NBCSN again only has a single game, a matchup the channel had never shown: Battle of Alberta finally comes to NBCSN on St. Patrick's Day.
This is exciting on some level but also unsettling on the nerves. Will NBCSN use its regular announcers who know nothing about the Battle of Alberta? Gord Miller and Mike Johnson would be made for this game, among people NBCSN would use. If the regular announcers (this includes Pierre McGuire) are being used, do some research. Impress us with elements of the rivalry. This may be the only time NBC Universal ever shows that matchup. Please do it justice.
The NHL Network runs Hockey Night in Canada doubleheaders on March 6 and March 27. The U.S. channel loves Winnipeg traveling to Vancouver because there is now a 3rd game being carried with those teams in that location this season.
The channel is not carrying any Hockey Night in Canada games on March 20, a rarity this season. ESPN+ is carrying the Flames and Maple Leafs that night.
Speaking of that game, March 20 marks the second and final installment of the Rogers Sportsnet experiment where the Toronto Maple Leafs are pulled off CBC to get more subscribers to Sportsnet.
Rogers Sportsnet will carry the Calgary Flames in Toronto while CBC and Citytv show the Vancouver Canucks in Montréal. Quite frankly, the Canucks and Habs might be the better game that night, though with the awkwardness of 2 of Canada's 4 major English language networks carrying the same game.
Rogers Sportsnet initiated the experiment with the early game on January 30 with Edmonton and Toronto.
NBCSN
March 17
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p
NHL Network
March 6
Toronto @ Vancouver, 7p (HNIC)/Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p (HNIC)
March 13
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p (HNIC)
March 22
Winnipeg @ Vancouver, 10p
March 26
Edmonton @ Montréal, 7p
March 27
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)/Winnipeg @ Calgary, 10p (HNIC)
ESPN+
March 1
Calgary @ Ottawa, 7p
Toronto @ Edmonton, 10p
March 2
Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 8p
March 6
Winnipeg @ Montréal, 7p
March 7
Ottawa @ Calgary, 9:30p
March 8
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 9p
March 10
Montréal @ Vancouver, 11p
March 12
Ottawa @ Edmonton, 9p
March 15
Montréal @ Winnipeg, 8p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 9p
March 19
Vancouver @ Montréal, 7p
Calgary @ Toronto, 7p
March 20
Calgary @ Toronto, 7p
March 26
Winnipeg @ Calgary, 10p
March 28
Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p
March 29
Winnipeg @ Calgary, 10p
Hockey Night in Canada
March 6
Toronto @ Vancouver, 7p/Winnipeg @ Montréal, 7p/Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p
March 13
Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7p/Montréal @ Calgary, 7p/Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p
March 20
Calgary @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 10p
March 27
Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p/Winnipeg @ Calgary, 10p
Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts
March 1 Toronto @ Edmonton, 10p
March 3 Toronto @ Edmonton, 8p
March 10 Ottawa @ Edmonton, 8p
March 14 Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
March 15 Edmonton @ Calgary, 9p
March 17 Vancouver @ Ottawa, 7p/Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p
March 24 Edmonton @ Montréal, 7:30p
March 28 Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p
March 31 Toronto @ Winnipeg, 7:30p/Calgary @ Vancouver, 10:30p
Hockey Day in Canada has only missed a single year since the concept started in 2000. The 2005 version was cancelled due to the lockout. Chris Cuthbert's concern over that was reportedly a reason why CBC let him go. The 2021 version of Hockey Day in Canada was shorter (1 hour) and more subdued.
For the first time that we can recall, Rogers Sportsnet showed exclusive content not aired on the CBC. Sportsnet showed Hockey 24: A film by Canada, a collection of Canadians filming a typical day of hockey in their community. The film ran before the Hockey Day in Canada activities. Rogers Sportsnet also ran HDIC in the 6 pm Eastern news window for CBC.
The 2021 theme was diversity and inclusion. Tara Slone talked to Jermaine Loewen, the first Jamaican-born player chosen in the NHL Draft. Christine Simpson looked into the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and new programs launching soon to make hockey a safe and fun experience for young girls. There was a panel discussion on inclusion and diversity in hockey with Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Jennifer Botterill, Anthony Stewart, Ron MacLean, and David Amber.
As far as we know, NHL Center Ice didn't carry the coverage. NHL Network showed a rebroadcast of a different game. While the U.S. channel did show all 3 games, one of them was its own production (a lot more on that later in this update).
You could watch the segment videos via sportsnet.ca to catch up if you missed the coverage.
Last year's Hockey Day in Canada in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories with reports from Whitehorse, Yukon and Churchill, Manitoba showed parts of Canada that even Canadians don't get to see too often. That is part of the appeal of Hockey Day in Canada and its sibling, Hometown Hockey. We know this joy will return once we can gather again.
