Canadian Crossing

NHL the month in preview January 2022

The Vancouver Canucks make their TNT debut on January 5 hosting the New York Islanders.January 12 marks the first TNT doubleheader with Canadian teams: the classic Boston-Montréal rivalry in La Belle Provinceand Auston Matthews comes back to Arizona in the nightcap. The Maple Leafs travel to Madison Square Garden on January 19.

NHL Network kicks off the new year with the Edmonton Oilers in a showcase gamein the NHL's newest arena. The Toronto Maple Leafs are featured on Hockey Night in Canada in Denver (8) and St. Louis (15). The split doubleheadersingle game (16) feels remarkable, though if Washington is the home team and the U.S. channel carries that feed, you have to watch with the sound down.has Vancouver in the U.S. capital. draws that unlikely scenario. The nightcap is a rare all-Canadian matchup with a situation the network never would have covered before January 2021. The Oilers make a trip east to battle the Winnipeg Jets.

The U.S. channel also features the Montréal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada in Denver (22). Winnipeg gets a Sunday afternoon game (23) at with the awful Pittsburgh (though not as awful as Washington) feed.

The lone ESPN+/Hulu game has the Montréal Canadiens in the United States on Martin Luther King Day in the state that was the last state to make this day a holiday.

January 15-17 has every Canadian team but Ottawa and Calgary between the U.S. outlets.

January 29 is Hockey Day in Canada from Owen Sound, Ontario. Note that Rogers Sportsnet will be the only option for Toronto-Detroit as CBC and Citytv both carry the Oilers and Habs. This is on purpose to get Canadians to sign up for Rogers Sportsnet. This is especially bad for Red Wings fans in Windsor who almost never get to see them on television.

Rogers Sportsnet was supposed to do this on December 18 with Toronto-Vancouver. This could change.

The NHL Center Ice has a free preview January 1-7. The timing couldn't be worse for watching the Canadian NHL teams since a lot of their games are postponed due to Canadian arena capacity reductions.

TNT

January 5
NY Islanders @ Vancouver, 10p
January 12
Boston @ Montréal, 7pMontréal @ Boston, 7p/Toronto @ Arizona, 10p
January 19
Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7:30p

NHL Network

January 1
Edmonton @ NY Islanders, 2p (NHL Network Showcase)
January 8
Toronto @ Colorado, 7p (HNIC)
January 15
Toronto @ St. Louis, 7p (HNIC)
January 16
Vancouver @ Washington, 2p (NHL Network Showcase)
Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7p
January 22
Montréal @ Colorado, 7p (HNIC)
January 23
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 1p (NHL Network Showcase)

ESPN+/Hulu

January 17
Montréal @ Arizona, 4p

Hockey Night in Canada

January 1

Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Seattle, 10p

January 8

Toronto @ Colorado, 7p/Buffalo @ Montréal, 7p/Seattle @ Winnipeg, 7p/Ottawa @ Vancouver, 10p/NY Islanders @ Edmonton, 10p

January 15

Toronto @ St. Louis, 7p/Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 7p/Las Vegas @ Calgary, 10p/Ottawa @ Edmonton, 10p

January 22

Winnipeg @ Boston, 3p/NY Islanders @ TorontoToronto @ NY Islanders, 7p/Montréal @ Colorado, 7p/Ottawa @ Washington, 7p/Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p

January 29 (Hockey Day in Canada)

Anaheim @ Ottawa, 12:30p/Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 3p/Toronto @ Detroit, 7p/Edmonton @ Montréal, 7p/Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p

Hometown Hockey

January 3 Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 7p/Carolina @ Toronto, 7:30p/Minnesota @ Ottawa, 7:30p (studio only)

January 10 Columbus @ Montréal, 7p(studio only)

January 17 New Jersey @ Toronto, 7p(studio only)

January 24 Montréal @ Minnesota, 8p/St. Louis @ Calgary, 9p (studio only)

January 31 New Jersey @ Toronto, 7:30p/Vancouver @ Chicago, 7:30p/Edmonton @ Ottawa, 7:30p (studio only)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

January 1 Edmonton @ NY Islanders, 2p

January 2 Calgary @ Chicago, 7p

January 5 Edmonton @ Toronto, 7p/NY Islanders @ Vancouver, 10p

January 12 Boston @ Montréal, 7pMontréal @ Boston, 7p/Minnesota @ Edmonton, 9:30p

January 16 Vancouver @ Washington, 2p

January 18 Florida @ Calgary, 9p

January 19 Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7:30p

January 20 Florida @ Edmonton, 9p

January 26 Anaheim @ Toronto, 7p/Calgary @ Columbus, 7p

January 27 Calgary @ St. Louis, 8p

Postponing NHL games due to COVID-19 issues is sad but understandable. Postponing NHL games due to capacity reductions in Canada is tampering with the integrity of the game. Gary Bettman promised (not literally) he would punish Canada and he did with this list.

They postponed U.S. teams coming to Canada. They postponed all-Canadian matchups. This isn't to say we agree with the capacity reductions. They are ridiculous. The swift punishment is an unnecessary retaliation. More of this came yesterday afternoon. Will get worse.

We have more on the capacity issues down below in this story.

The final insult is that the January 12 game between Boston and Montréal has been moved to Boston. The game is supposed to be a national game in both countries. Will those games be in time to make a difference to the Canadiens playoff chances when they finally get played. After all, 2 Boston games in Montréal have now been postponed.

Bettman couldn't retire soon enough. We cover this league under severe protest. So tired.

NHL the week that was: COVID-19 and Paul Maurice resigns

We couldn't wait until today for COVID-19 updates. The Omicron variant took its toll in real life as well as the NHL on both sides of the border.

In the middle of all of these postponements, reduced capacity, and cutting back on Hometown Hockey visits, Paul Maurice resigned as the coach of the Winnipeg Jets.

The NHL postponed (19) any cross border games, essentially giving the Canadian teams a week long holiday break. There were no all-Canadian matchups for that week. Having U.S. teams play each other was a bit bizarre. The issue wasn't getting into the United States but getting to Canada. Eventually, the league extended the break for all the teams from that Wednesday (22) through Boxing Day and then beyond through Monday (27).

The 2022 World Juniors got cancelled a few games into 2021 in Edmonton and Red Deer in Alberta. Sorry to hear that news. Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro got some unexpected time off.

Please check this story for updates through the rest of the month.

NHL the month in preview December 2021

Even before the 2021 Grey Cup, 2 Canadian NHL teams significantly shifted their leadership group. First, the Montréal Canadiens and now the Vancouver Canucks.

Travis Green became the first non-Chicago related NHL coach to lose his job this season. Vancouver made the change to Bruce Boudreau on December 5 after the Canucks started out 8-15-2, last in the "Smythe" Division. Boudreau has coached nearly 1,000 games with Washington, Anaheim, and Minnesota.

Green replaced Willie Desjardins starting in 2017. In slightly more than 4 seasons, Green went 133-147-34 as head coach. The lone playoff appearance (10-7) had wins over Minnesota and St. Louis before losing in the second round in the summer of 2020.

Jim Benning had been the Canucks GM since the spring of 2014. The signing of Loui Eriksson to a 6-year, $36 million deal is his worst signing in terms of money and time. Benning did get some good talent back from Arizona in this past offseason, especially Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland.

Canucks legend Stan Smyl has been named interim general manager, having been the director of player development and senior advisor to Benning.

Will any of these movements result in a Stanley Cup?

"31. Four out of seven Canadian teams (Edmonton, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver) have had jerseys thrown on the ice this season." Elliotte Friedman wrote this as part of his 32 Thoughts blog on Rogers Sportsnet on December 15. We love the enthusiasm of the Canadian NHL fanbases but the pressure isn't helping your team achieve your goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

NHL the month in preview November 2021

February will look a lot different with the NHL players not going to Beijing to the 2022 Winter Olympics. This would feel a lot different if the NHL had sent players to Sochi in 2014 and hadn't had this hostility toward sending players to the Olympics. The magic of 2010 and 2014 was a lot more memorable than what they did with corporate-owned teams in those years.

Sending the players to the Olympics (not in a pandemic) grows the game back in North America. People paid a lot more attention to the Olympics in 2018 than what was happening in the NHL.

Yes, the league can use February to make up games due to the Omicron variant. The reaction would be different if the NHL hadn't screwed up 2018.

NHL the month in preview October 2021

The capacity for NHL Canadian teams is a very different story than in the United States, where no U.S. based team has any restrictions on capacity.

Quebec went to zero, which caused the NHL to redraw the Montréal Canadiens schedule to delay home games. The Winnipeg Jets also went to zero at least through January 11, though Manitoba would have allowed 250 fans per game. Both the Habs and Jets are on long road trips. The teams were the primary target of the NHL stance on capacity restrictions.

The Canadiens and the Jets lost their home games (for the moment) after they were supposed to go home. 

British Columbia and Alberta are at 50% capacity. Ontario lowered its capacity from 50% to 1,000 fans. This is ridiculous.

There have been some calls to follow the NFL logic of not testing fully vaccinated, asymptomatic players. Matt Stone and Trey Parker should get residuals for how often "Blame Canada" is used since the Canadian government would not allow that to happen.

In unrelated NHL area news, the Calgary Flames threw a toddler fit on costs over the construction of the new downtown arena for the Flames and others. Eventually, the sides will figure this out. This looks bad, especially when new constructions helps the Alberta economy.

2021 NHL preseason schedule

Glad @sportsnet was able to bring back the kids calling out the #HNIC games on Saturdays. Feel bad for the 3 kids who didn't get camera time last Saturday because those @NHL games got postponed.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) December 20, 2021

If you are a kid playing hockey in Canada, you hope for a chance to be on the Hockey Night in Canada pregame show. The camera is on you as you say, "Columbus will be in Calgary to take on the Flames" or "Boston travels to Montréal." Maybe you were the kid that would say, "The Toronto Maple Leafs will be in Vancouver to take on the Canucks."

Those 3 kids were on the cutting room floor as those games were postponed. The kid who felt a little sad because he drew the line "while the Edmonton Oilers visit the Seattle Kraken" is thrilled because he ended up on TV while those 3 did not.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

John Bartlett is adding to his CV by doing the sideline reporters check-in on Hockey Night in Canada. Rogers Sportsnet has been having Bartlett and his partner call games from a studio instead of having them on site. Besides saving flights, hotels, and meals — say Habs games on December 4 in Nashville and December 11 in St. Louis — the games don't have their own sideline reporters.

Harnarayan Singh and Greg Millen called the Ottawa-Philadelphia game across all the outlets without a sideline reporter and not being on site.

