Bruins announcer makes on-air jokes about opposing player’s weight

Boston Bruins play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards, who has had controversial takes in the past, made fun of an opposing player’s weight during Tuesday’s NESN broadcast.

Discussing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Pat Maroon during the Bruins’ 3-1 victory, Edwards noted that the rugged forward was listed as 238 pounds.

‘That was Day 1 of training camp,’ Edwards said. ‘I’ve got a feeling he’s had a few more pizzas between then and now.’

Edwards added: ‘(Intermittent) fasting for Pat Maroon is like four hours without a meal.’

Maroon pulled off a rarity when he won back-to-back Stanley Cups with different teams: the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and Lightning in 2020. He followed that up with a third consecutive championship in 2021 and reached the Final with Tampa Bay last season. He scored series-clinching goals in 2019 and 2022.

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Edwards did acknowledge Maroon’s playoff achievements: ‘Hey, three Cups in a row, who can argue with his formula?’

Maroon responded Wednesday that he would make a $2,000 donation in Edwards’ name to Tampa Bay Thrives ‘in support of those struggling with mental health, bullying and body image.’ He encouraged others to do the same.

Edwards has made controversial remarks before. In 2019, he called it ‘a little bit of bad hockey karma’ when then-Dallas Stars defenseman Roman Polak was injured trying to make a hit. Polak ended up being taken off the ice on a stretcher.

Edwards drew the ire of the Carolina Hurricanes with his tweet about Andrei Svechnikov’s injury during a battle for position with then-Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara in 2020.

‘What NBC hasn’t shown yet, regarding the unfortunate injury to Svechnikov: the Carolina wing playing hobby-horse, riding Chara on the back apron of the goal,’ Edwards tweeted. ‘You poke the bear, you take your chances. No one wanted to see Svechnikov hurt, but he bit off more than he could chew.’

Allan Walsh, who represents Polak, was critical of Edwards on Wednesday, tweeting, ‘Jack Edwards is a disgrace the way he gets off attacking players for things that have nothing to do with how they play hockey.’