I think the final straw for me was when they missed Barkov lifting the cup on Monday. Like, this is a team and captain that have never won before a the first Finnish captain to win the cup and you miss the shot?! How do you screw it up that bad. The captain lifting the cup is such an iconic moment for so many teams, and if the biggest broadcasting network misses it, that’s a big problem
Not to mention that with Paul Maurice, a 25-year veteran coach finally winning his first Cup, they cut away right as he kissed the cup. What are they even doing?
@@jdog345 I know McDavid is the sport's biggest star and all, but it's really ironic how it was the Canadian team that the American channel was biased for.
When the 1st and 2nd ESPN intermissions come on, I mute the volume and use it as a bathroom break, get more drinks and snacks. When an NHL game is on TNT, I make sure I come back in time during the commercials and catch all the game analysis by Biz, Liam, Ace and Hank. Those guys are entertaining to watch and listen to.
Completely agree. ESPN isn't the place for the NHL. Bad camera angles at key moments, talking over the play, bad commentator chemistry, all lead to a bad overall experience and demonstrate that it's not important for them to really push hockey forward. It's an afterthought and that's the problem with how hockey is seen in this country. And they are just reflecting that back to us.
Tuned in to CBS Sports Radio just after the Panthers won their first Stanley Cup -- they were debating what number of games were too many and what number of games were too few for an NFL season.
And biased coverage to boot. They pick a side in the coverage and promote that side above all else, so if your for a team they are not, you will hear and see nothing good about your team. Worst coverage ever
Pretty sure it has to do with the dominant ethnicity of hockey players. WNBA gets more coverage and only makes a fraction of money. Must be ideology motivated
I didn't know they were covering it. Blame Canadian media outlets for selling out Canadian fan interest to ESPN and the private self-interests of Blue Jays owners for whom coverage of an irrelevant baseball season is given priority over Canada's first potential Stanley Cup win in 30 years...
ESPN shining star Steven A-hole Smith was asked one time to comment about hockey and he said that the only thing he cared about when it came to hockey is that the puck is black (that is a direct quote). That should tell you everything you need to know about ESPN.
He and others at the network have a long history of talking negative about the sport which is why everyone should have been skeptical of them from the beginning.
Somebody should tell Smith that the NHL is older than the NBA and the NBA was a dying league in the late 70's and people did not expect it to last until TV and advertising started to promote it. One thing is for sure, Steven A is a self important load.
We had it all good with NBC. So many iconic games and moments I grew up as a kid were from them and Doc Emrick is probably the greatest play by play NHL commentator I'll ever hear
It's obvious that Gary Bettman only cares about that $400 Million paycheck. As a Canadian, I hate watching any ESPN NHL coverage, the announcing is lacklustre, they aren't objective and they're outright boring. Canadian announcers are far better and exciting to watch, as they actually care about the sport.
This is nothing new. ESPN has disrespected hockey and the NHL for years. Rarely is the NHL ever brought up on their talk shows like PTI or Around the Horn. Even on Sports Center you rarely ever see a NHL story in the first couple of segments. ESPN's coverage of the NHL is deplorable.
Worst part of this whole season were the same fucking ads playing over & over, especially the Geico ads with the goalhorns and "hOT nUtS & pOpCoRn!!!". I'm a Leafs fan and have to use ESPN- to watch my team, and lemme tell ya, hearing Chris Cuthbert again this October will be a breath of fresh air after not having him for the entirety of the playoffs.
Why does ESPN think it's necessary to have those irritating floating name tags following the puck carrier around during a power play? Also the blue circle that surrounds a player on the ice when the announcers are talking about him.
Totally agree. Wischusen is the best ESPN has - and they don’t use him enough. Ditto for John Forslund, but I realize he is also the Seattle Kraken announcer, so he’s not full time for ESPN. Sean McDonough is decent in other sports, but just not very good for hockey. Kenny Albert is serviceable - not superlative, but pretty decent. Ray Ferraro is just way too over the top. My ears bleed after 3 minutes of his hyper-excited commentary. The old ESPN from the late 90’s early 2000’s with Gary Thorne and Bill Clement were the best. Doc Emrick was good for NBC’s tenure, but some of the color men like Olzcyk and Milbury were annoying. Chris Cuthbert in Canada is a keeper although he doesn’t quite have the voice he had when he was younger. Always liked Jim Hughson as well. I know this is heresy, but I always thought Bob Cole was iconic, but overrated. Going way back, the 2 giants of the 1970’s were Danny Gallivan and Dan Kelly. To me, Kelly is still the all-time best! His powerful voice boomed over raucous crowds and was simply exciting to hear.
ESPN+ exclusives aside, the package on ESPN+ is meant to be an out-of-market package just like Center/Centre Ice to protect the member clubs' local broadcasters and their ad revenue.
It was so painfully obvious how biased the commentators were against the Panthers during the SCF. As a Panthers fan I just wanted to hear stats and play by play, but instead I got enthusiasm for the Oilers and just a “meh,” for Panthers. It was one of the most frustrating things to see. And then to top it all off ESPN manages to MISS BARKOV’S FIRST LIFT OF THE CUP?! What an absolute joke.
watching from Columbus. that's all I heard from Vancouver to Dallas to Sunrise. so sick of Edmonton . the Name Mcdavid just repulses me.thank you so much Panthers I can have peace this summer
growing up watching hockey on nbc was something I never realized how good it was until it was gone. the music, doc emrick, the pre and post game coverage, the exciting and memorable playoff games I’ve watched on that channel, it was epic.
