TNT has 2 more Edmonton games. A late addition has the Oilers in Dallas (3) and the originally scheduled home game, a place where ESPN in any form is afraid to travel (mostly). Unfortunately, the opponent is Gary Bettman's golden team (10) and a possible first-round opponent.
After taking a month off, ESPN finishes in the final week of the season with its usual formula: Toronto on the road in Sunrise (16) and Edmonton on the road in Denver (18). ESPN has to carry some games on Canadian soil in the playoffs, required in the contract.
The NHL Network is distracted by the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York. There are a couple of games late in the season, neither featuring Canadian teams. If there are additional telecasts from any U.S. outlet, we will update this file.
ESPN+/Hulu added 2 games late to the schedule. The Oilers are again on the road, this time in St. Louis (1). We don't consider adds in the last week to be compelling, especially on ESPN+/Hulu, but the U.S. outlet is carrying its first ever all-Canadian game in the modern contract: Calgary at Vancouver (16). Vancouver hasn't been seen since a token appearance on the Seattle Kraken first ever home game. Calgary had 2 appearances last year but not before or since.
April 18 marks the end of the regular season. We might have a NHL Center Ice free preview during the last few days. Maybe. We did a down the stretch blog post last season but aren't going to do one this year. Stanley Cup playoffs start April 20. Yes, that quick a turnaround.
A reminder for our U.S. readers that games not on a major channel or the NHL Network are available on ESPN+.
TNT
April 3
Edmonton @ Dallas, 9:30p
April 10
Las Vegas @ Edmonton, 8:30p
April 17
Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p
ESPN
April 16
Toronto @ Florida, 7:30p
April 18
Edmonton @ Colorado, 9:30p
ESPN+/Hulu
April 1
Edmonton @ St. Louis, 9p
April 16
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p
Hockey Night in Canada
April 6
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p/New Jersey @ Ottawa, 7p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p/Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10p
April 13
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p/Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts
April 1 Florida @ Toronto, 7p
April 3 Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7p/Edmonton @ Dallas, 9p
April 8 Pittsburgh @ Toronto, 7p/Las Vegas @ Vancouver, 10p
April 10 Las Vegas @ Edmonton, 8:30p
April 12 Calgary @ Anaheim, 10p
April 14 Arizona @ Calgary, 8p
April 15 Montréal @ Detroit, 7p/San Jose @ Edmonton, 9:30p
April 17 Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p/Edmonton @ Arizona, 10p
April 18 Edmonton @ Colorado, 9:30p
We talked last month about the selfish attitude of Noah Hanifan, who didn't want to be traded to a Canadian team since he wanted to sign with an American-based team. Yes, Hanifan was honest but limiting where he could go meant the Calgary Flames didn't get as much back for him as the team needed or deserved.
If Hanifan is Goofus, Tyler Toffoli is Gallant. Toffoli got traded from New Jersey to Winnipeg at the trade deadline.
"We're looking forward to it," Toffoli said of he and his wife, Cat Belanger. "We're going to another Canadian city. There's nothing better than playing in a Canadian market. It's a weird feeling but at the same time, we're excited. Winnipeg, the fans are very passionate. I'm excited to go there and keep pushing for the playoffs and try and make a run there.”
Toffoli has previously played in Vancouver, Calgary, and Montréal. He also played in Los Angeles and New Jersey.
The circumstances have changed for a lot of NHL players where they don't want to play in Canada, especially Winnipeg. This makes succeeding in Canada a lot more difficult. Here's hoping Toffoli's new team finds a way to eliminate teams, such as Hanifan's new team, in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The optics of what Morgan Rielly did against Ottawa weren't good. A 5-game suspension was beyond ridiculous. Especially with what New York Rangers tough guy Matt Rempe did with a running start, leaving his feet, and aiming for the head of new Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
Unlike what Rielly did, Lyubushkin had to leave the game for concussion protocol after the vicious hit. No penalty, no fine, no suspension.