Citing this as pandemic related makes little sense when other announcing teams are crossing North America. The Montréal Canadiens are struggling on the ice. That shouldn't be an excuse to avoid sending crews to road games in the United States.

U.S. outlets are cutting back on some travel for local games. Sportsnet is doing this for national games on Hockey Night in Canada.

Sportsnet has been crying "poor" well before the pandemic.

Tracking the NHL 2021 media changes

RJ Broadhead is out at Rogers Sportsnet. We wondered about that with Rob Faulds and Sam Consentino being used on Hockey Night in Canada. Broadhead started this summer and fall as the radio voice of the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Like Rod Black, Broadhead might be a help to the CBC for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. A lot of quality sports people being kicked to the sidelines.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The @NHLPA and @NHL have agreed to postpone cross-border games through Dec. 23.

A full list of NHL postponements to date can be found here: https://t.co/PfY1NKP3ZR pic.twitter.com/oePGmBLpKo

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 19, 2021

December 1 Pittsburgh @ Edmonton, 10p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
December 22 Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT
December 28 Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p John Buccigross/AJ Mleczko ESPN+/Hulu

The TNT games have a long pregame show so tipoff is past 15 minutes after the hour. We'll be curious if that stays once the doubleheaders kick in this month.

When NBC had the NHL, they were eager to promote their upcoming telecasts, which is fine. They wouldn't promote NHL Network telecasts when Canadian teams were involved. TNT promotes ESPN+ and NHL Network telecasts, when they feature Canadian teams. A very nice improvement.

The Edmonton game in Los Angeles on TNT was postponed. Maybe TNT will pick up a rescheduled Edmonton game.

Seemed like the 1st intermission ESPN+ coverage was Tampa Bay centric with no replay of the lone Habs goal and they talked to the interim Tampa coach. Shades of NBC when they often would only talk to the coach of the U.S. team and not the coach of the Canadian team. Cover both or none.

The December CBC promos are a bit basic in the transition between the fall and winter schedules.

Your humble narrator was blacked out of the December 11 game. Under the new system, you can watch games on ESPN+ that are blacked out after a short penalty time. Staying away from social media is difficult but possible.

The December 18 game started out at Boston in Montréal on CBC, switched to the Toronto-Vancouver, and ended up being Ottawa-Philadelphia.

Run the Burbs, Son of a Critch, and Pretty Hard Cases debut in the first full week of January. Canada's New Year's Eve Countdown to 2022 with Rick Mercer looks to be a good replacement for the traditional Air Farce shows on December 31 past.

Players Own Voice is a podcast available on CBC Listen.

The promo for Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas ran before the start of the 2nd period. Home Alone features Canadian acting legend Catherine O'Hara.

The Son of a Critch promo in the 3rd period on December 18 was audio only without video notice. There was a makeup promo the last time we saw that happen.

December 11 early game: Players Own Voice (1st); Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas; Beijing 2022 Olympics (2nd); Run the Burbs; Great Canadian Holiday Baking Show; Son of a Critch (3rd)

December 18 early game: Home Alone; Pretty Hard Cases (1st); Bobsleigh; Canada's New Year's Eve Countdown to 2022 (2nd); Son of a Critch; Run the Burbs (3rd)

photo credits: NHL; Rogers Sportsnet (x2)
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing; @PR_NHL

NHL the month in preview December 2021

The Edmonton Oilers factor into both TNT games in December. The Oilers host Sidney Crosby and his team tonight on December 1. Edmonton goes to Los Angeles on December 22.

Montréal and Chicago dominate the NHL Network December lineup. The U.S. channel has Les Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada in Nashville (4) and hosting Boston (18). Chicago is on tap in Toronto for Hockey Night in Canada (11) and hosting Calgary on Hometown Hockey (13).

A bit surprised that the Ottawa Senators Saturday matinee (11) isn't part of the NHL Network showcase. The channel chose to have no showcase game over showing Ottawa.

The NHL Network has been extremely reticent about its upcoming schedule this season. We will update this story if the channel adds more games. 

The lone ESPN+/Hulu game has the Habs in a 2021 Stanley Cup final rematch on December 28.

The NHL takes a holiday break from December 24-26.

You might recall that Rogers Sportsnet gave itself exclusivity over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday nights a few times last season. The December 18 Toronto-Vancouver game will be on Sportsnet only and not on CBC. CBC and Citytv will carry different games that night. Rogers Sportsnet is doing this on purpose to get Canadians to subscribe. This will be one of several times where this will happen.

Toronto at Winnipeg in hockey on December 5 will start at 7 pm Central, an hour later than scheduled. The game was moved back to accommodate the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosting the CFL West Division final. The football game starts earlier at 3 pm Central. The NHL team plays downtown while the CFL team plays 10 km (6 miles) south of the arena.

TNT

December 1
Pittsburgh @ Edmonton, 10p
December 22
Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10p

NHL Network

December 4
Montréal @ Nashville, 7p (HNIC)
December 11
Chicago @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
December 13
Calgary @ Chicago, 7:30p (HH)
December 18
Ottawa @ PhiladelphiaToronto @ Vancouver,Boston @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)

ESPN+/Hulu

December 28
Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p

Hockey Night in Canada

December 4

Toronto @ Minnesota, 7p/Montréal @ Nashville, 7p/Colorado @ Ottawa, 7p/Pittsburgh @ Vancouver, 10p

December 11

Chicago @ Toronto, 7p/Montréal @ St. Louis, 7p/Carolina @ Edmonton, 10p/Boston @ Calgary, 10p

December 18

Toronto @ Vancouver, 7p/ Boston @ Montréal, 7p/Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 7p/Edmonton @ Seattle, 10p/Columbus @ Calgary, 10p

Hometown Hockey

December 6 Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p (Pembroke, ON)

December 13 Calgary @ Chicago, 7:30p(Sydney, NS)

December 20 Montréal @ NY Islanders, 7p/Anaheim @ Edmonton, 9:30p(studio only)

December 27 Toronto @ Columbus, 7p/Ottawa @ Washington, 7p/Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p(studio only)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

December 1 Colorado @ Toronto, 7:30p/Vancouver @ Ottawa, 7:30p/Pittsburgh @ Edmonton, 10p

December 3 Calgary @ Anaheim, 10p

December 5 Calgary @ Las Vegas, 10p

December 7 Calgary @ San Jose, 10:30p

December 8 Boston @ Vancouver, 9p

December 9 Boston @ Edmonton, 9p

December 14 Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

December 16 Columbus @ Edmonton, 9p

December 22 Montréal @ NY Rangers, 7p/Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10p

December 23 Edmonton @ San Jose, 10p

December 29 Boston @ Ottawa, 7:30p/Chicago @ Winnipeg, 7:30p/Pittsburgh @ Toronto, 7:30p/Edmonton @ St. Louis, 8:30p/Vancouver @ Anaheim, 10:30p

December 31 Edmonton @ New Jersey, 1p

The Ottawa Senators lost 3 games to postponement due to a COVID-19 outbreak. San Jose and Pittsburgh had similar outbreaks but no postponements. The postponed games were a road game in New Jersey (16) and home games with Nashville (18) and New York Rangers (20). The latter game was a NHL Network showcase game.

We knew this might happen even with vaccinated players.

The NHL Network replacement game knocked out the Sportsnet pregame on that Saturday (20). The U.S. channel blew off the Sportsnet pregame (27) without an obvious reason.

The road game in New Jersey has been rescheduled for December 6. The New York Islanders also had postponed games at the end of this month.

I’m grateful to have the support of everyone at @hometownhockey_ who encouraged me say what was in my heart last night.

Some thoughts on the NHL’s broken culture. pic.twitter.com/DkhJ7S2jOL

— Tara Slone (@TaraSlone) November 2, 2021

Given how much pressure Gary Bettman has put on Rogers to not say anything negative about the NHL, this was necessary music (from a musician).

"And anybody who thinks that this culture is not deeply broken is wrong." Kudos to Tara Slone for saying what needs to be said. More needs to be said but this was a good start.

For those tempted to think of Kyle Beach as ancient news (2010), Slone brought up (not by name) Logan Mailloux, who was convicted in Sweden for photographing and circulating a compromising photo of a young woman without her consent. Mailloux asked NHL teams not to draft him. The Montréal Canadiens drafted Mailloux in the 1st round in late July.

NHL the month in preview November 2021

NHL the month in preview October 2021

The pressure on Canadian NHL teams is part of why no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993. The Montréal Canadiens have been the most successful Canadian team in the playoffs in the last 2 seasons. The team has legitimately good reasons why the team is off to a struggling start. Yet the team underwent a cleansing almost at the level of the Edmonton Elks in the CFL.

Former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton is the new executive vice president of hockey operations. Assistant GM Scott Mellanby resigned over not getting a promotion. The team let go general manager Marc Bergevin, assistant general manager Trevor Timmins, and senior VP of communications Paul Wilson.

The requirement for the coach and general manager to be bilingual in French and English limits the pool of candidates. As Air Canada found out this fall, there are a few jobs in Canada that require bilingualism. Governor General Mary Simon is bilingual but not in French. The Habs are the only NHL team where that is a requirement; presumably that would also be true if the Quebec Nordiques return to the NHL.

This was the final year on Bergevin's contract. Few expected him to return but he was expected to last through the end of the season. Montréal is hosting the NHL draft so that timing might be a consideration.

There are some who are thrilled that Bergevin and others are gone just based on the drafting of Logan Mailloux in July. This will never be listed as the reason but some solace can be found. 

We don't know if Gorton is bilingual but his position may not require that since the GM and coach deal more with the media. Gorton has a good resume and perhaps this layer will improve the team in the long term.

The Montréal Canadiens had a 6-15-2 record with all these changes. No Carey Price, Shea Weber, and several others.

Last season, the team fired coach Claude Julien with a 9-5-4 record. Dominique Ducharme went 15-16-5 but had an extraordinary playoff run.

"I strongly believe that this organization needs a fresh start." We get owner Geoff Molson wants results. Some patience would be good, though getting players healthy will help as well.

An update on the Rogers Hometown Hockey stop in Greater Sudbury —

Due to increasing COVID case numbers in the area, this weekend’s Rogers Hometown Hockey festival and broadcast have been postponed. pic.twitter.com/ukF79T3uzh

— Rogers Hometown Hockey (@hometownhockey_) November 10, 2021

Hometown Hockey had to miss a weekend due to COVID-19 numbers in Sudbury. Feel certain the tour will make its way back to the Nickel City. With the crowd gathering being a key point of the show, this may not be the only postponement this winter. That happened to be a Monday where there were no Canadian teams in action.