I have seen 7 games of the Stanley Cup final and a playoff game and almost every announcer and crew are completely biased against one player or team, I mean hear about what they say about the Florida Panthers and praise the Edmonton Oilers. And their commercial breaks have ads that commission ESPN's services or their owner's ( The Walt Disney Co.) releases or services and promote the oilers. I would agree. When you put the NHL on ESPN, it is boring to us as great passionate hockey fans or very casual hockey fans.
The scorebug not showing shots consistently is unbelievable P.S. the nhl app has the radio broadcast. It's a bit tricky, but syncing the radio and tv broadcasts is worth not hearing Sean
Every time the rangers play on ESPN it feels like a rangers broadcast. They are very biased against some teams and go out of their way to discuss one certain team every game
Sean mcdoughnah or whatever his name is needs to be a college football announcer. Hes has a terrible voice for hockey. I switch to CBC Canada when the finals are on.
Yeah she's not good at all it's embarrassing that they ever had her in that role to begin with. Not that the role she has now is much better she's not good at that either.
110% correct. Growing up watching NHL coverage it's hard to argue with any of your points. ESPN also messed up at least not talking to Gary Thorne. I was really expecting him to come back and be the lead man---and nothing against Sean he's a good announcer but he's just not the right kind of guy as a lead announcer. ESPN could have least reached out to Thorne!
There is one benefit to NHL on ESPN and that is significantly better international coverage. It is far easier for us not in the USA and Canada to get to watch hockey. I know this isn't a priority. But it is one benefit that most will not take into account.
Their camera usage and play following just suck big time. The Canadian crews FOLLOW the puck in a smooth motion and Centre the camera on where it is. The ESPN use of a wire camera or drone type footage is very choppy and bizarre at times and the play on the ice is sometimes going on off camera because of lapses in camera control or the producers losing the puck. Also using those added Player Name Tags is stupid because the players have numbers on their back for a reason and to think the general public is to stupid to figure out who is who on the ice is another reason ESPN is screwing up this coverage. ESPN is treating the audience like stupid children with their coverage it is demeaning to hockey fans.
Agreed. The clowns as ESPN also have that "video game circle" around the player with the puck. Extremely annoying and no place for that in any hockey game. And while the play is underway, for the love of Pete, don't move the stupid advertisements on the boards!!! Annoying and distracting. If you want to do that between whistles because you're that desperate, fine.
The Canadian broadcasts are a million times better than what we get down here in the states the product has a night and day difference. You gotta love how ESPN treats us as if we're stupid and don't know Hockey when in reality they're the ones that don't know the game.
Disney does through their 80% ownership of ABC network. Hearst Communications owns the other 20% of it. Get Woke Go Broke Disney has made ESPN a DEI nightmare at best.
ITS SO BAD. I’m a Canadian, Edmonton homeboy and all the sports analysts that aren’t hockey players talk about it like basketball or some other sport, the in game commentators just don’t talk about the game well.
You're acting like as if ESPN has actually covered basketball well up until this point. ESPN is just flat-out bad with basketball too. Only recently have they started giving youtube creators big contracts to cover their game such as those on "Numbers On The Board." Everyone else overplays certain quotas like Lebron or Jordan etc etc etc. Then ESPN, Stephen A Smith, Kendrick Perkins start talking out of their ass by glazing basketball players who really aren't like that. Basically all of ESPN is very misinformed. It isn't only their Hockey section.
Just the fact that they don’t stay on after the game is an atrocity. Playoffs or not, the real hockey fan would like to hear more about the game played. ESPN also went dark with the NHL, during the season with college football men’s and women’s college basketball for 8-9 weeks.
The worst was two years ago during the Cup final I was watching ESPN and they barely even mentioned it. They where still talking about NFL news even though football doesn't even start for another what? 2-3 months. They really don't care about hockey at all
Interviewing the coach during the game is inane. Let the man concentrate on winning the game. And Subban is such a clown; he should join Barnum and Bailey’s.
Being a red wings fan I feel like our fanbase is spoiled by some of the best broadcasters in sports. In terms of national media I always liked Doc though
Sean McDonough is either really into the game or he couldn't care less. Why can't they realize that they have Bob Wischusen and Steve Levy? their passion and love for hockey is obvious!!
During the finals of both nhl and nba, they promoted the NBA finals like every 5 seconds and never once did they for NHL. I complained to ABC about the lack of promotion but no one got back to me.
Fox would be interesting as they haven't been in the Hockey business for years but I'd give them a chance for sure anything would be better than ESPN at this point.
@@chale8228 Oh yeah the infamous glowing puck was one of the worst decisions in the entire history of sportscasting. But that was a long time ago hopefully they wouldn't be so stupid to try that again.
Messier and them on ESPN. If the oilers were down by 10 they'd find a way to say the oilers are playing perfect and will comeback they are very biased sometimes too sometimes I have to mute it during the intermission while on TNT I turn the volume up because they are so much better.
