Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - Remembering Peter Maher: The Voice Of The Calgary Flames

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

The Barn Burner crew remembers the legendary Peter Maher and reflects on the incredible impact he had on the Calgary Flames, the city of Calgary, and generations of hockey fans. For more than three decades, Peter was the voice of the Flames and provided the soundtrack to so many unforgettable moments in franchise history. We share our memories, stories and appreciation for a true Calgary sports icon. Rest in peace, Peter.Video Link: https://youtu.be/bp-JUduia8g#nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #calgaryflames CHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

buddies we just wanted to do a little something here we we did the live show earlier today and we had gotten word this morning about about the passing of peter mar but out of respect for people involved that you know we're not in the news breaking industry we wanted to at first find out if it was true and then let let things play out but we didn't want to go into a weekend and not come back until next week without, without sharing some thoughts about, uh, about our, our great friend Peter Marr. It's going to be hard. Yep. Um, legend is the word that just we would call him. That's, it's the legend Peter. It's the legendary. It's the Hall of Fame. Right. And it was not meant it's not a, oh, Hall of Fame. But it was never

that. It was meant with so much pride and, and esteem for him. Uh, everybody loved. Peter Moore. He's just synonymous with the flames and such a great man. There was so much more than just the guy that called the games. Yeah. Because you loved him as a person, but he also loved, you loved his voice,

you loved his passion, you loved his emotion. You loved everything about him. Then you met him and you're like, oh, yeah, this man is a great man, a good person,

someone I like to be around and cares about you and does things that, I don't know, a small town vibe just jumps out to me too, where he never was too big for anyone or anything. That was the one thing that stuck out to me is he had time for the little guy. There was no way in his mind that he thought he'd be better or more important than somebody else. It's that East Coast thing, right? Like just the friendliest people and an incredibly, incredibly talented broadcaster.

To grow up in the city and listen to him, call games, and then to meet him and realize, like, he's not just a talented guy. He's one of the most kind and friendly guys out there. from campleton new brunswick started doing broadcasting doing play by play at the age of 14 got his first crack in the n hl in 1977 with the trotoma leafs and then is for a long time for 33 years was the radio play by play voice of the calgary plant did not miss a game if i'm not didn't miss a game um i remember it was tough for him on when he was inducted into the hall of fame and they wanted to do the thing at the eye on ice level is like well am i going to have enough

time to get upstairs to start the game and i think rob kirk kind of stepped in for the first couple of minutes to say to call him a professional if you watched pete prepare the notes and the time that he would spend um no one prepared like pete and i actually was i had a conversation with kelly kersh last week not that long ago and he was talking about peter you forget now as we watch games. Everything's on TV and social media. We're really not that far removed from not all the games being on TV. And if the team went on a five or six game road trip,

they were out of your life. You may not know till the next morning. Did they win? What happened with some things? You're a paper view. And Pete would be on the radio at 8 a.m. the next morning. Here's what happened.

Here's what you need to know. If there was a trade or something, Peter Marr was the Flames fans direct and only connection to the team for decades, literally decades. I remember the 8 a.m. stuff where he'd go back in time because he always had notes. This day in flames history, the catalog of stuff that he has and it was just remarkable. I remember the first time I met him because he's got just such that booming voice. That's a lot of sound. come out from a relatively small or just a regular size date.

You just, you envision this giant hockey fans, the National Hockey League present. I was just always amazed. He did 3,000 some odd games. And you think about the Rolling Stones, you know, how many times have they played satisfaction? Like how tired are they doing this? Every night when Pete at the start of the game made it sound like, I'm in the NHL, I'm broadcast NHL hockey. this is such a thrill and never made it about himself.

There were always those little nuggets you'd pick up from Pete. Just, you know, it's about, it's about the players. It's not about me. And when you listen to Pete, it was never about, I called this game. I was there. He had the experience and he'd bring the stories to life for you. But he was so much just deferrent to the players and to the game. He wasn't.

He never lost. You play in your first. NHL game, like, oh my God, I'm in the age. That's how it felt like he was calling. Yeah. You're still a kid from Campbellton, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Like, and I remember, like, just all the things you're talking about, you know where it's like, well, am I going to be there for pregame? And just the, the, the respect he paid to the game, the dream that he was still living and hadn't forgotten. He always told a story about going up to Edmonton and someone in the Oilers press crew had told Wayne that Peter had said something negative about him. And he's like, I went right up to Wayne and I waited patiently. We had a great chat and just want to clear the air.

Like, I don't know that I saw a man respect the league, the craft and the broadcast more than he did. It was so important to him. And the players in turn respected him. He'd always see that when I'd be working with Kern. We'd be at the dome and it'd be leading up to the, because where the hot stove lounge, it's basically right next to the visitor's dressing room at the saddle dome. And Pete would be around there. He wouldn't spend a whole lot of time with us.

He was preparing for the game where we'd be, you know, joking around. whatever before they get this was time for Pete to prepare but as the visiting team if maybe they're there working on their sticks or whatever so many guys would come over to say hi and Pete and shake his hand and how are you and he how are your kids he he would just always have that connection and you think how do you how do you ever get that you get that by being the best and doing it as your life's work um i don't want to get you emotional but i i just always think of the story that you tell about the plane ride home from Tampa after losing in 04 and how crushed you were. And you think of the people that it meant.

It meant a lot to everyone that 04 run. It was a out of nowhere kind of event. And it had been a long time since the playoffs had. And again, it's not about me or the team even. But there were so many people, the city needed it and wanted it. And then there was guys involved, you know, all the players. for sure. But it's, it always stood out for me.

