Canadian Crossing

NHL the month in preview March 2023

TNT reunites Rick Tocchet and the studio crew with a trip to Vancouver (8) as the Canucks host Anaheim. Tocchet left the panel to be the Vancouver coach. The U.S. channel has the reigning Stanley Cup champs in Toronto (15). One of Gary Bettman's favourite desert teams (the one with 5,000 home seats) travels to Edmonton where the crowd will be about 4x the size (22).

ESPN takes the month of March off from Canadian teams. Cowards.

NHL Network starts out March with rare (for them) coverage of Toronto in Vancouver on Hockey Night in Canada (4). The U.S. channel also throws in an all-Canadian matchup (that isn't Toronto-Montréal) with Connor McDavid in Toronto on Hockey Night in Canada (11).

The other 3 telecasts for the month involve the Habs hosting Colorado (13) and a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs games, hosting Carolina (17) and in Nashville (26).

The NHL Network isn't carrying Hockey Night in Canada games on the last 2 weekends of the month since ABC is invading the Saturday night space. Given the "growth" that only exists in Gary Bettman's mind, the U.S. channel is not allowed to carry a second national game at the same time. The ABC telecasts in Canada (via cable or satellite) cut into the audience for Sportsnet and CBC for the Saturday night games.

While ESPN blows off Canada for March, ESPN+/Hulu loves Connor McDavid, just not in Edmonton. The channel features Oilers road games in Buffalo (6), which was a late addition, Boston (9), and Las Vegas (28). Rogers Arena is a nice place. They are invited to come north of the border.

The other game in March is the John Tavares bowl from Long Island (21).

Rogers Sportsnet has been better about this in the 2022-2023 season but is pulling an exclusive on the Toronto at Vancouver game (4) to promote SN Now subscriptions. This is also a loss for NHL fans in Buffalo and western Washington who can't watch the game via CBC on cable. CBC viewers will get Edmonton at Winnipeg that night.

The NHL trade deadline is March 3. We have more on the coverage later in this story.

TNT

March 8
Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10p
March 15
Colorado @ Toronto, 7p
March 22
Arizona @ Edmonton, 10:30p

NHL Network

March 4
Toronto @ Vancouver, 7p (HNIC)
March 11
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
March 13
Colorado @ Montréal, 7:30p
March 17
Carolina @ Toronto, 7p
March 26
Toronto @ Nashville, 6p

ESPN+/Hulu

March 6
Edmonton @ Buffalo, 7:30p
March 9
Edmonton @ Boston, 7:30p
March 21
Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
March 28
Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

Hockey Night in Canada

March 4

Toronto @ Vancouver, 7p/Columbus @ Ottawa, 7p/Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7p/
Minnesota @ Calgary, 10p

March 11

Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p/New Jersey @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Florida, 7p/
Ottawa @ Vancouver, 10p

March 18

Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p/Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p/
Dallas @ Calgary, 10p/Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10p

March 25

Toronto @ Carolina, 7p/Columbus @ Montréal, 7p/Ottawa @ New Jersey, 7p/Vancouver @ Dallas, 7p/
Las Vegas @ Edmonton, 10p

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

March 1 Toronto @ Edmonton, 8p

March 6 Edmonton @ Buffalo, 7:30p/San Jose @ Winnipeg, 7:30p

March 8 Minnesota @ Winnipeg, 7:30p/Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10p

March 9 Edmonton @ Boston, 7:30p

March 13 Colorado @ Montréal, 7:30p/Buffalo @ Toronto, 7:30p

March 14 Calgary @ Arizona, 10p

March 15 Colorado @ Toronto, 7p

March 16 Calgary @ Las Vegas, 10p

March 18 Edmonton @ Seattle, 4p

March 22 Arizona @ Edmonton, 10:30p

March 25 San Jose @ Calgary, 4p

March 27 Florida @ Ottawa, 7p/Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p

March 28 Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

March 29 Florida @ Toronto, 7:30p

March 31 Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p

NHL the month in preview February 2023

NHL the month in preview January 2023

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid hit the 50 goals mark for the first time in his career, only taking 61 games to accomplish the feat. Rooting on some level for an Edmonton-Toronto Stanley Cup final and have lots of scoring.

NHL the month in preview December 2022

We generally ignore the NHL All-Star Game due to the inconsistency of the event and the oddity of some of the events within the weekend. A chance to take a break from thinking about hockey.

We also generally ignore this time because of the lack of interest in Canada. For only the 4th time in the 2000s, the NHL All-Star Game will be on Canadian soil. The 2024 NHL All-Star Game will be at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on February 2-3, 2024.

Ottawa, well Kanata, is the last Canadian city to host the All-Star Game back in 2012. This has been the only appearance in the Ottawa region.

Montréal has hosted 12 All-Star games, only 3 since 1970: 1975, 1993, and 2009. The latter is the only time at the Bell Centre.

This will be the 9th All-Star game for Toronto, only the second since 1970. Toronto hosted the 2000 All-Star Game at the then Air Canada Centre.

Vancouver has hosted 2 All-Star games: 1977 at the old Pacific Coliseum and 1998 in what was then General Motors Place. The NHL All-Star Game has only been on Alberta soil twice: 1985 at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary and 1989 at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

For those counting at home, Gary Bettman has been the NHL commissioner for 4 NHL All-Star games on Canadian soil with the fifth coming in 2024.

Winnipeg and Quebec City never hosted a NHL All-Star game.

Canadian ads from fall 2022 NHL Center Ice free preview

NHL the month in preview November 2022

NHL the month in preview October 2022

The 2023 trade deadline coverage starts on Friday. Let's start in Canada.

TSN

TradeCentre, the consensus best NHL trade coverage, starts at the earliest time at 8 am (All times Eastern Standard). Coverage starts at 8 am on TSN1, TSN4, and TSN5. TSN3 joins the coverage in progress around noon.

Rogers Sportsnet

Hockey Central Trade Deadline, while the second best in Canada, is still better than anything in the United States. Sportsnet's coverage starts at 10 am.

NHL Network

After years of aligning with TSN, the U.S. network jumped to the Sportsnet coverage. The U.S. channel carries the Sportsnet coverage until 2 pm. At 2 pm, an hour before the deadline, the NHL Network switches over to its own coverage with NHL Tonight: 2023 Trade Deadline Day.

ESPN family

TradeCentre from TSN runs on ESPN+ starting at 8 am. That is the good news for U.S. readers. The bad news is that The Point from ESPN runs its own trade coverage starting at 2 pm on ESPN2.

Analysis

The idea is that U.S. fans lose the best coverage at the most important time of the trade deadline. The Canadian outlets are faster at picking up trades with less filler. If you are stuck below the 49th parallel, we suggest TradeCentre on ESPN+ and switching to the NHL Network coverage at 2 pm.

TSN has an advantage over Sportsnet. The NHL Network coverage is decidedly better than ESPN's in-house results, based off last year.

Trades of note

Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari going from St. Louis to Toronto is significant, provided lightning can strike twice in O'Reilly's case. Veteran leadership from player who have crashed through the first-round blunders: let's hope that helps.

The Montréal Canadiens rolled a huge gamble in acquiring Shea Weber for a younger and less injury prone P.K. Subban. The Habs even got Evgenii Dadonov for Weber's contract for the unofficially retired Canadiens defenceman in 2022.

Weber's contract went from Las Vegas to Arizona about a week ago with a 5th round pick for Dysin Mayo. Weber will never wear the sweaters of these teams. As long as Montréal isn't paying the bills. Thanks, salary cap.

Canadian film review: Black Ice

We reviewed Black Ice, the really intriguing documentary on Black ice hockey players and racism. You can find the film on Crave in Canada. The film definitely deserves a U.S. release at some point. TSN showed the film and the NHL Network should fight hard to get the film on its channel.

Tracking the NHL 2022 media changes

February 7 Edmonton @ Detroit, 7:30p Bob Wischusen/Chris Chelios/Mark Messier ESPN+/Hulu
February 15 Chicago @ Toronto, 7p Brendan Burke/Darren Pang/Jackie Redmond TNT
February 19 Edmonton @ Colorado, 3p Bob Wischusen/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN+/Hulu
February 19 Toronto @ Chicago, 6p Mike Monaco/Kevin Weekes/Emily Kaplan ESPN+/Hulu
February 21 Toronto @ Buffalo, 7:30p John Buccigross/Brian Boucher/Ryan Callahan ESPN+/Hulu
February 23 Calgary @ Las Vegas, 9p Mike Monaco/Cassie Campbell-Pascall/Emily Kaplan ESPN

A bit surprised Eddie Olczyk didn't cover a Chicago-Toronto game for TNT. He played for both franchises.

We sort of forgive the use of Brian Boucher for the Oilers game (19) since Ray Ferraro worked the outdoor game the night before. Doesn't explain the additional game in Buffalo (21). Kevin Weekes was solid in the Maple Leafs game in Chicago (19). This is how a former NHL goalie should provide analysis.

Fun to hear Cassie Campbell-Pascall on a game on ESPN involving a Canadian team. Campbell-Pascall used to provide analysis on Flames games until this season.

