Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition not returning after 18 years

Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition has been cancelled after 18 years on the air, the show announced Friday.

A statement from the Punjabi-language sportscast said the show "brought our community closer to the game we love" since it launched in 2008.

"It shared the stories of South Asian players and families and created a space that was truly unique in Canadian sports," read the statement on X, thanking viewers for their "unwavering loyalty."

Rogers Sportsnet, the national rights-holder for NHL games, described the show's cancellation as a "difficult decision"

"While audience levels aren’t strong enough to sustain the production long term, we know these broadcasts have meant a lot to many Punjabi-speaking hockey fans," the company said in a statement to CBC News.

"We’re grateful to the on-air team, production staff and viewers who supported the show over the years."

Jagraj Lalli, who's been a commentator on the show since the fall, said he was "shocked" to learn about the cancellation on Friday. The role had been his dream job since he was an eight-year-old fan, muting the TV in his parents' living room so he could pretend he was the one calling the play-by-play.

"Despite the show being gone, the 18 years of show and connection and diversity that the show brought to families and the show will live on forever," Lalli told CBC News.

"I will do everything I can to keep everyone connected and make sure that the bridge developed between the language of Punjabi, the community of Punjabi and North American sports never breaks."

Beyond connecting families with sport, Lalli said the show also offered representation for up-and-coming broadcasters from the Punjabi community. He said he had to fight tears when he made his debut on the desk on Oct. 25, 2025, covering the Vancouver Canucks home game against the Montreal Canadiens.

"I remember getting so emotional because younger me had a dream: 'I'm going to make my mom proud. I'm going to make my dad proud. I'm going to make my par-narni , my great-grandmother, proud because she taught me everything I know about the language of Punjabi.' She taught me how to read it, she taught me how to write it, she taught me how to speak it," he said.

"I just remember all those times where she was with me, pushing me and telling me that 'you can do anything you put your mind to.'"

Fans of the show responded online Friday with disappointment about the cancellation, saying they would remember the show fondly.

"As a descendant of Pakistani immigrants born in Canada, even though I don't speak Punjabi, [ Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi ] was special to me because I got to see people that looked like me be involved in the sport of hockey," said one user .