Cuthbert joined CBC Sports in 1984, where he anchored regional western games for Hockey Night in Canada, usually from Edmonton. He also got spot play-by-play work when the network's primary western broadcaster, Don Wittman, was covering other events for the network, or when the schedule load necessitated it. He got his big break during the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs. On April 18, he was a reporter in Washington, providing brief and periodic reports of the Washington Capitals–New Jersey Devils game to the national CBC viewing audience watching the Canadian network's game broadcast from Montreal. A power outage struck the Montreal area, which ended the telecast from that city, and CBC was forced to turn to Cuthbert in Washington to provide the full broadcast – play-by-play, analyst, and host. The broadcast was totally done off the cuff. In other words, there was no regular analysts, there were no graphics, or replay capabilities. His effort caught the network's attention, earned him a nomination for a Gemini Award, and launched a successful broadcasting career. Cuthbert rose to a sportscaster for CBC, where he called Olympic sports, figure skating, Canadian football, and NHL hockey. He became the secondary play-by-play voice of CFL on CBC behind Don Wittman in 1992 and eventually became the lead play-by-play voice, broadcasting the Grey Cup Championship each November from 1996 to 2004. His most notable work was Hockey Night in Canada games primarily involving the Montreal Canadiens or NHL teams from Western Canada. In the era of the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada double-headers, Cuthbert usually called the late games. He was assigned to a conference final every year in the play-by-play role from 1993 until 2004.
Departure from CBC
Cuthbert's contract was terminated by the CBC on February 24, 2005, by CBC Sports executive director Nancy Lee while the network endured the 2004–05 NHL lockout. There was much outrage over his firing, similar to that of Ron MacLean who had almost threatened to leave the network over stalled contract negotiations, as many believed he'd be the successor to Bob Cole. Some criticized Lee, who had created the position Manager of Program Acquisitions for CBC Sports to hire her friend Sue Prestedge a year earlier, despite the looming threat of the NHL lockout. It was also believed that Cuthbert's strong opposition, when CBC chose to drop its popular Hockey Day in Canada broadcast, did not endear himself to Lee. This decision was widely criticized, as rival network TSN staged a Hockey Day of its own.
TSN and NBC
After joining TSN in the spring of 2005, Cuthbert became TSN's lead CFL football voice, replacing TSN-original John Wells. Coincidentally, Cuthbert got his job at CBC in 1984 when Wells left the network to join the fledgling TSN. Since TSN gained the exclusive television rights to the CFL starting in 2008, Cuthbert has returned to his role as the primary voice of the CFL on TSN and calls every Grey Cup. Since joining TSN in 2005, he has served as one of the network's hockey play-by-play voices. In the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, he also worked for NBC and usually worked alongside colour commentator Peter McNab and "Inside-the-Glass" reporter Darren Pang for regional NHL broadcasts. As a result of Rogers Media's acquisition of the national exclusive rights to the NHL in 2014, he became part of TSN's broadcasts of Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs regional games, as well as returning for NHL assignments on NBC and NBCSN, often calling the first two rounds of the playoffs. Cuthbert made National Hockey League history on December 1, 2006 as the first play-by-play announcer in NHL history to deliberately broadcast a game from ice level, rather than a broadcast gondola. Along with Glenn Healy, he called the Buffalo Sabres/New York Rangers game at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. According to The Globe and Mail, "it was a good show and it's unlikely to be the last."
In June 2020, Cuthbert moved from TSN to CBC/Sportsnet. He said that he made the change because he will be almost 70 years old by the time that Rogers/Sportsnet's national contract with the NHL expires in 2026, and there would be no guarantee that he would have another opportunity to call Hockey Night in Canada games again.
Legacy
In 1998, Cuthbert won a Gemini Award for Best Sports Broadcaster, and in 2004, was recognized by Sports Media Canada as Sportscaster of the Year. In 2006, Cuthbert received another Gemini, this time with his TSN CFL analyst, Glen Suitor, for Best Sports Play-by-Play or Analyst. In 2014, Cuthbert was inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. A resident of Brampton, he is an inductee of the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame.