Hometown Hockey normally travels throughout Canada, not just Ontario. The idea of a Monday night would be that Ron MacLean would have more time in between Hockey Night in Canada.

So far, the HH crew has been rather close to Toronto in a time of year where flying is fine. There is an argument that this is pandemic-related but like so many moves in a pandemic, some of those moves are a way to do things on the cheap.

The Hometown Hockey page allows you to filter stops based on province. That is only Ontario until December 11-13.

Don't know the work of 2 of these people. Some back bench fill-ins on #HNIC. @Sportsnet @NHL https://t.co/51DkKeeBSN

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) November 13, 2021

November 13 had a few missing pieces on Hockey Night in Canada: Elliotte Friedman and Kelly Hrudey in the studio; John Bartlett, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Louie DeBrusk, Jason York among others in the field. Rob Faulds and Sam Consentino were brought into help. Craig MacTavish helped out in the studio.

A difference between hockey and football in Canada is you can find hockey announcers somewhere.

Rick Ball and Garry Galley ended up together in Ottawa as Calgary was in that direction. This is my new favourite combination who will almost never work together again.

Tracking the NHL 2021 media changes

2021 NHL preseason schedule

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

November 6 Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 2p E.J. Hradek/Stu Grimson NHL Network
November 12 Edmonton @ Buffalo, 7p John Buccigross/Ryan Callahan/AJ Mleczko ESPN+/Hulu
November 23 Edmonton @ Dallas, 8:30p Bob Wischusen/AJ Mleczko ESPN+/Hulu
November 24 Toronto @ Los Angeles, 10p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT

E.J. Hradek is a strong contributor to the U.S. channel. Play by play isn't his strength; then again, the NHL Network doesn't want strong play by play. Hradek isn't bad but does need to get better.

The scheduled NHL Network Showcase game on November 20 was postponed due to the COVID-19 situation with the Ottawa Senators.

The ESPN crews have been solid. You feel how much John Buccigross loves hockey. AJ Mleczko is more comfortable with ESPN than with NBCSN. Ryan Callahan was fine and that was fine.

The Oilers game in Dallas was my introduction to Bob Wischusen. He did fine.

Even if the TNT crew are veterans of the old NBCSN regime, they sound better and more comfortable at TNT. They were way more interesting to listen to in the Maple Leafs big win.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The November 20 game had plenty of opportunities to air 6 CBC promos. The U.S. feed may have lost one; so hard to tell.

Sort Of played at the Toronto International Film Festival and has been streaming on CBC Gem. The show debuted on CBC television on November 9.

The Buzzer is a daily CBC Sports e-mail newsletter. Olympic Channel is available on CBC Gem.

War of the Worlds is a British (and French) seat filler.

November 6 early game: Great Canadian Baking Show (1st); Strays; War of the Worlds; Dragons' Den (2nd); Sort Of; The Buzzer (3rd)

November 20 early game: CBC Gem; Olympic Channel (1st); CBC Listen; The Buzzer (2nd); Olympic Channel (3rd)

photo credit: NHL
Twitter captures: @TaraSlone; @hometownhockey_; @canadian_xing

NHL the month in preview November 2021

TNT shows what Canada almost never does nationally: the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 10 pm late start. The Leafs will be at the Staples Center against Los Angeles on November 24, the night before U.S. Thanksgiving.

The Ottawa Senators get a pair of NHL Network Showcase games in Kanata with Tampa Bay (6) and the NY Rangers (20). The NHLN Showcase are in-house NHL Network productions from their studios. They are also geared toward an European audience who would catch the games live for them on a Saturday night.

NHL Network shows some love for the Toronto Maple Leafs, covering 3 straight games for the team, hosting Boston (6 HNIC), Los Angeles (8 HH), and in Philadelphia (10).

The Winnipeg Jets get a HNIC game (13) on the U.S. channel (hopefully) with another Los Angeles appearance. The other HNIC appearances on the channel have Toronto hosting Pittsburgh (20) and a surprise pick with Edmonton (27) playing at Gary Bettman's new favourite desert location.

The night before U.S. Thanksgiving has an unusual NHL doubleheader with Canadian teams where Vancouver (27) is at Pittsburgh just before the TNT game.

November is the only month where there are 2 ESPN+/Hulu games. Both involve the Edmonton Oilers in U.S. cities (not the U.S. capital) that had presidential assassinations: Buffalo (12) and Dallas (23). The ESPN+/Hulu games are ESPN productions.

Citytv stations usually run the same game in the early slot on Hockey Night in Canada. On the first 2 Saturdays in November, Citytv stations will carry the Montréal game except for CHMI channel 13, the Citytv owned station in Winnipeg. CHMI will carry the Winnipeg Jets game. The Canadiens are also available on Rogers Sportsnet East.

This pattern started on October 23 except the Canadians were not on Rogers Sportsnet East.

We don't know the reason or purpose: Perhaps an experiment of sorts. The Alberta and British Columbia Citytv stations sometimes carry the late HNIC game.

TNT

November 24
Toronto @ Los Angeles, 10p

NHL Network

November 6
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 2p (NHLN Showcase)
Boston @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
November 8
Los Angeles @ Toronto, 7:30p (HH)
November 10
Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7:30p
November 13
Los Angeles @ Winnipeg, 7p (HNIC)
November 20
NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 1p (NHLN Showcase)
Pittsburgh @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
November 24
Vancouver @ Pittsburgh, 7p
November 27
Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 7p (HNIC)

ESPN+/Hulu

November 12
Edmonton @ Buffalo, 7p
November 23
Edmonton @ Dallas, 8:30p

Hockey Night in Canada

November 6

Boston @ Toronto, 7p/Las Vegas @ Montréal, 7p/NY Islanders @ Winnipeg, 7p/NY Rangers @ Calgary, 10p

November 13

Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p/Montréal @ Detroit, 7p/Pittsburgh @ Ottawa, 7p/Los Angeles @ Winnipeg, 7p/Vancouver @ Las Vegas, 10p

November 20

Pittsburgh @ Toronto, 7p/Nashville @ Montréal, 7p/Calgary @ NY Islanders, 7p/Chicago @ Edmonton, 10p

November 27

Montréal @ Pittsburgh, 7p/Ottawa @ Los Angeles, 7p/Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 7p/Winnipeg @ Calgary, 10p

Hometown Hockey

November 1 Ottawa @ Chicago, 8p/Seattle @ Edmonton, 9:30p (Belleville, ON)

November 8 Los Angeles @ Toronto, 7:30p (Township of Oro-Medonte, ON)

November 15 No Canadian teams (Sudbury, ON)

November 22 Pittsburgh @ Winnipeg, 8:30p/Ottawa @ Colorado, 8:30p (Tillsonburg, ON)

November 29 Vancouver @ Montréal, 7:30p/Arizona @ Winnipeg, 7:30p/Pittsburgh @ Calgary, 9p (Grimsby, ON)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

November 2 Nashville @ Calgary, 9p/NY Rangers @ Vancouver, 10p

November 3 Nashville @ Edmonton, 8:30p

November 7 Dallas @ Vancouver, 10p

November 9 San Jose @ Calgary, 9p

November 10 Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7:30p

November 11 Edmonton @ Boston, 7p

November 12 Edmonton @ Buffalo, 7p

November 14 Edmonton @ St. Louis, 7p

November 16 Calgary @ Philadelphia, 7p

November 17 Colorado @ Vancouver, 9p

November 18 Calgary @ Buffalo, 7p

November 21 Calgary @ Boston, 7p

November 23 Chicago @ Calgary, 9p

November 24 Montréal @ Washington, 7p/Vancouver @ Pittsburgh, 7p/Winnipeg @ Columbus, 7p

November 28 Vancouver @ Boston, 7p

Observations from the first few weeks:

• The NHL Center Ice free preview was scheduled to run through October 19. The preview barely survived through the end of October 18. The count was supposed to be a week after the Wednesday start but that somehow got moved up a day. Not sure why you would trust a service that runs into problems so quickly. ESPN+ will be a (mostly) good replacement.
• Since the start of Hometown Hockey in 2014, the NHL Network has carried the Hometown Hockey pregame show when carrying the game. The Maple Leafs game on October 18 aired on the U.S. channel but not Hometown Hockey. The program wasn't on NHL Center Ice or ESPN+. Let's tell hockey stories but not these hockey stories? Ugh. You can check out video highlights via sportsnet.ca and look for videos.
• ESPN+ is showing local intermissions for the games, something we haven't seen in previous seasons. That will especially helpful on Hockey Night in Canada and Hometown Hockey games.
• Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman, hosts of the 32 Thoughts podcast, share their wisdom and latest news in lieu of Headlines in the second intermission. Chris Johnston left Sportsnet for the Toronto Star and TSN. Marek and Friedman have good chemistry. The old Hot Stove segment feels so long ago.
• The first HNIC intermission segment has taken the name To the Point, the title from the old segment with David Amber and Brian Burke before the latter left for Pittsburgh.
• Jon Abbott is the de facto Ottawa Senators play-by-play voice for those games Gord Miller (Maple Leafs) can't cover. Bryan Mudryk (Canadiens) will likely do some Senators games. We know Ray Ferraro will only do Maple Leafs games for TSN. Previously, Ferraro has done a few Winnipeg Jets games.
• We noted that NHL Network usually has a backup game, especially on Saturday nights on Hockey Night in Canada. HNIC games were not used in October and some games didn't have a backup option. The good news with ESPN+ is those in the States can find a Canadian game without having to worry about whether the NHL Network is involved.

After Hours has a slightly new physical dynamic with COVID-19 protocol this season. This is similar to the Zoom versions we saw during the height of the pandemic.

Scott Oake is the host as well as producer and juggler on live television. The physical intimacy of being right on the same level was a large part of the charm of the segment. Still, this interview show is the best in hockey because you learn a lot about the guests.

Starting out with Zach Hyman is an easy call given the relative renaissance nature of Hyman off the ice. He is a children book author and owns 2 gaming companies.

You can find the episodes on sportsnet.ca under Hockey Night in Canada videos. One surprise is that NHL Center Ice didn't carry After Hours.

NHL the month in preview October 2021

Statement from Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff: pic.twitter.com/lgiS5jbH5s

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 29, 2021

Gary Bettman said in a statement that Kevin Cheveldayoff was not a member of the Chicago senior leadership team in 2010. "While on some level, it would be easiest to paint everyone with any association to this terrible matter with the same broad brush, I believe that fundamental fairness requires a more in-depth analysis of the role of each person." Bettman continued. "I cannot, therefore, assign to him responsibility for the Club's actions, or inactions. He provided a full account of his degree of involvement in the matter, which was limited exclusively to his attendance at a single meeting, and I found him to be extremely forthcoming and credible in our discussion."