Everyone has their biases but ESPN does it in a really unnatural and corporate way. Everyone know Biz is biased over on TNT but its real with him and people appreciate that realness. But the TNT crew also has much better chemistry and they are very entertaining which is a massive part of the problem with ESPN everything is painfully unentertaining.
Yup, it's 100% garbage. This Canadian can't tolerate the bias coverage we have here in Canada, so I go to ESPN and TNT. But ESPN has me fleeing back to our coverage, love TNT though!
Sean McDonough is an awful announcer. I had to suffer through his awfulness for years when FSU kept getting him on ESPN games, I knew he was going to be awful with the NHL. But it does support your point that ESPN doesn't care about hockey.
ESPN announcers are supposed to be non biased. I hear regular team announcers who are more complementary to the other team. This final has been an Edmonton Oilers broadcast all the way. Also, they spend more time talking about stupid crap than announcing the game. It’s so pathetic I have to turn the sound off a lot of the game. It’s a better way to watch if you are not an Edmonton fan. With that being said I will say that it’s evident McDavid, not Austin Matthews, is the best player in hockey hands down. Looking forward to tonight’s game. It should be a good one.
Did they show grapes on the US broadcasts?? I still listen to his weekly podcast which is actually pretty good. His son is a surprisingly good co-host and is an encyclopedia of hockey knowledge. Like it's really incredible how much this guy knows about hockey off the top of his head
Couldn't agree more, mate! I'm an ex-pat Canadian who's lived in New Zealand for the past 50 years. We can only get ESPN on our Sky pay network here. Used to be able to get NHL TV on the Net but that bloody little pipsqueak Bettman put paid to that! You'd think if ESPN is paying the NHL $400 mil a year that they'd want to make a better job of their broadcasts!! 1. Their camera angles and direction are shite. 2. Their announcers are very one-eyed towards American teams when playing against Canadian teams, as evidenced in this Finals series. 3. Their announcers are garbage at describing the game, and I doubt that any of them have even played hockey at any decent level - so much so that watching all the playoffs with the Oilers playing we mute the TV and listen to the commentary on CHED 630 Edmonton off the Internet!! 4. Hockey Night In Canada on CBC in the 1960's with Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan was better coverage and more enjoyable to watch!! GO OILERS - you've got a fair number of fans here in Christchurch!!
Agree with everything you said Bettman only cares about the dollar that's always been his motto. I'm with you on the Oilers too I'm a Pens fan but seeing the Oilers finish off this epic comeback would be one the greatest stories in NHL history.
I disagree with you on the fact ESPN is biased to the American team. I think they are pulling for the Oilers hard. Now if you want bias, the SN broadcast is VERY biased.
I tried watching a couple of games on ABC (I don't have cable) but left after a few minutes. The play-by-play man was telling the life story of one of the players while the game was going on. ESPN is also fascinated with showing the coaches every few minutes or so. they do the same with baseball and the managers. And lose the little balloon over the players while the game is going on.
McDonough is fine but he simply does not have the charisma or enthusiasm to be calling cup final games. Regular season games fine, but cup final absolutely not. What irritates me the most is that it seems like ESPN quiets the crowd audio whenever they get loud. Can’t even hear the goal horns and the crowd going crazy after a goal. That’s like the best part of playoff hockey
Yeah I thought it was just me. The audio always sounds like it's piped in instead of the actual game sound. And this is on top of the sync issue where the commentary is ahead of the gameplay.
This drives me crazy about most broadcasts these days...the crowd/arena/goal horns are so much quieter than they used to sound on TV. 20 years ago, you could barely hear the PBP because the arena sound was so loud, and it was awesome!
All these points are correct but simply ESPN being ESPN they will grow the game. Rating for this Final are 50% higher than last year while on TNT. Yes this is a better matchup but it's not some perfect NY vs LA matchup. Edm is a Canadian city so only 1 American city is driving the ratings and that city is Miami, not exactly a sports mecca, especially hockey. Some of that bump is ESPN related.
There is very little play by play, only hockey history lessons… like I care that Bobrovsky is the oldest goalie to have a shutout in a Stanley Cup Final… who cares about the last time there were two 50 goal scorers in a SCF was in 1994!!! Who gives a crap?
I mean that stuff is interesting but I agree that you shouldn’t talk about that during play. If only the was like a show before the game were they could talk about that. However such a thing is impossible.
I've always disliked espn trying to put other sports above NHL. There was a time when the NHL was bigger than the NBA, way back. But I believe espn was the reason, they hate hockey.
Yep, when ESPN had coverage prior to the lockout, the NHL coverage was one of their top priorities. Now, it's constantly playing second-fiddle and they make too many regular season games exclusive to ESPN+.
This Stanley cup final graphic this year was absolute shit. And the announcers didn’t even care about the panthers they were all on McDavid, like damn hop off
I highly disagree with this, the Cup is back fully on a Network channel. They had 7.7mil for game 7, biggest numbers in over a decade. They are growing the game, network TV is always bigger than cable. NBC and Turner moved games to cable, they didn't get enough numbers.
They game drew those numbers by being the most electric game in years and ESPN did nothing to hype it up besides giving making it a bit more accessible to the average person. A game like that should have at least hit 10 million with the Oilers comeback story but espn didn’t promote it at all.
