NHL broadcaster Ron MacLean has apologized for making a comment about roofies before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
With the game between the Hurricanes and Golden Knights taking place in Las Vegas, Sportsnet did a skit inspired by the movie “The Hangover” that showed Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard asleep on a couch next to the trophy.
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After the skit, MacLean said, “The roofies, they’ll get you every time.”
Ron MacLean attends the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards at CBC Broadcast Centre. Getty Images
MacLean apologized for the comment later during the coverage of Game 6, acknowledging his mistake.
“I referenced a scene in the movie in which the tiger is put to sleep, Mike Tyson’s tiger. The Keepers of the Cup, of course, are asleep in the skit and I used the term, the slang term for the drug which has far more serious connotations in reality,” MacLean said.
“I should have made that connection. I did not. .. I know I triggered some people, I know I offended some people with that remark, and I feel very bad for that, and I want to thank you for bringing it to my attention, to our attention. Very sorry.”
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MacLean has been in the news for controversy before, staying silent during his former Coach’s Corner co-host Don Cherry’s comments that Canadian immigrants do not benefit from the sacrifices of veterans and do not wear remembrance poppies.
Ron MacLean apologizes after making a comment on roofies during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. @bnpeki/X
The Canadian also apologized for that mistake after Cherry was forced to step down.
The Hurricanes won the game 3-0 to claim their first Stanley Cup since 2006.
