Canadian Crossing

NHL the month in preview January 2020

Editor's note: The January 29 Calgary game in Edmonton is now a national telecast in Canada.

NBCSN gives us an all-Canadian matchup with Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews and their respective Edmonton-Toronto teams. Like the December 17 Toronto Maple Leafs game, Chris Cuthbert is calling the game on TSN4 while Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro are in the Czech Republic.

The NHL Network might have set a record for a pair of Hometown Hockey games in January. Ottawa has 2 games, both on the road, in the month. Your humble narrator is hoping for backup games on the weekend leading up to the All-Star Game break.

ESPN+ goes pretty light on Canadian teams until after the All-Star Game break.

The NHL All-Star Game break runs January 23-26. The last NHL All-Star Game on Canadian soil was in 2012 in Ottawa. We haven't seen a midseason NHL Center Ice free preview in years.

NBCSN

January 6
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p

NHL Network

January 4
Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
January 10
Ottawa @ Detroit, 7:30p
January 12
Toronto @ Florida, 7p (HH)
January 18
Chicago @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
January 19
Winnipeg @ Chicago, 7p (HH)
January 28
Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7p

ESPN+

January 2
Chicago @ Vancouver, 10p
January 4
Edmonton @ Boston, 1p
NY Islanders @ Toronto, 7p
January 14
Nashville @ Edmonton, 9p
January 16
Montréal @ Philadelphia, 7p
January 17
Tampa Bay @ Winnipeg, 8p
January 27
Washington @ Montréal, 7p
St. Louis @ Vancouver, 10p
January 28
St. Louis @ Calgary, 9p
January 29
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10:30p
January 30
Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p

Hockey Night in Canada

January 4

NY Islanders @ Toronto, 7p/Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p/Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 7p
NY Rangers @ Vancouver, 10p

January 11

Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p

January 18

Chicago @ Toronto, 7p/Las Vegas @ Montréal, 7p
San Jose @ Vancouver, 10p

Hometown Hockey

January 5 Calgary @ Minnesota, 7p (Cobourg, ON)

January 12 Toronto @ Florida, 7p (Vaughan, ON)

January 19 Winnipeg @ Chicago, 7p (Hamilton, ON)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

January 4 Edmonton @ Boston, 1p

January 8 Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7:30p

January 11 Vancouver @ Buffalo, 1p

January 15 Chicago @ Montréal, 7p

January 18 Arizona @ Edmonton, 3p

January 22 Winnipeg @ Columbus, 7:30p

January 28 St. Louis @ Calgary, 9p

January 29 Toronto @ Dallas, 7:30p/Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p

Bill Peters resigns as Calgary Flames head coach in light of racial slurs against player

What little chance Bill Peters had in keeping his job as coach of the Calgary Flames disappeared after his apology letter. Geoff Ward should remain the interim coach for the rest of the season to give some continuity to the Flames.

Canada keeps talking about having conversations on racial issues, in and out of sports. Here's to hoping that happens. This isn't just about "hockey is for everyone" but the idea that any sport or organisation should want the best people and make them feel included.

NHL the month in preview December 2019

You might recall last year when the Canadian sports media was obsessed with the William Nylander holdout and last-minute signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This year, Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi had a similar holdout and missed the December 1 deadline, so he can't play in the NHL this season.

Puljujarvi has been playing with SM-Liiga’s Karpat in Finland and hasn't show much interest in playing for Edmonton. He complained about not being high enough on the depth chart for the Oilers. Puljujarvi is coming off his entry-level contract.

Edmonton hasn't shown any interest in trading Puljujarvi's NHL rights. Puljujarvi had 17 goals and 37 points in 139 NHL games.

Why is Meng Wanzhou still in Canada?

We are now in 2020. Meng Wanzhou is still in Canada. Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are still trapped in unspeakable conditions in China. Huawei is still sponsoring Hockey Night in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet.

Contracts are contracts but the idea that a Chinese company that has essentially kidnapped Canadians has such a prominent role in one of Canada's leading institutions would seem to be a good enough reason to break a contract.

CBC isn't perfect but can't even imagine the public broadcaster messing this up so badly where Hockey Night in Canada is involved.

Calgary voters say no to 2026 Winter Olympics

The Calgary Flames are getting a new arena. The funding is set for the replacement of the Saddledome. The new arena will be north of the Saddledome in the Victoria Park neighbourhood. The Calgary Event Centre will be part of the planned entertainment district bordering the Stampede grounds.

The Flames not having a new arena was a sticky point for NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, since the Flames were the only team without a new arena under Bettman's long dynasty (Madison Square Garden for the New York Rangers was significantly modified).

Calgary could have made some of that money back by hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics. The plebiscite, with about a 40% turnout, went with "no" by 56.4% of the vote. The Olympics bid would have helped get a replacement for McMahon Stadium, home of the CFL Calgary Stampeders (owned by the same organisation that owns the Flames).

Construction won't start until the third quarter of 2021 with scheduled completion in the spring of 2024. Seriously.

NHL the month in preview November 2019

NHL the month in preview October 2019

December 17 Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p: Kenny Albert and Pierre McGuire

Bad timing to have a Toronto Maple Leafs game on NBCSN with Chris Cuthbert calling the game on TSN4 and Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro flying to the Czech Republic. Even if Miller and Ferraro were on the continent, the TSN lineup was full that night with Habs (TSN2), Leafs (TSN4), and Senators (TSN5).

Albert and McGuire were about the best NBCSN could do under the circumstances, especially on a rare game on Canadian soil.

Odd how @NBCSN will embrace @cmcdavid97 vs. @AM34 next month, but @NHLNetwork runs scared since the channel won't carry all-Canadian matchups unless they are @MapleLeafs vs. @CanadiensMTL. @NHL should look into that.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) December 14, 2019

The NHL Network has a logic to its schedule. That logic isn't noteworthy or useful. The channel can show a Canadian team against a U.S. team but not an all-Canadian matchup. The channel will carry a Toronto-Montréal game on Hockey Night in Canada. There was a Calgary-Toronto game on a Monday night last season, though the restrictions seem to apply more to Hockey Night in Canada.

When NBCSN looks more relevant and informed than the NHL Network, we have to wonder if the NHL Network is running a fever. The channel never responds to us on Twitter so we have no way to know.

We gave up tracking matinee games at the right time. The NHL Network has severely cut back on the number of games overall and especially for Canadian teams. Seems rather counterproductive.

As for Rogers Sportsnet, using Kevin Quinn on Hockey Night in Canada for a Montréal-Edmonton game on December 21 is unacceptable and unappealing. Quinn is the weak link in the lineup: using him with Edmonton versus a U.S. team isn't great. All-Canadian matchups deserve a more neutral announcer team. Rogers did let go Paul Romanuk but could use him as a fill-in instead of R.J. Broadhead or brought over John Shorthouse to help.  