On the Canadian side, Victor Findlay may get some good opportunities to fill in for Bryan Mudryk on Montréal telecasts on TSN2. Mudryk also covers curling for TSN. Last season, Dan Robertson jumped up from Canadiens radio to fill in on the TV side. Robertson left to call the Winnipeg Jets games on TSN3.

Yet Robertson called the Habs game in New Jersey for TSN2. The Jets and Canadiens were in the greater NYC area so with an off day, he called a Montréal game.

2022 NHL preseason schedule

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The NHL Network usually cuts back on Canadian teams in the second half of the season. The U.S. channel went 3 weeks without carrying a single Canadian team. There was only a single HNIC game in February on the NHL Network.

The 2023 Junos, once again with host Simu Liu, will be on March 13 on CBC. Plan B made its debut Monday night.

The ski and snowboarding promo ran before the start of the 2nd period, a technical violation.

February 25 early game: 2023 Junos; Son of a Critch (1st); FIS freestyle ski and snowboarding; 2023 Junos (2nd); Canada's Ultimate Challenge; Plan B (3rd)

photo credits: NHL; TSN; Black Ice

NHL the month in preview February 2023

TNT gives us the first half of the Chicago-Toronto season matchup from Scotiabank Arena (15).

The main ESPN network (23) gives us a rare Calgary Flames game (for them) at one of Gary Bettman's favourite desert teams (the one that has more than 5,000 home seats).

NHL Network knows this is the second half of the season where fewer games feature Canadian teams. Amazingly, the U.S. channel doesn't show a single Toronto game in February.

The channel rarely carries an all-Canadian matchup that doesn't involve the Maple Leafs. Yet Ottawa is at Montréal (25) on Hockey Night in Canada. The U.S. channel has an Edmonton home game with Boston on the itinerary (27).

ESPN+/Hulu gives us the second half of the Chicago-Toronto doubleheader from the Windy City (19) and follows the Maple Leafs to Buffalo 2 days later (21). The U.S. outlet also has Connor McDavid in the Motor City (7) and Denver (19).

ABC starts carrying Saturday afternoon games, none involving Canadian teams, after the All-Star Game break.

The NHL All-Star Game break runs through February 5 with games starting back on Monday. There is a U.S. outdoor game on February 18; the league loves to schedule the Habs and Leafs together when that happens.

TNT

February 15
Chicago @ Toronto, 7p

ESPN

February 23
Calgary @ Las Vegas, 9p

NHL Network

February 25
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
February 27
Boston @ Edmonton, 8:30p

ESPN+/Hulu

February 7
Edmonton @ Detroit, 7:30p
February 19
Edmonton @ Colorado, 3p/Toronto @ Chicago, 6p
February 21
Toronto @ Buffalo, 7:30p

Hockey Night in Canada

February 11

Columbus @ Toronto, 7p/Chicago @ Winnipeg, 10p

February 18

Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Calgary, 10p/Philadelphia @ Vancouver, 10p

February 25

Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p/Boston @ Vancouver, 7p/Calgary @ Colorado, 10p

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

February 1 Boston @ Toronto, 7:30p

February 6 Vancouver @ New Jersey, 7:30p/Calgary @ NY Rangers, 7:30p

February 7 Edmonton @ Detroit, 7:30p

February 8 Vancouver @ NY Rangers, 8p

February 9 Calgary @ Detroit, 7p

February 11 Calgary @ Buffalo, 12:30p

February 13 Calgary @ Ottawa, 7:30p

February 15 Chicago @ Toronto, 7p/Detroit @ Edmonton, 9:30p

February 19 Edmonton @ Colorado, 3p

February 20 Philadelphia @ Calgary, 4p/Winnipeg @ NY Rangers, 7p

February 22 Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p/Calgary @ Arizona, 9:30p

February 23 Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 7p/Calgary @ Las Vegas, 9p

February 25 Edmonton @ Columbus, 12:30p

February 27 Boston @ Edmonton, 8:30p/Vancouver @ Dallas, 8:30p

February 28 Boston @ Calgary, 9p

Canucks fans continue to support embattled coach Bruce Boudreau with "Bruce there it is" chants at Rogers Arena.

🎥 @Sportsnetpic.twitter.com/NVyRj62ilx

— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 22, 2023

The Vancouver Canucks waited hours after Hockey Day in Canada to announce what everyone knew: Rick Tocchet would replace Bruce Boudreau as head coach of the team. The crowd at the Edmonton-Vancouver game knew. Boudreau knew this was his last game but not officially. Most coaches who get fired get no warning. This was too much warning but not in a good way.

The way Canucks management handled this was a sad story to how things have been so poorly run of late. Jim Rutherford has a good reputation. Bruce Boudreau has an amazing reputation. How could things fall apart so quickly.

Bo Horvat could have been guided into staying with Vancouver by more competent management instead of being a lame duck in a Canucks sweater. The trade to the New York Islanders might benefit the Canucks in the long run but the loss of leadership looms large now.

Trent Cull also lost his job as an assistant coach. Adam Foote has been named an assistant coach and Sergei Gonchar has been hired as a defensive development coach.

Tocchet has coaching experience, mostly as an assistant coach. He did lead Tampa Bay from 2008–2010 and Arizona from 2017-2021. He spent the last year and a half on TNT studio coverage.

Tocchet, like Boudreau, can't play defence or get Thatcher Demko back in goal quickly. A coaching change is like changing the colour of a couch that is on fire.

As we alluded to last month, the unofficial is now official. The 2023 Heritage Classic will feature the Battle of Alberta at Commonwealth Stadium on October 29. That date is the day after the end of the CFL season. The Edmonton Elks home season ends 15 days before the NHL game.

The starting time is still to be announced. The original Heritage Classic was at night in Edmonton. As far north as Winnipeg and Regina (recent Heritage Classic sites) are, Edmonton is much further north so that would affect sunshine issues and sunsets.

The October 28 edition of Hockey Night in Canada won't feature either Alberta team so they can get ready for the Heritage Classic.

2022 NHL preseason schedule

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

Really sad news about Ottawa Senators assistant coach Bob Jones being diagnosed with ALS. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and the entire Ottawa Senators organisation.

Canadian ads from fall 2022 NHL Center Ice free preview

Turns out there was a brief NHL Center Ice free preview running January 1-7. This was on a week where there were no Canadian teams on Monday or Wednesday. The free previews used to have a pattern compared to the random lack of pattern.

NHL the month in preview January 2023

NHL the month in preview December 2022

NHL the month in preview November 2022

NHL the month in preview October 2022

Gary Bettman says NHL teams do not tank. Connor Bedard would be that reason, if they did. Bedard was the World Juniors tournament MVP with 9 goals and 14 assists with 2 game-winning goals in only 7 games. Shane Wright scored a key goal on his birthday in the gold medal game for the Canada team in the World Juniors. Gord Miller pointed out that Halifax wouldn't have another long wait to host the tournament. Presumably, this also applies to Moncton, the co-host for the 2023 tournament.

Tracking the NHL 2022 media changes

January 11 Nashville @ Toronto, 7:30p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
January 12 Toronto @ Detroit, 7p Bob Wischusen/Ray Ferraro/Emily Kaplan ESPN
January 14 Calgary @ Dallas, 2p Stephen Nelson/Kevin Weekes NHL Network
January 19 Tampa Bay @ Edmonton, 9p John Buccigross/Ray Ferraro/Leah Hextall ESPN
January 23 Columbus @ Calgary, 9:30p John Buccigross/Ray Ferraro/Leah Hextall ESPN+/Hulu
January 25 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
January 25 Columbus @ Edmonton, 9:30p Brendan Burke/Darren Pang/Jennifer Botterill TNT

ESPN has listened to some of my pleas and had Ray Ferraro on all 3 of its games in January. 2 of them games were in Western Canada, the channel's only 2 regular season games in Canada. By the way, unless the schedule changes, ESPN and ESPN+/Hulu has no more games in Canada until the playoffs.

Stephen Nelson and Kevin Weekes are my top choices for a NHL Network crew. They got an exciting game involving the Calgary Flames.

We get where John Buccigross got a little too excited over the Columbus presence with Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary. That would be easier to take if ESPN weren't so reluctant to come to Canada.

TNT lost one of its studio people in Rick Tocchet when he took over as the Vancouver head coach. The only scheduled game TNT has left involving the Canucks is March 8 with a home game against Anaheim. Could be a fun reunion.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We had no bananas or CBC promos in December. January had all of that.

There were 3 Hockey Night in Canada games available. We have covered the new shows as well as CBC News Explore.

The first promo of the January 21 game ran before the beginning of the 2nd period, which is a technical violation. The CBC Docs promo was relevant since the content from the Jason Priestley directed film was about longtime Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard.

We have complained when the CBC promos run after commercials yet running them after betting commercials is definitely worse.