Ferraro simping for McDavid gave me those creepy Pierre McGuire/Sidney Crosby vibes. Dude, you're a grown ass man lusting after a hockey player; you trying to get hired by the Blackhawks or something?
The 1st broadcast ever in the 1st minutes of the game with Sean McDonough calling a Blackhawks vs Avalanche season Opener Sean McDonough called the puck a ball. Sean McDonough needs to stay off NHL broadcast. The ESPN broadcast have been a mess ever since they took over and the suit at the Disney Co. for ESPN clearly don't care.
How the hell Sean McDonough won the main PBP role over Steve Levy is a head scratcher. Levy was the #2 behind Gary Thorne when ESPN originally had coverage 20 years ago. He is being wasted being a studio host. And it's even worse when you consider John Buccigross is doing PBP. All that guy does is just babble about players' contracts and spout annoying one-liners. Wichusen definitely should be the #1 over McDonough. He has that excitement factor. McDonough seems like a Joe Buck-lite. He's no longer as good as he was 30 years ago.
It has been a great year for Hockey ending with potentially one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. Its always great to add new fans like yourself it would just be nice if the networks taught the game and its history better to make it easier on new fans.
This! I'm trying to lobby the cherry family to do an intermission report. Congrats on the new sport. I just hope it doesn't go the way Ba$eball, football and basketball have gone.
@@staceyvandiver That's true and its a shame cause most of us didn't play or coach sports at a high level but unfortunately most of the current analysts who have just aren't very good at explaining sports or their history.
The idea that anyone prefers NBC over ESPN is the craziest thing I have ever heard. NBC showing the same 8 teams, "rivalry night" featuring the sabres vs wild?, and Milbury? JFC come on......
NBC wasn't great but the actual broadcast of the game was better than what ESPN does today. But that studio crew of Millbury and Keith Jones was pure garbage so glad both of those guys are gone they were the worst.
NBC was better at actually broadcasting the game. Outside of that they were pretty mediocre the studio crew with Millbury and Jones was always awful. Plus they had very little shoulder programming to go along with it they didn't do trade deadline specials or have any shows or documentary series. So they were okay but definitely left a lot to be desired.
I live in a place where I can watch most, if not all hockey broadcasts. The broadcasts from the USA are very, very poor. The Canadian networks TSN or Sportsnet are far better in all aspects. Things you notice are superb pregame shows, the actual play by play is fantastic, and the intermissions are excellent. Another thing..there are fewer commercials on Canadian broadcasts, therefore better all round coverage. If you have a chance to watch a Canadian broadcast, you will not want to watch a USA one again...
This is one reason why NHL should regret choosing ESPN/ABC over NBC. No offense to McDonaugh. He did good calls for NHL OT games, but yeah. ESPN's NHL coverage is just like the Atlanta Thrashers trying to garner crowd attendance but couldn't capitalize, even if they won the Southeast Division Finals. Not being biased on NBC's wonderful coverage, since it also has its flaws, but if you compare the coverage of the 2 networks, NBC gets the upper-hand, and understands the knowledge and language of hockey very well. You have people like Kenny, Milbury, Doc, Eddie Olczyk, dedicated their lives in covering the league for the peacock for 16 years. That is a testimony that hockey is NOT HOCKEY if it's not aired on NBC. I am from the Philippines btw, where basketball runs deep, but not on me. I always love other sports, like volleyball, football, badminton, and of course, HOCKEY. I learned to love the sport, even if I only check the news on NHL's website, watch highlights on UA-cam, or even play EA NHL on my computer (Before they go full-on on consoles beginning with NHL 10). I never played hockey, even if I wanted, since it is for the rich guys in my country, but I do enjoy watching wonderful NHL coverages from NBC, including the 2013 Cup Final where my Big Bad Bruins (AMERICA'S #1 HOCKEY TEAM. PERIOD.) got rekt by the Blackhawks, and saw Toews carry their 2nd cup in 2 seasons. That coverage is one of the coverages that solidifies NBC as the HOCKEY AUTHORITY of America, and even if NBC is reported to take on, and share the rights to broadcast NBA games with ESPN/ABC, I will still yearn for an NHL on NBC revival. It doesn't have to be perfect nor like the days of Doc Mike Emrick and all, but it has to be the one that we puck lovers love to watch, and enjoy. Also, Canada should change their NHL rights carrier to TSN. SN is boring as hell.
NBC was much better than ESPN they weren't perfect but they at least cared about the sport and making the product watchable. It's awesome to see a hockey fan from the Philippines it's a great sport that should be more available to play everywhere. Also TSN is fantastic I've always enjoyed their broadcast especially during the world juniors they do a phenomenal job covering that tournament.
@@TrashMonkeySports Thanks. We also have our national team which is not known to many, and yes. It should be accessible even if we're a tropical country. It's just the fact that hoops runs deep in my countrymen's blood. Such a shame.
@@TrashMonkeySports NBC has the tools to make hockey more enjoyable to watch. It's just the fact that when the league is off, they can't generate enough revenue, but still, they have their way of making hockey theirs. It is not perfect, but it is beautiful in every way. I can't imagine another US network doing the same way NBC did. NBC is hockey, and the NHL made a grave mistake. ESPN is good, but totally not. You have hockey haters like Stephen A. Smith, who only knew that the puck is black. Brainless scum. At least PTI's Wilbon has a thing or two about hockey since he is a Blackhawks fan.