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

The 2020 World Juniors in Ostrava and Třinec in the Czech Republic take a break today for New Year's Day. Canada and United States were in Group B. The gold medal game will be on January 5. TSN in Canada and NHL Network in the United States continue to have the coverage. 

Canada defeated the United States 6-4 on Boxing Day in Ostrava to snap a 4-game losing streak against their neighbour. Alexis Lafreniere, Canada's best player, suffered a left knee injury in the 6-0 loss to Russia. The shutout against Canada was the first in over two decades. That was the only loss for Canada as the team won Group B. Canada will face Slovakia in a 1B/4A matchup. The groups cross over so 1A/4B and 2B/3A play along with 1B/4A and 2A/3B. The winners play each other. Those winners advance to the gold medal game.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The first Still Standing season finale promo on December 7 came before the 2nd period started. 5 promos in a period is absolutely ridiculous. The Alpine Skiing was from Lake Louise, AB. Family Feud Canada debuted in the early timeslot but is running outside prime time.

December 7 early game: None (1st); Still Standing; Alpine Skiing; Family Feud Canada; Still Standing; Kim's Convenience (2nd); Family Feud Canada (3rd)

December 28 early game: Family Feud Canada; Kim's Convenience (1st); Coroner; Family Feud Canada; Kim's Convenience (2nd); Coroner (3rd)

Twitter capture: @canadian_xing

NHL the month in preview December 2019

NBCSN has a lone December telecast with Toronto hosting its American cousins from Buffalo close to the holiday break.

The NHL Network has its Ottawa season debut near the end of the month, though on the road in Pittsburgh. The channel will show a highly rare NHL game from Alberta on New Year's Eve. The New York Rangers have more appearances (3) just against Canadian teams in December than Montréal (2), Winnipeg (0), and Vancouver (0) combined.

The Jets got 3 telecasts in the first 2 weeks but have disappeared since then. The Canucks would love to have that problem as the NHL Network hasn't carried Vancouver this season.

The 2020 World Juniors start on Boxing Day, December 26, in Ostrava and Třinec in the Czech Republic. The gold medal game will be on January 5, 2020. TSN in Canada and NHL Network in the United States will have the coverage. The games are in the middle of the afternoon in the eastern part of the United States, so the NHL Network is taking advantage and showing NHL games in prime time.

The NHL takes a holiday winter break between December 24-26.

NBCSN

December 17
Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p

NHL Network

December 1
Montréal @ Boston, 7p (HH)
December 7
Toronto @ St. Louis, 7p (HNIC)
December 14
Detroit @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
December 20
Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
December 22
Calgary @ Dallas, 7p (HH)
December 28
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
December 30
Ottawa @ Pittsburgh, 7p
December 31
NY Rangers @ Edmonton, 9p

ESPN+

December 1
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p
December 3
Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7p
December 8
Buffalo @ Edmonton, 8p
December 9
Calgary @ Colorado, 9p
December 10
Montréal @ Pittsburgh, 7p
December 15
Philadelphia @ Winnipeg, 5p
December 17
Carolina @ Winnipeg, 8p
Pittsburgh @ Calgary, 9p
December 19
Nashville @ Ottawa, 7:30p
December 20
Pittsburgh @ Edmonton, 9p
December 21
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p
December 23
Carolina @ Toronto, 2p
December 27
Calgary @ Edmonton, 9p

Hockey Night in Canada

December 7

Buffalo @ Vancouver, 4p/Toronto @ St. Louis, 7p
Los Angeles @ Calgary, 10p

December 14

Columbus @ Ottawa, 1p/Toronto @ Edmonton, 7p/Detroit @ Montréal, 7p
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10p

December 21

Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 2p/Detroit @ Toronto, 7p/Montréal @ Edmonton, 7p/Philadelphia @ Ottawa, 7p
Pittsburgh @ Vancouver, 10p

December 28

NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p

Hometown Hockey

December 1 Montréal @ Boston, 7p (Red Deer, AB)

December 8 Buffalo @ Edmonton, 8p (Prince Rupert, BC)

December 15 Vancouver @ Las Vegas, 8p (Abbotsford, BC)

December 22 Calgary @ Dallas, 7p (Strathmore, AB)

December 29 Montréal @ Florida, 7p (Whitby, ON)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

December 4 Colorado @ Toronto, 7p

December 10 Calgary @ Arizona, 9p

December 11 Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p

December 18 Edmonton @ St. Louis, 8:30p

December 20 Pittsburgh @ Edmonton, 9p

December 29 Vancouver @ Calgary, 9:30p

December 31 Toronto @ Minnesota, 6p/NY Rangers @ Edmonton, 9p

Don Cherry is out of Coach's Corner

Coach's Corner is gone as Ron MacLean noted on the Saturday night after the Don Cherry fallout. MacLean's tribute to Don Cherry sounded like Cherry had passed away.

We knew there would be a transition. Brian Burke was the centre of speculation and that might happen down the road. Rogers Sportsnet has a chance to rethink the first intermission segment and may want to start fresh in the fall of 2020.

Stan Temming of Yahoo Sports Canada suggested Burke, Paul Bissonnette, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and Patrick Roy as possible replacements. Those are excellent choices. I would throw in Hayley Wickenheiser and yes, Glenn Healy. Healy is really smart on hockey, opinionated, and has lots of experience with Hockey Night in Canada.

As for the future of hockey, Don Cherry fans should take a look at this vision of the good ol' hockey game. (Here is the original version with Ron and Don.)

Why Canadian markets struggle in the @NHL: too much short-term thinking. #MikeBabcock is one of the great coaching minds. @MapleLeafs problems much deeper than the coach. No offence to #SheldonKeefe. https://t.co/WNTwh0wOpO

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) November 20, 2019

Don Cherry getting fired is the only reason that the Toronto Maple Leafs firing Mike Babcock isn't the top story of the month. The tweet says it all: short-term thinking doesn't help most NHL teams get out of the doldrums. The Maple Leafs had significant injuries, a lack of depth on defence, and a backup goalie situation so bad Toronto needed a 36-year-old accountant to play, like Chicago had in 2018. 

Mike Babcock is one of the best coaches in the league; no offence to Sheldon Keefe, who is in his first NHL head coach position. Keefe might make the Leafs a bit better in the short term. Toronto's goal should be the Stanley Cup. Babcock understood what that took. 

Babcock might have been fired for the playoff losses. Getting past Boston when the refs are on the side of the Bruins was a problem that even Babcock couldn't solve.

Canadian ads from fall 2019 NHL Center Ice free preview

Canadian political ads from fall 2019 NHL Center Ice free preview

We ran the rest of the Canadian ads from the NHL Center Ice free preview in November. The 2019 election called for a separate entry. Hope you enjoyed all the ads. We also have the ads on our YouTube page. The service stopped running those idiotic promos that blocked out the first commercial in the break so we got more ads.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

All 7 Canadian teams playing on a Saturday is fairly common. The challenge for Rogers Sportsnet on November 2 was having to cover all 7 teams AND not have them play each other. None of those games were in Canada. This was the only time ever that 7 Canadian teams played on a Saturday all outside Canada.