Kevin Cheveldayoff is the only general manager the modern Winnipeg Jets have known since the team relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. Cheveldayoff had been the assistant general manager in Chicago before taking the job in Winnipeg.

The meeting with Bettman on Friday was over the sexual assault allegations against Brad Aldrich while with Chicago. Kyle Beach came out last week and said he was the John Doe in this case. 

General manager Stan Bowman, senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIssac left the Chicago team. Then Chicago coach Joel Quenneville resigned shortly after meeting with Bettman.

More from the NHL: "[Cheveldayoff] had limited familiarity with the personnel involved; and he was essentially an observer to the discussion of possible next steps, which discussion, apparently, ended with Cheveldayoff believing that the matter was going to be investigated."

"[Cheveldayoff] was not thereafter even in a position to have sufficient information to assess whether or not the matter was being adequately addressed."

Cheveldayoff and co-owner Mark Chipman have a strong bond. While general managers of other Canadian NHL teams struggle with whether to stay, Cheveldayoff has been allowed to employ long-term strategy as has coach Paul Maurice. Maurice has been the Winnipeg coach since 2014, the second-longest stint of any current NHL coach.

The Jenner & Block report is scathing. There are other victims besides Beach. 

2021 NHL preseason schedule

Just before the Vancouver Canucks had its home opener, the British Columbia government expanded capacity to 100%. We figured that would happen. No NHL team on either side of the border has reduced capacity.

Vancouver started the NHL season with a 6-game road trip, going 3-2-1 to start the season. This was the longest road trip to start a season in franchise history.

Apparently my smartphone isn't cool enough for the new @sportsnet app. Literally not compatible. Fortunate the @TSN_Sports app isn't so ridiculous. Maybe the @rogers family can argue over the new app instead.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) October 30, 2021

My smartphone is old but not that old. Got the message to update the app and then finding out I couldn't install the update for the Rogers Sportsnet app. Checking the Internet helped explain the source of the troubles.

So many complaints from those who were able to update the Sportsnet app. The app is geared toward watching Sportsnet programming on Sportsnet Now through your phone. That would make sense for a separate Sportsnet Now app, which is not a thing.

The old Rogers Sportsnet app was a great way to find exclusive Sportsnet content, such as Hometown Hockey and After Hours, and track updates on games airing on Sportsnet channels. This material is available on the Rogers Sportsnet Web site. Checking this information on the phone was valuable. Now you can't do that.

The TSN app works just fine. Just saying.

Having to sit through #NESN feed is worse than any #halloween2021 prank. This was all trick and no treat. @NHL https://t.co/wmhpUSaLQp

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) October 31, 2021

We noted that we didn't think the NHL Network had ever shown the Jets and Sharks live. The October 30 schedule had Winnipeg in San Jose on the NHL Network.

The game was going to have a 30-minute delay due to COVID-19 issues with the Sharks. The U.S. channel decided to give a trick to its audience and not show the Jets and Sharks. The worse trick was showing the NESN feed instead. The HNIC opening didn't get shown. By the time the game actually started, you would have had to fill about 15-20 minutes. We've seen other delays where the channel would stay with the intended game.

Even with overtime, the Jets-Sharks finished before 10 pm EDT.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We were thrilled that Everett Fitzhugh was picked as the first Black play by play person, the radio hire for the Seattle Kraken. We were sad that Fitzhugh didn't get an analyst to work alongside him.

Prior to the home opener, the Kraken hired Dave Tomlinson as the radio colour analyst. A native of North Vancouver, Tomlinson has done game analysis for the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. He has also worked on coverage for the World Championship and World Junior Championship and was a part of the old TSN 1040 in Vancouver.

Fitzhugh was out due to COVID-19 protocol so he didn't end up working by himself.

We felt bad for Ben Wagner to get reassigned back to the Toronto Blue Jays radio booth, but without an analyst.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

The Premier Hockey Federation (formerly the National Women's Hockey League) starts its season on November 6. The Toronto Six is the only Canadian team. The other teams are the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, and Minnesota Whitecaps. The league postponed an attempt to get a team in Montréal, delaying that prospect until 2022-2023.

The 60-game season for the Isobel Cup will happen over 19 weekends with each team playing 4 games against the other 5 league opponents. Amusingly, Buffalo will host Toronto in an outdoor game on February 21 at the Buffalo RiverWorks entertainment complex. The men's teams from those cities will meet outdoors on March 13.

The games will stream in the United States on ESPN+/Hulu.

Tracking the NHL 2021 media changes

October 23 Calgary at Washington, 1p Stephen Nelson/Dave Reid NHL Network
October 23 Vancouver @ Seattle, 10p Steve Levy/Ray Ferraro ESPN+/Hulu
October 27 Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 10p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Keith Jones TNT

The only NHL Network Saturday matinee experiment involving Canadian teams last season was a Hockey Day in Canada game. Getting an extra Canadian team on Saturday without the worst NHL announcers (Washington TV) is a win. Stephen Nelson is more interested in conversation than the game but is generally pleasant. Dave Reid is reasonably good but no Mike Johnson (who worked the Ottawa game opposite this game on TSN5). Way better than the NBC Sports Washington group.

Ray Ferraro: "Vancouver has a close rival now in Seattle, it's about a three-hour drive."
Steve Levy: "I could make it in 2½."
Ferraro: "I believe you. You'd probably get lost, however."

Steve Levy and Ray Ferraro were a fun combo for the Seattle Kraken home opener. Ferraro is based in Vancouver and his wife, Cammie Granato, is a Seattle Kraken scout. Ferraro has called games where his son Landon was playing and handled that well. Levy was out in Seattle also for Monday Night Football; Ferraro now has an invitation to come to the football booth. Part of me did want the CBC feed; Levy and Ferraro have a different dynamic than John Shorthouse and Corey Hirsch (who was in for John Garrett on the Canucks opening road trip due to COVID-19 protocol). This would be the one game to hear Jim Hughson. Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes are calling that game for CBC in a different universe but that is more about your humble narrator.

The TNT Canadian team debut had a bit of NBC (Connor McDavid and barely mention Leon Draisaitl) with a studio effort of some sharp analysis and a little gibberish. Would love to clone Anson Carter. Kenny Albert, Eddie Olczyk, and Keith Jones are solid: Jones on game analysis is way better than the lame NBC studio coverage. TNT is different and better than the old system. 

Jim Hughson concludes marvelous baseball and hockey announcing career

Having no Jim Hughson and not looking for a replacement, Sportsnet had all 7 Canadian teams in 5 separate games on the first Saturday night. Let's see the Sportsnet approach: 

Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson covered Ottawa-Toronto. John Bartlett and Garry Galley will spend a lot of time in Montréal as they did that night. The Vancouver crew was the only practical option to follow the Canucks to Detroit.

Harnarayan Singh and Louie DeBrusk are still the top western crew. The Calgary crew, weekend style, made their way to San Jose: Rick Ball and Cassie Campbell-Pascall.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

Seattle area fans with access to CBC got to watch the local Seattle Kraken from CBUT/Vancouver for the home opener on October 23. The fans didn't have access to Root Sports Northwest that night since the home opener was exclusively on ESPN+.

Hockey Night in Canada will have the Kraken in 5 more Saturday nights throughout the season. 

• December 18 Edmonton @ Seattle
• January 1 Vancouver @ Seattle
• January 8 Seattle @ Winnipeg
• March 12 Seattle @ Montréal
• April 9 Calgary @ Seattle

The games against Edmonton (December 18), Vancouver (January 1), and Montréal (March 12) should be on CBC. The Habs game will be in the early slot the night before the Toronto Maple Leafs will play outdoors on that Sunday in Hamilton.

The games against Winnipeg (January 8) and Calgary (April 9) won't be on CBC unless somehow CBUT petitions to carry the Kraken in the early slot. Couldn't be any more odd than CBET/Windsor asking for a Detroit Red Wings game. We see Citytv in Winnipeg carry the hometown Jets. 

The CBC and Sportsnet numbers for the Seattle Kraken home opener were 488,000. Really awful numbers. The numbers also included Citytv in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. There might have been as many people in western Washington who watched CBC via cable in Seattle, Bellingham, and surrounding areas. Unfortunately, they don't count in Canadian ratings.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We included the CBC promos from the NHL Center Ice free preview since, well, why not. We generally carry CBC promos for games airing on the NHL Network.

The October 16 promos for the Sunday night shows (Heartland; Great Canadian Baking Show) included the rest of the Sunday night lineup, including the British seat filler. The other shows were verbal mentions from the copy. They do not count as extra promos.

Kyle Bukauskas read the Moonshine promo before the start of the 2nd period; War of the Worlds promo before the start of the 3rd period on October 16. They violate the spirit of in-game promos.

The late game on October 16 had the screen go dark during the original Moonshine promo so they ran a makeup promo within the same period.

Sort Of has played at the Toronto International Film Festival and been streaming on CBC Gem. The show debuts on CBC television on November 9.

War of the Worlds is a British (and French) seat filler.

The late game generally is better behaved with the promos than the early game.

October 16 early game: Heartland; Strays (1st); Moonshine (2nd); War of the Worlds; Dragons' Den; Great Canadian Baking Show (3rd)

October 16 late game: Heartland; Strays (1st); Moonshine; War of the Worlds (2nd); Dragons' Den; Great Canadian Baking Show (3rd)

October 23 early game: Family Feud Canada; War of the Worlds (1st); Strays; Sort Of (2nd); Moonshine; Great Canadian Baking Show (3rd)

photo credits: NHL; Rogers Sportsnet
Twitter captures: @NHLJets; @canadian_xing x2

NHL the month in preview October 2021

The 2021-2022 NHL season starts tonight in the United States. Canada waits until the traditional Wednesday start.

The opening night matchups on Wednesday feel familiar: Montréal and Toronto meet in the early game after the 3-1 Stanley Cup playoffs comeback in May. Vancouver (missed the playoffs) will be in Edmonton (a team that made the playoffs but won as many playoff games as the Canucks) play in the nightcap. The Winnipeg (a team that swept and got swept) game on U.S. soil will also be part of the mix.

Hometown Hockey (HH) is back this season, shifting from Sunday to Monday. The evening often will feature multiple games this season.

TNT makes its Canadian team debut with the Edmonton Oilers hosting Philadelphia on October 27. Fitting that the first game is on Alberta soil given how timid NBCSN was in broadcasting from that province. The U.S. network won't have an early game on Wednesdays (beyond the first 2 weeks) until 2022.

