The Columbus Blue Jackets will recognize longtime television play-by-play announcer Jeff Rimer with a ceremony prior to the start of this Saturday’s home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena, the club announced today.
The ceremony will begin at approximately 6:55 p.m. ET prior to the scheduled 7:16 puck drop. The ceremony will be hosted by former Blue Jackets player and current television color analyst Jody Shelley and will include a special video tribute and gift presentations from Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations John Davidson and Bally Sports Ohio Senior Vice President and General Manager Randy Stephens.
Rimer announced last fall that he would be retiring following the 2023-24 season after 20 years as the Blue Jackets TV voice on Fox Sports Ohio/Bally Sports Ohio. His final broadcast will be the club’s season finale on Tuesday, April 16 when the Blue Jackets host the Carolina Hurricanes. The 2023-24 season is the culmination of a distinguished broadcasting career that spans six decades and includes lengthy tenures as the play-by-play voice of both the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers prior to Rimer’s arrival in Columbus in 2004.
His career began with CFCN in Calgary, Alberta when he was a student at Mount Royal College and in the ensuing decades included stops in Lethbridge and Edmonton, Alberta and Montreal, Quebec before his arrival in Washington. In addition to the NHL, Rimer covered the Canadian Football League, World Championship competitions, the 1976 Summer Olympic Games and Major League Baseball as a pre- and post-game host for Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles broadcasts.
The Blue Jackets return to action tonight when they visit the Arizona Coyotes. Game time from Mullett Arena is 10 p.m. ET. Live coverage on Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports + and the Bally Sports app begins at 9:30 p.m. ET. The game will also be heard on the Blue Jackets Radio Network, including 105.7 FM in Columbus, and online at BlueJackets.com.