Edmonton @ Pittsburgh for the Saturday matinee went to the Oilers local weekend crew with Kevin Quinn and Drew Remenda.

The 7 pm timeslot had Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, and Calgary.

• Toronto: Jim Hughson/Craig Simpson
• Montréal: John Bartlett/Garry Galley
• Ottawa: R.J. Broadhead/Greg Millen
• Calgary: Rick Ball/Cassie Campbell-Pascall (Flames local weekend crew)

The late games had Vancouver and Winnipeg in warmer climates. Dave Randorf and Louie DeBrusk had the Jets not on CBC while the Canucks crew — John Shorthouse and John Garrett — called the Vancouver game on CBC. Vancouver is seen as higher on the NHL chain than Winnipeg. Scott Oake almost always works the CBC game and he didn't on November 2.

Bob Cole likely would have been in Ottawa if this happened last season.

Regina is the 14th Canadian city – and second in Saskatchewan – to play host to a regular-season NHL game (indoors or outdoors). #NHLStats #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/jTyissSQWl

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 27, 2019

I asked the NHL Public Relations on Twitter for help on the missing city on my list. They did not reply to my message on Twitter. Let's go through the ones we know.

• Winnipeg, Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Kanata, Vancouver — current Canadian cities with a NHL franchise
• Quebec City — Canadian city with a previous NHL franchise
• Ottawa — early NHL days and the 2017 NHL 100 Classic
• Saskatoon, Hamilton, Halifax — Canadian cities that hosted NHL games from 1992-1994
• Regina — 2019 Heritage Classic host

Ottawa and Hamilton had old-time NHL franchises. As far as we know, they didn't play outside their cities.

The early 1990s experiment brought 8 games to Hamilton; 6 to Saskatoon; and 3 to Halifax.

We know from the cryptic clue in the tweet that the missing city is not in Saskatchewan. Let us know in the comments section if you know the missing city.

NHL the month in preview November 2019

There might have been a time where Mike Milbury might have fit in well in the Coach's Corner seat. Cranky and knowledgeable, Milbury would have excelled in that role. Milbury struggles as a game analyst and has trouble not pulling for Boston. I would rather have Eddie Olczyk call a Chicago game with a Canadian team than Mike Milbury with Boston. NBCSN should know better.

The Edmonton telecast is essentially a simulcast of the NBC Sports California feed. Yawn.

November 5 Boston @ Montréal, 7:30p: John Forslund/Mike Milbury
November 19 Edmonton @ San Jose, 10:30p: Randy Hahn/Kendall Coyne Schofield/Bret Hedican

NHL the month in preview October 2019

Watched a bit of the Maple Leafs and the St. Louis-Calgary late game on CBC Gem on November 9 while on Canadian soil. I recall a couple of years ago trying to stream Hockey Night in Canada on the CBC Web site and finding that difficult. The process was very easy on CBC Gem by clicking on live TV. You can only get the CBC games that way. That proved to be helpful since I didn't have TV where I was staying.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Kyle Bukauskas read the first period and second period promos back-to-back in the November 2 game. The upcoming episode of the Great Canadian Baking Show was the season finale. The promos are not supposed to run back to back. There were only 5 promos on November 2.

Family Feud Canada with Gerry Dee doesn't start until December 16. Red Bull Signature is only available on CBC Gem. The Still Standing promo aired before the third period started on November 16.

November 2 early game: Great Canadian Baking Show; Still Standing (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; Still Standing (2nd); CBC Listen (3rd)

November 16 early game: CBC Listen; Anne with an E (1st); Family Feud Canada; Red Bull Signature (2nd); Still Standing; Family Feud Canada (3rd)

video credit: YouTube/PWHPA
Twitter captures: @canadian_xing; @PR_NHL

Don Cherry is out of Coach's Corner

You figured the only ways out for Don Cherry were death or one too many rants. There was never going to be a gentile retirement for the co-host of Coach's Corner.

The latest tirade was the excuse Rogers Sportsnet needed to terminate Cherry's deal.

Statement from Sportsnet: pic.twitter.com/ah3twdx9po

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 11, 2019

The racist and clueless overtones were there in the latest Don Cherry tirade. Cherry does a great job of appreciating the sacrifice of veterans. His last tirade shows that he may not appreciate the service of the visible minorities he goes after in the tirade.

Cherry mentioned Toronto and Mississauga, specific multicultural communities. The fact that Cherry later cited English and Scottish and Irish immigrants shows he doesn't get it or doesn't want to understand.

Times have changed. When Cherry questioned the masculinity of certain people in previous tirades, people weren't as likely to speak up.

Rogers Sportsnet keeps getting rid of people because they mismanaged its efforts after acquiring the NHL rights in 2014. Bob Cole went along with their favourites such as Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean. Cherry was too expensive to keep if Rogers didn't have to do so.

There are more than a few previous Don Cherry tirades.

Ron MacLean offered up an apology during the Hometown Hockey telecast on Sunday.

Eating seal meat does not get Don Cherry's seal of approval

"You people love, that come here, whatever it is, you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey, at least you can pay a couple bucks for a poppy or something like that."

I have been wearing a poppy since November 1 while in Windsor for the 2019 Windsor International Film Festival. There were quite a few poppies. Some didn't have one.

They fall off. You wore a different coat. You didn't find a place that had them. Since the festival is around Remembrance Day, I have become entrenched with the tradition.

I had the poppy on my coat when I read that Don Cherry had been fired. I feel honoured to wear one but I wouldn't judge anyone for not wearing a poppy. That is what freedom is all about.

NHL the month in preview November 2019

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

My pick, if they keep the Coach's Corner concept, is Brian Burke in the first intermission of the early game on Hockey Night in Canada. Rogers Sportsnet certainly must have thought about an alternative scenario where Cherry would not be part of the picture. Kelly Hrudey would be a non-Cherry type selection.

The final Coach's Corner in its original form did not air in most of the United States. Those in Chicago and Pittsburgh got the segment via the NHL Network.

The NHL Network has Toronto-Pittsburgh this Saturday so U.S. fans will see what Rogers Sportsnet does in the first intermission.

The flak that CBC got on this issue was unjustified. Rogers Sportsnet controls the content that airs on the CBC. We do find that distasteful and have said so in the past. The CBC had no control over the segment and hasn't had any control since the fall of 2014.

photo credit: Rogers Sportsnet
Twitter capture: @Sportsnet

NHL the month in preview November 2019

The NBCSN schedule is a little light, even with its favourite matchup featuring Boston in Montréal. The channel follows Connor McDavid and Edmonton to San Jose, hoping the channel passes up the temptation of a NBC Sports California simulcast.

As for the NHL Network, there is a solid amount of Hockey Night in Canada and Hometown Hockey games. Both Alberta teams are on the road in the desert. The lone U.S. Thanksgiving game in Montréal is on the schedule.