January 7 early game: Run the Burbs; Bollywed (1st); Son of a Critch; National Skating Championships (2nd); Son of a Critch; Bollywed (3rd)

January 14 early game: National Skating Championships; Bollywed (1st); Son of a Critch; Run the Burbs; Bollywed (2nd); CBC News Explore (3rd)

January 21 early game: None (1st); CBC News Explore; Run the Burbs; CBC Docs [Offside: The Harold Ballard Story]; Canada's Ultimate Challenge (2nd); Bollywed; Son of a Critch (3rd)

photo credit: NHL; NHL
Twitter captures: @TheAthleticNHL

NHL the month in preview January 2023

TNT starts 2023 with a couple of Toronto home games. Nashville crosses the border (11) in their yellow sweaters. The U.S. network has an Original 6 game as part of an all-Canadian doubleheader as the New York Rangers come to Scotiabank Arena (25) followed by Johnny Gaudreau and his squad in Edmonton.

The main ESPN network gets close to being on Canadian soil with the Maple Leafs in Detroit (12). Finally, the network finally crosses into Canada almost a year and a half into the new deal with Dave Randorf's team in Edmonton (19). TNT had the opening half of that latter rivalry back in November.

NHL Network features the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada hosting Detroit (7), in Boston (14), and a rare all-Canadian matchup in Montréal (21) as part of Hockey Day in Canada. Calgary gets a Showcase game in Dallas (14).

The Winnipeg Jets get 3 games in the month: in Pittsburgh (13) and hosting Arizona (15) and St. Louis (30). Ottawa gets more love from the U.S. channel hosting Nashville (9) and in Pittsburgh (20).

The Maple Leafs also get a Sunday game hosting Washington (29).

ESPN+/Hulu finally figured out how to get to Canada 4 days later after the addition of the Oilers game mentioned earlier and finally shows a NHL game on Canadian soil. Maybe they were afraid of how good butter tarts are and stayed away as a result. The U.S. network will show Johnny Gaudreau's return to Calgary (23). Unless the schedule changes significantly, these will be the only ESPN games in Canada in the regular season in 2 years of the contract.

Why is Rogers Sportsnet giving a gift to the CBC to let the public broadcaster show a Friday night game? Best not to ask. Both CBC and Sportsnet will show the Battle of Ontario at Scotiabank Arena on January 27 as a Hockey Night in Canada Special.

Hockey Day in Canada will be on January 21 in Owen Sound, ON. Tampa Bay is the lone U.S. team and there are 2 prime time games in the East. ESPN+ will have the other 3 games that day for the U.S. audience.

The NHL takes an All-Star Game break February 2-5 so we have added the February 1 game to this schedule.

TNT

January 11
Nashville @ Toronto, 7:30p
January 25
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/Columbus @ Edmonton, 9:30p

ESPN

January 12
Toronto @ Detroit, 7p
January 19
Tampa Bay @ Edmonton, 9p

NHL Network

January 7
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
January 9
Nashville @ Ottawa, 7:30p
January 13
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p
January 14
Calgary @ Dallas, 2p (Showcase)
Toronto @ Boston, 7p (HNIC)
January 15
Arizona @ Winnipeg, 7p
January 20
Ottawa @ Pittsburgh, 7p
January 21
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
January 29
Washington @ Toronto, 5p
January 30
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p

ESPN+/Hulu

January 23
Columbus @ Calgary, 9:30p

Hockey Night in Canada

January 7

Detroit @ Toronto, 7p/St. Louis @ Montréal, 7p/Seattle @ Ottawa, 7p/Colorado @ Edmonton, 10p

January 14

Toronto @ Boston, 7p/Montréal @ NY Islanders, 7p/Ottawa @ Colorado, 7p/Vancouver @ Florida, 7p/Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

January 21 (Hockey Day in Canada)

Tampa Bay @ Calgary, 3p/Toronto @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7p/Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p

January 28

Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p/Philadelphia @ Winnipeg, 7p/Chicago @ Edmonton, 10p

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

January 3 Seattle @ Edmonton, 9p

January 5 Colorado @ Vancouver, 10p

January 9 Seattle @ Montréal, 7:30p/Nashville @ Ottawa, 7:30p

January 10 Vancouver @ Pittsburgh, 7p

January 11 Nashville @ Toronto, 7p/Edmonton @ Anaheim, 10p

January 13 Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p

January 14 Calgary @ Dallas, 2p

January 16 Ottawa @ St. Louis, 8p/Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

January 18 Pittsburgh @ Ottawa, 7p/Colorado @ Calgary, 9:30p

January 23 NY Islanders @ Toronto, 7p/Columbus @ Calgary, 9:30p

January 25 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/NY Islanders @ Ottawa, 7p/Columbus @ Edmonton, 9:30p

January 27 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p (Hockey Night in Canada Special)/Calgary @ Seattle, 10p

January 30 St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p

February 1 Boston @ Toronto, 7:30p

Dreams do come true. 👀@FriedgeHNIC reports that the Heritage Classic is returning to Edmonton next year for the Battle of Alberta at Commonwealth Stadium. pic.twitter.com/6FwIV2LM4T

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 11, 2022

While not official, Elliotte Friedman reported that the 2023 Heritage Classic will be the Battle of Alberta from Commonwealth Stadium. Friedman said the game would likely be in October.

Lake Louise seemed more ideal but the logistics were more difficult. Commonwealth Stadium was the site of the original Heritage Classic in 2003.

The potential October date means the game won't be that cold, the NHL will continue its lackluster promotion (compared to the U.S. outdoor games), and this will affect the CFL Edmonton Elks. The 2023 CFL schedule has the Elks final home game is October 14 with a road game in Winnipeg and a bye to finish the season.

This means one of the U.S. networks will be required to carry the Battle of Alberta.

Maybe Montréal can get an outdoor NHL game when Gary Bettman is no longer the NHL commissioner.

Canadian ads from fall 2022 NHL Center Ice free preview

NHL the month in preview December 2022

The Ottawa Senators were supposed to go into the holiday break with a home game against Detroit on December 23. The winter storm made that non viable so the game was postponed until February 27.

After last year's COVID-19 postponements, having a game postponed because of weather feels a lot more normal. 

NHL the month in preview November 2022

NHL the month in preview October 2022

Monday Night Hockey is the replacement for Hometown Hockey. David Amber shifted from the late Saturday Hockey Night in Canada slot to host the Monday segments. Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Anson Carter are consistently on the panel with a random fourth person.

Hope Carter is enjoying those Atlanta-Toronto flights. They may get rougher as winter truly rolls into Canada. Carter gets to show off his hockey insights in a better format than the TNT studio show. Campbell-Pascall feels at home in this format. She is working as an analyst for ESPN games. Greg Millen took over as the fill-in for Kelly Hrudey on Calgary Flames telecasts with Rick Ball.

The studio setup is very above average but not sure what the draw is otherwise. Maybe that is the draw. The studio crew is better than the Wednesday night games.

Happy Holidays 2022 includes Season 11 of Letterkenny

Carey Price will likely not play in the NHL for the Montréal Canadiens or any other team. We briefly touched on Carey Price and the whole hunting and guns issue last week. His heart seemed in the right place.

Feel free to read more for yourself.

2022 NHL preseason schedule

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

Tracking the NHL 2022 media changes

December 1 Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p Bob Wischusen/Brian Boucher/Leah Hextall ESPN+/Hulu
December 6 Toronto @ Dallas, 8:30p Bob Wischusen/Ray Ferraro/Emily Kaplan ESPN+/Hulu
December 14 Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p Brendan Burke/Darren Pang/Jennifer Botterill TNT
December 18 Ottawa @ Minnesota, 2p Jamie Hersch/Dave Reid NHL Network
December 21 Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
December 28 Calgary @ Seattle, 10p John Forslund/Darren Pang/Kathryn Tappen TNT
December 30 Edmonton @ Seattle, 10p Leah Hextall/Ray Ferraro ESPN+/Hulu

We note that schedules are subject to change. TNT switched out its previous game on December 28 and brought in the Calgary Flames in Seattle. A good point to check back with the blog for updates, good or bad.

John Forslund is the local Seattle announcer, continuing a TNT pattern with Canadian teams. Kathryn Tappen normally works for NBC.

The December 6 game took a while to show up on the ESPN+ menu. Odd to look for the exclusive game and that game isn't even on the ESPN+ NHL page. Hulu might have had it but the games only show up on my computer, not the TV path.

The all-Canadian matchup on December 14 was our first look at the backup TNT team this season. Burke does a fine, credible job. Pang and Botterill make the team what it is. Having Botterill helps because she covers the Canadian teams on Hockey Night in Canada. Good to see her get plenty of work on both sides of the border.

Jamie Hersch did a good job in the NHL Network showcase game (18). The Senators didn't do as well.

ESPN+/Hulu gave a nice gift at the end of the calendar year with an all-Canadian crew with the Oilers in Seattle.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Rogers Sportsnet had already decided to take the December 3 Maple Leafs game for itself, not knowing Mitch Marner would set the all-time Toronto record for most consecutive games with a point at 19. Marner finished his streak at an impressive 23 games.

As we predicted, the Habs-Oilers game in Edmonton was way more exciting with a lot of power play goals and lead changes.

.@NHLNetwork went from one of best @NHL crews to the worst crew to chase #AlexOvechkin. Saved its audience time because they weren't going to sit through what was on the screen. Ovi didn't even get the goal.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) December 18, 2022

The December 17 CBC promos would have been American holiday specials, Canadian shows coming in January, and their news and sports outlets. There were 3 potential Hockey Night in Canada games available. The December 3 game had Rogers Sportsnet playing the Grinch while the December 10 game on the NHL Network aired on Citytv. NHL Network switched out the HNIC feed for the December 17 game for less than logical reasons.