Rempe did eventually get 5 minutes for elbowing and a game misconduct for a similar move against a player on a non-Canadian team. Rempe got a 4-game suspension, a lighter sentence than Rielly.
In the spirit of fairness, we should note that Tom Wilson finally got another suspension, amazingly on an infraction against a Toronto player. Wilson got 6 games for a vicious high stick against Toronto winger Noah Gregor. This was Wilson's 6th suspension but first since 2021. The punishment was 1 more game than what Rielly got. One.
What gets to be a fine or a suspension is highly random. Canadian teams rarely, if ever, benefit from such a situation. Mark Scheifele's (Winnipeg) cheap hit on Jake Evans (Montréal) in the 2021 playoffs was different because of the all-Canadian matchup. Scheifele's hit was worth 4 games in the playoffs.
The upcoming playoffs means the refs will likely target a Toronto Maple Leafs player in the playoffs, regardless of what the other team will do. Is that fair? Of course not. The NHL isn't interested in fair where Canadian teams are involved.
The newest PWHL attendance mark won't happen until April 20 as the Bell Centre in Montréal will have a sellout crowd against Toronto. The 21,105 capacity was reportedly sold out within an hour.
The current (for now) PWHL attendance record is 19,285 with these 2 teams at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on February 16.
Covering the PWHL postseason is way more tempting than the NHL postseason. More fairness and a lot less violence in play. NHL playoff hockey should come with a V rating because of the excess violence that the referees refuse to acknowledge.
"Yeah, that's Canada for you. I played there for a long time, so I kind of know how that game works. They've got a lot of things to talk about every day to [fill] a lot of air time, but they only have a few things to actually discuss."
Pittsburgh defenceman Erik Karlsson started his career in Ottawa. A lot of fans still miss what he did for the Senators. Karlsson responded to speculation about a return to Ottawa.
We know the Canadian sports media is a factor in some players' reluctance to play in Canada. On a parallel point, the lack of coverage in lesser NHL markets in the southern U.S. is somehow a positive point in playing in those markets.
One reason why Karlsson wouldn't like to return to Canada, and this has nothing to do with Canada itself, is the Matt Cooke skate incident in February 2013. Cooke, a troubled player with multiple nasty incidents, slammed his skate into Karlsson's Achilles tendon. The U.S. press jumped to his defence: not Karlsson but Cooke. The argument was across the board: Cooke was a dirty player, except for this. If Karlsson had played for San Jose or Pittsburgh, that argument would fly away. Because Karlsson played for Ottawa, one of the dirtiest players got strong defence from the U.S. hockey press.
The lack of compassion the U.S. press has for players for Canadian teams is horrific. Karlsson suffered a terrible injury on what looked like a deliberate act. Yet Karlsson got zero sympathy while the perpetrator got tons of sympathy. This was similar to when Zdeno Chara almost certainly slammed Max Pacioretty into a stanchion in 2011. Because Pacioretty wore a Habs sweater, the story turned into the "innocent" Chara.
Couldn't blame Pacioretty or Karlsson for ever wanting to play again for a Canadian NHL team.
We like Anson Carter. As good as he is on television, the idea of Anson Carter being a significant part of a NHL team is also great. Just not Atlanta.
The jokes write themselves. "Which Canadian city will benefit from a NHL relocation from Atlanta? Quebec City? Saskatoon? Hamilton? A second Toronto team?" For those who don't know NHL history, the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary (1980) and the Atlanta Thrashers (2011) moved to Winnipeg.
Quebec City can't get a second chance. Saskatoon can't get a first chance. Somehow, Atlanta should get a third chance?
Gord Miller and Mike Johnson worked an Ottawa Senators game on TSN5 as Jamie McLellan was in Calgary for Mikka Kiprusoff's number retirement. Miller and Johnson continued their travels and covered a Montréal Canadiens game on TSN2. Can't recall Miller doing a Habs game for TSN, at least not recently. They got to have fun with this extremely unique David Savard goal for the Canadiens.