There are a lot of games on U.S. Thanksgiving Eve on TV in Canada.

The November 24 Hometown Hockey is normally a day game out of respect for the Grey Cup. Rogers and the NHL have put that game at night in 2019. Edmonton (the NHL team) could be in competition with Edmonton (the CFL team).

Rogers Sportsnet will have a fun challenge on November 2 to cover all 7 Canadian teams playing in 7 different locations in the same day.

NBCSN

November 5
Boston @ Montréal, 7:30p
November 19
Edmonton @ San Jose, 10:30p

NHL Network

November 2
Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7p (HNIC)
November 3
Calgary @ Washington, 7p (HH)
November 10
Toronto @ Chicago, 7p (HH)
November 16
Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p (HNIC)
November 17
Calgary @ Las Vegas, 7p (HH)
November 23
NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
November 24
Edmonton @ Arizona, 8p (HH)
November 28
New Jersey @ Montréal, 7p

ESPN+

November 2
Ottawa @ Boston, 7p
Winnipeg @ Las Vegas, 10p
November 4
Arizona @ Edmonton, 9p
November 7
Las Vegas @ Toronto, 7p
November 8
Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 8p
New Jersey @ Edmonton, 9p
November 9
St. Louis @ Calgary, 10p
November 10
New Jersey @ Vancouver, 4p
November 11
Ottawa @ Carolina, 7p
November 12
Columbus @ Montréal, 7p
Edmonton @ San Jose, 10:30p
November 13
Dallas @ Calgary, 9:30p
November 15
Boston @ Toronto, 7p
November 19
Toronto @ Las Vegas, 10p
November 22
NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 7:30p
November 23
Calgary @ Philadelphia, 1p
November 26
Boston @ Montréal, 7p
November 27
Edmonton @ Colorado, 10p

Hockey Night in Canada

November 2

Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7p/Montréal @ Dallas, 7p/Ottawa @ Boston, 7p/Calgary @ Columbus, 7p
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10p/Winnipeg @ Las Vegas, 10p

November 9

Philadelphia @ Toronto, 7p/Los Angeles @ Montréal, 7p/Carolina @ Ottawa, 7p
St. Louis @ Calgary, 10p

November 16

Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p/New Jersey @ Montréal, 7p/Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7p
Colorado @ Vancouver, 10p

November 23

Toronto @ Colorado, 7p/NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p/Columbus @ Winnipeg, 7p
Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

November 30

Philadelphia @ Montréal, 3p/Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p/Ottawa @ Calgary, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p/Winnipeg @ Los Angeles, 10p

Hometown Hockey

November 3 Calgary @ Washington, 7p (Strathroy-Caradoc, ON)

November 10 Toronto @ Chicago, 7p (Welland, ON)

November 17 Calgary @ Las Vegas, 8p (Dauphin, MB)

November 24 Edmonton @ Arizona, 8p (Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, AB)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

November 2 Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 1p

November 6 St. Louis @ Edmonton, 8:30p

November 10 Edmonton @ Anaheim, 9p

November 13 Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7p/Ottawa @ New Jersey, 7p/Dallas @ Calgary, 9:30p

November 19 Colorado @ Calgary, 9p

November 20 Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p

November 23 Vancouver @ Washington, 12:30p

November 27 Toronto @ Detroit, 7p/Vancouver @ Pittsburgh, 7p/Boston @ Ottawa, 7p

November 28 New Jersey @ Montréal, 7p

Brian Burke is now the de factor replacement in Rogers Sportsnet studio shows. Burke is cranky but smart and explains things well. Sportsnet will love Burke as long as he doesn't criticise the league as a general concept.

The NBC team would love to have someone such as Burke in the studio. Milbury has elements of cranky and smart but NBC underutilises its studio people. The network is actually using Milbury more as a colour analyst, even if the Toronto Maple Leafs aren't playing. Milbury is ill-suited for the role.

Nick Kypreos hasn't been missed. Having him gone makes the studio crew more efficient and nice to watch. 

2019 Heritage Classic preview: NHL comes to Regina

2019 Heritage Classic wrapup

We had a lot of fun covering the 2019 Heritage Classic from Regina within the last week. The ice was great, the crowd was loud, and the action was tense.

We delved into the history of the NHL in Saskatchewan with indoor games in Saskatoon in the early 1990s. You can likely guess who quashed that really great idea.

Sadly, we know Gary Bettman won't allow another Heritage Classic for a long time. There aren't too many non-NHL market options for a Heritage Classic. Tim Hortons Field for a Buffalo-Toronto game would be outstanding. Halifax would be fun if the city had a stadium but can't figure out how to get a CFL stadium.

We want a game in Montréal. Olympic Stadium is ideal but not technically outdoors (unless the roof is being fixed). Stade Saputo and Molson Stadium would work but the capacity might not be strong enough for the NHL.

---

NBCSN might have received pressure from the NHL to carry the Vancouver Canucks home opener. The feed got to the game within the first minute. The LA Kings play-by-play guy and Vancouver area resident Ray Ferraro did their best to spotlight Vancouver's young core. Elias Petterson, winner of the Calder Trophy, had to be introduced to the NBCSN audience. 

We think NBCSN only carried the game because of the Canucks celebrating 50 years in the league. The October 9 date was 49 years to the day of the first Vancouver Canucks game, also against Los Angeles. Vancouver's expansion sibling, the Buffalo Sabres, are on NBCSN all the time.

So glad NBCSN used a real crew instead of a Philadelphia simulcast. We appreciate the TSN love for the games, especially in Canada. 

October 9 Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p: Alex Faust/Ray Ferraro
October 15 Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7p: Gord Miller/Pierre McGuire
October 16 Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 9:30p: Chris Cuthbert/Ray Ferraro
October 26 Calgary @ Winnipeg, 10p: Jim Hughson/Craig Simpson (CBC simulcast)

Canadian political ads from fall 2019 NHL Center Ice free preview

The NHL Center Ice free preview went as advertised. Maybe we are mellowing or the meds are finally kicking in, but a week feels like enough. The service stopped running those idiotic promos that blocked out the first commercial in the break.

We ran a bunch of political ads earlier this month and will run the rest of the ads next week. 

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

NHL the month in preview October 2019

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Checking in on the CBC promos, the live nature of Battle of the Blades means that the Atlantic provinces as well as Newfoundland and Labrador air the program at the same time as the Eastern Time Zone viewers. Dragons' Den airs before Battle of the Blades on CBC New Brunswick-East but after in the rest of the country. The show also got visual mentions during the opening night of the Rogers Sportsnet coverage.

Vote Compass is a CBC News service where you could log on to see how your views compared to party leaders at votecompass.cbc.ca.

The first 2 promos in the 2nd period in the October 19 game aired back-to-back, a violation in spirit of running the CBC promos.

There was a technical DVR glitch in the first half of the 3rd period on October 19. Whatever promos in the 3rd period aired in that time. We apologise for the inconvenience.