ESPN+ did offer both feeds, something they don't normally do for a NHL Network game.

The NHL Network continued its obsessive Alex Ovechkin chase, showing the NBC Sports Washington feed for a Ottawa home game and Winnipeg road game in subsequent days.

You can check out our CBC television winter preview to see what some of those promos could have been. Hopefully, January will mean some CBC promos.

photo credit: NHL
Twitter captures: @Sportsnet; @canadian_xing 

Thanks Trevor Noah and The Daily Show for your pokes at Canada

While Jon Stewart made the most impact of The Daily Show on Canada, Trevor Noah and his version of the program did talk about Canada a few times. Noah's last show as host airs tonight so we thought to look back.

Craig Kilborn is the answer to the trivia question: "Who was the first host of The Daily Show?" Don't feel bad if you don't remember those days or the job he did before he flipped to Comedy Central (SportsCenter on ESPN). Kilborn was the host from the start in 1996 to 1999.

The Daily Show will have a new host and possibly a format change on January 17, 2023. Let's go back and check out the Canada highlights on the Trevor Noah, who has been the host since 2015, version of the program.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a Canadian talking about a Canadian film

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle living in Canada will be easier by staying fewer than 6 months

Tatiana Maslany makes her debut on The Daily Show

Daily Show explores why refugees are fleeing U.S. for Canada

P.K. Subban talks charity work with Trevor Noah on the Daily Show

Daily Show shows how Canada is more mature about accepting Syrian refugees

Daily Show with Trevor Noah discovers its love for Justin Trudeau

The show had some quality coverage of the Syrian refugees coming to Canada. The idea of having a Canadian discuss a Canadian film on U.S. television was marvelous: that moment was wasted on an absolutely terrible film that had little to do with Rob Ford, despite the hype.

Tatiana Maslany should have been on to discuss Orphan Black during its run.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee reminds us what The Daily Show is missing

Canadian election 2015: Stephen Harper and 5 Questions

Thanks Jon Stewart and The Daily Show for your pokes on Canada

Samantha Bee and John Oliver were in many ways the true heirs to what Jon Stewart was doing. The idea of doing this montage for Samantha Bee was put on hold, figuring someone would have picked up her show. That was a bit naive on our part. 7 years was a really good run for a show killed for arbitrary reasons. Discovery has a lot of terrible moves in the takeover of Warner Brothers.

We might do a tribute to Samantha Bee's show. We were hoping she would find another outlet for her program.

CanadianCrossing.com Daily Show coverage

Canada is technically international from the United States, though sometimes Canada is treating as the domestic market (think cars and motion pictures). Trevor Noah didn't grow up in the United States so there was hope that he would approach Canada differently. The best work from this edition of the program came when refugees were involved: Syrians to Canada and refugees within the United States heading to Canada.

Good luck to the show and its new host. Thanks to Trevor Noah and the rest of the people for giving us your take on Canada.

The Daily Show runs on Comedy Central in the United States and CTV Comedy Channel in Canada.

photos credit: The Daily Show

NHL the month in preview December 2022

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect an extra Calgary Flames game on TNT (28), the removal of HNIC from the feed (17), an additional Ottawa game (22), and an extra Winnipeg game (23).

TNT gives the U.S. audience an all-Canadian matchup with the Vancouver Canucks in Calgary (14). The U.S. network had an all-Canadian game last season and gave that to John Forslund. Hoping not to have a repeat of that assignment. Edmonton travels to Dallas (21) in a matchup where ESPN was so fascinated, that network carried both Oilers games in Dallas but couldn't set foot in Edmonton.

ESPN had a game involving a Canadian team in November but is dark in December.

NHL Network has some Hockey Night in Canada love with Toronto Maple Leafs road games in Dave Randorf country (3) and the U.S. capital (17). The U.S. channel also some HNIC love for the rematch of the 1993 Stanley Cup finals at the Bell Centre (10).

The Ottawa Senators are involved in the other NHL Network game with a Showcase game in Minnesota (18).

ESPN+/Hulu went from 1 game in October to 0 in November to 3 in December. The U.S. network is still afraid to come to Canada but is willing to show the Edmonton Oilers on the road in Minnesota (1) and Seattle (30). The U.S. network loves to show Canadian teams in Dallas, proving so with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third-largest city in Texas (6).

Rogers Sportsnet is keeping the Toronto Maple Leafs to itself on December 3. As we've noted, Sportsnet does this on occasion to boost its Sportsnet NOW subscriptions. The Maple Leafs will likely struggle in western Florida that night while CBC shows the high-flying scoring of Montréal at Edmonton. If I were glued to the couch in Canada, watching the Habs and Oilers would be more fun.

CBC and Citytv are not showing Hockey Night in Canada on December 31. The networks are carrying New Year's Eve programming. The games are available on various Sportsnet channels.

The NHL will take a holiday break from December 24-26.

TNT

December 14
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p
December 21
Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p
December 28
Calgary @ Seattle, 10p

NHL Network

December 3
Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p (HNIC)
December 10
Los Angeles @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
December 17
Toronto @ Washington, 7p (HNIC)
December 18
Ottawa @ Minnesota, 2p (Showcase)
December 22
Washington @ Ottawa, 7p
December 23
Winnipeg @ Washington, 7p

ESPN+/Hulu

December 1
Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p
December 6
Toronto @ Dallas, 8:30p
December 30
Edmonton @ Seattle, 10p

Hockey Night in Canada

December 3

Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p/Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p/San Jose @ Ottawa, 7p/Washington @ Calgary, 10p/Arizona @ Vancouver, 10p

December 10

Calgary @ Toronto, 7p/Los Angeles @ Montréal, 7p/Minnesota @ Vancouver, 10p

December 17

Toronto @ Washington, 7p/Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Vancouver, 10p

December 31

Montréal @ Washington, 4p/Toronto @ Colorado, 7p/Ottawa @ Detroit, 7p/Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 10p/Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

December 1 Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p

December 5 Washington @ Edmonton, 8:30p/Arizona @ Calgary, 9p

December 7 Minnesota @ Calgary, 8p/Arizona @ Edmonton, 9:30p

December 9 Minnesota @ Edmonton, 9p

December 12 Calgary @ Montréal, 7p/Edmonton @ Minnesota, 8p

December 14 Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p/Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p

December 16 St. Louis @ Calgary, 9p

December 17 Anaheim @ Edmonton, 4p

December 19 Edmonton @ Nashville, 8p

December 21 Montréal @ Colorado, 8p/Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p

December 23 Vancouver @ Edmonton, 9p/Calgary @ Anaheim, 10:30p

December 27 Edmonton @ Calgary, 9p

December 28 Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p

💙. @MapleLeafs #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/QwaBkt9D2K

— Martina Ortiz Luis (@itzmartinaol) October 7, 2022

The start of Toronto Maple Leafs games feels very different without Martina Ortiz Luis singing O Canada at Scotiabank Arena.

We've seen Luis on Wynonna Earp so we know she has more ambitions than just anthem singing. Her inflections on O Canada was beautiful and truly unique. Good luck to Martina Ortiz Luis in her career.

Convoy wants to act out but has no purpose or solutions

Confederation Line expands light-rail service in Ottawa

Ryan Reynolds would need a sugar daddy or sugar mama, in his words, to be a part of the ownership of the Ottawa Senators. The challenge is intriguing. The Canadian actor is part owner (with Rob McElhenney) of Wrexham AFC in Wales, a team in the lowest level of professional football in England. Their ownership is featured in Welcome to Wrexham.

The hope is that new ownership would be tied to a deal for a new Ottawa-based arena at LeBreton Flats. There may be fewer people working in downtown Ottawa these days but a downtown arena will do wonders for the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

That said, the light rail system in the capital of Canada needs more diligence, time, money, and effort.

Rogers Sportsnet will carry all 3 versions of the Battle of Alberta on a national basis in Canada. The fact that there are only 3 games involving these exciting rivals is a true shame, especially after such an amazing playoff series this spring.

Other than the all-Canada division of 2021, the U.S. outlets have shown Connor McDavid type speed to avoid broadcasting the Battle of Alberta. So we can't be surprised that TNT and ESPN showed no interest in carrying any of those games. TNT is willing to come to Canada while ESPN still hasn't been on Canadian soil. The NHL Network also came up empty (again) in not showing this rivalry.

ESPN hasn't shown Calgary anywhere but does have 2 Flames games scheduled this year.

U.S. fans should note that December 27 is the final Battle of Alberta game. ESPN+ will have the game via the Rogers Sportsnet feed.

Canadian ads from fall 2022 NHL Center Ice free preview

"(Ottawa GM Pierre) Dorion’s worked hard to see what’s out there, and I believe he’s come across two challenges. One is that he’s dealing from position of weakness and teams are trying to hijack him. Two is that there are plenty of players who can block a trade to Canada, and it’s possible that’s happened. It’s not an Ottawa issue, but a Canada issue."

