Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi will not be back for the 2026-27 season, ending an 18-year run that became a fixture for many fans.
The program announced the news in a statement on social media Friday morning, saying the show had helped bring the community closer to the game and had spotlighted South Asian players and families in a way that was “truly unique in Canadian sports.”
“A decision has been made that Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi will not be returning. For 18 years, this show brought our community closer to the game we love.
It shared the stories of South Asian players and families and created a space that was truly unique in Canadian sports. We are incredibly proud of what we built together.
“To our viewers: THANK YOU! Your love, support, and unwavering loyalty meant everything to us.
You welcomed us into your homes, shared your stories with us, and made this show what it became. We are grateful for every moment we shared with you.
“Thank you for being part of our family.”
The show’s main host was Randip Janda, who many Vancouver Canucks fans already know from his work as a colour commentator on Sportsnet 650. The crew also included Gurp Sian, Harpreet Pandher, Taqdeer Thindal, Avjot Sodhi and Mantar Bhandal.
Janda also posted his own statement, calling the broadcast “the honour of my career” and saying it was where his career started. He said he began in Punjabi before moving into English, and credited the community for giving him that opportunity.
“It’s difficult to put into words what Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi has meant to me - and what the Punjabi community has given all of us through this show. … Hosting this broadcast has been the honour of my career.
It’s where my career began. I got my start broadcasting in Punjabi before eventually making the transition to English, and I will always be grateful that this community gave me that opportunity.
“But this show was always more than broadcasting hockey in Punjabi. It was about bringing our community closer to the game, highlighting the stories of our players, families and fans, and creating an only-in-Canada show where our community could see itself reflected on one of the country’s most iconic sports platforms. We should be incredibly proud of the role Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi played in helping create what we see today - sports broadcasts in different languages and more opportunities for communities to see themselves represented in the sports they love.”
Omni TV’s website listed Janda as host, Bhandal as play-by-play commentator, Sian and Thindal as colour commentators, Pandher as analyst and Sodhi as both commentator and producer.
The cancellation comes amid a busy offseason of cuts at Rogers and Sportsnet. About two months ago, the companies ended their 12-year partnership with CBC, which means Canadians can no longer watch Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.
The show is now streamed exclusively on Sportsnet. In early July, Sportsnet also shut down six radio stations across Canada, including 1130 NewsRadio and Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver, plus Sportsnet 960 in Calgary.
For fans, one piece of the Hockey Night in Canada universe remains unforgettable: Harnarayan Singh’s call from the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals after a Nick Bonino goal.
In Other News...
Canucks Prospects Are Creating A Roster Crunch Vancouver Can't Ignore
The Canucks youth movement is starting to come with a catch. As the organization leans harder into prospects and young depth, the roster picture is getting tighter, because several players are moving toward the point where they can no longer be tucked safely away without waiver exposure. For a team trying to stay competitive while developing its next wave, that is the sort of detail that can quickly turn a promising pipeline into a difficult numbers game.
Victor Mancini, Elias Pettersson, Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium are among the names expected to lose waiver exemption in the seasons ahead, depending on how many NHL games they play and where they stand contractually. Others, including Tom Willander and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, still have some breathing room for now, but the list of interesting future decisions keeps growing, with Kirill Kudryavtsev and Ilya Safonov also worth tracking as waiver-eligible options down the road. For Vancouver, the challenge is no longer just finding talent, it is finding enough room to keep it. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Facing A Make Or Break Year With Three Prospects
The Canucks are staring at a pivotal stretch with a small group of college prospects whose futures in the organization are far from settled. Daimon Gardner, Matthew Perkins and Aiden Celebrini have each taken the long route through NCAA hockey, and their draft pedigree and development paths give Vancouver a decent read on what they might become if things click. For now, though, the emphasis is on progression, because all three are still trying to turn encouraging flashes into something the team can justify bringing into the pro pipeline.
What makes the situation more pressing is the clock. Each player will need to take another step soon to keep Vancouver interested enough to offer an entry-level deal, and none of the three has made the choice easy based on current performance. Gardner, Perkins and Celebrini all bring different backgrounds and skill sets, but the common thread is the same: the Canucks have to decide whether the upside is worth waiting on, or whether this is another prospect cycle that fades without ever reaching Abbotsford, let alone Vancouver. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Schenn Returns As Canucks Try To Steady Their Young Blue Line
Luke Schenn is back in Vancouver for a third stint, and the Canucks are leaning on a familiar face to help steady a blue line that is still taking shape. The veteran defenseman signed a one-year deal and is expected to fill a depth role while bringing the kind of quiet reliability and penalty-kill work that has long made him useful to contending teams and rebuilding ones alike.
For the Canucks, the appeal goes beyond minutes on the ice. Schenns previous run with the club included a strong defensive pairing and a noticeable offensive bounce in the 2022-23 season, but this return is more about guidance than production. Vancouver wants its younger defenders to keep growing, and Schenn gives them a seasoned presence in the room while the organization sorts out how the rest of the back end will settle in. [Read more 🡒]