As Bob Dylan once sang, “I feel a change comin’ on” and in the case of the iconic Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, the change is upon us.

One of the best interviewers in the country, George Stroumboulopoulos, is locking the door on his talk show and opening one which leads to the HNIC broadcast.

Now before we all cry in our beverages about having some talk show guy hosting the flagship of hockey in this country you should know Stroumboulopoulos was a sports reporter for the FAN 590 in the centre of the universe.

That gives him some street cred when it comes to talking hockey and no he won’t be partnered up with Donald S. Cherry.

That duo of Cherry and Ron Maclean stays intact with Darren Millard and Jeff Marek joining the fray to complete the changes.

Now as for the rest of the faces we see on a Saturday night, it’s anyone’s guess as to who is back and who is sitting in front of the TV at home with dinner on their lap and the remote close by.

So what to make of this hockey version of shaking things up?

Well some fresh faces and insight might not be a bad thing in this instance.

It seems to me Stroumboulopoulos is in a no win situation for the most part with this new gig.

If he does well then many will simply say it was expected from a guy who could interview a fridge and get some good information.

If he flops, then we have the contingent who will point and say I told you so.

Now I grew up in an era where HNIC was pretty much the same format every Saturday night and we were comfortable with it being like your favourite sweatshirt to wear.

But like anything else there were some new minds getting into positions of power and things were getting a facelift in areas where it was deemed needed.

With the broadcasting landscape changing it seems each month it was not unexpected to see a move like this one and we should give it time to sink in, finding its own level before we take shots at it.

One thing we can look forward to is Cherry trying to pronounce Stroumboulopoulos’ last name.

That in itself should be good for a laugh.

sports@reddeerexpress.com