008 Dunleavy called the World Hockey Championships on the Fan Radio Network, working alongside former NHL'er Mark Osborne. The tournament was held between Halifax and Quebec City. Russia won gold, while Canada was the runner up.
In 2010, Dunleavy called his first NHL game for the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...
who were playing in Anaheim, substituting for the vacationing
Rick Jeanneret; Dunleavy called his first NHL TV game for The Sabres on MSG TV in Ottawa in January 2011 and becoming a permanent rotating announcer in 2013.
In 2010, Dunleavy called his first Olympic hockey games, including the men's bronze medal game and the women's gold medal game at Canada Hockey Place (GM Place) in Vancouver. Dunleavy was the host for every Team Canada game on the FAN radio Network. Dan has also called
Canadian Hockey League
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey ...
,
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
, and
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...
games on Rogers Sportsnet. Dunleavy was the radio play by play voice for the
Toronto Rock from 2000 to 2008. In 2009 Dan also served as their
public address
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
announcer during their home games.
Football
Dunleavy also served as the public address announcer at the home games for the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...
.
Soccer
Dunleavy was the voice of
Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
on Sportsnet TV until the 2015 season.
Dunleavy served as the TV play by play voice of the
Toronto Lynx of USL Soccer.
Olympics
Dunleavy was The Fan 590's
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
reporter since the
2000 Olympics, having traveled to Sydney, Australia and Athens, Greece in 2004. In 2010, Dunleavy worked the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May Doan Nancy GreeneWayne Gr ...
in Vancouver with The FAN radio network.
Other
Dan has also served as a part-time host for Sportsnet's FIS World Cup Skiing coverage. Dunleavy's work includes being the play by play announcer for Rogers Sportsnet and
Rogers TV's coverage of the Men's provincial Curling Championships.
TSC Stores Tankard.
Welcome to CurlingZone.com - Everything Curling!
on The Fan 590.
Dan joined The FAN1430 back in the summer of 1993, working part-time on weekends while working five days a week at DC 103.5 FM in Orangeville Ontario. Dunleavy was part of Bob McCown's morning show, before working alongside John Derringer and Mike Richards in the morning. In 2001 Dunleavy took over the afternoon drive Sportscasters role from Scott Ferguson, who left The FAN to join The TEAM1050 radio in Toronto. Dan would remain in that afternoon drive slot with The FAN590 until he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs to become their play by play voice alongside Joe Bowen in time for the 2011-12 season on TALK640 Radio. His run at The FAN lasted 19 years. To this day he continues to join the station to call TFC MLS soccer from time to time, as is the case with TSN1050 Radio, alongside Gareth Wheeler.
Personal
Dunleavy was born in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
and grew up in Georgetown, Ontario. His radio career started in Welland
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750.
The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
in 1985 at CHOW country radio. He is an alumnus of Niagara College, where he was classmates with Rick Jeanneret's son, Chris Jeanneret.
Dan is married to 2 rescue dogs, Bandit & Timmy, and resides in Eden, New York. He met his wife, Brenda on the Sabres broadcast where she was the graphics coordinator/operator for MSG Network.
References
External links
Dan Dunleavy's Fan 590 Blog page
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunleavy, Dan
1966 births
Buffalo Sabres announcers
Canadian soccer commentators
Canadian bloggers
Canadian radio sportscasters
Canadian television sportscasters
Curling broadcasters
Lacrosse announcers
Living people
Major League Soccer broadcasters
National Hockey League broadcasters
People from Burlington, Ontario
People from the Regional Municipality of Halton
People from Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs announcers