Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishNEW YORK — The headsets came off around 10:15 Wednesday night. A few more pictures were taken. Sam Rosen and John Davidson checked their phones, seeing text after text from old friends and colleagues once the TNT broadcast ended.“It’s like a family reunion,” Davidson said. “It was just a lot of fun.”For 21 years, Rosen and Davidson were the voices of the New York Rangers, a partnership between broadcaster and analyst that began in the 1984-85 season and ran until Game 3 of the 2006 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, after which Davidson moved into front-office roles for nearly two decades. Rosen and Davidson called the Rangers’ lone Stanley Cup win in the last 85 years and were constants in everyone’s homes through the good times (mid-1990s) and some bad times (late ’90s-early 2000s).“To me, they’re the best broadcast tandem ever,” said Steve Mayer, the NHL’s president of content.It was Mayer who came up with the idea ahead of the season, which Rosen announced as his 40th and last calling Rangers games, to bring the 77-year-old play-by-play announcer and the 72-year-old analyst back together at the end of this season. TNT was in.This has been a storybook ending for Rosen, even though the Rangers haven’t obliged with a storybook finish to what’s been a rather dreadful year. When he announced his retirement ahead of the 2024-25 season, he figured some fans would ask for pictures (they have), he’d have some warm moments with the coaches he’s huddled with before every game (he has) and then it would be time to work on his golf game down in Naples, Fla.The people running the NHL’s 32 teams have had other ideas. Every stop the Rangers have made this season has featured not just an ovation from the home crowd when Rosen was shown on the big screen, but an array of gifts and appreciation from teams whose fans have probably only rarely heard Rosen call a game. Former Ranger Jacob Trouba gifted Rosen one of his paintings last month in Anaheim. Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper and Kings president Luc Robitaille gave bottles of wine. Nearly every team, including the Rangers, gifted Rosen a jersey signed by every player.Maybe the most touching moment was just last week when former Ranger Mats Zuccarello wore a No. 40 Wild sweater with “Rosen” on the nameplate during warmups at Madison Square Garden.
Former Ranger Mats Zuccarello is wearing a special jersey in warmups to honor Sam Rosen’s 40 years with the team. Sam’s retiring at the end of the season.
What a class act. 💙 pic.twitter.com/K3hRiku78Z
— NHL (@NHL) April 2, 2025“It’s been overwhelming, heartwarming, rewarding and, in a way, eye-opening,” Rosen said. “As much as I’ve always gone around, made friends and acquaintances and gotten to know people in every city we’ve been in, you don’t realize how much you touch people until you get this kind of response that I’ve gotten. It’s kind of a revelation.”“He’s a New York institution,” Davidson said, “and not only as a broadcaster. The time he’s put in to make the area a better place, night after night after night. He goes all over the place and raises funds for needy people. He’s there to do it all the time, 40 years’ worth. He’s just been a positive influence for a lot of different people.”It can’t have been easy for Davidson to step back into the booth at the Garden. He spent two years as Rangers team president before being swept out by Rangers owner James Dolan after the 2020-21 season, paving the way for Chris Drury to take over. Davidson went back to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he’d been for seven seasons before returning to New York, and now he’s in an advisory role with the Blue Jackets.Davidson helped present Rosen with a gold-plated microphone during a pregame ceremony at the Garden two weeks ago. There are some lingering feelings, but there’s no place he would have been on Wednesday except beside his old friend to call the game.
Sam Rosen waves to fans during a ceremony honoring his retirement after 40 seasons calling Rangers games. (Danny Wild / Imagn Images)“It’s always hard, because you care,” Davidson said. “But that’s the past. I’ve talked to a lot of people, my wife, friends — we’re losing a lot of people in this sport. Greg Millen the other day, Ray Shero just today … You’ve got to live your life and be positive about it. This is a great, human sport. You think of this building, people coming from all over to watch a game. You think of the building staff, ushers, everyone. Coaches, players. You have to enjoy it. And I am enjoying every minute of this. Every minute.”Ahead of the 7:30 start time, the two old hands sat in their booth on the bridge at Madison Square Garden and studied their notes. Rosen spent the morning as he always does on game day, in the Rangers locker room at their practice facility talking with players. Davidson had been stuck in the airport in Florida on Tuesday evening so he used his time to call around to people who know the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, including former TNT broadcaster and current Flyers president Keith Jones, to study up.In the booth, the headsets were donned. They greeted the audience. The TNT studio panel peppered Rosen and Davidson with questions. Henrik Lundqvist and Anson Carter, two of the former Rangers who played in New York when Rosen and Davidson called games, had a couple prepared, including one about when Rosen’s “It’s a power-play goal!” and Davidson’s “Oh, baby!” signature calls began.A photographer from the Hockey Hall of Fame stopped in the booth to commemorate the night. Jones, in a booth nearby, also snapped a picture as he walked by. The game began and it was like old times, even though the two old friends were technically calling a game from the MSG bridge for the first time. Rosen gestured to the back of the old blue seats when he talked about where they called their last game 19 years earlier; the bridge wasn’t built until the 2010s.“We’re serious about the games,” Rosen said. “We love the games and we would never do anything to take away from the game. Even though perhaps it has less importance in the grand scheme of things the way the season is unfolding, it’s still a game that’s important to Rangers fans, to Flyers fans, and we treat it as such.”It was a wild one, an 8-5 Flyers win. Rosen knew he was on the national telecast, so the Flyers goals that might have gotten a little less oomph on the Rangers’ home network got equal time in his calls. Ushers on the bridge brought fans down between periods to say hi, wish Rosen well and take a few photos. He hasn’t turned anyone aside all year.And then, after a busy third period, it was done. They thanked each other on the air, then off it, with a warm hug and plenty of smiles. Davidson rated his analyst performance “just OK,” drawing a dismissive gesture from Rosen. Plans were made to meet up in Florida. Davidson headed off to his hotel for a quick rest, then an early flight back down south.There are only a few games left in Rosen’s broadcasting career. Davidson was thrilled he got to be by his side one last time.“I’d do anything for him,” he said. “And I loved it.”(Photo of John Davidson, left, and Sam Rosen: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