NHL Network starts out its Canadian team coverage with a rare Ottawa home game (Dallas), the lone NHL contest on October 17. The first Hometown Hockey game of the year is also on the U.S. channel on October 18, an Original 6 matchup with the New York Rangers in Toronto.

The Calgary game on October 23 should be a NHL Network production like we saw last season on weekend afternoons, an improvement over the NBC Sports Washington feed. The U.S. channel picks up Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) feeds with the Maple Leafs meeting Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh (23) and we think the first time the channel has shown the Jets-Sharks battle live (30).

An annual reminder that the U.S. channel often (not always) has a backup game. If your home team is involved in the main game, you might get a Canadian game as a bonus. The channel also has matinee rebroadcasts, condensed versions that air the following afternoon.

The initial ESPN+/Hulu game involving a Canadian team is the Seattle Kraken home opener against the Vancouver Canucks on October 23. That will block out the CBC coverage in the United States unless you live in a CBC market through cable.

A reminder that the ESPN+/Hulu games listed below are ESPN productions. They are exclusive telecasts, even in market. 

Check for a NHL Center Ice free preview. They offer intermission coverage.

TNT

October 27
Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 10p

NHL Network

October 17
Dallas @ Ottawa, 5p
October 18
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p (HH)
October 23
Calgary at Washington, 1p (NHLN Showcase)
Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p (HNIC)
October 30
Winnipeg @ San Jose, 7p (HNIC)

ESPN+/Hulu

October 23
Vancouver @ Seattle, 10p

Hockey Night in Canada

October 16

Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p/Vancouver @ Detroit, 7p
Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p/Winnipeg @ San Jose, 10p

October 23

Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p/Detroit @ Montréal, 7p/Nashville @ Winnipeg, 7p
Vancouver @ Seattle, 10p

October 30

Detroit @ Toronto, 7p/Winnipeg @ San Jose, 7p
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p/Philadelphia @ Calgary, 10p

Hometown Hockey

October 18 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p (The Township of North Dumfries, ON)

October 25 Toronto vs. Carolina, 7p/Calgary @ NY Rangers, 7p/
Washington @ Ottawa, 7p (Lindsay, ON)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

October 13 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p/
Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10p

October 15 Vancouver @ Philadelphia, 7p

October 19 Vancouver @ Buffalo, 7p/Anaheim @ Edmonton, 9p

October 21 Calgary @ Detroit, 7:30p/Edmonton @ Arizona, 10p

October 22 Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

October 26 Calgary @ New Jersey, 7p/Minnesota @ Vancouver, 10p

October 27 Toronto @ Chicago, 8p/Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 10p

October 28 Philadelphia @ Vancouver, 10p

NHL Center Ice free preview

October 13 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p/
Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10p

October 14 Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p/Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p

October 15 Vancouver @ Philadelphia, 7p

October 16 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p/
Vancouver @ Detroit, 7p/Calgary @ Edmonton, 10p/Winnipeg @ San Jose, 10p

October 17 Dallas @ Ottawa, 5p

October 18 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p/Anaheim @ Calgary, 9:30p

October 19 Vancouver @ Buffalo, 7p/San Jose @ Montréal, 7p/
Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 8p/Anaheim @ Edmonton, 9p

Zack Hyman was a key, underrated part of the Toronto Maple Leafs offence. Hyman proved to be a rarity, jumping from a Canadian team to another Canadian team in free agency. Hyman will now be a part of the offence in Edmonton with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Mathieu Perreault was another player who switched Canadian teams, going from Winnipeg to Montréal. Perreault signed a 1-year, $950,000 deal. Hyman's deal was a lot larger: 7 years for $38.5 million.

Tracking the NHL 2021 media changes

Jim Hughson concludes marvelous baseball and hockey announcing career

The Montréal Canadiens took off the interim tag on Dominique Ducharme and named him the 31st head coach in the long history of the team.

The Habs essentially "traded" Jesperi Kotkaniemi, replacing him with Christian Dvorak. Carolina had a $6.1 million offer sheet for Kotkaniemi. The Canadiens thought that was too much, acquiring a 1st-round pick and a 3rd-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The team then traded one of its 1st-round picks in the 2022 draft and a 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to Arizona for Dvorak.

The offer sheet was seen to be retaliatory for Montréal giving an offer sheet for Sebastian Aho. Carolina kept Aho and was forced to give the player a huge bonus.

2021 NHL preseason schedule

Shea Weber may never hit the ice for the Montréal Canadiens ever again. P.K. Subban lasted 3 years in Nashville and has played the last 2 seasons in New Jersey.

We knew Weber was an "old" 31 when the Habs acquired him for (27) Subban. We were highly critical of the deal at the time, even if that meant a return to winning the Stanley Cup.

If you had said in late June 2016 that Weber would lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup finals, we would be encouraged. If you had said Weber will only play 5 seasons, we would have been disappointed.

If Weber doesn't play again, Nashville will pay more of a penalty than Montréal will. Vancouver knows that pain as they play another season minus a good player because of Roberto Luongo's contract. This will be the final season where the Canucks can't spend $3.3 million on an active player who could help their team.

We should give an award to the best Canadian NHL team each season

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal Canadiens season is done

Bell Centre will be at full capacity for the Montréal Canadiens. Ontario shifted to full capacity as of 12:01 am Saturday morning. The Toronto and Ottawa teams will be happy.

Vancouver, like the Ontario teams, was at 50% capacity for the preseason. The Canucks don't open at home until October 26 so British Columbia may change the policy before that date. This is subject to change.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

The Seattle Kraken picked a player from each Canadian team. Mark Giordano (D) (Calgary) was the biggest name from the Canadian teams. Edmonton traded Taylor Hall even up for Adam Larsson (D). The Oilers lost Larsson to Seattle.

Montréal lost Cale Fleury (D) while Ottawa said goodbye to Joey Daccord (G). Toronto traded for Jared McCann (F) and then lost him. Kole Lind (F) (Vancouver) and Mason Appleton (F) (Winnipeg) round out the list.

Carey Price was a tempting possibility for the Kraken but likely made a smart decision to go with Fleury, who will start out in the American Hockey League.

The Canucks-Kraken rivalry will be amazing. Look to see how Seattle tangles with the Alberta teams since they have also been the Kraken opposition in the preseason.

While everyone in Ottawa is eagerly waiting for Brady Tkachuk to sign…I’ll casually drop in to say I’m joining the @TSN_Sports team in #YOW!

So excited for this opportunity & I can’t wait to cover all the major sports stories in our nation’s capital 🇨🇦🍁 pic.twitter.com/03gtmapxQA

— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) October 9, 2021

Claire Hanna moves from CTV Regina and the CFL on TSN coverage to covering sports for TSN in Ottawa. This might be relevant to the TSN5 Ottawa Senators coverage. We still don't know who will help call Sens games along with Gord Miller.

Hanna, pictured at the arena in Kanata, might host the TSN5 telecasts. Brent Wallace was the host until February when he, among many at Bell Media, lost his job.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The NHL deigns to give a Canada an outdoor game. Unlike the 2019 (Regina) and 2016 (Winnipeg) versions, this 2022 Heritage Classic will actually be in the winter: March 13 in Hamilton with the "road" Toronto Maple Leafs and "home" Buffalo Sabres.

This means that every NHL and CFL market will have had an outdoor game except Montréal.

The Maple Leafs have played outdoors in Ann Arbor, MI (2014) with a 3-2 SO win; at BMO Field (2017) 5-4 (OT) over Detroit; and a 5-2 loss to Washington in Annapolis, MD (2018).

The Sabres will be the first U.S. based team to play in something labeled as the Heritage Classic.

photo credit: NHL
Twitter capture: @clahanna

Jim Hughson concludes marvelous baseball and hockey announcing career

After 42 years, Hall of Fame PxP commentator Jim Hughson has announced his retirement from broadcasting.

As one of Canada's iconic hockey voices, Jim leaves a lasting legacy at @Sportsnet & across the entire broadcasting industry.

Thank you Jim! 💫

➡️ https://t.co/pbFrpF43Ko pic.twitter.com/JS17MzGWWD

— Sportsnet PR (@SportsnetPR) September 21, 2021

Retired usually means you can't do something anymore. Jim Hughson chose to retire when he was still very good at calling hockey. Hughson took over for Bob Cole as the main voice of Hockey Night in Canada in 2008 on CBC and later on Rogers Sportsnet. Hughson started working as the secondary play-by-play announcer in 2005 on CBC.

Hughson, long known for his play-by-play work in baseball and hockey, did cut back last season, only calling Hockey Night in Canada games literally in Vancouver. Hughson got to work with his former colour analyst John Garrett. We didn't know at the time this was the send-off. He shared some of his reasons for retiring on The People’s Show on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver.

Still a bit odd that we won't hear him at all. Hughson called the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs and final in the bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. His retirement should have been a bigger deal.

Hughson called the Montréal Expos on TSN from 1987-1989 and the Toronto Blue Jays on TSN from 1990-1994 and CBC from 2007-2008. He also called the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1982-1987 and the Vancouver Canucks from 1979-1982 and 1994-2008.

He also called national games of NHL hockey on TSN, CTV Sportsnet, CBC, and Rogers Sportsnet.

Hughson could have easily had a great career as a baseball announcer. Here is Hughson with Ken Singleton on the Montréal Expos on TSN.

https://t.co/WtNioDJEmR pic.twitter.com/THMTysTI3b

— Craig Simpson (@hnicsimmer) September 21, 2021

I was lucky enough to start my hockey broadcast career on the same crew as Jim Hughson in 1983. Jim set the bar for me then, and the standard for all 🇨🇦 play by play announcers over the last two decades. The consummate professional. Congratulations Jim, best wishes in retirement. pic.twitter.com/aXBwkF0KBT

— Chris Cuthbert (@CCpxpSN) September 21, 2021

U.S. NHL coverage has a large hole with Doc Emrick retirement

The Rogers Sportsnet logic was essentially Chris Cuthbert for Dave Randorf during the pandemic, except they could have used Cuthbert and Randorf. Cuthbert and John Bartlett can handle the east most weeks. Harnarayan Singh with Rick Ball and John Shorthouse will deal with the west most weeks.

RJ Broadhead took a day job as the radio voice of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL. Mark Lee is available, just saying. Rogers got rid of Paul Romanuk mostly because some Maple Leafs fans thought he was too impartial.