The Cup Finals' TV coverage really is a pick-your-poison case. Either it's on ABC where it's at accessible on network TV but the coverage is awful, or it's on TNT where the coverage is excellent but it's stuck on cable, which honestly is borderline asinine with how much cable is falling off right now (although at least now they'll be on the premium Max sports tier too).
I think the final straw for me was when they missed Barkov lifting the cup on Monday. Like, this is a team and captain that have never won before a the first Finnish captain to win the cup and you miss the shot?! How do you screw it up that bad. The captain lifting the cup is such an iconic moment for so many teams, and if the biggest broadcasting network misses it, that’s a big problem
Not to mention that with Paul Maurice, a 25-year veteran coach finally winning his first Cup, they cut away right as he kissed the cup. What are they even doing?
@@SortaNonymousEdmonton loses so they no longer cared
@@jdog345 I know McDavid is the sport's biggest star and all, but it's really ironic how it was the Canadian team that the American channel was biased for.
And missing Luongo hoist the cup after being an all time great in Vancouver and being popular when he was in Florida
When the 1st and 2nd ESPN intermissions come on, I mute the volume and use it as a bathroom break, get more drinks and snacks. When an NHL game is on TNT, I make sure I come back in time during the commercials and catch all the game analysis by Biz, Liam, Ace and Hank. Those guys are entertaining to watch and listen to.
Last night ESPN missed the shot of Barkov lifting the cup for the first time. Good job ESPN!
I immediately thought of NBC getting Ovi lifting the cup perfectly after that happened. ESPN is so bad with hockey
I loved their censorship when fans protested against McDavid winning MVP chanting “Bobby Bobby Bobby”
Completely agree. ESPN isn't the place for the NHL. Bad camera angles at key moments, talking over the play, bad commentator chemistry, all lead to a bad overall experience and demonstrate that it's not important for them to really push hockey forward. It's an afterthought and that's the problem with how hockey is seen in this country. And they are just reflecting that back to us.
Exactly I don't care how much reach they have if they aren't going to show the sport respect then what is the point of all this
Tuned in to CBS Sports Radio just after the Panthers won their first Stanley Cup -- they were debating what number of games were too many and what number of games were too few for an NFL season.
NBA is no different.
And biased coverage to boot. They pick a side in the coverage and promote that side above all else, so if your for a team they are not, you will hear and see nothing good about your team. Worst coverage ever
TNT does that too. Grrrrrr.
SN always favores the Canadian team, with the Leafs as a priority
@@FalloutUrMumthat’s cause SN is a Canadian broadcasting company
@@FalloutUrMum One team that SN never favors is the Winnipeg Jets. That team never gets any love from either CBC or SN.
@@past-tense-of-drawAlso, I think the same company that owns SC owns the Leafs as well.
You are not wrong, NHL is an afterthought on espn and they hove it basically zero coverage during the daytime its obly nba and NFL
You might want to read your comment and edit it m8
Pretty sure it has to do with the dominant ethnicity of hockey players. WNBA gets more coverage and only makes a fraction of money. Must be ideology motivated
It’s on ESPN+. This is why NHL signed with ESPN in first place: focus on streaming. No cable needed.
I didn't know they were covering it. Blame Canadian media outlets for selling out Canadian fan interest to ESPN and the private self-interests of Blue Jays owners for whom coverage of an irrelevant baseball season is given priority over Canada's first potential Stanley Cup win in 30 years...
Add on college basketball.
ESPN shining star Steven A-hole Smith was asked one time to comment about hockey and he said that the only thing he cared about when it came to hockey is that the puck is black (that is a direct quote). That should tell you everything you need to know about ESPN.
He and others at the network have a long history of talking negative about the sport which is why everyone should have been skeptical of them from the beginning.
That’s brutal
Heck in that same interview, he flat-out said that hockey didn't count as a major sport.
Somebody should tell Smith that the NHL is older than the NBA and the NBA was a dying league in the late 70's and people did not expect it to last until TV and advertising started to promote it. One thing is for sure, Steven A is a self important load.
Stephen A. Smith also said that the Rangers didn’t count as a major sports team in New York.
I miss NBC
Same bro same
I didn't even get into hockey until after NBC left but I miss them too
We had it all good with NBC. So many iconic games and moments I grew up as a kid were from them and Doc Emrick is probably the greatest play by play NHL commentator I'll ever hear
@@takodahager4165nbc literally put Stanley cup final games on nbcsn,
am i the only one who got mad that you couldnt see the full ice when the panthers won the cup? literally no view of the ice invasion by the players
It's obvious that Gary Bettman only cares about that $400 Million paycheck. As a Canadian, I hate watching any ESPN NHL coverage, the announcing is lacklustre, they aren't objective and they're outright boring. Canadian announcers are far better and exciting to watch, as they actually care about the sport.
Oh it's bad. Sean McDonough is bad in every sport
I always liked him in College football, but do not care for him in hockey.
"Trouble with the snap" is still one of the best calls in college football
ESPN actually made fun of the NHL once about a Stanley Cup is not a major championship
This is nothing new. ESPN has disrespected hockey and the NHL for years. Rarely is the NHL ever brought up on their talk shows like PTI or Around the Horn. Even on Sports Center you rarely ever see a NHL story in the first couple of segments. ESPN's coverage of the NHL is deplorable.