October 5 early game: Battle of the Blades; Vote Compass (1st); World Track & Field Championships; Still Standing (2nd); Tallboyz; Vote Compass (3rd)

October 19 early game: Canada Votes 2019 (1st); Still Standing; Great Canadian Baking Show; Battle of the Blades (2nd); [None recorded] (3rd)

October 26 late game: Battle of the Blades (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; Battle of the Blades; Still Standing (2nd); Battle of the Blades; Grand Slam of Curling (3rd)

2019 Heritage Classic wrapup

Bryan Little from Kyle Connor scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 "home" win over the Calgary Flames in the 2019 Heritage Classic in Regina, Saskatchewan. Winnipeg had a rare power play in overtime but the winning goal came 3-on-3 in the extra period.

The game was a low-scoring affair with a power-play goal from each team in regulation. The Elias Linholm power-play goal came on the series where Matthew Tkachuk appeared to go past the shoulder for a potential penalty. The Josh Morrissey power-play goal was the first the Jets had scored outdoors and the first goal the Flames gave up outdoors.

Winnipeg had the momentum late, outshooting Calgary 19-4 in the 3rd period and overtime.

The 2019 Heritage Classic drew a crowd of 33,518 to Regina.

The Calgary Flames wore the sweaters from the heydays of the late 1980s. The Winnipeg Jets went truly retro with the WHA era sweaters.

The stage is set!
Who's excited for tonights #HeritageClassic ?https://t.co/KUrFKmsczW

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) October 26, 2019

The Trans-Canada Highway signs on the field were a nice touch. The west and east signs weren't complete accurate since the stadium runs north-south. However, the Calgary Flames bench matched the west part with the Winnipeg Jets matched the east part. I have been on that highway going from Winnipeg to Regina (overnight on a Greyhound bus). The highway is how you would get from Calgary and Winnipeg to Regina.

Regina is 750 kilometres from Calgary and 575 from Winnipeg.

The music sounded good from The Sheepdogs, Jess Moskaluke, and the Hunter Brothers.

Weather conditions were given as -4°C (25°F) with a -11°C (12°F) wind chill. Scott Oake made a joke about coming back later with the 5-day forecast. The criticism of the 2016 Heritage Classic was the conditions were too warm during the day in October in Winnipeg. The conditions at night in Regina might have been ideal for an outdoor game: some snow, but not too much with cold but not too cold.

Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson praised how great the ice was and they were close enough to see for themselves.

2019 Heritage Classic preview: NHL comes to Regina

Winnipeg the true winner of the 2016 Heritage Classic

The Heritage Classic shines NHL spotlight on Winnipeg

Chief Edmund Bellegard gifted blankets to the @NHL, @NHLJets and @NHLFlames.

It is considered a high honor and represents warmth, protection, and is a big ‘thank you.’ In this case, the tribe is very thankful for having this outdoor game. #HeritageClassic pic.twitter.com/PQLO9XOH24

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 25, 2019

The ceremonial puck drop was about the past and future of indigenous hockey in Canada. The puck drop included Fred Sasakamoose, one of the first indigenous players in the NHL along with Brigette Lacquette, the first indigenous woman on Canada's Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team and 2 local youth hockey players.

Coach's Corner featured National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde with Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, complete with his Saskatchewan Roughriders sportscoat.

Lanny McDonald (Calgary) and Thomas Steen (Winnipeg) were also involved in the pregame puck drop.

The pregame show and the intermissions aired from Mosaic Stadium. The NHL Network didn't carry the pregame to the U.S. audience. After Hours featured Scott Oake and Kelly Hrudey with Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice.

CFL in the Prairies is where the league shines

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Saskatchewan coverage

The 2019 Heritage Classic didn't have an alumni game, which was a disappointment. The Western Hockey League's Regina Pats had an outdoor game against the Calgary Hitmen yesterday. The Hitmen won 5-4 in overtime.

NHL the month in preview October 2019

We love how the NHL insists that Heritage Classics are well-promoted. Yet the NHL and NBCSN have a big game on Saturday night to downplay the Heritage Classic so the latter game is less in its eyes.

The easiest thing the NHL Network needed to do was a rebroadcast of the game the next day. There was a rebroadcast scheduled for Sunday but the network cancelled that rebroadcast. The channel runs all kind of programming for Winter Classics and their U.S. cousins. The NHL games don't become less special just because they are in Canada. The 2019 Heritage Classic was the fourth game in the nightly recap On the Fly show.

As for NBCSN, their intermission content with Kathryn Tappen, Keith Jones, and Ed Olczyk was decent but the pageantry is the main part of the show. We saw the crowd before the game started and before the 3rd period began. The crowd is why everyone is in the cold. They deserve way more attention. There might have been more crowd shots in Canada.

Canadian NHL teams in outdoor games

Year	Date	Stadium	Result
2003	November 22	Commonwealth Stadium	Montréal 4, Edmonton 3
2011	February 20	McMahon Stadium	Calgary 4, Montréal 0
2014	January 1	Michigan Stadium	Toronto 3, Detroit 2 (SO)
2014	March 2	BC Place	Ottawa 4, Vancouver 2
2016	January 1	Gillette Stadium	Montréal 5, Boston 1
2016	October 23	Investors Group Field	Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 0
2017	January 1	BMO Field	Toronto 5, Detroit 4 (SO)
2017	December 16	TD Place	Ottawa 3, Montréal 0
2019	October 26	Mosaic Stadium	Winnipeg 2, Calgary 1 (OT)

The season finale of the Battle of the Blades dominated the CBC promos that aired during the 2019 Heritage Classic. We have noticed tinier non-verbal mentions of the show on Rogers Sportsnet telecasts earlier in the month.

The 3 CBC promos in the 2nd period aired in the last 3 minutes of the period.

2019 Heritage Classic: Battle of the Blades (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; Battle of the Blades; Still Standing (2nd); Battle of the Blades; Grand Slam of Curling (3rd)

Twitter captures: @hockeynight; @PR_NHL
photo credit: @ItsLeahRamsay; NHL

2019 Heritage Classic preview: NHL comes to Regina

NBCSN hasn't been to the province of Saskatchewan since the channel's CFL coverage and that was at Taylor Field. The NFL almost came to Saskatchewan and Mosaic Stadium this summer for the Oakland Raiders preseason game but scheduling made that difficult. ESPN hasn't even shown Saskatchewan at home or on the road in its 2019 CFL coverage.

The 2019 Heritage Classic brings Regina and Saskatchewan some well-deserved publicity as the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets will battle on neutral ice.

Saskatchewan NHL fans don't have a team but can watch the Flames, Jets, and Edmonton Oilers as local teams.

