After the Philadelphia Flyers hired Keith Jones as their President of Hockey Operations, it left a hole in their broadcasting department. Jim Jackson, the lead analyst on NBC Sports Philadelphia, was without a partner. That is no more as the Flyers have brought back a very familiar and well loved faced to take the seat next to him. Brian Boucher has returned and will be the lead analyst beside Jackson this upcoming season.
"“It’s been my fortune to be so deeply connected with the Philadelphia region and the passionate Flyers community for nearly 30 years since joining the organization as a draft pick,” said Boucher in a release from the Flyers. “I’m thrilled to return to this city, which my family and I consider home, and rejoin NBC Sports Philadelphia and the talented team that covers the Flyers year-round for this incredible fanbase.”"
Boucher had most recently been with ESPN/ABC since the 2021-22 season. He was the #2 commentator behind Ray Ferraro and would mostly be paired up with Bob Wischusen and Leah Hextall. Boucher left ESPN this past season and join TNT to replace Keith Jones as the new lead ice-level reporter. Turns out he’d rather join Jones instead. Though, he will take part in national broadcasts for TNT, something the Flyers will have to work out when the time comes. This isn’t the first time that Boucher will be a part of Flyers’ broadcast.
After he retired in 2013, he served as a color commentator and studio analyst with Al Morganti for Flyers’ regional broadcasts on NBCSP. He also worked on some of the team’s actual broadcasts when one of Jones or Bill Clement/Scott Hartnell were not available. Boucher would leave prior to the start of the 2015-16 season to become the “Inside the Glass” reporter and studio analysts for NBC Sports. He was also a studio analyst for NHL Network as well.
Boucher is quite familiar with the Flyers as he was drafted in the first round by Philadelphia in 1995. He had three separate stints with the Flyers (1999-02, 2009-11, 2012-13). He played in a total of 174 regular season games and appeared in 42 postseason games, including the team’s 2010 run to the Stanley Cup Final. One of his biggest moments in a Flyers’ uniform includes making the final save that clinched the team a playoff spot ahead of the 2010 playoffs. Everyone remembers the celebration afterwards.
It might be a while before Boucher gets to call a similar exciting moment, but he returns to the place where he made it happen.