Strachan joined the Montreal Gazette as a journalist in 1973 while also working as a radio show host in Montreal.[1] While working for the Gazette, Strachan was promoted to sports editor. He subsequently hired Glenn Cole in 1977 to fill his former position.[2] In 1980, Strachan joined The Globe and Mail[1] where he was the 1993 recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award.[3] He was likewise named a lifetime member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.[4] A year later, in 1994, Strachan was hired by the Toronto Sun.[1] He worked for the Sun until 2006 when it was announced his contract would not be renewed.[1]
Throughout his career, Strachan worked a panellist on Hockey Night in Canada. This was cut short in 2005 when he was fired from Hockey Night in Canada's Satellite Hot Stove panel. Although the full reason was unknown, Strachan stated it was because "they said it was time to change direction."[5] This did not deter Strachan from continuing his sports journalism career. In 2008, Strachan collaborated with Don Cherry to write Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff.[6]
Shortly after the release of his book Why The Leafs Suck: And How They Can Be Fixed in 2009, Strachan was let go from Hockey Night in Canada a second time.[7][8] CBC stated this was because the cover of the book portrayed Strachan with a Hockey Night in Canada tag without permission.[7][9][10] He subsequently moved back to St. Andrews, New Brunswick before Thanksgiving.[11]
In 2010, Strachan published a book titled "I am not making this up: my favourite hockey stories from a career covering the game" which detailed untold stories from his career in hockey journalism.[12] A year later, his book "Over the line: wrist shots, slap shots, and five-minute majors" published more insight into inside stories and anecdotes from his career.[13]
^"Sportswriter Cole died of stroke at age 63". Montreal Gazette. May 17, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2019. Cole joined the Gazette in 1977, hired by former sports editor Al Strachan...When I became sports editor, we needed to fill the hole that my promotion had created
^Gallagher, Tony (October 26, 2009). "Was it something he wrote?; HNIC fires Strachan over book on how Maple Leafs suck". Montreal Gazette.
^Zelkovich, Chris (October 30, 2009). "Canadian committee losing race to start cable channel". First, CBC has jettisoned Hotstove semi-regular Al Strachan. CBC says Strachan used a reference to Hockey Night In Canada on the cover of his latest book without permission. "We are no longer using Al on Hotstove this year,"said CBC Sports head Scott Moore. The CBC has its own HNIC books
^Witt, Howard (February 21, 1988). "HOCKEY IN CANADA HARD TO FATHOM". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 9, 2019. - One of the country`s leading hockey sportswriters, Al Strachan of the Toronto Globe and Mail, loves the game and defends it against any suggestion that it is excessively violent. But, he adds, his wife kept their 9-year-old son out of hockey because it's too violent.