Elliotte Friedman said what was in our minds. We thought the end of the primary portion of the pandemic meant Canada was a slightly more desirable destination.

Higher tax rates, though paid in American dollars. Pressure-filled markets and media coverage. Snow and lots of it. More customs experiences. 

This spring marks the 30th anniversary of the Stanley Cup being presented to a Canadian team: Montréal Canadiens in 1993.

Players want to win the Stanley Cup. They will play in Canada if they think that team will win the Stanley Cup. Think of the significant number of NHL players who weren't alive when the Habs won the Cup or not old enough to remember.

Thank you for all of your support! We had a great time on @hockeynight
Miss the broadcast? Watch now: https://t.co/f9qeDt3oPE

— TRIUMPH (@TriumphTheBand) November 15, 2022

The guys from Triumph hosted the Hockey Night in Canada intro on November 12, which was the Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend. Triumph has a documentary out called Triumph: Rock and Roll Machine. We will have a review some point soon. Worth a watch to learn some Canadian music history.

Harnarayan Singh has been the primary fill-in for Rick Ball on Calgary Flames telecasts on Rogers Sportsnet West while Ball is out with a pulmonary embolism. John Bartlett also stepped up for some Flames games out east.

Ball disclosed the story behind his health scare: caused by a broken leg he sustained chasing a bird at a golf tournament.

He returned on November 12 on Hockey Night in Canada, his first game since the first game of the season. He is also doing road games, which is a bit of a surprise. As we said last month, our thoughts go out to Ball, his family, and friends during his continuing recovery.

Ball also made a trip to After Hours to talk with Scott Oake and give thanks to all the well wishing people.

NHL the month in preview November 2022

Speaking of After Hours, Scott Oake had a special co-host in Las Vegas last Saturday. Gary Lawless was a journalist covering the Winnipeg Jets before the Golden Knights hired him. The After Hours co-hosts haven't had journalism experience such as what Oake has, but the co-hosts aren't employed by the team whose player and coach appear on the show.

I get the whole deal with Lawless being on while Oake is in Las Vegas, but Lawless being employed by the team should be disclosed. 

If Scott Oake had Sara Orlesky on after a Winnipeg Jets game, her employment status should be disclosed. When you have former journalists and the implication is that they are a journalist, that dispels actual journalism. This may seem a matter of semantics but as lines blur, disclosure is paramount.

NHL the month in preview October 2022

Welcome to San Jose, Tara!

We’ve signed @TaraSlone as our newest content contributor🎙🦈

Learn more about Tara ➡️ https://t.co/EVvgFLMm1W pic.twitter.com/6tqEwrqObL

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 22, 2022

Tara Slone landed on her feet in the South Bay with the San Jose Sharks in a content position similar to what Sara Orlesky is doing with the Winnipeg Jets. The former Hometown Hockey host was let go when Rogers cancelled the show over the summer.

Sharks fans and South Bay residents should hope Slone ends up in a bar playing music. Slone was the lead singer of Joydrop and has had a solo music career.

Her music cred came in handy when having bands on Hometown Hockey. Sorry that the show was gone and glad she found a good NHL opportunity. Hard to imagine a kitchen party in San Jose but here's to trying.

2022 NHL preseason schedule

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

ESPN signed recently retired defenseman P.K. Subban to their coverage. Subban will work primarily as a studio analyst and also work as an occasional in-game analyst. 

Subban has charisma that will take him far in a broadcasting career. ESPN is smart to have him start out mostly in the studio to get more experience.

Tracking the NHL 2022 media changes

November 6 Toronto vs. Carolina, 5p Mike Monaco/Brian Boucher/AJ Mleczko ESPN
November 8 Edmonton @ Tampa Bay, 7:30p Dave Randorf/Shane Hnidy/Nabil Karim TNT
November 12 Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 1p Stephen Nelson/Mike Rupp NHL Network
November 16 Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
November 19 New Jersey @ Ottawa, 1p Stephen Nelson/Kevin Weekes NHL Network
November 23 Ottawa @ Las Vegas, 10p Alex Faust/Shane Hnidy/Jackie Redmond TNT
November 26 Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 1p E.J. Hradek/Kevin Weekes NHL Network
November 30 Edmonton @ Chicago, 9:30p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT

TNT got smart and brought in Dave Randorf. This was in part because Randorf covers what was the home team (8). Still, Randorf understands the idea of a national telecast, a difficult task at times for some U.S. national announcers.

Randorf is one of the few announcers who has called a national game in Canada and the United States.

ESPN had audio issues with AJ Mleczko at ice level. Unfortunately, we could hear Brian Boucher just fine. ESPN should work harder to have Ray Ferraro on the few games they cover with Canadian based teams.

The TNT primary crew was in Edmonton on November 16. Olczyk is now on the West Coast so being out west isn't a stretch. Albert, Olczyk, and Jones are good announcers to have in a dog game and that game (16) was a dog.

I liked the days of Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes calling games so having Weekes on a showcase game is great. Stephen Nelson is growing on your humble narrator and has an edge over E.J. Hradek.

Shane Hnidy, former Winnipeg Jets analyst on TSN3, called 2 games on TNT, the latter involving his current employer. Randorf and Hnidy are good guys but looks bad to have them work games with their present employer in a national telecast.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We decided to include the October 15 games since they appeared on the NHL Center Ice free preview.

The Sunday night block is defined as Heartland, Great Canadian Baking Show, and Moonshine. The Buzzr is a CBC Sports newsletter. My Life as a Rolling Stone: Sixty Years of Rock and Roll is only on CBC Gem.

Good to get some love for Season 2 of Sort Of in the CBC promos on CBC and CBC Gem.

The October 15 (early game) Family Feud Canada promo aired before the start of the 2nd period. The October 15 (late game) The National promo aired before the start of the 3rd period. The November 5 curling promo aired before the start of the 3rd period, which is a technical violation. Promos are supposed to run during game action. We know this game went fast but Rogers Sportsnet is supposed to air 6 promos, not 5.

The November 26 game also only had 5 promos. They had plenty of time and opportunities to get in that 6th promo but made other decisions.

The November 12 game was via the Citytv feed, not CBC.

October 15 early game: Fakes; The Buzzer (1st); Family Feud Canada; Sunday night block (2nd); The National; Summit '72 (3rd)

October 15 late game: Fakes; The Buzzer (1st); Family Feud Canada; Sunday night block (2nd); The National; Summit '72 (3rd)

October 29 early game: Sunday night block (1st); Summit '72; The National; Moonshine; Skate Canada International (2nd); Great Canadian Baking Show (3rd)

November 5 early game: Moonshine; Sort Of (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show (2nd); Mixed Doubles Curling Super Series; Sunday night block (3rd)

November 26 early game: My Life as a Rolling Stone: Sixty Years of Rock and Roll; The Fifth Estate (1st); Marketplace; Soccer North (2nd); Sort Of (3rd)

photo credit: NHL; Rogers Sportsnet/NHL
Twitter captures: @itzmartinaol; @TriumphTheBand; @SanJoseSharks
video credit: Rogers Sportsnet/NHL

Toronto Argonauts thwart Winnipeg's 3-peat hopes in 2022 Grey Cup

This championship belongs to you, Toronto.

Celebrate with us this Thursday at Maple Leaf Square! 🌊 pic.twitter.com/5CDYGzIHxb

— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) November 21, 2022

The Toronto Argonauts 6-game Grey Cup streak went up against the 3-peat hopes of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2022 Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The game itself was kind of a snoozefest in the first half though in typical CFL style, the end of the game was exciting.

The Argos bested the Blue Bombers in a 24-23 battle to win the 109th Grey Cup.

The kickers were definitely in the spotlight.

Toronto's Boris Bede missed a 36-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter but did get a single. That was theoretically the difference in the 1-point win. Winnipeg's Marc Liegghio missed a convert after Janarion Grant's Grey Cup record-setting 102-yard punt return.

Liegghio made a 45-yard field goal but had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked. Bede was 3-6 in field goals, missing from 36, 52, and 42 yards, one of those being a blocked field goal attempt.

The kicker could be to blame, depending on which team won the Grey Cup. Many Blue Bombers fans haven't been happy with Liegghio for some time.

THE MAN IS SOMETHIN’ ELSE

pic.twitter.com/ZInSGU4Zz9

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) November 21, 2022

Chad Kelly has had very few chances to shine as the Toronto backup quarterback. McLeod Bethel-Thompson barely was a .500 quarterback, going 15-for-28 for 203 yards before dislocating his thumb in the fourth quarter. Kelly went 4-for-6 for 43 yards with a key scramble that set up a late touchdown.

Zach Collaros was relatively human, going 14-for-23 for 183 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Collaros was dealing with an injured ankle. Credit to the Argos defence for putting considerable pressure on Collaros. The Argos defence had 4 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Earned & Deserved! 😤 @HenocMuamba pic.twitter.com/6GcnorGdIW

— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) November 21, 2022

The idea of the same winning player winning the Grey Cup most valuable player award and most outstanding Canadian award seemed impossible. Andrew Harris changed that in 2019 and now Toronto middle linebacker Henoc Muamba pulled off the feat in 2022.

Muamba had a key interception late in the fourth quarter.