ESPN also has extremely annoying repeating EPSN + ads instead of showing the game or actuall commercials
Well in their defense so did NHL tv. Because you pay for it so no ads
Worst part of this whole season were the same fucking ads playing over & over, especially the Geico ads with the goalhorns and "hOT nUtS & pOpCoRn!!!". I'm a Leafs fan and have to use ESPN- to watch my team, and lemme tell ya, hearing Chris Cuthbert again this October will be a breath of fresh air after not having him for the entirety of the playoffs.
Why does ESPN think it's necessary to have those irritating floating name tags following the puck carrier around during a power play? Also the blue circle that surrounds a player on the ice when the announcers are talking about him.
Bob Wischusin calls a GREAT hockey game!!
agreed feels like i’m watching fast past hockey. His voice quite literally brings the game to life. As a sport of this fast past caliber needs
I agree, he’s one of the best
Totally agree. Wischusen is the best ESPN has - and they don’t use him enough. Ditto for John Forslund, but I realize he is also the Seattle Kraken announcer, so he’s not full time for ESPN.
Sean McDonough is decent in other sports, but just not very good for hockey. Kenny Albert is serviceable - not superlative, but pretty decent. Ray Ferraro is just way too over the top. My ears bleed after 3 minutes of his hyper-excited commentary.
The old ESPN from the late 90’s early 2000’s with Gary Thorne and Bill Clement were the best. Doc Emrick was good for NBC’s tenure, but some of the color men like Olzcyk and Milbury were annoying.
Chris Cuthbert in Canada is a keeper although he doesn’t quite have the voice he had when he was younger. Always liked Jim Hughson as well. I know this is heresy, but I always thought Bob Cole was iconic, but overrated.
Going way back, the 2 giants of the 1970’s were Danny Gallivan and Dan Kelly. To me, Kelly is still the all-time best! His powerful voice boomed over raucous crowds and was simply exciting to hear.
The worst part about ESPN is the app won't let you watch your teams games if you live in that area... Dumbest bs ever
Use a VPN, that’s what I do
Yeah the blackouts are a complete joke. You should be able to watch your hometown team with your ESPN+ subscription without having to use a VPN.
ESPN+ exclusives aside, the package on ESPN+ is meant to be an out-of-market package just like Center/Centre Ice to protect the member clubs' local broadcasters and their ad revenue.
Yep on top of their little jersey and helmet tattoos
God I feel sorry for people who live in Toronto, considering the prices they have to pay for tickets
It was so painfully obvious how biased the commentators were against the Panthers during the SCF. As a Panthers fan I just wanted to hear stats and play by play, but instead I got enthusiasm for the Oilers and just a “meh,” for Panthers. It was one of the most frustrating things to see. And then to top it all off ESPN manages to MISS BARKOV’S FIRST LIFT OF THE CUP?! What an absolute joke.
watching from Columbus. that's all I heard from Vancouver to Dallas to Sunrise. so sick of Edmonton . the Name Mcdavid just repulses me.thank you so much Panthers I can have peace this summer
growing up watching hockey on nbc was something I never realized how good it was until it was gone. the music, doc emrick, the pre and post game coverage, the exciting and memorable playoff games I’ve watched on that channel, it was epic.
NBC was horrible.
@@tdubmusketeer u trippin
@@tdubmusketeer my guy wants versus exclusivity back lol
I have seen 7 games of the Stanley Cup final and a playoff game and almost every announcer and crew are completely biased against one player or team, I mean hear about what they say about the Florida Panthers and praise the Edmonton Oilers. And their commercial breaks have ads that commission ESPN's services or their owner's ( The Walt Disney Co.) releases or services and promote the oilers. I would agree. When you put the NHL on ESPN, it is boring to us as great passionate hockey fans or very casual hockey fans.
Most teams have their own broadcast talent now to keep their message on point.
ESPN just want control of all sports, then they ruin it.
Well, espn is owned by disney, and disney likes to ruin everything they touch. Look at marvel and star wars.
Yeah, that sounds consistent with what disney does.
Disney doing Disney things
Absolutely horrible coverage. Such a bummer to have ESPN for the finals when TNT is far more entertaining and popular with players and fans.
ESPN hasn't been good with anything in almost a decade.
The scorebug not showing shots consistently is unbelievable
P.S. the nhl app has the radio broadcast. It's a bit tricky, but syncing the radio and tv broadcasts is worth not hearing Sean
It's hilariously bad. How hard is that, with all the baseball stuff.
Agreed on the shots but it’s funny how just a few years ago the shots were not always shown
I thought Ferraro was going to cry when the Rangers exited.
Every time the rangers play on ESPN it feels like a rangers broadcast. They are very biased against some teams and go out of their way to discuss one certain team every game
Sean mcdoughnah or whatever his name is needs to be a college football announcer. Hes has a terrible voice for hockey. I switch to CBC Canada when the finals are on.
At least they figured if they used Leah Hextall another season in play by play, they were going to lose viwers.
She’s the worst
Yeah she's not good at all it's embarrassing that they ever had her in that role to begin with. Not that the role she has now is much better she's not good at that either.
