Former Rangers announcer Joe Micheletti was interviewed by Matthew Bittner recently, opening up about his retirement and sharing the booth with Sam Rosen. Stan Fischler of The Hockey News was just kind enough to give us some coverage of the in-depth discussion.
The New York Rangers have experienced great loss at the end of the 2024-25 season, losing multiple veteran players and prospects as well.
Included in those losses were the broadcast team of Joe Micheletti and Sam Rosen. A duo we'll always miss when we watch New York Rangers games, as they were the voice of the team itself.
Micheletti was just one part of the team who told a story of what happened on the ice nightly, and along with Rosen, retired this year.
Matthew Bittner, a reporter, caught up with Micheletti during the HHOF ceremonies and asked him about his choice to retire and why it was so abrupt.
"I really decided to retire last summer," Micheletti admitted. "In fact there was a chance that I was not going to come back for this (2024-25) season. My wife and I started talking about it three or four years ago. We have two kids and six grandkids growing up in a hurry and we don't see them a lot."
Micheletti's answers would be harrowing, as he detailed the losses of family members, which gave him pause and put his thoughts into perspective.
"I lost a sister to cancer ten years ago," Micheletti explained. "I had three brothers all get diagnosed with terminal cancer within a year-and-a-half of each other; and lost two of
made me speed up the process about retiring. I wanted to spend more time not only with my family but with my wife who has watched me travel for almost 44 years of marriage."
He came to his senses after significant losses in his family, and it made him realize he'd like to be home more often after being on the road for so long.
Micheletti would decide to retire from broadcasting, but not until he finished the last season with partner Sam Rosen, who he also learned was retiring.
"I told my wife that I was 99.9 percent sure I was finished with broadcasting, but when I heard about Sam, I told my wife I'd do one more season with Sam, but we'd keep it to
ourselves."
ourselves."
Instead of stealing from Rosen's spotlight, Micheletti wanted to remain silent and let Rosen get his due after being the voice of the Rangers for so long.
Joe: "Sam deserved to be in the spotlight not only because of what he's done but also because of who he is, the person he is; and I didn't want to get involved. I wanted him to have that kind of year; and it was. I had a fabulous year watching it and being part of it
Micheletti's choice to remain humble denied him the ability to say goodbye to the Rangers faithful, of which he did on The Hockey News' website:
"Thank you for the way that everyone treated me and my family. I got to meet so many of you on game day because I'd take the (LIRR) train in and then the subwayu for all those years I met so many of you; and you always were so kind and so passionate about your team -- and I loved it.
"Thank you for the way you have treated me for those nineteen years. Know that you're all in my heart!"
"Thank you for the way you have treated me for those nineteen years. Know that you're all in my heart!"
The Rangers begin the 2025-26 season in flux, as a massive amount of turnover has occurred and not just in the locker room either.