Getting back to the Grey Cup had been a long road for Muamba, who played for Winnipeg in 2011 when the Blue Bombers lost to BC. That was Muamba's rookie year and only Grey Cup appearance before last night.

Speaking of Andrew Harris, this was his 4th Grey Cup win and 3rd in a row. 

Teagan Littlechief delivers an O Canada rendition that incorporates English, French, and Cree. 🇨🇦 #GreyCup109 pic.twitter.com/qLqaxh1Owm

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 20, 2022

Toronto's Robbie Smith, who just a few plays earlier had extended the game with a 15-yard face mask penalty, also blocked Legghio’s kick. A fine line between goat and hero.

AJ DOES IT AGAIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/JXMGV7mqFQ

— Toronto Argonauts (@TorontoArgos) November 21, 2022

The Toronto Argonauts did lose the Grey Cup in 1987 to Edmonton. Since then, the Argos won the Grey Cup in 1991 (Calgary), 1996 (Edmonton), 1997 (Saskatchewan), 2004 (BC), 2012 (Calgary), 2017 (Calgary), and 2022 (Winnipeg).

The Edmonton franchise has the only 2 streaks of longer than 2 straight Grey Cup wins since the modern CFL era started in 1954.

Years	Team	Streak
1978-1982	Edmonton	5
1954-1956	Edmonton	3
2019, 2021	Winnipeg	2
2009-2010	Montréal	2
1996-1997	Toronto	2
1968-1969	Ottawa	2
1961-1962	Winnipeg	2
1958-1959	Winnipeg	2

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats wouldn't mind just winning a single Grey Cup. The Ticats streak dates back to 1999.

2022 CFL Grey Cup preview

2022 CFL division finals preview

2022 CFL playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The Toronto Argonauts are now 7-0 in Grey Cups over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. True, those previous wins came between 1937 and 1950. The Argos were victorious in 1937-1938, 1945-1947, and 1950.

Taking in my first #CFL game as a fan in almost 20 years! Should be a great game! Love both teams but cheering for @Wpg_BlueBombers today! pic.twitter.com/1jTGsD0RnL

— Sara Orlesky (@saraorlesky) November 13, 2022

Was odd not seeing Matthew Scianitti or Sara Orlesky on the sidelines at a Grey Cup game on TSN. Scianitti is in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup and Orlesky works for the Winnipeg Jets. Claire Hanna and Farhan Lalji did really well on the sidelines for the 2022 Grey Cup.

We should also note that this was a season free of screwups from the ESPN channels, ESPN+, and TSN. No audio issues from the TSN studio or technical issues from the ESPN folks. Hopefully, that will keep going in 2023.

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambroisie leaked out that the league will switch to Saturday playoff games though the Grey Cup stays on Sunday. If this sounds familiar, the CFL did this in 2008 and then switched back in 2009. We may start to care in about 11 months.

The 110th Grey Cup will be in November 2023 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.

Twitter captures: @TorontoArgos; @Wpg_BlueBombers; @TorontoArgos; @TSN_Sports; @TorontoArgos; @saraorlesky
logo credit: CFL

2022 FIFA World Cup preview for Team Canada

Group F 🇧🇪🇨🇦🇲🇦🇭🇷#CANMNT #WeCAN #FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/cypz9cTTx0

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) April 1, 2022

For the first time since 1986, Canada is relevant in a men's World Cup of football (soccer). Canada is in Group F in Qatar, site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Canada's opponents in order of appearance are Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco. Canada went 0-3 in games and 0-5 in goals in 1986, the only other World Cup appearance for the men's team.

Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) and Jonathan David (Lille) led the Canada squad.

Midfield stars include Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto) and Atiba Huchinson. Hutchinson would be the oldest player ever to play at a World Cup at 39 years, 9 months, and 3 days.

Canada will not be at full strength. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau fractured his leg while playing for LAFC in the MLS Cup. His team had a better day, pulling off the comeback. Centre back Scott Kennedy suffered a shoulder injury with German club SSV Jahn. Toronto FC centre back Doneil Henry was injured during warmups before a friendly match with Bahrain.

The goalkeepers will be Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade) and Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United) along with CF Montréal goalkeeper James Pantemis, who replaces Crepeau.

John Herdman will lead the way as head coach of the Canadian men's national soccer team.

YOUR #CANMNT WORLD CUP SQUAD. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Kzq0auPgJw

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 13, 2022

Here is the Canadian schedule:

Date	Opponent	Time	Stadium	City	U.S. TV
November 23	Belgium	2p	Ahmad bin Ali Stadium	Al Rayyan	Fox
November 27	Croatia	11a	Khalifa International Stadium	Al Rayyan	FS1
December 1	Morocco	10a	Al Thumama Stadium	Doha	FS1

Times listed are Eastern time. Qatar time is 8 hours ahead of EST.

CTV and TSN have the coverage in Canada with both outlets carrying the Canadian matches. The Bell Media outlets have extensive pregames for the Canada games and coverage starting 15 minutes before the times listed in the above table.

Fox Sports has the coverage of games in the United States. JP Dellacamera, Cobi Jones, and Geoff Shreeves will have the first Canada match on Fox. Dellacamera and Jones call the other Canada matches on Fox Sports 1. 

The tournament starts tomorrow though Canada won't play until Wednesday.

Toronto, Vancouver in; Edmonton out for FIFA 2026 World Cup host cities

Canada played Morocco in 2016, a friendly game that Morocco won 4–0. The countries played 2 other matches against each other. The only time Canada played Belgium was a friendly game in 1989. Belgium won 2–0. Canada has never played Croatia.

Canada, ranked at 41, is the lowest seed based on October 2022 FIFA rankings in Group F. Belgium is ranked at 2, Croatia is at 12, and Morocco ranks at 22.

Toronto Life has a bandwagon guide for those catching up on football (aka soccer). 

Canada draws Group F for the 2022 World Cup

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The Canadian women's team in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup learned its opponents: Australia (co-host), Ireland, and Nigeria in Group B.

The women's team has made 8 World Cup appearances since its debut in 1995. The team's best result was 4th in 2003. The women's team is the defending gold medal champions from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Twitter captures: @CanadaSoccerEN; @Sportsnet
photo credit: FIFA

2022 CFL Grey Cup preview

Our ears are still ringing...#GCPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/kyIYzed5Up

— CFL (@CFL) November 14, 2022

The Toronto Argonauts have the Grey Cup rematch they wanted in 2021. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are looking to do something very rare in the modern era: win 3 Grey Cup titles in a row.

Toronto and Winnipeg will play in the 109th Grey Cup to determine the CFL champion at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Argos running back Andrew Harris has some very unfinished business, having signed with Toronto after leaving Winnipeg. Harris has 3 Grey Cup rings, 1 with the BC Lions (2011) and the Blue Bombers (2019, 2021).

This is the first time since 2018 that both top seeds made the Grey Cup. Calgary defeated Ottawa that season for the Grey Cup.

While this is the first trip for the Argos to the Grey Cup since 2017, Toronto has won the last 6 Grey Cups as a participant, a streak that goes back to 1987.

Due to the quirk in the scheduling where not every team plays each other home and home, the only time these teams met was on July 4 where Winnipeg edged out Toronto 23-22 at BMO Field. The Argos missed an extra point late in the game.

ESPN2

Sunday
Toronto vs. Winnipeg at Regina, 6:30p

TSN

Sunday
Toronto vs. Winnipeg at Regina, 6:30p

Ja'Gared Davis has been to every Grey Cup since 2016 when he first started playing to the CFL. The defensive end still hasn't had to buy a ticket to the CFL title game.

Davis played for Calgary (2016-2018) and Hamilton (2019, 2021) before moving on to Toronto in 2022. Despite playing in the last 5 Grey Cups, Davis only has a single Grey Cup ring with the Stampeders win in 2018.

Hank Ilesic has the record with 7 consecutive Grey Cups (1977-1983). Ilesic won 6 of those 7 Grey Cups (Edmonton 1978-1982, Toronto 1983). He started with Edmonton in 1977 straight out of high school as a punter.

2022 CFL division finals preview

Ryan Dinwiddie is in his first Grey Cup as a head coach for the Toronto Argonauts. Dinwiddie's first Grey Cup as a player came in his first CFL start. He came in off the bench for Kevin Glenn for the 2007 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers won the East but Glenn suffered a broken arm in the East final.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders snapped a 18-year streak by winning the Grey Cup in 2007.

Mike O'Shea has won 2 Grey Cups as a head coach for Winnipeg. O'Shea's 4 other Grey Cups were with the Toronto Argonauts. He was a part of the Grey Cup winning teams in 1996, 1997, and 2004 as a linebacker and 2012 as a special teams coordinator with the Argos.

2022 CFL playoffs preview

Dave Naylor plays a bit of "what would have happened" in terms of Zach Collaros and the 2 teams in this year's Grey Cup.

But in terms of moments than changed CFL history you only need to go back to October of 2019.

That’s when then Argos GM Jim Popp negotiated a contract with Collaros whom Toronto had acquired from Saskatchewan a few weeks earlier.

