A year and 2 weeks later, NBCSN is back with the same all-Canadian matchup with Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews and their respective Edmonton-Toronto teams. We suspected that NBCSN didn't send the crew to Canada to call the game. This time, there is a good reason why the "Americans" won't cross over. Unlike the early 2020 version, Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro are available to call the game.
The NHL Network has a good amount of Canadian games. So does ESPN+.
The NHL All-Star Game normally happens in January. We usually don't care unless the NHL All-Star Game is on Canadian soil, like back in 2012 in Ottawa. We will assume a week-long NHL Center Ice free preview to start the season.
NBCSN
January 20
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p
January 21
Montréal @ Vancouver, 9:30p
NHL Network
January 16
Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p (HNIC)
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p (HNIC)
January 23
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 10p (HNIC)
January 24
Toronto @ Calgary, 4p
January 25
Ottawa @ Vancouver, 10p
January 30
Toronto @ Edmonton, 7p (HNIC)
Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 10p HNIC)
ESPN+
January 14
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 9p
January 16
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
January 18
Vancouver @ Calgary, 9p
Montréal @ Edmonton, 9p
January 20
Montréal @ Vancouver, 10p
January 22
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p
January 24
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 9p
Hockey Night in Canada
January 16
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p/Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p/Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p
January 23
Montréal @ Vancouver, 7p/Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 10p
January 30
Toronto @ Edmonton, 7p/Calgary @ Montréal, 7p/Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 10p
Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts
January 13 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
January 14 Vancouver @ Edmonton, 9p
January 18 Vancouver @ Calgary, 9p
January 20 Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p
January 27 Ottawa @ Vancouver, 8p
NHL Center Ice free preview
Wednesday Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
Thursday Calgary @ Winnipeg, 8p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 9p
Friday Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
Saturday Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p
Monday Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7p
Vancouver @ Calgary, 9p
Montréal @ Edmonton, 9p
Tuesday Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7p
2021 NHL season preview
One big change that came after our season preview: the shakeup on the Edmonton Oilers telecasts.
Jack Michaels, the radio voice of the Oilers since 2010, will call the games on Rogers Sportsnet. Michaels will also call the radio games on national telecasts with Cam Moon on radio play-by-play duties for regional games.
Michaels takes over for Kevin Quinn, who struggled at attaining chemistry. Quinn and Drew Remenda were both relieved of their duties.
Sportsnet didn't have Remenda doing a lot. Louie DeBrusk should be working all local games.
Saturday nights will have some peculiar local start times. The HNIC games are protecting the eastern teams at the expense of the western teams. The January 23 starts at Vancouver at 4 pm and at Winnipeg at 9 pm are an egregious example. There are zero fans in the arena. The TV audience will have to be flexible. Jets fans might want to nap on some Saturday afternoons.
Rogers has shown contempt for Winnipeg in its scheduling and announcer lineup since the company has no local rights to the Jets. CBC never showed such pettiness when the public broadcaster was in charge of Hockey Night in Canada.
Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage
Canada didn't trail in any game until the gold medal game at the 2021 World Juniors in Edmonton. The U.S won gold 2-0 over Canada.
This was the 5th Canada-U.S. final in World Juniors: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2017, and 2021. U.S. has won the last 4 matchups for gold.
Canada was trying to win back-to-back titles since 2008-2009, the last country to do so.
CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage
For those on the U.S. side looking into ESPN+, the monthly price went up from $4.99 to $5.99 back in August. The yearly price for ESPN+ just went up last week from $49.99 to $59.99. Those getting via ESPN+ via the Disney+ trio (along with Hulu) get a rather good value, until that price goes up. The ESPN+ value is mostly in the CFL coverage for your humble narrator
There was no NHL preseason. The quality of the early games will be lagging a bit.
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