Elliotte Friedman looks like he's staying at Sportsnet, despite rumors Amazon was closing in.
Reports surfaced last weekend suggesting hockey's top insider could be on his way out, and the idea spread fast.
Toronto media insider Jonah Sigel is now pumping the brakes on that entire narrative.
Friedman hasn't officially re-signed with Rogers and Sportsnet yet, but Sigel reports that most terms of a new deal have already been agreed to.
Friedman himself is currently vacationing overseas, and Sigel sounds confident he'll remain right where he's been for years.
The Amazon angle also looks overstated. Talks reportedly did happen, but a real departure was never seriously close.
"Amazon wasn't going to blow up their entire payroll for an insider," Sigel's source said.
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Elliotte Friedman's Sportsnet future takes an unexpected turn
That's a pointed way of putting it, and it lines up with how quickly this whole rumor seems to be cooling off.
Is one insider's report enough to fully close a story that had the hockey media world buzzing just days ago?
It's the media equivalent of a star player getting linked to every rival team the moment contract talks go quiet. Silence gets filled with speculation fast.
Friedman has become one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian hockey coverage over the past several years.
Losing him to an American streaming giant would have been a genuine shake-up for how NHL news gets broken and consumed.
There's still one loose thread here. Broadcaster Kevin Bieksa is reportedly being pursued by a company south of the border, adding another name to this summer's shuffle.
Nothing official has surfaced on that front yet, unlike the clearer picture now forming around Friedman's own situation.
My take: rumors like this move fast because insiders themselves have become the story now, not just the ones breaking it. That says something about where hockey media has landed.
Canadian hockey media is still shifting this summer. Friedman staying put doesn't mean the rest of it settles down too.
Are you relieved Elliotte Friedman is staying at Sportsnet?
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