I don't know how to tell it, but it felt like you let Peter Marr down. You felt like I wanted Peter Marr to have that winning call as much as I wanted. Yeah. To touch that silver chalice. And it killed me to, to feel like you let Peter Marr down.

Like that's how important he was, at least to me and I know he was important to everyone. And you knew how much it would have meant to him to have another chance to call a Stanley Cup championship game. Yeah. And yeah, it, it, I think I apologize to him. Yeah. It's like, you're ridiculous. But it did have, I did feel that.

I was like, geez, we let Peter down. Yeah. This is terrible. And we did those morning shows long enough. And it obviously would predated us by a ton. But we were lucky enough to have Mar in the morning, eight a.m.s. well bober you know and there again

it's if you're a play by play guy you did a game last night maybe you flew after the like I can't believe they got to get up I had no sleep hey how's it going guys yeah never morning boomer well this day in flames hiss like he was such a pro and so fun and you could joke around with them

and have some laughs and that big booming laugh and I think about he would go on in the morning and he'd also go on at like five in the afternoon so double hits every single day it was when he would pump up frank sis and silver dollar casino they weren't a sponsor but he and frank were longtime buddies uh so pete it's the uh the flames and the kings tonight that's right boomer and uh got to tell you you get a chance before the game to drop by frank sis and silver dollar casino they've got a great live band and anybody else you tell the play by play you can't begin

giving out these free pod. You can't be doing it. They're not a sponsor. Now is Peter. Peter's going to, for his buddy, Francis, he's going to go on there. One of the, I guess two things,

I thought it was so cool. The first time Sydney Crosby came around. There was the PR group that took care of the penguins. They have one or two people. Sometimes maybe only one person goes on the road. But when Sydney came in, it was such a big thing.

They had one person for Sydney and another for the rest of the team. And it was like, wow, this is a big deal that Sid did a one-on-one with Peter in the hot stove lounge away from everybody else. It was just, this was one of the things that you do because of who Peter Mar is and maybe it was an East Coast thing or whatever. But no one struck, well, how come he gets a, well, yeah, Peter's. It's the whole famer.

Peter gets the one-on-one, and we're all okay with that. That makes total sense. And the video or the audio that we always ran, it was that game in Minnesota. And Mike Rogers is beside him in the booth. And I, because we've talked to Conroy about it. I think Conroy was out of the lineup or whatever it was.

So he's in the press box beside the broadcast booth. So Peter is standing up doing the call, doing his thing. And he must have been sitting down. And he gets up to do something. And as he goes to sit back down, The chair has kind of slid away from him. So as he stands up and then goes to sit back down,

the chair is not there for him when he sits back down. But he's got the headset microphone on. A face off deeper. Peter has hit the floor. And Mike doesn't know what to say. Is Peter okay? Did something happen? And you think about what would you do there?

You'd probably, oh man, I can't believe. I felt you all you kind of play back in, puck into the corner. Peter picks right up on the play by plate like doesn't miss a beat and he kind of chuckles in that microphone. You okay Pete?

I hope that audio lives somewhere. It was back at the radio station which no longer exists but that was kind of the best part. There's not, he took it so seriously but not so seriously that he was a, you know what I mean?

It was so rare. It was no. fun. It was serious and beloved. Yes. And enjoyed and respected. Not. Yeah. He could laugh at himself instead of being mad or mad at somebody who moved my chair. It was not that he saw the comedy

in the moment, but went with it. He is a just such an inspiration for everybody in this town and has been around the team. Hall of Famer in 06. So great.

Yeah. Him and Harley. Yeah. So great. I don't want to blubber, but I do need to get out of this, but it's, well, there's not just, we got we love you. And God bless you, Pete and your family and everyone out there. Of course, if anyone needs us, we're here, but. And it's cool that. So fitting that they have the Peter Marr Good Guy award. Every year, there's a there'll be one player on the team. McKenzie Weeger is. one. And it's, it's a perfect homage to him. Somebody who's good with the media or it would just, just being a good guy, because Pete was the ultimate good guy. The ultimate pro, the best guy. And we'll miss him. The Hall of Fame. McGill has a puck behind the net. He worked into the blue line, left side. Ferrence over to the right point to Warner. He let the shot go deflected wide.

Off the glass and left corner to a gindler left circle. Passing the yellow shot, same. Made by all the gilas rebounds. Another shot. They score! The Flames win it! Yeah, baby! Overtime, three, two.

Flames gueding the win as Martangelinea knocks it in on the rebound. Oh, a wild flame celebration as they score on the power play. Now it's the flames turn to race ahead. Kovasu on right wing to center. Hatcher belts him off the puck, but Leopold. carries on shooting the puck into the Detroit zone it goes around the end board or the minute to go in the first overtime period the puck's in the left corner in the red ring zone the flames have it Conroy those behind the net he's

wrapped up by Lang the puck in the left corner for a Ginla againla to the left circle a gilettosobos save rebout they score yeah baby Martin Delano scored the Flaine won nothing yeah baby final faced off in the Calgary zone 15 seconds left, nail biting time. Conroy wins a draw, into the corner to Regear. Each checked in against the boards. Battle for the puck continues in behind the flame. Cori Luke has it. Corioluk with six seconds left, passing in front. The pass doesn't work. It goes down the ice, just to the empty net. I score! You can put it in the wind column! The planes are Western Conference champions.

Yeah! Baby!