The 2019 Heritage Classic will be the second half of the doubleheader on Hockey Night in Canada at 8 pm local time/10 pm Eastern. CBC, Rogers Sportsnet One, Citytv (only in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver), and TVA Sports 2 will have the game in Canada. Ironically, Citytv doesn't have an over-the-air signal in Saskatchewan and the game isn't on in Winnipeg on Citytv.

NBCSN will carry the game in the United States. The channel looks to carry the CBC feed for the game coverage. Kathryn Tappen will host the intermissions along with Keith Jones and Anson Carter.

Winnipeg the true winner of the 2016 Heritage Classic

The Heritage Classic shines NHL spotlight on Winnipeg

CFL in the Prairies is where the league shines

The NHL has done a lousy job of promoting Heritage Classics and the Heritage Classic as a name. NHL 100 Classic. Centennial Classic. Almost anything but Heritage Classic.

The last Heritage Classic under that name was in 2016 in Winnipeg. Toronto played at BMO Field in early 2017 while Ottawa hosted Montréal in late 2017. The Montréal Canadiens have played in 4 outdoor games but haven't hosted an outdoor game. 

Calgary and Winnipeg have each played an outdoor game when they hosted the event in 2011 and 2016, respectively.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Saskatchewan has hosted 6 previous NHL regular season games. All of those games were indoors in Saskatoon at what was Saskatchewan Place (now the SaskTel Centre).

This was during an experiment to have NHL games in non-traditional markets. Of course, Gary Bettman quashed that fun idea.

NHL regular season games in Saskatchewan

Year	Date	Result
1992	October 13	Calgary 4, Minnesota 3
1993	January 18	Winnipeg 8, Hartford 7
1993	February 23	Winnipeg 8, Ottawa 2
1993	March 11	Minnesota 4, Vancouver 3
1993	December 23	Vancouver 4, Calgary 3
1994	January 23	Vancouver 5, Edmonton 4 (OT)
2019	October 26	Calgary @ Winnipeg

Saskatoon's The Sheepdogs make Rolling Stone cover

CanadianCrossing.com Saskatchewan coverage

The Heritage Classic is also about music. The Sheepdogs will play the first intermission while Jess Moskaluke will perform in the second intermission. The Hunter Brothers will handle O Canada. Canadian supergroup Toque serves as the house band. The Sheepdogs also played before the 2013 Grey Cup.

Canadian NHL teams in outdoor games

Year	Date	Stadium	Result
2003	November 22	Commonwealth Stadium	Montréal 4, Edmonton 3
2011	February 20	McMahon Stadium	Calgary 4, Montréal 0
2014	January 1	Michigan Stadium	Toronto 3, Detroit 2 (SO)
2014	March 2	BC Place	Ottawa 4, Vancouver 2
2016	January 1	Gillette Stadium	Montréal 5, Boston 1
2016	October 23	Investors Group Field	Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 0
2017	January 1	BMO Field	Toronto 5, Detroit 4 (SO)
2017	December 16	TD Place	Ottawa 3, Montréal 0
2019	October 26	Mosaic Stadium	Calgary @ Winnipeg

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

If you can't wait for Calgary and Winnipeg to battle each other in a CFL stadium, the Stampeders travel to Winnipeg Friday night as the teams battle for playoff positioning. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in Edmonton on Saturday that should end right around the face-off outdoors at Mosaic Stadium.

photo credit: NHL

NHL the month in preview October 2019

Bienvenue and welcome to the debut of the new format for tracking Canadian NHL teams on U.S. TV and streaming. We ran a resource guide yesterday that will help you follow our new approach to NHL coverage.

Rogers Sportsnet starts out the season tonight with the Battle of Ontario followed by Vancouver traveling to Edmonton in the nightcap.

The highlight of the month is the Heritage Classic from Mosaic Stadium in Regina. We will have special coverage of that event in and around the game. NBCSN will carry that game in the United States.

Someone at the NHL really got through to NBC Universal since we have a Vancouver Canucks home game on NBCSN. The channel has had an unofficial ban on the team for years now. They might have to get their 2011 maps and find Vancouver. The channel runs its first ever Saturday doubleheader with the Heritage Classic in Regina, apparently losing a coin flip with the NHL Network. NBCSN also has home dates in Montréal and Edmonton. Tremendous progress from a channel that has been afraid to show games in Canada.

The NHL Network is off to its usual fast start for Canadian teams. Seeing Winnipeg sounds great but with key missing players still needing to get up to speed, the Jets won't be as much fun to watch. Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor were very late signings. 5 of the 7 Canadian teams are on the channel this month, all but Vancouver and Ottawa. The Alberta teams are on the road, continuing a pattern.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

What we missed during the 2019 NHL offseason

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The Canadian coverage takes a slight detour with the World Series with Rogers Sportsnet carrying MLB playoffs and Rogers Sportsnet One taking most of the Hometown Hockey games.

We have a NHL Center Ice free preview schedule covering the first 7 days. We are leaving NHL Network telecasts in the preview for those who care about the local feeds and commercials. Those telecasts should have a significant number of political ads heading toward the October 21 federal election. You have been warned.

NBCSN

October 9
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p
October 15
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7p
October 16
Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 9:30p
October 26
Calgary @ Winnipeg, 10p

NHL Network

October 4
Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7p
October 5
Montréal @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
October 6
Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p (HH)
October 7
St. Louis @ Toronto, 7p
October 12
St. Louis @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
October 13
Pittsburgh @ Winnipeg, 7p (HH)
October 14
Edmonton @ Chicago, 8:30p
October 19
Boston @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
October 31
Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

ESPN+

October 2
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
October 3
Winnipeg @ NY Rangers, 7p
October 10
Edmonton @ New Jersey, 7p
October 13
Calgary @ San Jose, 10p
October 15
Philadelphia @ Calgary, 9p
October 17
Ottawa @ Las Vegas, 10p
October 19
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10p (HNIC)
October 20
Montréal @ Minnesota, 5p/Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7p (HH)
October 21
Columbus @ Toronto, 7p
October 22
Toronto @ Boston, 7p
October 25
Washington @ Vancouver, 10p
October 27
San Jose @ Ottawa, 7p (HH)
October 28
Florida @ Vancouver, 10p
October 29
Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10p
October 30
Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
October 31
Montréal @ Las Vegas, 10p

Hockey Night in Canada

October 5

Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 7p
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p/Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p

October 12

Toronto @ Detroit, 7p/St. Louis @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Chicago, 7p
Calgary @ Las Vegas, 10p/Philadelphia @ Vancouver, 10p

October 19

Boston @ Toronto, 7p/Ottawa @ Arizona, 7p
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10p

October 26

Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Calgary @ Winnipeg, 10p

Hometown Hockey

October 6 Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p (Halton Hills, ON)

October 13 Pittsburgh @ Winnipeg, 7p (Halifax, NS)

October 20 Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7p (St. John's, NL)

October 27 San Jose @ Ottawa, 7p (Fredericton, NB)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