Miller and Johnson flew back from Boston and made their way to TSN TradeCentre. If TSN had the Sportsnet starting time (10 am), they would have had a chance at a cup of coffee and a Tim Hortons sausage biscuit before getting to the desk. They got back as soon as they could but after the 8 am start time.
March 2 Winnipeg @ Carolina, 12:30p E.J. Hradek/Kevin Weekes NHLN
March 6 Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Brian Boucher TNT
March 10 Edmonton @ Pittsburgh, 1p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Brian Boucher TNT
March 13 Washington @ Edmonton, 10p Brendan Burke/Shane Hnidy/Jackie Redmond TBD TNT
March 14 Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7:30p Steve Levy/Ryan Callahan ESPN+/Hulu
March 20 Toronto @ Washington, 7:30p Brendan Burke/Darren Pang/Tarik El-Bashir TNT
March 24 Winnipeg @ Washington, 12:30p E.J. Hradek/Bill Lindsay NHLN
March 24 Toronto @ Carolina, 6p Roxy Bernstein/Kevin Weekes ESPN+/Hulu
March 26 New Jersey @ Toronto, 7:30p Steve Levy/AJ Mleczko ESPN+/Hulu
March 30 Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p (HNIC) Bob Wischusen/AJ Mleczko ESPN+/Hulu
March 31 Anaheim @ Vancouver, 3:30p Kenny Albert/Eddie Olczyk/Brian Boucher TNT
TNT viewers were spared from Brian Boucher on Canadian teams through February, outside of studio visits during the Heritage Classic and February 28. Easier to avoid Boucher in the studio setting by fast forwarding through the studio coverage. Boucher is less likely to repeat himself or use cliches in the studio.
Unfortunately, Boucher finally made the TNT coverage with Canadian teams in March. The U.S. audience caught a break on March 20 where the backup crew was in the U.S. capital.
Tarik El-Bashir covers the Washington Capitals. This isn't a big deal since TNT treats its reporters way different than their third announcers.
The U.S. national networks carried 4 Washington games within 12 days playing Canadian teams (Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Winnipeg)
We talk about Rogers Sportsnet stealing a Maple Leafs game from the CBC audience. Well, ESPN+/Hulu stole a Maple Leafs game from a potential NHL Network telecast on a Saturday night 2 nights ago. The ESPN+/Hulu telecasts don't really add anything since the ESPN+ local feeds are always better. Always. The idea is that you are so tuned into Auston Matthews, et al, so you will watch their game. You could pick the all-Canadian matchup of the Ottawa Senators in Winnipeg or the Habs at home hosting the former Hartford Whalers.
The ESPN games mean they are on cable TV and you can tape those games and watch them tape-delayed. A slightly better value. Just stay away from the Hockey Night in Canada games.
The ABC/ESPN people took over most Saturday nights. The NHL Network is prohibited from going head to head with U.S. national games. The U.S. outlet didn't pick up any late games in March, so we only had the Toronto-Montréal game on March 9.
The 2024 Junos were March 24 in Halifax on CBC.
While CBC picks the content of the promos, and carries non-Canadian shows on CBC Gem, we think promoting non-Canadian shows (Poker Face) is a poor way to use limited CBC promo time on HNIC.
For those new readers, Rogers Sportsnet is required to air 6 CBC promos during Hockey Night in Canada. Ideally, there should be 2 promos per period, within game action and not next to a commercial.
Rogers Sportsnet claimed exclusivity of the Toronto games on March 2 and March 16. We have noted this strategy before in previous seasons. This also means CBC and Citytv carried the same game those nights.
March 9 early game: CBC News app; 2024 Junos; The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down (1st); PWHL March 10 (2nd); 2024 Junos; Poker Face (3rd)
photo credit: NHL
Twitter captures: @BR_OpenIce; @GinoHard_; @canadian_xing
