Maple Leafs officially announce Joe Bowen's replacement

The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially named Todd Crocker as the replacement for Joe Bowen as the play-by-play radio announcer for the 2026-27 season.

After 44 years of being in the booth, Joe Bowen stepped away from calling Maple Leafs broadcasts after a legendary career capped off with an evening of celebration for his career and legacy. The next question was though: Who would replace him?

There was a potential his son David could, and Toronto Marlies broadcaster Todd Crocker was also held in high regard as his replacement, but we had no official word until now and it looks like Crocker is their man.

Todd Crocker steps into Joe Bowen's legendary role as Maple Leafs play-by-play announcer

Toronto revealed they had promoted Crocker from play-by-play broadcaster with the Toronto Marlies to become the new voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs:

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Crocker has been with the Marlies since the 2013-14 seasons after spending the previous 16 years as a broadcaster for Hamilton Bulldogs broadcasts. The Marlies also posted a farewell to Crocker on their X account after the news broke:

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Bowen also threw a ton of support behind Crocker as his replacement as well:

Todd has been at it a long time. My son David threw his name in the ring, too. However, if Todd is the choice, he will get to work with the absolute best partner in Ralphie.

It's going to certainly sound a lot different for Maple Leafs broadcasts though Crocker's energy, passion, and knowledge is going to shine from the moment the puck drops and his enthusiasm when the Marlies won the Calder Cup was akin to a fan's - he went wild.

Crocker can't replace Bowen's legacy, but he can create his own

Now, no one is saying that Crocker is going to immediately make people forget about Bowen because frankly, that's impossible. No doubt it's going to be weird not hearing any 'Holy Mackinaw's' bellowed out through the airwaves, but Crocker can forge his own path.

With the legendary Jim Ralph at his side, Crocker is going to have a very familiar voice alongside him which will make any reservations fans have calm down a bit.

This is the time for Crocker to carve out his own path and become synonymous with the Maple Leafs' new generation of fans.

Stepping into the shoes of Joe Bowen is no easy task but Todd Crocker doesn't need to fill those shoes directly, he just needs to stand on his own two feet.

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