The Toronto Six finished the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) season at 4-1-1 and qualified as the top seed in what would have been the NWHL playoffs.
The Metropolitan Riveters dropped out before the playoffs. The Connecticut Whale forfeited its final game and dropped out. The league suspended its season the day before the NWHL playoffs were to start in the bubble in Lake Placid, NY. The season started January 23 and the champion was to be crowned on February 5.
The Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, and Minnesota Whitecaps were to join the Toronto Six in the NWHL playoffs with the Beauts lined up to be the opponent of the Six.
NBCSN had agreed to carry the NWHL playoffs. The ideal permanent scenario is a NHL-sponsored women's league with multiple Canadian teams.
Canadian NHL teams have fan bases who don't know the meaning of patience if they had a dictionary in front of them. No wonder the streak goes back to 1993.
Montréal — the last team from Canada to win a Stanley Cup — fired head coach Claude Julien and assistant coach Kirk Muller on Wednesday. Dominique Ducharme, an assistant coach with the team, is the interim head coach. Alex Burrows is now on the coaching staff.
The Habs got off to a great 7-1-2 start this season. That wasn't good enough. Their kryptonite has been the Ottawa Senators: the Canadiens had a win, a regulation loss, an overtime loss, and a shootout loss. That didn't help.
The NHL Network carries games but doesn't produce telecasts, well, until now. The channel will produce select Saturday and Sunday matinee games that double as the European Game of the Week, giving Saturday and Sunday night games for the European audience.
Stephen Nelson, who also calls games on its sibling network MLB Network, will handle play-by-play with Mike Rupp, Brian Lawton, Dave Reid, and Kevin Weekes handling analysis.
The MLB Network telecasts called by Nelson were filled with an overall league feel to the telecast, sacrificing elements of the game in front of them. This approach is more difficult with hockey.
TSN is resorting to piecemeal solutions to fill rare gaps. Gord Miller and Bryan Mudryk have been able to cover more Maple Leafs (TSN4), Senators (TSN5), and Canadiens (TSN2) games. The loss of Chris Cuthbert to Rogers Sportsnet presented a challenge to fill those games.
Miller isn't traveling to the United States for NBCSN games and there are fewer games to cover.
Former Vancouver Canucks radio play-by-play person Jon Abbott and Victor Findlay, broadcaster for the OHL Mississauga Steelheads, have each called an Ottawa Senators game. Abbott worked for TSN 1040 in Vancouver (more on this later in this update).
Dan Robertson moved over from Canadiens radio to do Habs TV for Mudryk, who is covering curling.
We knew the Canada federal 14-day quarantine would affect Canadian NHL teams in case of a trade. Most trades do not involve strong talent such as Pierre-Luc Dubois and Patrik Laine. The blockbuster trade sent Laine and Jack Roslovic to Columbus for Dubois and a 3rd-round draft pick.
The issue was that Laine and Roslovic got to play right away for Columbus while Dubois sat in a Winnipeg hotel room.
The Manitoba government was comfortable with Dubois having a "working quarantine," according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Though the trade came on January 23, Dubois didn't debut for the Jets until February 9 at Calgary. Winnipeg had enough depth on the wing so the Jets didn't miss Laine and Roslovic too much.
As for the deal itself, even if you think Dubois and Laine went straight up for each other, Laine had more games and goals than Dubois, though Dubois is a valuable centre. Roslovic already signed an extension with Columbus. Roslovic is worth way more than a 3rd-round draft pick. Seems like Columbus won the deal in the short-term and likely in the long-term.
Brent Wallace and many, many others lost their jobs at Bell Media in the beginning of February. A lot of these media cuts are blamed on COVID-19 but they seem over the top. Wallace was the Ottawa Senators host/maître d' for TSN5. This is an important role, especially when Gord Miller and/or Jamie McLennan are calling the games remotely.
Dan O'Toole of Jay and Dan fame also got laid off.
Dave Randorf eventually landed on his feet after Rogers let him go. For every Wallace, there are a lot of people behind the scenes who also lost their jobs. The hope was that Bell Media and Rogers wouldn't have to do this now that the NHL is back. Obviously not.
Brian Burke went To The Point during his stay at Hockey Night in Canada. Burke left HNIC and television to be the president of hockey operations in Pittsburgh with Ron Hextall as the new general manager. Burke was president of hockey operations for Calgary most recently, served as president and general manager in Toronto, and general manager in Vancouver. He understood the pressures of working in Canadian markets.
