Legendary hockey announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick -- widely known as "The Voice of the NHL" -- is retiring Monday after working games for nearly 50 years!

The 74-year-old began his career calling college and minor league games in the early '70s -- then got his shot, calling NHL games for the New Jersey Devils in 1982.

Turns out, he was GREAT -- and the rest is history.

Emrick ultimately called 22 Stanley Cup Finals and has been inducted into 7 different Halls of Fame -- including the Hockey Hall of Fame (2008).

"I hope I can handle retirement OK, especially since I've never done it before," Emrick told the New York Post.

"But I've just been extremely lucky for 50 years. And NBC has been so good to me, especially since the pandemic, when I was allowed to work from home in a studio NBC created."

"Now, into my golden years, this just seemed to be the time that was right. Plus, I’ve now accumulated enough frequent-flyer miles -- to not go anywhere."