Collaros hadn’t dressed for Toronto while healing from a head injury he suffered while playing for the Roughriders. But Popp was betting on him to be the Argos starting QB in 2020.

He scheduled a meeting with Argos president Bill Manning to get the deal approved. But when he got there, Manning fired him and the Collaros contract was never signed or registered to the league.

Three days later, the Argos new management team traded him to Winnipeg. The rest, as they say, is history.

A reminder that Jim Popp is a football talent genius. Anthony Calvillo played for Las Vegas and Hamilton in the CFL before landing in Montréal. Collaros had several stops in the CFL before finding a really good match in Winnipeg. Some people questioned whether Collaros could come close to where he was at that point in his career. 

2022 CFL Week 21 preview

Winning back-to-back Grey Cups in the CFL modern era (since 1954) is pretty rare. Only Edmonton has had a longer streak in that time: 5 times (1978-1982) and 3 times (1954-1956).

The Ottawa team with the streak was the original Rough Riders.

Winnipeg went 14-2 in 1960, the only year between 1958-1962 where the Blue Bombers didn't make or win the Grey Cup. Winnipeg lost 2 out of 3 to Edmonton in the CFL playoffs and didn't advance to the 1960 Grey Cup.

Years	Team	Streak
2019-	Winnipeg	2
2009-2010	Montréal	2
1996-1997	Toronto	2
1978-1982	Edmonton	5
1968-1969	Ottawa	2
1961-1962	Winnipeg	2
1958-1959	Winnipeg	2
1954-1956	Edmonton	3

2022 CFL Week 20 preview

The last time these teams played each other in the Grey Cup was the 1950 title game known as the Mud Bowl at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. The Argos posted the last Grey Cup shutout 13-0 over the Blue Bombers.

2022 CFL Week 19 preview

We hope in great earnest that the Grey Cup revelry has returned in 2022. Sometimes, the Grey Cup week parties were more amazing than the actual game. The folks from out east aka the Atlantic Schooners would even have a party. A team that has never existed has represented at the site of the Grey Cup.

Hopefully, if you are in Regina this week, you will find things relatively close to normal in a 2019 kind of way.

This is the first Grey Cup in the new stadium in Regina. Surprisingly, Regina has only hosted 3 Grey Cups at the old Taylor Field: 1995, 2003, and 2013.

Things you don't see everyday:

A 126-yard missed convert return for 2 points for the @BCLions 😳#GCPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/URitlqxu4W

— CFL (@CFL) November 13, 2022

Terry Williams made CFL playoff history with his 126-yard return on a missed Winnipeg extra point. The Lions got 2 points that could have made a huge difference.

Montréal and BC played rather well in the division final. Both Toronto (34-27) and Winnipeg (28-20) played better and stronger when they needed to do so.

The idea of building on 2022 to go further sounds a little corny but may be the case for both of those teams. The Alouettes getting past Hamilton was huge psychologically and the Lions defeating a tough Calgary team will give some encouragement to the fan bases in Montréal and Vancouver.

Nathan Rourke won't make the Grey Cup. If there was a 3rd place bowl, we could have called it the Vernon Adams Jr. Bowl since the quarterback played for both teams in 2022.

Rourke became the first Canadian quarterback to lead his team to a playoff victory since Quebec-born Gerry Dattilio did it in 1980 for the Montréal Alouettes. In 2018, Brandon Bridge was the first Canadian QB to start a playoff game since Dattilio in 1984.

2022 CFL Week 18 preview: Thanksgiving Day weekend

Not wanting to move ahead to 2023, yet Hamilton acquiring the playing rights for American quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. The Tiger-Cats still need to sign the long-time Calgary QB when free agency starts in February. Hamilton gives up its 3rd-round pick in 2023, 5th-round pick in 2024, and future considerations.

Mitchell will show up as part of the CFL on TSN coverage.

#JordanDavis, #JoshRoss and #TylerHubbard share what their walk-in song would be to amp them up for the @CFL #GreyCup2022 half-time show! 🎶🏈

Catch it Nov. 20th on @TSN_Sports pic.twitter.com/wl0PfFgR40

— MuchMusic (@Much) November 14, 2022

ESPN2 will have Grey Cup with pregame coverage a week from Sunday starting at 5:30 pm Eastern with a simsub of the TSN feed.

Though we have listed this before now, recapping the music artists for Sunday: The Grey Cup halftime show will feature Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, Jordan Davis, and Canada's own Josh Ross. Canadian indie-alternative band Valley will play during the pregame show. Teagan Littlechief will sing O Canada in Cree, English, and French.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Rod Smith and Duane Forde with Claire Hanna were in Toronto for the East final. Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor with Farhan Lalji were in Winnipeg for the West final.

Smith said some beautiful words to the crew he was working with in Toronto. Heart on his sleeve. Smith and Suitor will call the Grey Cup while Nielson and Forde should be calling the Grey Cup on radio.

The TSN coverage is extensive leading up to kickoff.

Twitter captures: @CFL (x2); @Much
logo credit: CFL

2022 CFL division finals preview

Home teams reigned supreme in the division semifinal games. Those home teams are now the road teams in the 2022 CFL division finals.

Toronto and Winnipeg are the home sites once again, just like in 2021. The opponents are very new. Montréal won its first playoff game since 2014 and the BC Lions have a playoff win for the first time since 2016.

The Alouettes drought is more substantial. The last time Montréal defeated an East team in the playoffs was the 2010 East final over the Toronto Argonauts.

In the days of Anthony Calvillo (Montréal) and Damon Allen (Toronto), the two CFL franchises had some amazing playoff games. The last time they played each other was in the 2012 East final at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.

The season history doesn't give an accurate picture. The teams played each other down the stretch but didn't show everything they had.

Toronto won the season series with Montréal 2-1. The Argos won 20-19 on June 16 at home. The teams split the last two games of the season with the road team winning both games. Toronto won 24-23 on October 22 and Montréal won 38-33 on October 29.

Winnipeg won 43-22 in Vancouver on July 9. That was the only full game Nathan Rourke lost as a starter as the Lions quarterback. BC won 40-32 in Vancouver on October 15 while the Blue Bombers came out on top 24-9 at home on October 28.

ESPN2

Sunday
Montréal @ Toronto, 1p

ESPNews

Sunday
BC @ Winnipeg, 4:30p

TSN

Sunday
Montréal @ Toronto, 1p
BC @ Winnipeg, 4:30p

You can't stop @walterfletcher_ ...you can only hope to contain him! His incredible touchdown is our @BudweiserCanada play of the week!

What other plays stood out to you?#AlsIN pic.twitter.com/QWLriMbh6P

— Alouettes de Montréal (@MTLAlouettes) November 8, 2022

The Alouettes got the great start the team needed with a 22-6 halftime lead. Montréal has a strong running attack with Walter Fletcher and William Stanback, the latter having missed most of the regular season. The Alouettes won 28-17 on Sunday.

Alouettes fans are used to having the general manager come down to coach in the Jim Popp era. Danny Maciocia did the same though vowing not to coach in 2023. This is a jump start the team needed. Maciocia had great coaching success in Edmonton in what feels like a long time ago.

The Tiger-Cats started with Dane Evans with Matthew Shiltz arriving in the second half. Hamilton's problems continued in the playoff game with turnovers and not scoring touchdowns.

This was Montréal's first playoff win over Hamilton since 1996.

Hamilton continues the longest drought between Grey Cups, the only CFL team not to win the Grey Cup in the 21st century. The Tiger-Cats had reached the Grey Cup in the last 2 seasons in 2019 and 2021. The last Grey Cup win in the Steel City was in 1999.

Montréal has the second longest streak without a Grey Cup with the last win coming in 2010.

We had some standout performances on Sunday on all sides of the 🏈

OFFENCE: @KeonHatcher
DEFENCE: Mathieu Betts
SPECIAL TEAMS: @SeanWhyte6

Who will be the standouts in the Western Final? 🤔

Players of the Game | @937JRCountry pic.twitter.com/hjDMizEpfN

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) November 8, 2022

Nathan Rourke didn't look 100% back to the form that wowed CFL fans. Rourke still had great numbers in the 30-16 win over the Calgary Stampeders. The BC Lions great defence was on display. Holding Calgary to field goal attempts until the final 2 minutes of the game shows that the Lions are not just Nathan Rourke.

The Stampeders gambled badly on a 3rd down conversion where on the subsequent drive, BC converted on a trick play in a short yardage situation. Calgary needed a strong run game to stay in the game yet Kadeem Carey only had a single rushing attempt in the first quarter.

Bo Levi Mitchell may have played his last game with Calgary, according to the experts. Switching quarterbacks seems to be the equivalent of switching NHL goalies. Not the players fault but the easiest change to make. Mitchell did lead Calgary to its only touchdown, albeit with fewer than 2 minutes left in the game.

The Lions had lost 5 straight playoff games to the Stampeders. The previous last playoff win for BC over Calgary was the 2000 West final before winning the Grey Cup.

2022 CFL playoffs preview

2022 CFL Week 21 preview

BC Place was a festive party place on Sunday. Sarah McLachlan sang O Canada. Steven Page performed at halftime. The upper deck was open and the announced attendance was 30,114. No East stadium could fit that large of a crowd. The capacity of the Winnipeg and Calgary stadiums isn't too much larger than that crowd.

