NHL Goes National

Sporting events. Where would they be without broadcasters. The men and women who make the games come alive. For somebody like me, listening to the broadcasters call the games (no matter the sport) is as much fun as the sporting event themselves. There are a rare and privileged few who have the skill level to be able to make their living calling the sports they love.

With the national television deal for the National Hockey League and NBC coming to an end at the end of last season, they needed to find a new television home on a national scale. Not only do they have one, they actually have two for the upcoming 2021-2022 season. ESPN and TNT will be the primary networks covering the league on national networks in the US. The networks have formally announced their on air staff for league coverage next season.

TNT:
Studio Hosts: Liam McHugh, Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet, Paul Bissonnette
Play By Play: Kenny Albert (Lead), Brendan Burke
Color Commentators: Eddie Olczyk (lead), Darren Pang, Keith Jones (inside the Glass)
Contributors: Jennifer Botterill, Tarik El-Bashir, Jackie Redmond

ESPN:
Studio Hosts: Barry Melrose, Mark Messier, Chris Chelios, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Ryan Callahan, A.J. Mleczko, Rick DiPietro and Hilary Knight
Play By Play: Sean McDonough, Steve Levy, Leah Hextall, John Buccigross and Bob Wischusen
Color Commentators: Ray Ferraro, Bryan Boucher, Kevin Weeks
Contributors: Blake Bolden, Emily Kaplan, Greg Wyshynski

As far as what channels are covering what games, here is what is known so far. ESPN will carry 75 games on either ESPN+ or HULU. Then an additional 25 games will be carried on cable by either ESPN or ABC, while ESPN has exclusive rights to opening night games, the All-Star Game, and other "special events". ABC will air four of the seven games during the Stanley Cup Finals.

As for Turner sports, they have the rights to up to 72 exclusive national games per-season, which can air on either TNT or TBS, as well as the rights to the NHL Winter Classic. Turner will have national rights for the Stanley Cup Finals in odd number years beginning in 2023