Her delivery and pitch were terrible for being a PBP announcer. There are good female announcers. She's just not one of them.
@@pomerlain8924who they all are terrible just be honest
@@pomerlain8924no there aren’t
Its so annoying when the dude says carom over and over again...then there is some random chick nepo baby constantly trying to say anything relevant
110% correct. Growing up watching NHL coverage it's hard to argue with any of your points. ESPN also messed up at least not talking to Gary Thorne. I was really expecting him to come back and be the lead man---and nothing against Sean he's a good announcer but he's just not the right kind of guy as a lead announcer. ESPN could have least reached out to Thorne!
PK, Mark and Emily are the absolute worst! Actually, everything about ESPN's coverage of the NHL is an atrocity!!
They brought over some of the NBC guys, but the notable absence is The Great Edzo.
Lol what did America's sweetheart Emily Kaplan do to you personally? It's like saying buttered noodles are the absolute worst EXCLAMATION POINT
There is one benefit to NHL on ESPN and that is significantly better international coverage. It is far easier for us not in the USA and Canada to get to watch hockey. I know this isn't a priority. But it is one benefit that most will not take into account.
My god, that table looks like a cheap ikea knock off.
My problem with ESPN is the name tags, mainly on the power play. I can’t believe they’re still getting away with it.
Their camera usage and play following just suck big time. The Canadian crews FOLLOW the puck in a smooth motion and Centre the camera on where it is. The ESPN use of a wire camera or drone type footage is very choppy and bizarre at times and the play on the ice is sometimes going on off camera because of lapses in camera control or the producers losing the puck. Also using those added Player Name Tags is stupid because the players have numbers on their back for a reason and to think the general public is to stupid to figure out who is who on the ice is another reason ESPN is screwing up this coverage. ESPN is treating the audience like stupid children with their coverage it is demeaning to hockey fans.
Agreed. The clowns as ESPN also have that "video game circle" around the player with the puck. Extremely annoying and no place for that in any hockey game. And while the play is underway, for the love of Pete, don't move the stupid advertisements on the boards!!! Annoying and distracting. If you want to do that between whistles because you're that desperate, fine.
The Canadian broadcasts are a million times better than what we get down here in the states the product has a night and day difference. You gotta love how ESPN treats us as if we're stupid and don't know Hockey when in reality they're the ones that don't know the game.
Who owns ESPN?
Disney does through their 80% ownership of ABC network. Hearst Communications owns the other 20% of it. Get Woke Go Broke Disney has made ESPN a DEI nightmare at best.
The local US networks do a decent job as well. Much better than ESPN anyway.
ITS SO BAD. I’m a Canadian, Edmonton homeboy and all the sports analysts that aren’t hockey players talk about it like basketball or some other sport, the in game commentators just don’t talk about the game well.
You're acting like as if ESPN has actually covered basketball well up until this point. ESPN is just flat-out bad with basketball too. Only recently have they started giving youtube creators big contracts to cover their game such as those on "Numbers On The Board." Everyone else overplays certain quotas like Lebron or Jordan etc etc etc. Then ESPN, Stephen A Smith, Kendrick Perkins start talking out of their ass by glazing basketball players who really aren't like that. Basically all of ESPN is very misinformed. It isn't only their Hockey section.
@@rabeechowdhury Not familiar with other sports :)
Just the fact that they don’t stay on after the game is an atrocity. Playoffs or not, the real hockey fan would like to hear more about the game played. ESPN also went dark with the NHL, during the season with college football men’s and women’s college basketball for 8-9 weeks.
The only thing ESPN cares about is the New York Rangers.
The worst was two years ago during the Cup final I was watching ESPN and they barely even mentioned it. They where still talking about NFL news even though football doesn't even start for another what? 2-3 months. They really don't care about hockey at all
Interviewing the coach during the game is inane. Let the man concentrate on winning the game. And Subban is such a clown; he should join Barnum and Bailey’s.
The only good thing about it is that more eyeballs are on the sport. But TNT is so much better.
In Detroit, we can watch the Stanley Cup games on CBET instead of ESPN
The thought crossed my mind, but that would mean giving viewing time to that backstabbing weasel Ron McLean.
Being a red wings fan I feel like our fanbase is spoiled by some of the best broadcasters in sports. In terms of national media I always liked Doc though
I think the first sign of trouble was not bringing back Gary Thorne.
Who remembers when ESPN shut off the tie playoff game between the Hurricanes and the Rangers for 10 seconds recently?
Sean McDonough is either really into the game or he couldn't care less. Why can't they realize that they have Bob Wischusen and Steve Levy? their passion and love for hockey is obvious!!
ESPN is absolute dogshit on nba too. They put 0 effort come playoffs, let alone finals. Insane.
During the finals of both nhl and nba, they promoted the NBA finals like every 5 seconds and never once did they for NHL. I complained to ABC about the lack of promotion but no one got back to me.
Wow don’t even mention MLB on the top priority on ESPN. They treat that sport like shit too
Absolutely. it's all basketball and football. MLB only matters when it's something they deem newsworthy. BASEBALL Tonight isn't even on anymore
I think the NHL should be on TNT, and Fox
I miss when it was on NBC as well
Fox would be interesting as they haven't been in the Hockey business for years but I'd give them a chance for sure anything would be better than ESPN at this point.