October 2 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p

October 9 Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p

October 10 Calgary @ Dallas, 8:30p

October 12 Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 1p

October 13 Calgary @ San Jose, 10p

October 14 Edmonton @ Chicago, 8:30p

October 15 Philadelphia @ Calgary, 9p/Detroit @ Vancouver, 10p

October 16 Toronto @ Washington, 7p/Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 9:30p

October 17 Vancouver @ St. Louis, 8p/Detroit @ Calgary, 9p

October 18 Detroit @ Edmonton, 9p

October 19 Vancouver @ New Jersey, 1p

October 20 Vancouver @ NY Rangers, 1p/Calgary @ Anaheim, 9p

October 21 Columbus @ Toronto, 7p

October 22 Vancouver @ Detroit, 7:30p

October 23 Detroit @ Ottawa, 7:30p

October 24 Washington @ Edmonton, 9p

October 25 San Jose @ Toronto, 7p/Washington @ Vancouver, 10p

October 29 Edmonton @ Detroit, 7:30p

October 30 Edmonton @ Columbus, 7:30p/Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10:30p

October 31 Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

NHL Center Ice free preview

Wednesday Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
Thursday Winnipeg @ NY Rangers, 7p
Montréal @ Carolina, 7p
Calgary @ Colorado, 9p
Friday Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7p
Toronto @ Columbus, 7p
Saturday Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 7p
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p
Sunday Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p
Monday St. Louis @ Toronto, 7p
Tuesday Edmonton @ NY Islanders, 7p
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p
Los Angeles @ Calgary, 9p

In our quest to highlight NHL games carried on an over-the-air station, the October 22 Vancouver at Detroit game is scheduled to run on CKVU (Channel 10), the Citytv station in Vancouver. The game starts at 4:30 pm local time so the American shows on Citytv won't be affected.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

Bienvenue and welcome to the new format for tracking Canadian NHL teams on U.S. TV and streaming. We are now covering the NHL on a monthly basis as opposed to a weekly basis. We went into some detail last week. These columns will run at or before the first of the month.

Here are some tools that will make excellent resources. Bookmark this page so you can refer back here. We will post a link to this page with every monthly update.

NBC Sports Press Box — You can track the announcers for NBC and NBCSN games. You will find this useful on the rare nights when Canadian teams are covered by NBC Universal. This is a good resource for finding out when Chris Cuthbert, Gord Miller, and Ray Ferraro are working for NBC Universal, even in all-American matchups.

NHL Network schedules — We are no longer tracking NHL Network matinee rebroadcasts. The NHL Network TV schedule page is timid at best but should have a matinee rebroadcast schedule. Every so often, the U.S. channel will have condensed versions of games late at night. The NHL Network live game schedule lists alternate games when they actually exist. The monthly updates will note when the telecast is from Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) or Hometown Hockey (HH).

Rogers Sportsnet schedule — The Rogers Sportsnet schedule is subject to change and often doesn't list games for Citytv. Hockey Night in Canada runs primarily on CBC, Citytv, and the regional Rogers Sportsnet channels (East, Ontario, West, Pacific). Occasionally, Rogers Sportsnet will split its regional feeds. Rogers Sportsnet One and Rogers Sportsnet 360 help out on national telecasts throughout the week.

CBC generally draws the most national of feeds early and late on Saturday nights. The Toronto Maple Leafs almost certainly will be on CBC. Citytv usually has an early game — the third-best game behind CBC and Rogers Sportsnet. The Rogers-owned network will show late games, mostly to its Western affiliates in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. Some Americans can get CBC; fewer Americans have access to a Citytv feed.

Hometown Hockey airs on Rogers Sportsnet with help from Rogers Sportsnet One during the World Series. Our monthly schedules will list the site for each episode of Hometown Hockey.

TSN Twitter feeds — You can track the Twitter feeds for TSN employees moonlighting for NBC Universal, specifically Chris Cuthbert, Gord Miller, and Ray Ferraro. Ferraro is not on NBC Universal as frequently as Cuthbert and Miller. The feeds are also helpful to find out where your favourite announcers are on the TSN telecasts.

Cuthbert and Miller split all the non-national Ottawa Senators games and the TSN portion of non-national Toronto Maple Leafs games. Ferraro works mostly Maple Leafs games, a rare Senators game, and some Winnipeg Jets games.

ESPN+ is a subscription service. This is helpful especially if you already get the service for MLB, CFL, MLS, and other sports.

We saw doubleheaders on Thursday and Saturday last year. They usually carry the home feed, even with Hockey Night in Canada and Hometown Hockey games.

Games are subject to local blackout similar to the NHL Network. Doubleheaders are separate feeds so missing action isn't a concern. The games are also available to watch on a delayed basis.

What we missed during the 2019 NHL offseason

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Let us know in the comments section if there is some way to improve this page.

logo credits: their parent companies

2019 Stanley Cup notebook: Toronto is the last Canadian team to leave the playoffs

The 3 Canadian teams were eliminated in progressive lengths with Calgary going in 5, Winnipeg falling in 6, and Toronto tripping in 7. The Flames and Jets staggered through their series with a combined 1 win on home ice. Toronto succumbed more to the juggernaut that is Boston and the referees allowing just about everything to give Boston a huge, undeserved advantage.

The less said about the Nazem Kadri suspension, the better. The NHL shows its bias against Canadian teams. Matt Cooke is a horrible goon, except when he severely injures a player on a Canadian team (Erik Karlsson — Ottawa). Zdeno Chara slammed Max Pacioretty's head into a stanchion, likely with intent and no suspension. Nazem Kadri in a Philadelphia, Boston, or New York Rangers uniform might have had a 1-game suspension. Since Kadri plays for Toronto, the suspension is deeper.

If the National Hockey League is sincerely upset about what is going on, and it isn't, then more honourable officiating would have prevented either Kadri incident. Boston shouldn't keep getting preferential treatment on and off the ice.

Calgary has only won a single playoff series since the 2004 Stanley Cup final. Vancouver Canucks fans will remember that well from the spring of 2015. This was a really good year to snap that streak. The Flames acclaimed ability to score in the 3rd period and overtime disappeared as did James Neal. The officiating was particularly bad in this series. The Flames have lost 12 of the last 14 NHL playoff games.

Winnipeg had 1 shot in the 2nd period of a critical Game 6. The Jets basically gave up in the 3rd period of Game 5. Maybe the team would have fared as poorly against the Dallas Stars, but not playing well down the stretch gave them a very hot St. Louis club.

We have teased about the Toronto Raptors being good at losing Game 1 in a playoff series (only 1 Game 1 win in franchise history). The Toronto Maple Leafs did win Game 1 of its series, the first such Game 1 win since 2003.

Toronto was the last Canadian team in the NHL playoffs, something that hasn't happened since 2002.

2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview

Having Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro in the first round for the Calgary and Winnipeg first round series coverage made a tremendous difference. This was especially true compared to who NBCU sent to the Toronto series.

