For anyone who ever followed the Calgary Flames, you can put Friday afternoon in the win column. A flock of family, friends, former hockey players and generations of Flames fans gathered Friday at First Alliance Church to celebrate the life of longtime Flames play-by-play man Peter Maher. It was a late summer day to say goodbye to a man whose voice became part of the soundtrack of Flames hockey from the first time they played in Calgary in 1980 to his 2014 retirement, a span of 2,954 games. Mike Rogers worked alongside Maher for many of those years as a colour analyst starting in 2000, after his retirement from the New York Rangers. Rogers remembered how Maher prepped him prior to his debut, supporting him and teaching him how to make the switch from skating on the rink to analyzing the NHL game. “He was my mentor,” Rogers said, who said Maher had two rules for when the duo were on-air calling a Flames game. “One thing, in the offensive zone, you better shut up because there might be a goal,” Rogers said. “And two, if I raise a finger, stop talking.” “I really enjoyed being around the man,” Rogers said. “Being around Peter Maher, I didn’t really have to say anything.” “He wasn’t the voice of the Flames,” Rogers said. “He was one of them. It was almost like he was their teammate.” “He was the brother I never had,” Rogers said, “And I loved him,” although Rogers added that, “’loved is almost an overused word these days. “I liked him,” he added. “We spent 100 days a winter together and I genuinely wanted to be around him each and every day.” Rhett Warrener joined the Flames in time to help the club make a run to Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals. Warrener said Maher’s bond with the Flames extended to off-ice, such as one road trip to Nashville that ended up in a famous honky-tonk named Tootsie’s, where Warrener and Maher and few teammates found themselves in the wee small hours of the morning stuffed into small ladie’s t-shirts that didn’t cover anyone’s bellies. “If you knew Pete, you knew some of his best work happened off-ice,” Warrener said. Warrener, like a lot of ex-pros, was at a bit of a loss what to do following his retirement as a player and he said from time to time, Maher would call him, just to check in and see how he was doing. “The mic may have gone quiet a while ago but he never stopped checking in,” Warrener said. “That’s not luck. That’s not just a great broadcaster. That’s a great man. Thanks for making all of us – even the ham-and-eggers—seem like we belonged.” Lanny McDonald said it was heartwarming to see such a large crowd on hand to celebrate Maher’s life -- but not entirely unexpected, either. “Peter raised a generation of Flames fans,” McDonald said. “There isn’t a Calgarian who didn’t recognize his voice. “Peter was an integral member of the Flames family,” he said. “He knew them, their partners, their kids, their parents. He saw the human behind the jersey. “I cannot understate the deep trust you had for him when speaking to him,” he added. “He was a vault. His prudence, his level of respect was incomparable.” McDonald said, “He was the soundtrack to my favourite (hockey) memories. In my 35 years since leaving hockey, I will miss his dancing eyes and excited grin. “I am grateful and thankful to have called Peter a dear friend. I will put that one in the win column.” Former Flames general manager Al Coates recalled talking to Cliff Fletcher when Maher was negotiating a new contract with 660 CFR. Maher wanted more than CFR could afford, but the Flames knew they had to find a way to keep him so they took a little less in radio rights money and Maher asked for a little less and they reached a number both could live with. “Pete was way more than a broadcaster, albeit the best broadcaster,” Coates said. “He was a great salesman.” Prior to joining the Flames in 1980, Maher called games for the Toronto Maple Leafs -- and during that contract negotiation, suggested the Maple Leafs might take him back. “Cliff said, ”He is our best salesman. We can’t afford to let him go. He kept threatening he might go back to the Leafs. It was BS – but we fell for it," Coates said. Coates said besides being a heck of a salesman, Maher had integrity. “I always knew that I could trust Peter,” he said. “I could discuss things. I could get his opinion. He knew what the buzz was around the city. I could tell him things in confidence and knew that it wouldn’t come back to bite me in the rear end. Coates recalled a story that Maher told him once about sending a demo tape to the great Foster Hewitt, the longtime voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, asking if Hewitt would listen to it and offer a young aspiring broadcaster some tips. “He did more than that,” Coates said. “He invited him for a meeting, where he told Peter, with a few tweaks and some polishing, you might have a career here -- particularly in broadcasting hockey.” Maher was behind the mic for some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup championship. He was also heavily involved in the community, hosting and supporting charity events throughout his career. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006 and retired in 2014. The Flames named their radio broadcast booth at the Saddledome after him and created the Peter Maher Award. It’s given to the Flames player who best represents the qualities Maher was known for: sincerity, integrity, dedication and respect. Friday afternoon, McDonald said there should be a fourth quality added. “Trustworthy,” he said. After Maher’s three granddaughters shared some stories about life with their grand dad, a video compilation of some of Maher’s greatest hits -- and Flames greatest moments -- played. Maher’s son Jeff wrapped up the afternoon by leading the large crowd in one final “Yeah Baby!” to say goodbye to Maher. His family says memorial tributes can also be made directly to the Alzheimer Society of Calgary. Maher was 79 years old.