Instead of a question about who will call the Stanley Cup playoffs — Hughson or Cuthbert — the answer is Cuthbert. The only question is the depth chart behind Cuthbert at Rogers Sportsnet.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Hughson won the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2019, getting into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The award honoured his outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.

Having Hughson do a few regional games, such as the Vancouver Canucks trip to Seattle for the Seattle Kraken home opener on October 23, would be very tempting just to hear him a few more times. Then again, retirement is often stopping, even when you can still do it well. Happy retirement to Jim Hughson.

photo credit: Hockey Night in Canada
Twitter captures: @SportsnetPR; @hnicsimmer; @CCpxpSN
video credit: YouTube/Phenia Films the MLB archives Original Broadcasts (MLB/TSN)

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal to play for the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993

ARTURRI LEHKONEN SEND MONTREAL TO THE #STANLEYCUP FINAL! 🚨 #ItsOn pic.twitter.com/WxIDBQ3toC

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 25, 2021

The Montréal Canadiens are in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993. The Canadiens will play either Tampa Bay or the New York Islanders. That Game 7 is tonight.

Artturi Lehkonen had the overtime winner in Game 6 to give Montréal the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, the trophy of the "western" conference. Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver are the other Canadian teams to have won the trophy.

Phillip Danault got the primary assist on the OT winner, his first point of the series. Danault does so much on the ice that scoring isn't as big of a deal for him. He does bring pizza to the postgame news conference.

Cole Caufield had 4 goals in the series with Las Vegas, including one in Game 6. Shea Weber got his first playoff goal in 2021 on a power play in Game 6.

Game 5 saw Nick Suzuki get his first 3-point playoff game, Eric Staal adding his 2nd playoff, Caufield added a goal, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored a rebound goal off a Josh Anderson attempt.

Carey Price has been incredible in goal with a .934 save percentage, especially on the power play. The Habs gave up 3 power play goals to Toronto back in the first round. The Canadiens added to their playoff record with 13 games without allowing a power-play goal.

The Montréal Canadiens are the first Canadian team to get this far since the 2011 Vancouver Canucks. The Canadiens were the last Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. The team is by far the leader in the NHL with 24 Stanley Cups.

The last time the Montréal Canadiens were in the Stanley Cup final, the MLB Expos existed, the CFL Alouettes did not, and the Habs played at the Forum. This marks the first Stanley Cup final for Youppi! as the Habs mascot and former Expos mascot.

This was the first time Les Canadiens ever played on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the big provincial summer holiday. The team is now 1-0 on June 24.

The Canadiens are 11-0 when scoring 2 or more goals. The other win was Game 2 with Winnipeg by a 1-0 score.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final will be on Monday.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal, Las Vegas tied 2-2

The inside capacity at the Bell Centre is limited to 3,500. The outside capacity is much larger. The Canadiens fans outside the Bell Centre have been a beautiful sight. Merci beaucoup for all that love for Les Habitants.

We should give an award to the best Canadian NHL team each season

NBC picked a lousy time to not air the anthem. A huge holiday in Quebec and a loud crowd for Game 6. They aired all the anthems from Las Vegas.

Thought she’d be a Habs fan! pic.twitter.com/otq4u7N2fl

— Chris Cuthbert (@CCpxpSN) June 23, 2021

Celine Dion rarely comes up on the blog. Dion denied posing for the Las Vegas photo. We believe her.

Cette passe de Perry mérite aussi une reprise. 👀

This pass from Perry deserves another look too. pic.twitter.com/loCd6AdvZq

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 23, 2021

Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone were the big names for Las Vegas who were stars on Canadian teams. Pacioretty was a long-time Canadien and Stone excelled in Ottawa.

Pacioretty finished the series with 2 assists and a goal, the same totals as Nick Suzuki had just in Game 5. Stone had 0 points.

The Ottawa Senators traded Stone and forward Tobias Lindberg in February 2019 for forward Oscar Lindberg, defenseman prospect Erik Brannstrom, and a 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft (Egor Sokolov LW from Russia).

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal set to play Las Vegas in Stanley Cup semifinals

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal sweeps Winnipeg to head to Stanley Cup semifinals

The CBC audience matters a lot to the overall NHL ratings. The Game 5 numbers, only on Sportsnet, were 61% of the Game 4 numbers. CBC carried the Indspire Awards instead of Game 5.

Game 1: 2,300,000
Game 2: 2,499,000
Game 3: 2,875,000
Game 4: 3,029,000
Game 5: 1,848,000 (Sportsnet only)
Game 6: 3,687,000

TVA Sports numbers

Game 1: 990,000
Game 2: 1,060,000
Game 3: 1,372,000
Game 4: 1,292,000
Game 5: 1,348,000
Game 6: 1,608,000

Those Game 6 numbers were rather impressive, English and French.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

John Bartlett and Garry Galley will call Game 7 of the Tampa Bay-NY Islanders series for CBC and Rogers Sportsnet. Game 7 will be their last game of the playoff season. Chris Cuthbert, Craig Simpson, and Kyle Buskauskas will call the Stanley Cup final; the first Stanley Cup series for Cuthbert and will involve a Canadian-based team.

Kenny Albert, Ed Olczyk, and Brian Boucher (aka village idiot) will call the Stanley Cup final on NBC and NBCSN. John Forslund, Joe Micheletti, and Pierre McGuire covered the Montréal series with Las Vegas. This will be the first NBC appearance for a Canadian NHL team since last August with 2 Habs games and a game with the Edmonton Oilers.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We got a CBC rebroadcast of Game 6 on the NHL Network matinee schedule. The game, overtime included, was condensed into a 2-hour block so some content was lost. They also needed to cover the handshakes.

A Death in Cryptoland is a CBC podcast. There was a visual only reference to the Players Own Voice podcast before the 2nd period.

Montréal Game 6: Tokyo Olympics (1st); A Death in Cryptoland (2nd); CBC Gem; Tokyo Olympics CBC Kids (3rd)

Twitter captures: @Sportsnet; @CCpxpSN; @CanadiensMTL
photo credit: USA Network/NHL

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal advances to play Winnipeg

Nos rivaux de toujours. 🤝

Forever rivals.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/NpUqDYcxtE

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 1, 2021

Editor's note: This story has been updated with Canadian TV numbers for Game 7.

Carey Price.

The Montréal goaltender, who spent several weeks toward the end of the regular season on the sidelines with an injury, dominated the Stanley Cup playoff series over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadiens struggled early in the series to score. Toronto had as many goals in Game 4 (4) as the Canadiens had in the first 4 games combined. Montréal outscored the Maple Leafs 10-6 in the final 3 games.

The Maple Leafs won 3 games by May 25. By May 31, their season was done.

This 3-game run reminded us of his run in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Price surrendered 3 goals in 5 games with back-to-back shutouts over the United States and Sweden to win the gold medal for Canada.

William Nylander led the Leafs with 5 goals in 6 games. Auston Matthews had a single goal in Game 2 while Mitch Marner was scoreless.

Brendan Gallagher, who was also injured late in the season, broke the scoreless tie in Game 7. Corey Perry, one of several Canadiens with a Stanley Cup, scored the insurance goal.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi had 3 goals in the series for the Habs, 7 playoff goals overall and he wouldn't be allowed to drink in the United States.

Jake Muzzin was out for Game 7 with a long-term injury. John Tavares missed all but the early part of Game 1. The "win one for the captain" was a theme in Games 2-4 but seemed to disappear over Games 5-7.

Frederik Andersen was the Maple Leafs starting goalie but didn't play at all. Jack Campbell did well in his first playoff series but couldn't match up with Carey Price.

The Maple Leafs lost 3 of the 4 games at Scotiabank Arena but did manage to go 2-1 at the Bell Centre. Toronto is now 0-8 in attempts to clinch a series.

🚨 KYLE CONNOR ENDS IT IN 3OT! 🚨

The @NHLJets are moving on to the Second Round of the #StanleyCup Playoffs! #ItsOn pic.twitter.com/xJniBzPz6B

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 25, 2021

The Canadian final has no Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, or Mitch Marner. Winnipeg and Montréal were the more balanced teams in the opening round.

Winnipeg held a 6-3 edge over Montréal in the regular season, going 3-1 at home and 3-2 on the road. Then again, Toronto and Edmonton dominated their opponents in the regular season.

We know the west winner (Colorado/Las Vegas) will play Winnipeg or Montréal in the final four. The Maple Leafs would have had home ice over Tampa Bay but not against Carolina. We hear there may be a travel exemption allowing the Canadian winner to go back and forth to play the next round.

We have talked about the Toronto woes in winning a playoff series. 2018 saw the Jets win back-to-back playoff series over Minnesota and Nashville. Winnipeg won the opening playoff series in 1985 and 1987, both over Calgary.

That is the total success for Winnipeg in the NHL both 1.0 and 2.0. The Winnipeg Jets did win the Avco Cup in the WHA in 1976, 1978, and 1979.

The Winnipeg-Edmonton series was the third series to end. Montréal fans shouldn't underestimate Winnipeg, given the regular season dominance. The Oilers made that mistake. Winnipeg has depth at centre, lots of people who can score, and a tough goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Toronto-Montreal reaches Game 7

The Montréal veterans who have won the Stanley Cup had the better numbers over the Toronto veterans who haven't won the Stanley Cup. Eric Staal set up Brendan Gallagher on the opening goal last night. Corey Perry also scored and has had a terrific series. Joel Edmundson has played solid defence.

Jason Spezza had a strong series. Joe Thornton and Wayne Simmonds played well for Toronto but weren't as strong on the scoresheet.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Winnipeg Jets pull off the sweep

550 fully vaccinated health-care workers attended Game 7. Ontario Premier Doug Ford initially would not let anyone, even for Game 7.

Alberta let in 12 health-care workers for Game 1 in Edmonton in the first round. Quebec and Montréal allowed 2,500 regular fans for Game 6.

In a news release, Ford said the decision was made in consultation with Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Toronto Public Health and hospital administrators.

There is a nuance between allowing health care workers and fans. Every playoff game in Canada should have had health-care workers symbolically in the stands, even in Manitoba, a province struggling with the current wave.

We get that Canada wants to be "safe" but the U.S. crowds have been embarrassingly large in contrast to the virtually empty Canadian arenas. The games in Montréal (Games 3-4 at least) can have 2,500 fans for each game.

Today would’ve been an amazing day to visit Toronto for a Game 7 (this picture is how I remember it from 2018). Alas… still amped to be on the call tonight with @mooredom for the for the first Leafs-Habs Game 7 since 1957 😧! See you tonight at 7 ET on CNBC. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Qj2pWXJN2V

— Alex Faust (@alex_faust) May 31, 2021

We appreciate the airing of the Game 7 anthem in the United States. The U.S. hockey audience might have been startled by the news of the bodies of the 215 children found at the Kamloops residential school. We suggest doing a bit of research to learn more.

