The 2021-2022 NHL season starts tonight in the United States. Canada waits until the traditional Wednesday start.
The opening night matchups on Wednesday feel familiar: Montréal and Toronto meet in the early game after the 3-1 Stanley Cup playoffs comeback in May. Vancouver (missed the playoffs) will be in Edmonton (a team that made the playoffs but won as many playoff games as the Canucks) play in the nightcap. The Winnipeg (a team that swept and got swept) game on U.S. soil will also be part of the mix.
Hometown Hockey (HH) is back this season, shifting from Sunday to Monday. The evening often will feature multiple games this season.
TNT makes its Canadian team debut with the Edmonton Oilers hosting Philadelphia on October 27. Fitting that the first game is on Alberta soil given how timid NBCSN was in broadcasting from that province. The U.S. network won't have an early game on Wednesdays (beyond the first 2 weeks) until 2022.
NHL Network starts out its Canadian team coverage with a rare Ottawa home game (Dallas), the lone NHL contest on October 17. The first Hometown Hockey game of the year is also on the U.S. channel on October 18, an Original 6 matchup with the New York Rangers in Toronto.
The Calgary game on October 23 should be a NHL Network production like we saw last season on weekend afternoons, an improvement over the NBC Sports Washington feed. The U.S. channel picks up Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) feeds with the Maple Leafs meeting Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh (23) and we think the first time the channel has shown the Jets-Sharks battle live (30).
An annual reminder that the U.S. channel often (not always) has a backup game. If your home team is involved in the main game, you might get a Canadian game as a bonus. The channel also has matinee rebroadcasts, condensed versions that air the following afternoon.
The initial ESPN+/Hulu game involving a Canadian team is the Seattle Kraken home opener against the Vancouver Canucks on October 23. That will block out the CBC coverage in the United States unless you live in a CBC market through cable.
A reminder that the ESPN+/Hulu games listed below are ESPN productions. They are exclusive telecasts, even in market.
Check for a NHL Center Ice free preview. They offer intermission coverage.
TNT
October 27
Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 10p
NHL Network
October 17
Dallas @ Ottawa, 5p
October 18
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p (HH)
October 23
Calgary at Washington, 1p (NHLN Showcase)
Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p (HNIC)
October 30
Winnipeg @ San Jose, 7p (HNIC)
ESPN+/Hulu
October 23
Vancouver @ Seattle, 10p
Hockey Night in Canada
October 16
Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p/Vancouver @ Detroit, 7p
Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p/Winnipeg @ San Jose, 10pOctober 23
Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p/Detroit @ Montréal, 7p/Nashville @ Winnipeg, 7p
Vancouver @ Seattle, 10pOctober 30
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p/Winnipeg @ San Jose, 7p
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p/Philadelphia @ Calgary, 10p
Hometown Hockey
October 18 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p (The Township of North Dumfries, ON)
October 25 Toronto vs. Carolina, 7p/Calgary @ NY Rangers, 7p/
Washington @ Ottawa, 7p (Lindsay, ON)
Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts
October 13 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p/
Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10pOctober 15 Vancouver @ Philadelphia, 7p
October 19 Vancouver @ Buffalo, 7p/Anaheim @ Edmonton, 9p
October 21 Calgary @ Detroit, 7:30p/Edmonton @ Arizona, 10p
October 22 Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p
October 26 Calgary @ New Jersey, 7p/Minnesota @ Vancouver, 10p
October 27 Toronto @ Chicago, 8p/Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 10p
October 28 Philadelphia @ Vancouver, 10p
NHL Center Ice free preview
October 13 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p/
Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10pOctober 14 Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p/Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p
October 15 Vancouver @ Philadelphia, 7p
October 16 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p/
Vancouver @ Detroit, 7p/Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p/Winnipeg @ San Jose, 10pOctober 17 Dallas @ Ottawa, 5p
October 18 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/Anaheim @ Calgary, 9:30p
October 19 Vancouver @ Buffalo, 7p/San Jose @ Montréal, 7p/
Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 8p/Anaheim @ Edmonton, 9p
Zack Hyman was a key, underrated part of the Toronto Maple Leafs offence. Hyman proved to be a rarity, jumping from a Canadian team to another Canadian team in free agency. Hyman will now be a part of the offence in Edmonton with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Mathieu Perreault was another player who switched Canadian teams, going from Winnipeg to Montréal. Perreault signed a 1-year, $950,000 deal. Hyman's deal was a lot larger: 7 years for $38.5 million.
