Ray Ferraro

Did You Know?

• Ferraro played in the 1976 Little League World Series as a youngster.
• He is married to Cammi Granato, and his brothers-in-law are former NHL head coaches Tony Granato and Don Granato.
• Ferraro was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.

Playing career

Ferraro played junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League, recording 108 goals and 192 points in the 1983–84 season. He was a member of the 1982–83 Portland Winter Hawks team that won the 1983 Memorial Cup, the first American team to do so. His teammates included Cam Neely, Mike Vernon, Brian Curran, John Kordic, and other future NHLers. Ferraro played for the Hartford Whalers, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, and St. Louis Blues over 18 NHL seasons.

He was named to the NHL All-Star Game in 1992. During the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, Ferraro scored two overtime goals against the Washington Capitals and assisted on David Volek's game- and series-winning overtime goal in Game 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He led the Islanders that postseason with 13 goals and 20 points. Ferraro played his 1,000th NHL game on February 28, 1999.

He was named captain of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001 and recorded his 400th goal on December 28, 2001. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in March 2002 for a fourth-round draft pick and finished his career with three assists in the 2002 playoffs. Ferraro had twelve seasons with at least 20 goals and ranks 103rd all-time in NHL goals as of April 2025. He was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.

Broadcasting

Ferraro began working as an analyst for ESPN's playoff coverage in 1999 while still an active player. He appeared on NHL 2Night with John Buccigross and Barry Melrose, where Buccigross often called him 'Chicken Parm' after an accident with Chicken Parmesan before going on air. After retiring, he worked as a studio analyst for the NHL on NBC and as a colour commentator on Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on Rogers Sportsnet West. He later joined TSN Hockey as a colour commentator and studio analyst, including coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics for CTV.

On May 5, 2014, EA Sports announced Ferraro would be an 'Inside-the-Glass' reporter for NHL 15 alongside Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk; the trio worked together for five years. On November 23, 2015, Ferraro became the first hockey broadcaster to call a game in which his child also played, with the Maple Leafs hosting the Boston Bruins. During the 2019 NHL Awards, he was promoted to lead colour commentator in NHL 20. He and Darren Dreger started a podcast, The Ray and Dregs Hockey Podcast, hosted by TSN.

Ferraro returned to ESPN/ABC for the 2021–22 season as lead colour commentator, sharing duties with Brian Boucher, and worked his first Stanley Cup Finals series at ice level alongside Sean McDonough and Emily Kaplan. After Boucher left for TNT, Ferraro became the lead colour commentator on August 29, 2023.