Martina Ortiz-Luis performed O Canada from Scotiabank Arena. She had been performing the anthem from home during the regular season. Been fun watching her on the final season of Wynonna Earp.

Alex Faust and Dominic Moore finished up the Canadian final for NBC. They certainly have earned their way toward calling the Canadian final. NBC never did release announcer information for Game 5 or Game 7. The Alex Faust Twitter feed has been more reliable than NBC.

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

NHL notebook: Waiting to start the Stanley Cup chase in Canada

The Canadian ratings for the Toronto-Montréal series have been dream numbers for Rogers Sportsnet. These are the numbers for CBC and Sportsnet:

Game 1: 3,509,000
Game 2: 3,096,000
Game 3: 3,381,000
Game 4: 3,128,000
Game 5: 3,241,000
Game 6: 4,727,000
Game 7: 4,825,000

These do not include TVA Sports numbers. Game 6 drew 1,185,000 and Game 7 drew 1,150,000 en Francaise.

By contrast, Game 1 of Winnipeg at Edmonton drew 2,038,000 on CBC and Sportsnet.

The high end of these numbers have far exceeded any game Rogers Sportsnet has had since taking over in 2014.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson will call this series on CBC and Rogers Sportsnet with Scott Oake in Winnipeg and Kyle Bukauskas in Montréal. CBC will not carry Game 3 on Sunday night because of the Juno Awards.

We are tracking CBC telecasts in the second round here. This story will be updated. John Bartlett and Garry Galley will handle the U.S. games on CBC. Here is the total CBC schedule:

May 30 Las Vegas @ Colorado, 8p
May 31 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
June 2 Montréal @ Winnipeg, 7:30p
June 2 Las Vegas @ Colorado, 10p
June 3 Boston @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
June 4 Montréal @ Winnipeg, 7:30p
June 4 Colorado @ Las Vegas, 10p
June 5 Boston @ NY Islanders, 7p
June 7 Winnipeg @ Montréal, 8p
June 8 Las Vegas @ Colorado, 9p
June 9 Boston @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
June 10 Colorado @ Las Vegas, 9p
June 12 Las Vegas @ Colorado, 7:30p (if needed)

We haven't had U.S. matinee rebroadcasts of any Canadian game on the NHL Network due mostly to the IIHF World Championship. That tournament ends June 6 so maybe the schedule will open up.

Twitter captures: @CanadiensMTL; @sportsnet; @alex_faust
photo credits: Rogers Sportsnet; NHL

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Game 7 for Toronto-Montreal series

OH BABY! 😱😱😱

JESPERI KOTKANIEMI ENDS IT IN OT TO FORCE GAME 7! #ItsOn pic.twitter.com/w6kdPd6Z5V

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 30, 2021

Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored at 15:15 of overtime to tie the series at 3-3. Montréal scored its first power play goal of the series and then added another PP goal after the Maple Leafs challenged for goaltender interference. Toronto tied the game 2-2 with all 4 goals coming in the 3rd period.

Kotkaniemi brought us to Game 7. The 7 pm start will be on CBC and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and CNBC in the United States.

CHILLS.

Oh how we missed Canadian fans back in the rink 🇨🇦🏒 pic.twitter.com/DAzOGv7Cuy

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) May 29, 2021

Did the 2,500 fans make a difference. Difficult to argue against them. There were some blue and white in the crowd alongside the bleu, blanc, et rouge.

They were loud during the anthem, throughout the game, and especially in overtime. Chants of "Go Habs Go" and "Carey" for Carey Price were rather loud.

Game 7 will have 0 fans. Not likely to have fans in Toronto or Winnipeg anytime soon. The only way more fans will be allowed is if Montréal wins Game 7.

The resale prices got ridiculous even if you are a born cynic. The range we saw was $1,500-$12,000 per ticket and you had to buy 2 tickets. We don't know the original cost of the tickets, which would have been offered to season ticket holders.

William Nylander provided necessary secondary scoring with 4 goals in the first 4 games. This was in sharp contrast to 5 goals in 25 playoff games from 2016-2020. Then again, Nylander didn't score in Games 5-6. Alex Galchenyuk had a goal and 2 assists in Game 4.

Nikolaj Ehlers had 2 goals for Winnipeg in his return to the lineup in Game 3. Mark Scheifele had 2 goals in Game 4 for Winnipeg.

Winning in the playoffs means help from stars and not-so stars.

CAUFIELD ➡️ SUZUKI 🚨

The @CanadiensMTL force Game 6 in OT! #ItsOn pic.twitter.com/MCiznGekzu

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 28, 2021

Game 4 could have featured Jake Allen vs. Frederik Andersen. The Montréal and Toronto backup goalies have proven competent at times. The regular season often features backup goalies on an end of back-to-back games. Allen filled in well for Price and Andersen used to be the starter.

Edmonton and Winnipeg went with their starting goalies in back-to-back games that ended with triple overtime.

The logic of using the backup goalie gets tossed in the playoffs. A backup starts because of injury or incompetence; unwritten hockey law.

The Canadian final will also have a back-to-back between Games 3 and 4.

Giving Allen and Andersen a start could keep them fresh in case they are needed. The only way that might have happened is if the coaches met and agreed and didn't cross their fingers behind their back. That would not happen.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

We have had 2 anthems so far, both from Montréal. Game 4 came because of the 1-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd. Alexandre Sylvestre sang the Montréal version of O Canada (French/French/English). Game 6 was almost certainly due to the 2,500 fans in the stands. NBC used to care a bit about anthems but that feels like a long time ago.

There are a lot of ways to encapsulate the Toronto-Montréal rivalry. The Hockey Sweater is an animated version of a Roch Carrier short story. The kid in Quebec thinks he is getting a replacement Montréal Canadiens hockey sweater. Instead, "Mr. Eaton" sends him a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater.

You've heard the stat of how the teams faced each other 15 previous times and 13 times the winner went on to win the Stanley Cup. Often, the teams met in the Stanley Cup final in the Original 6 days.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Winnipeg Jets pull off the sweep

We noted the Tragically Hip in the last Stanley Cup notebook. Their song Fifty-Mission Cap mentions Maple Leafs defenceman Bill Barilko, who scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in 1951. Bill Barilko died that summer in a plane crash after a fishing trip.

As the story goes, Toronto was supposedly under a curse since Barilko had never been found. The Maple Leafs did win the Stanley Cup in 1962; 6 weeks later, the plane wreckage was found.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

May 25 Game 4 Toronto @ Montréal 7:30p Alex Faust/Joe Micheletti
May 27 Game 5 Montréal at Toronto 7p Brendan Burke/Dominic Moore
May 29 Game 6 Toronto @ Montréal 7:30p Alex Faust/Dominic Moore
May 31 Game 7 Montréal at Toronto 7p Alex Faust/Dominic Moore

Joe Micheletti would be the top national colour analyst in the United States if he didn't have a day job with the New York Rangers. Micheletti does his homework, gives sharp analysis, and understands the concept of a national telecast.

As we saw in the 2018 playoffs, Pat Micheletti, brother of Joe, is pretty good too. That April 15, 2018 coverage with Gord Miller and the Micheletti brothers was one of the best NBCSN telecasts that didn't involve Ray Ferraro. ESPN and TNT: consider either Micheletti.

Alex Trebek was a fan of Alex Faust. Felt like Faust pronounced Le Centre Bell like Trebek would have done. Merci.

I used to wonder if there was little difference between Faust and Brendan Burke. Burke, who called the April 7 game between these teams, is good but Faust is better. Moore also called Game 2; good but not Micheletti. Moore has a habit of saying, "I was going to say." It's a crutch that will disappear over time.

NBC didn't send any advance notice as to who would call Game 5.

NHL notebook: Waiting to start the Stanley Cup chase in Canada

CBC had the Las Vegas @ Colorado game last night and tonight's Game 7. We will track the CBC games in tomorrow's second-round preview. CBC will pad the Canadian final with other U.S. games.

Twitter captures: @Sportsnet; @hockeynight; @Sportsnet
photo credit: Rogers Sportsnet
video credit: NFB

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

The drooling can begin. Those who salivate at the prospect of a Toronto-Montréal NHL playoff series are very happy, waiting 42 years for a rematch.

The goalie battle has been Jack Campbell and Jake Allen instead of Fredrik Andersen and Carey Price down the stretch. The Habs getting back Shea Weber and Brendan Gallagher will be a welcome sight in La Belle Province. The Maple Leafs have the best depth of any playoff team in Canada.

Old school NHL fans also love the Edmonton-Winnipeg matchup. The teams met 6 times between 1983-1990 though the rivalry was one-sided. The Oilers had a 22-4 record over the Jets in that stretch; Winnipeg had good teams but not as great as the one with the Great One. The teams met in 1983-1985, 1987-1988, and 1990, the final one without Wayne Gretzky. Edmonton won the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990.

Montréal swept Toronto 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canadiens had a bye while the Maple Leafs swept the Atlanta Flames 2-0. This was the 15th playoff series meeting between these two teams, splitting the previous 14 meetings. The teams almost met in the 1993 Stanley Cup finals, the last Cup won by a Canadian team.

This Michael Farber report for TSN might help you out if you are a young person and don't understand the Toronto-Montréal hype.

All of that is very nice history. Auston Matthews was 6 the last time Toronto won a playoff series.

Toronto (35-14-7) went 7-3 against Montréal (24-21-11) while Edmonton (35-19-2) went 7-2 against Winnipeg (30-23-3).

The Maple Leafs won the team's first division title since 2000. The Maple Leafs finished first in what was known as the Northeast Division. Toronto hasn't won a playoff series since the spring of 2004 when the Maple Leafs defeated Ottawa in 7 games. That is ancient history though every other Canadian team has won a playoff series in the 2010s.

2021 NHL season preview

We noted back in January of the influx of older Canadian players actually playing for a Canadian team. You can add Eric Staal to the roster in Montréal with Corey Perry and Joel Edmundson against Joe Thornton and Wayne Simmonds in Toronto in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The winning team might have a good chance to end the losing streak for Canadian teams.

We hear a lot about playoff experience with veteran players. The Toronto veteran players have experience with no Stanley Cups while Staal, Perry, and Edmundson have all won the Cup.

Stephen Harper, whatever one might have thought about his time as prime minister, loved sports. We would see the prime minister at sporting events in the crowds.

Justin Trudeau is not that kind of prime minister.