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The Montréal Canadiens took off the interim tag on Dominique Ducharme and named him the 31st head coach in the long history of the team.
The Habs essentially "traded" Jesperi Kotkaniemi, replacing him with Christian Dvorak. Carolina had a $6.1 million offer sheet for Kotkaniemi. The Canadiens thought that was too much, acquiring a 1st-round pick and a 3rd-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The team then traded one of its 1st-round picks in the 2022 draft and a 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to Arizona for Dvorak.
The offer sheet was seen to be retaliatory for Montréal giving an offer sheet for Sebastian Aho. Carolina kept Aho and was forced to give the player a huge bonus.
2021 NHL preseason schedule
Shea Weber may never hit the ice for the Montréal Canadiens ever again. P.K. Subban lasted 3 years in Nashville and has played the last 2 seasons in New Jersey.
We knew Weber was an "old" 31 when the Habs acquired him for (27) Subban. We were highly critical of the deal at the time, even if that meant a return to winning the Stanley Cup.
If you had said in late June 2016 that Weber would lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup finals, we would be encouraged. If you had said Weber will only play 5 seasons, we would have been disappointed.
If Weber doesn't play again, Nashville will pay more of a penalty than Montréal will. Vancouver knows that pain as they play another season minus a good player because of Roberto Luongo's contract. This will be the final season where the Canucks can't spend $3.3 million on an active player who could help their team.
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Bell Centre will be at full capacity for the Montréal Canadiens. Ontario shifted to full capacity as of 12:01 am Saturday morning. The Toronto and Ottawa teams will be happy.
Vancouver, like the Ontario teams, was at 50% capacity for the preseason. The Canucks don't open at home until October 26 so British Columbia may change the policy before that date. This is subject to change.
2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard
The Seattle Kraken picked a player from each Canadian team. Mark Giordano (D) (Calgary) was the biggest name from the Canadian teams. Edmonton traded Taylor Hall even up for Adam Larsson (D). The Oilers lost Larsson to Seattle.
Montréal lost Cale Fleury (D) while Ottawa said goodbye to Joey Daccord (G). Toronto traded for Jared McCann (F) and then lost him. Kole Lind (F) (Vancouver) and Mason Appleton (F) (Winnipeg) round out the list.
Carey Price was a tempting possibility for the Kraken but likely made a smart decision to go with Fleury, who will start out in the American Hockey League.
The Canucks-Kraken rivalry will be amazing. Look to see how Seattle tangles with the Alberta teams since they have also been the Kraken opposition in the preseason.
While everyone in Ottawa is eagerly waiting for Brady Tkachuk to sign…I’ll casually drop in to say I’m joining the @TSN_Sports team in #YOW!
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) October 9, 2021
So excited for this opportunity & I can’t wait to cover all the major sports stories in our nation’s capital 🇨🇦🍁 pic.twitter.com/03gtmapxQA
Claire Hanna moves from CTV Regina and the CFL on TSN coverage to covering sports for TSN in Ottawa. This might be relevant to the TSN5 Ottawa Senators coverage. We still don't know who will help call Sens games along with Gord Miller.
Hanna, pictured at the arena in Kanata, might host the TSN5 telecasts. Brent Wallace was the host until February when he, among many at Bell Media, lost his job.
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CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage
The NHL deigns to give a Canada an outdoor game. Unlike the 2019 (Regina) and 2016 (Winnipeg) versions, this 2022 Heritage Classic will actually be in the winter: March 13 in Hamilton with the "road" Toronto Maple Leafs and "home" Buffalo Sabres.
This means that every NHL and CFL market will have had an outdoor game except Montréal.
The Maple Leafs have played outdoors in Ann Arbor, MI (2014) with a 3-2 SO win; at BMO Field (2017) 5-4 (OT) over Detroit; and a 5-2 loss to Washington in Annapolis, MD (2018).
The Sabres will be the first U.S. based team to play in something labeled as the Heritage Classic.
photo credit: NHL
Twitter capture: @clahanna
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