Owner Amar Doman has done a great job in revitalising the franchise. There is much more work to do. A nice example to help out Toronto and Montréal. Playoff wins help, though not in Toronto.

The Toronto Argonauts are opening the upper east side of BMO Field for the East Final due to high ticket demand. The original ticket manifest for the game was 19,000. Those seats have since sold out.

2022 CFL Week 20 preview

Note the split on the U.S. side for the television coverage. ESPN2 carried the transition time between the games last week. ESPNews will carry the transition into the West final for the U.S. audience.

ESPN2 will have Grey Cup with pregame coverage a week from Sunday starting at 5:30 pm Eastern with a simsub of the TSN feed. 

2022 CFL Week 19 preview

The Grey Cup halftime show will feature Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, Jordan Davis, and Canada's own Josh Ross. The initial release implied (inferred?) that Davis was also in that band. Punctuation is important.

Country music, well, modern country music makes sense in a Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Valley, a Canadian indie-alternative band, will play in the pregame show.

Teagan Littlechief will sing O Canada before the 109th Grey Cup, performing the national anthem in Cree, English, and French.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Rod Smith and Duane Forde with Matthew Scianitti were in Montréal for the East semifinal. Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor with Farhan Lalji were in Vancouver for the West semifinal.

The same configuration will be in place on Sunday for the division finals, except Claire Hanna will be in for Scianitti since he is off to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. 

Paul LaPolice went back to his backup job in the CFL on TSN studio coverage. The former Ottawa head coach may only do this temporarily, though LaPolice is also good at that job.

logo credit: CFL
Twitter captures: @MTLAlouettes; @BCLions

2022 CFL playoffs preview

CFL Playoffs are set! LET'S GOOOO!

Western Final: TBD at Winnipeg
Western Semi-Final: Calgary at BC
Eastern Final: TBD at Toronto
Eastern Semi-Final: Hamilton at Montrealhttps://t.co/QZ7r7dQ4tF

— Kristina Costabile (@kcostabile1) October 23, 2022

The 2022 CFL playoffs have 6 teams: 3 in the East and 3 in the West. This is the second year in a row where that is true. The crossover seemed to be a part of the CFL playoff picture in the late 2010s.

Winnipeg and Toronto have byes and await their opponents for home games in those cities on November 13. Those were the sites of the CFL division finals in 2021. The difference was that Hamilton pulled off the road upset while Winnipeg came out on top.

The 2022 Grey Cup will be in Regina, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a team that missed the playoffs.

Montréal won the season series over Hamilton 2-1 with each team winning at home. The Tiger-Cats won 24-17 on July 28 in the Steel City. The Alouettes edged out a win 29-28 on August 20. Montréal got the tiebreaker with a 23-16 win on September 23. In the 3 games, the Alouettes scored 1 more point than the Tiger-Cats.

The West semifinal produced the opposite result, where the road team won every game in 2022. The Lions posted a 41-40 win in Calgary on August 13 in what was the most exciting game in the league in 2022. BC pulled out a 31-29 overtime win on September 17. Calgary had the widest margin of victory in Vancouver with a 25-11 win over the BC Lions on September 24. The Stampeders had a +11 point advantage despite losing 2 out of 3.

Nathan Rourke played the first quarter for the BC Lions last Friday. That makes an already intriguing West semifinal that much more interesting.

ESPN2

Sunday
Hamilton @ Montréal, 1p
Calgary @ BC, 4:30p

TSN

Sunday
Hamilton @ Montréal, 1p
Calgary @ BC, 4:30p

The BC Lions playoff drought is on some level related to 2018. The Lions crossed over because BC won a tiebreaker with Edmonton. The Lions went into Hamilton and lost 48-8.

2016 marked the 20th straight playoff year for the BC Lions, longer than any current streak. BC hosted a playoff game that year in the West Division. The playoff drought in Vancouver has been severe.

This is the first indoor CFL playoff game since 2016. In 2012, 3 of the 4 CFL playoff games leading into the Grey Cup were played indoors.

The BC Lions under new owner Amar Doman get a well-deserved break in hosting the 2024 Grey Cup in Vancouver. The West Coast city has hosted the Grey Cup 16 times, the most recent time was 2014.

2022 CFL Week 21 preview

Given that a West team crept into the East semifinal 2016-2019, 2014, 2012, and 2009, Hamilton and Montréal couldn't get together too often in the CFL playoffs. Yet Sunday's game will be the 4th game the 2 teams have played in the East semifinal since 2011.

Year	Road	Home	Score
2021	Montréal	Hamilton	12-23
2013	Montréal	Hamilton	16-19*
2011	Hamilton	Montréal	52-44*

*game went into overtime

This doesn't bode well for the Alouettes, the team that lost all 3 of these playoff games.

The 2013 game was the infamous wind game in Guelph, ON.

Team	Total	Home	Road
BC	8	5	3
Saskatchewan	6	4	2
Winnipeg	5	1	4
Ottawa	5	2	3
Montréal	4	2	2
Toronto	4	2	2
Edmonton	3	2	1
Hamilton	3	0	3
Calgary	2	2	0

 

The BC Lions had the biggest bounce back on the field and ESPN cable appearances. Almost half of the BC games were on U.S. cable TV, including 5 in Vancouver. Saskatchewan had 6 games with 4 at home on ESPN2 or ESPNews.

The Ottawa RedBlacks, worst team in the East, got 5 appearances along with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, best team in the West.

For the second year in a row, Tim Hortons Field, home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, did not get on TV. Calgary was only shown at home.

June 16 Montréal @ Toronto, 7:30p ESPN2
June 17 Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7:30p ESPN2
June 18 Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 9:30p ESPNEWS
June 24 Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p ESPN2
June 25 Toronto @ BC, 10p ESPN2
June 30 BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p ESPN2

July 2 Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p ESPN2
July 8 Ottawa @ Saskatchewan, 9:30p ESPNEWS
July 9 Winnipeg @ BC, 7p ESPNEWS
July 14 Edmonton @ Montréal, 7:30p ESPN2
July 22 Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p ESPN2
July 23 Toronto @ Saskatchewan, 7p ESPNEWS
July 29 BC @ Saskatchewan, 9p ESPN2
July 30 Winnipeg @ Calgary, 7p ESPN2

August 6 Hamilton @ Toronto, 7p ESPN2 // Edmonton @ BC, 10p ESPN2
August 13 BC at Calgary, 7p ESPNews
August 26 Saskatchewan @ BC, 10:30p ESPN2

September 23 Hamilton @ Montréal, 7:30p ESPN2
September 30 Ottawa @ BC, 10:30p ESPN2
October 10 Ottawa @ Montréal, 1p ESPN2

2022 CFL Week 20 preview

Year	Team	Result
2019	Edmonton (8-10)	beat Montréal (10-8), lost to Hamilton (15-3)
2018	BC (9-9)	lost to Hamilton (8-10)
2017	Saskatchewan (10-8)	beat Ottawa (8-9-1), lost to Toronto (9-9)
2016	Edmonton (10-8)	beat Hamilton (7-11), lost to Ottawa (8-9-1)
2014	BC (9-9)	lost to Montréal (9-9)
2012	Edmonton (7-11)	lost to Toronto (9-9)
2009	BC (8-10)	beat Hamilton (9-9), lost to Montréal (15-3)
2008	Edmonton (10-8)	beat Winnipeg (8-10), lost to Montréal (11-7)
2005	Saskatchewan (9-9)	lost to Montréal (10-8)
2003	BC (11-7)	lost to Toronto (9-9)
2002	Saskatchewan (8-10)	lost to Toronto (8-10)
1997	BC (8-10)	lost to Montréal (13-5)

5 of the final 6 CFL seasons in the 2010s had a crossover. Hasn't been one since 2019. 2015 was the sole season in that stretch where there was no crossover. There were 3 East teams all above .500. In fact, the 3rd place BC Lions in 2015 were a playoff team under .500.

2015 was also the first year all 3 Ontario teams made the playoffs since 1983. Ottawa had a 12-6 record and Hamilton and Toronto tied at 10-8.

This season, the East semifinal will be Hamilton (8-10) at Montréal (9-9). By contrast, the Lions and Stampeders were both 12-6. BC hosts the West semifinal because of winning the tiebreaker with Calgary.

2022 CFL Week 19 preview

Saskatchewan didn't waste time adjusting its coaching roster. Craig Dickenson stays as head coach. 3 assistant coaches are gone: Jason Maas (offensive coordinator), Stephen Sorrells (run game coordinator and offensive line), and Travis Moore (receivers).

The offensive line blocking was a key negative for the Roughriders. Cody Fajardo's injuries did not help plus the awkward, reluctant inclusion to finally give Mason Fine some time.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor did 2 games out west with Farhan Lalji on Friday in Winnipeg and Brit Dort on Saturday in Calgary.

Marshall Ferguson and Duane Forde started out the tripleheader with Matthew Scianitti in Toronto. Rod Smith and Matt Dunigan with Claire Hanna were in Ottawa for the middle game.

Twitter capture: @kcostabile1
logo credit: CFL