Steve Mears departs Penguins for Blue Jackets' TV job

Less than a year after he was pushed out as the lead television voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Steve Mears is back on the screen.

In Columbus.

The Murrysville native was hired to serve as the television play-by-play broadcaster of the Blue Jackets with Bally Sports Ohio on Tuesday. He will replace Jeff Rimer, who retired this past season after calling Blue Jackets games for 20 years.

Mears, 44, leaves Pittsburgh after spending the past seven years with the Penguins in some capacity. Beginning in 2017, he served as the play-by-play announcer on what was then called AT&T Sports Net until last summer.

In September, Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Penguins, formally purchased the network and rebranded it as SportsNet Pittsburgh, then removed Mears as well as former color commentator Bob Errey in the process.

Josh Getzoff, formerly the team’s radio play-by-play broadcaster, took over on television while Mears inhabited the same role inside the radio booth.

There was no immediate word on a potential replacement for Mears on the Penguins’ radio broadcasts.

A graduate of Bowling Green in the Buckeye State, Mears previously worked for the Penguins with the team’s radio network and website from 2009-12.

Between his separate stints with the Penguins, he served as a studio host on television for the NHL Network.

In recent years, Mears served as the television play-by-play broadcaster for the fledgling 3Ice league that features three-on-three play. He also had occasional assignments with national television outlet TNT for alternate broadcasts this past season.