Burke had a good sense of television soundbites. His true calling was to jump back into a hockey management situation. Hockey Night in Canada will miss him.
The NHL gave the impression that Lake Louise in Alberta was considered for an outdoor game. Given that Lake Louise is in Banff National Park, the challenge would be difficult. The NHL didn't have those issues with Lake Tahoe. NBC's only practical window was the midday in Lake Tahoe where the sun is brightest. 5 of the 6 periods in Lake Tahoe were shifted to night and NBCSN.
The pandemic is bringing a lot of firsts, including having NBCSN and the NHL Network carry hockey at the same time. The conclusion of Saturday's game (NBCSN) went opposite the Battle of Alberta (NHL Network) and the end of the Sunday game with the beginning of Winnipeg at Vancouver. Normally, the U.S. outlets weren't allowed to carry games at the same time.
Have been to Lake Louise but not Lake Tahoe. So gorgeous. The Battle of Alberta is no longer forbidden on U.S. TV so there should be consideration for Lake Louise.
February 17 Winnipeg at Edmonton 10p Brendan Burke/Pierre McGuire
This game for NBCSN was more about Edmonton than Winnipeg. You could have predicted that even before the game began. Brendan Burke and Pierre McGuire were okay but made the NHL Network people look better by comparison. The NHL Network announcers do their homework.
Even in an all-Canadian game, the NBCSN telecasts are so pro-Edmonton thanks to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
We joke that the NBCSN intermissions spend so little time on the current game. The second intermission spent 0 seconds on the game and Kathryn Tappen gave the wrong score.
February 13 Ottawa at Winnipeg 3p Stephen Nelson/Dave Reid
The only scheduled game involving Canada in the NHL Network experiment was substituted for the CBC feed on Hockey Day in Canada. The timing was very poor since the audience would get some glimpse into the HDIC segments. The NHL Network didn't carry the 1-hour version just before the game and no intermission coverage during the matinee game.
Stephen Nelson and Dave Reid were better than a lot of NBCSN crews simply because they didn't go out of their way to be sarcastic or rude. A low bar. They were okay, nothing spectacular. They did their homework on the teams, something where some NBCSN employees struggle. Nothing personal to Reid but Kevin Weekes would have been a better fit since he used to work on Hockey Night in Canada.
The better question is whether Nelson and his analyst add more to a telecast than the home team announcers they usually show. The jury is still deliberating.
The NHL Network did add the late game of Calgary at Vancouver that day because the scheduled U.S. game was postponed due to COVID-19.
The February 9 Edmonton at Ottawa game ended up being a hybrid with the first 2 periods on NBCSN and the 3rd period on the NHL Network via TSN5. The game was a pickup due to another COVID-19 cancellation.
Rogers Sportsnet is supposed to run 6 CBC promos during the Hockey Night in Canada game. The promos are supposed to run during the game, reasonably spread out, and not next to other promos. What we saw in the February 13 early game is not how things should go.
The first CBC promo of the February 13 early game aired before the 2nd period started. There shouldn't be a period without a promo. The telecast went the first 35 minutes with only a single, not in game promo. The 3 promos in the 2nd period came within a minute of game action. The early game only had 5 promos, missing the Being Black in Canada promo. The CBC doesn't get extra promos if they are missed.
The 3rd period promos on February 20 ran :37 in game time apart.
The Great Canadian Baking Show didn't debut until February 14. The Being Black in Canada Web page had news, documentaries, interviews, and other content. Arctic Vets is about veterinarians, not soldiers.
The February 13 promos for Pretty Hard Cases were for an encore presentation of the Meredith MacNeill vehicle.
February 6 early game: Pretty Hard Cases; Coroner (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show (2nd); Pretty Hard Cases; Bobsleigh; Being Black in Canada (3rd)
February 6 late game: Pretty Hard Cases; Coroner (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; Pretty Hard Cases (2nd); Bobsleigh; Being Black in Canada (3rd)
February 13 early game: None (1st); Pretty Hard Cases; Coroner; Great Canadian Baking Show; Pretty Hard Cases (2nd); Alpine World Championships (3rd)
February 13 late game: Pretty Hard Cases; Coroner (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; Pretty Hard Cases (2nd); Alpine World Championships; Being Black in Canada (3rd)
February 20 late game: Pretty Hard Cases; Coroner (1st); Great Canadian Baking Show; Arctic Vets (2nd); Alpine World Championships; Pretty Hard Cases (3rd)
February 27 early game: Pretty Hard Cases (1st); Coroner; Great Canadian Baking Show; Arctic Vets (2nd); Pretty Hard Cases; Women's Soccer (3rd)
photo credit: Rogers Sportsnet
Twitter capture: @tsn_wally