Ferraro made a reference to Two Hills, Alberta and noted that Miller is from Alberta (Edmonton). Ferraro told the story about being in Calgary with Ottawa in town, watching the Tkachuk brothers (Matthew-Calgary; Brady-Ottawa) barking at each other like they were in their family basement. These small bits of colour help playoff coverage. Most NBCU on-air employees know little about the Jets and Flames.

Miller and Ferraro were on site in Canada for the Calgary and Winnipeg first-round series coverage. You didn't see them on screen since NBCU was using the Rogers feeds. Ferraro wasn't at ice level in either series, diminishing the NBCU coverage. We finally saw visual proof of their existence at Game 4 in Denver.

The 8 games in 9 days for Miller and Ferraro went like this: Calgary-Winnipeg-Calgary-day off-Denver-St. Louis-Denver-Winnipeg-Calgary.

Chris Cuthbert (and Joe Micheletti) covered the Dallas-Nashville series as well as Game 3 of the Winnipeg series. Dave Randorf and Louie DeBrusk (via Rogers Sportsnet) covered Game 1 of the Winnipeg series via the NHL Network.

NBCU gave Miller a day off for Game 6 of the Jets series but kept Ferraro on colour analysis with Brendan Burke. In a twist, Miller and Ferraro reunited for Game 7 in San Jose.

Cuthbert will work a series for NBCSN in the 2nd round. Miller and Ferraro will cover the World Championship for TSN.

As for the Toronto crew, Mike Milbury and his one-sided biased coverage was unprofessional. A Boston cheerleader and the loss of Eddie Olczyk damaged what little credibility NBCU has in covering the sport. Brian Boucher continues to be confused at crucial moments. Despite getting more work this season, Boucher may be getting worse in that role.

Milbury and Boucher in the studio would be much more effective. Boucher has time to work on his material and Milbury's smart-ass approach comes across better. That said, Olczyk has proven to also be effective in the studio as well as colour analysis. Mike Tirico could teach Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen how to be more human in the studio. Tirico has also done well in the booth, an asset the NBCU coverage desperately needs.

Doc Emrick called all the games in the Toronto series, except for Game 4 when Kenny Albert filled in for Emrick. Games 2 and 6 were on NBC.

The NHL Network used to be more generous in showing Canadian feeds in the matinee rebroadcasts. The only Canadian feed we've seen was Game 2 of the Winnipeg series with the Rogers Sportsnet feed. We saw 0 matinee rebroadcasts of the Calgary series with any feed.

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

John Bartlett, Garry Galley, and Christine Simpson only got to work 4 games in the first round with the New York Islanders sweep of Pittsburgh. CBC gravitated to the Winnipeg series to fill the gap with Games 3 and 5-6 instead of another Eastern series.

The CBC also carried all the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames games. Rogers didn't produce a single all-U.S. game for its Sportsnet channels.

You can see the 2nd round coverage for CBC and Rogers Sportsnet.

---

AJ Mleczko worked quite a few playoff games, especially with Cuthbert and Micheletti in the Nashville-Dallas series. Cassie Campbell-Pascall provided colour analysis in the Calgary series for CBC.

The local New York Islanders MSG coverage featured Mleczko, Shannon Hogan, and Jennifer Botterill, including an all-female studio show with all 3 of them for Game 4.

The Winnipeg Whiteout outside Bell MTS Place was not just about large crowds. The Winnipeg Jets Foundation charged $5 to get into the space with the proceeds going to the United Way for mental health, homelessness, and addiction support.

Their numbers were 8,500 for Game 1 and 11,500 Game 2, raising $114,000 for the first 2 games. Those numbers average more than $5 per person so they were extra generous. Miller and Ferraro estimated the Game 5 outdoor crowd at 11,000. 

Canadian ads from spring 2019 NHL Center Ice free preview

Gord Miller mentioned on CNBC that Patrik Laine's 5-goal game against St. Louis early in the season led to a $1,000,000 prize for Winnipeg minister Chris Haley in a grocery store promotion. Miller didn't identify the grocery store chain, which was Sobey's/Safeway.

Miller is a spokesperson for Sobey's/Safeway. He does the voiceover for the ad about the food platters and is on camera for the latest shop-and-win contest with Cassie Campbell-Pascall.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Anthems are pretty low on NBCU's list in the regular season. Out west, we only saw the Game 1 anthem from Calgary and none with Winnipeg. Some of the games have had full pre-game coverage but still no anthems. The Toronto series had anthems in every game but Games 2.

---

The Ottawa Senators 1st round pick fell from the top spot to the 4 spot. If the Senators controlled that pick, we would be furious. Colorado got that pick in the Matt Duchene deal. The Edmonton Oilers fell to the 8 spot; Vancouver Canucks is at the 10 spot; and the Montréal Canadiens at 15, the worst spot for non-playoff teams.

The lottery only applies to the first round. Ottawa has the top pick in round 2.

---

As we noted during the Alberta election coverage, CBC stations in Edmonton and Calgary picked news over the NY Islanders/Pittsburgh Game 4. CBC in Charlottetown carried the Prince Edward Island election coverage before switching to Game 7 with the Maple Leafs Tuesday night. NHL fans did have Rogers Sportsnet as an option for Game 7 besides streaming through cbcsports.ca or securing another CBC affiliate.

photos credit: NHL/NBC; Citytv Calgary; NHL/CNBC/CBC

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference

(3) Toronto vs. (2) Boston Boston wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
April 11	Toronto 4, Boston 1	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 13	Boston 4, Toronto 1	8p	NBC	CBC
April 15	Toronto 3, Boston 2	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 17	Boston 6, Toronto 4	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 19	Toronto 2, Boston 1	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 21	Boston 4, Toronto 2	3p	NBC	CBC
April 23	Boston 5, Toronto 1	7p	NBCSN	CBC

 

2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

 

Western Conference

(2) Winnipeg vs. (3) St. Louis St. Louis wins series 4-2
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
April 10	St. Louis 2, Winnipeg 1	8p	NHLN	Sportsnet
April 12	St. Louis 4, Winnipeg 3	9:30p	CNBC	Sportsnet
April 14	Winnipeg 6, St. Louis 3	7:30p	CNBC	CBC
April 16	Winnipeg 2, St. Louis 1 (OT)	9:30p	CNBC	Sportsnet
April 18	St. Louis 3, Winnipeg 2	8:30p	USA	CBC
April 20	St. Louis 3, Winnipeg 2	7p	NBCSN	CBC

 

(1) Calgary vs. (4) Colorado Colorado wins series 4-1
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
April 11	Calgary 4, Colorado 0	10p	NBCSN	CBC
April 13	Colorado 3, Calgary 2 (OT)	10:30p	NBCSN	CBC
April 15	Colorado 6, Calgary 2	10p	CNBC	CBC
April 17	Colorado 3, Calgary 2 (OT)	10p	NBCSN	CBC
April 19	Colorado 5, Calgary 1	10p	NBCSN	CBC

 

Times are Eastern Daylight
+ if needed