Trudeau is a well-established Montréal Canadiens fans. He represents the Papineau riding in the French part of Montréal.

"I'm just amazed at how hope continues to spring eternal in Leafs fans. As a Habs fan, I'm kind of in admiration of Toronto fans who continue to cling to hopes every year — year in and year out. It's impressive to see," Trudeau said in a video to CP24. "If the unthinkable does happen, and we're all wonderfully surprised to see the Leafs in the Stanley Cup Final, I know there will be ways to make sure everyone gets to watch."

Trudeau's memory of the 1979 Montréal Canadiens Stanley Cup win on May 21 might have been overshadowed by Joe Clark winning a minority government over his father the next day. Pierre Trudeau wasn't down for long as he became prime minister again in March 1980.

The last prime minister to be in office when a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was Brian Mulroney in 1993, days before he jumped off the sinking Progressive Conservatives ship.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup, the current prime minister will be as upfront as he was when the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship in 2019.

NHL notebook: Waiting to start the Stanley Cup chase in Canada

The U.S. playoff games have fans. There is finally a break for Canadians to watch NHL playoff games in person, maybe. 

A potential Game 6 in Montréal could be the first time since last summer with fans in the stands for a major sport. 

Quebec is opening up with up to 2,500 fans for indoor venues starting May 28. May 29 would be home for a potential Game 6 for the Montréal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Montréal MLS franchise had 250 fans for 3 home games at Stade Saputo last summer.

The provinces have the power to set those limits. Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, said this week that allowing fans into games is not under "serious consideration."

Down the stretch for the end of the 2021 NHL regular season

Rogers will use Chris Cuthbert, Craig Simpson, and Kyle Buskauskas in the Toronto series. Harnarayan Singh and Louie DeBrusk will work the Edmonton series with Gene Principe in Edmonton and Scott Oake in Winnipeg. Montréal fans might not be thrilled with the de facto Toronto announcers calling the series; same for the Jets fans with DeBrusk. Some of this is COVID-19 reality, wanting to limit travel.

We would assume the Cuthbert crew would call the Canadian final in the second round while the other crew works some U.S. games. Jim Hughson is sitting out of the postseason.

Canadians can stream any game that is on CBC on CBCSports.ca.

We have been keeping track of the CBC schedule for Canadian and American teams in our earlier update. We will update that story through the first round.

.@GMillerTSN isn't listed on the @NHLonNBCSports release on #StanleyCup coverage. Miller and @rayferrarotsn have brightened the otherwise dismal postseason coverage in the U.S. If this is Miller's call, respect. His talent will be missed this spring. https://t.co/OSbCioNRE7

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) May 13, 2021

Gord Miller, Chris Cuthert, and Ray Ferraro have been a part of recent NHL playoffs for NBCSN. Last year, Miller worked in the bubble in Toronto while Ferraro wasn't available. Cuthbert worked in the bubble for CBC and Rogers Sportsnet. This year, no one from Canada is on the NBCSN list.

Turns out Miller and Ferraro will be at the World Championship in Riga, Latvia.

NBC used American announcers for all but one of the games on NBCSN this season. We expect more games with insufficient research done on the players. Mike Johnson could have been available to have someone on Canadian soil.

Game 1 of the Leafs-Habs will be on the NHL Network so that will feature Chris Cuthbert with Craig Simpson from the CBC.

Alex Faust and Dominic Moore will work the first 2 games in Edmonton. John Walton will join Moore for Game 2 in Toronto.

This is NBC's last hurrah with the NHL. Last year, we saw Mike Milbury do game analysis and a few interruptions of playoff games where the TV viewer lost the coverage. This is especially problematic since the NHL Network matinees are highly unlikely to have Canadian teams. Promising to show the games means showing the whole game.

Since there will be a few starts (Edmonton-Winnipeg Games 1-3) where the beginning of the Canadian game will likely end up on the NHL Network, we should also note that the games can be streamed. Don't expect anthems or any pre-game; NBC isn't into that.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The U.S. portion of the Stanley Cup playoffs started on Saturday. The Canadian teams had to wait until Calgary and Vancouver finished, which didn't make much sense. None of the U.S. teams have a back-to-back in the first round. All the Canadian teams have back-to-back games between Games 3 and 4.

We saw this last summer when the NHL punished the Vancouver Canucks with the only back-t0-back in the 3rd round.

The back to back creates a doubleheader on Victoria Day. Rogers Sportsnet is hoping the Leafs-Habs game ends in regulation.

logo credit: NHL
photo credit: CP24
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing

NHL notebook: Waiting to start the Stanley Cup chase in Canada

The four remaining Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs are getting a much needed rest. Montréal has been off since Wednesday. Toronto and Winnipeg finish tonight. Edmonton will be done before supper on Saturday.

Winnipeg-Edmonton starts on Wednesday and Montréal-Toronto starts on Thursday.

In a typical season, games end on a Saturday and the playoffs start on Wednesday. Most of the U.S. teams will get as long a rest as the Canadian teams. The question comes about where the playoffs will be given a team or 3 teams have to cross the still-closed Canada-U.S. border for the final four.

The American series in the first round have a day off in between games. The Canadian series have back-to-back games between Games 3 and 4.

Down the stretch for the end of the 2021 NHL regular season

NHL the month in preview May 2021

2 Canadian NHL teams made coaching changes in the middle of the season. Montréal made the playoffs while Calgary missed the playoffs.

The Canadiens under Claude Julien went 9-5-4 and 15-16-7 under Dominique Ducharme. Geoff Ward went 11-11-2 for Calgary. Darryl Sutter (along with the interim coaches) went 13-15-1 with 3 games to play.  

Ducharme is the interim coach while Sutter has a 3-year contract.

The management of both teams felt the players needed a jolt from a change. This is the nature of sports. NHL teams in Canada have an intense pressure. The Canadian division has really brought this out. Every team but Ottawa really wanted 2021 to be the year.

The Habs got off to a great 7-1-2 start this season. That wasn't good enough.

The Canadiens have the playoffs to show whether this was good short-term move. The Flames have a few years to see about the Sutter move.

NHL the month in preview April 2021

The NHL Network dropped a few Canadian telecasts during the heart of the season, some not the fault of the network. The channel will fill a playoff weekend with Vancouver Canucks games down the stretch.

We don't know what kind of relationship the channel will have with ESPN and TNT, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The NBCSN deal was pretty worthless to Canadian teams. Things might not be too much better but hopefully with a bit more respect.

We know there have been some signings. We will comment when the whole announcing teams have been, well, announced.

NHL the month in preview March 2021

The lineup of Ron MacLean, Nick Kypreos, Kelly Hrudey, and Elliotte Friedman with Don Cherry on Coach's Corner was a HNIC reality not that long ago. We wondered about the post-Cherry approach.

The 2021 HNIC panel is a lot more crowded. Anthony Stewart, Jennifer Botterill, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and Anson Carter has joined Kevin Bieska, David Amber, Hrudey, Friedman, and MacLean. The variety has been quality AND quantity in scope and perspective.

Kypreos had been dead weight for some time. You really feel how little Cherry contributed that was positive or inspiring.

Rogers has claimed poverty almost from the start on the NHL deal. Flying Hrudey into Toronto and lodging every Saturday night had to cost a pretty penny. Bieksa has been in California for some time. Botterill and Carter have day jobs in the United States, though Carter will be a free agent. This may be a rare moment when Rogers improves its studio coverage and saves money.

This isn't about being PC or "woke." This is smarter, brighter analysis that is informative, relevant, and entertaining.

NHL the month in preview February 2021

There is an all-Canadian matchup on Saturday but that won't be Hockey Night in Canada. The NHL playoffs start Saturday but not in Canada.

CBC fills in nights with U.S. teams when Canadian teams aren't playing. The dynamics of 2021 has forced CBC to fill in more time with the delays to the end of the NHL regular season. The Canadian teams fell further behind due to the Vancouver Canucks severe reaction to COVID-19.

CBC and Rogers Sportsnet will carry the Toronto series and the Edmonton series. Rogers Sportsnet will show most of the U.S. series with simulcasts of local feeds or NBCUniversal feeds. Games on CBC have to be produced by Sportsnet; i.e., no simulcasts.

John Bartlett and Garry Galley will handle the U.S. games on CBC. Here is the CBC schedule:

May 15 Boston @ Washington, 7p
May 17 Boston @ Washington, 7:30p
May 18 NY Islanders @ Pittsburgh, 7:30p
May 19 Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p
May 20 Montréal @ Toronto, 7:30p
May 21 Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p
May 22 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
May 23 Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7:30p
May 24 Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
May 24 Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 9:45p
May 25 Toronto @ Montréal, 7:30p
May 26 Pittsburgh @ NY Islanders, 6:30p
May 27 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
May 28 Minnesota @ Las Vegas, 9p
May 29 Toronto @ Montréal, 7:30p
May 31 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p

U.S. viewers in Detroit, Buffalo, Seattle, and other markets get a great option, even for some U.S. games. This schedule will be updated as needed in the opening round.

NHL the month in preview January 2021

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The CBC promos in the regular season telecasts ended poorly. The first promo in the 3rd period on May 1 ran before the period started. We had more consistent promos from the late game this season but not during the final Battle of Alberta.

Rogers Sportsnet decided on a FU to the CBC in the early game on May 8. Kyle Bukauskas read the first promo of the game just before the 2nd period (violation). The first in-game period promo didn't run until 6:08 left in the 2nd period. Bukauskas read back-to-back promos (violation) at the 4:10 mark of the 2nd period.

Chris Cuthbert's copy for the final promo was for the CBC News app though the visual was for the CBC Sports app.

Watching the late game on May 8 to see which promo was supposed to be the 6th promo. As elegantly paced as the promos were in the late game, they blew off the final promo.

The rules are fairly similar: 2 promos per period, in-game and not consecutively. Not that difficult. If you blow off the 1st period, you don't run into problems. CBC gets so little for giving Rogers Sportsnet so much.

The 2021 Junos celebrate Canadian music on June 6.

May 1 late game: None (1st); Family Feud Canada auditions; CBC Gem; World Athletics Relays (2nd); Tokyo 2020 Olympics; 2021 Junos; CBC News app (3rd)

May 8 early game: None (1st); Family Feud Canada auditions; CBC Gem; Tokyo 2020 Olympics; 2021 Junos (2nd); CBC Gem; CBC News/Sports app (3rd)

May 8 late game: Family Feud Canada auditions; CBC Gem (1st); Tokyo 2020 Olympics; 2021 Junos (2nd); CBC Gem (3rd)

photo credit: NHL