@@TrashMonkeySports Remember the glowing puck?
You guys are missing the model. To get all 785 yankee games, you need 6 diff subscriptions.
Welcome to the future.
@@chale8228 Oh yeah the infamous glowing puck was one of the worst decisions in the entire history of sportscasting. But that was a long time ago hopefully they wouldn't be so stupid to try that again.
Messier and them on ESPN. If the oilers were down by 10 they'd find a way to say the oilers are playing perfect and will comeback they are very biased sometimes too sometimes I have to mute it during the intermission while on TNT I turn the volume up because they are so much better.
Everyone has their biases but ESPN does it in a really unnatural and corporate way. Everyone know Biz is biased over on TNT but its real with him and people appreciate that realness. But the TNT crew also has much better chemistry and they are very entertaining which is a massive part of the problem with ESPN everything is painfully unentertaining.
Oh?? And when have the Oilers ever been down by 10???
@@allansbullet THE Oilers are going all the way BABY
Cry harder 😢 😪
@@coldeadhands They ARE going all the way, and I'm not crying!
@@allansbulletI’m from the future, they didn’t go all the way
I hate the way modern American Mega Corps do business. Its all about the metrics not about the product
Why would ESPN care? Their own employees on TV say the NHL doesnt matter.
What bothers me the most is how the NHL just doesn’t even mesh.
I watched the entire Stanley Cup final round on CBC (SportsNet). ESPN blows chunks.
ESPN should have hired Gary Thorne to do the finals.
The night the Panthers won the cup, the game-winning goal line save turned goal didn’t even make the SC top 10.
Yup, it's 100% garbage.
This Canadian can't tolerate the bias coverage we have here in Canada, so I go to ESPN and TNT. But ESPN has me fleeing back to our coverage, love TNT though!
Sean McDonough is an awful announcer. I had to suffer through his awfulness for years when FSU kept getting him on ESPN games, I knew he was going to be awful with the NHL. But it does support your point that ESPN doesn't care about hockey.
ESPN announcers are supposed to be non biased. I hear regular team announcers who are more complementary to the other team. This final has been an Edmonton Oilers broadcast all the way.
Also, they spend more time talking about stupid crap than announcing the game. It’s so pathetic I have to turn the sound off a lot of the game. It’s a better way to watch if you are not an Edmonton fan.
With that being said I will say that it’s evident McDavid, not Austin Matthews, is the best player in hockey hands down.
Looking forward to tonight’s game. It should be a good one.
Who misses Don? :(
I miss his suits
Did they show grapes on the US broadcasts?? I still listen to his weekly podcast which is actually pretty good. His son is a surprisingly good co-host and is an encyclopedia of hockey knowledge. Like it's really incredible how much this guy knows about hockey off the top of his head
I sure do. Ati-Canadian tyrants sure dont though
I don't.
My teenage kids do. They barely listen to Bieks. They leave when Hilarious Ron (not), lady, Kelly, all talk.
Bob Wischusen is an energetic announcer. McDonough shows pretty much 0 real emotion throughout the game until the puck goes in the net
bring back gary thorn!
Bill Clement and Darren Pang, too.
I usually try to sync up the radio broadcast with the game so I don't have to listen to the horrific broadcasting from ESPN
Couldn't agree more, mate! I'm an ex-pat Canadian who's lived in New Zealand for the past 50 years. We can only get ESPN on our Sky pay network here. Used to be able to get NHL TV on the Net but that bloody little pipsqueak Bettman put paid to that! You'd think if ESPN is paying the NHL $400 mil a year that they'd want to make a better job of their broadcasts!! 1. Their camera angles and direction are shite. 2. Their announcers are very one-eyed towards American teams when playing against Canadian teams, as evidenced in this Finals series. 3. Their announcers are garbage at describing the game, and I doubt that any of them have even played hockey at any decent level - so much so that watching all the playoffs with the Oilers playing we mute the TV and listen to the commentary on CHED 630 Edmonton off the Internet!! 4. Hockey Night In Canada on CBC in the 1960's with Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan was better coverage and more enjoyable to watch!!
GO OILERS - you've got a fair number of fans here in Christchurch!!
Agree with everything you said Bettman only cares about the dollar that's always been his motto. I'm with you on the Oilers too I'm a Pens fan but seeing the Oilers finish off this epic comeback would be one the greatest stories in NHL history.
I disagree with you on the fact ESPN is biased to the American team. I think they are pulling for the Oilers hard. Now if you want bias, the SN broadcast is VERY biased.
As soon as i saw the contract, i knew espn would crap on hockey. Not enough fans my ass. They went for a payday and left fans with shit coverage.
I tried watching a couple of games on ABC (I don't have cable) but left after a few minutes. The play-by-play man was telling the life story of one of the players while the game was going on. ESPN is also fascinated with showing the coaches every few minutes or so. they do the same with baseball and the managers. And lose the little balloon over the players while the game is going on.
Worst play by play announcer. Showed no emotion. The TNT crew was soooo much better. ABC didn’t even have a pregame show for the playoffs
Hockey has always been an afterthought for ESPN. I remember having to wait till the very end of Sportscenter to see game highlights.
If it was available on my streaming service, I would have watched CBC coverage.
ESPN need only study sportsnet or tsn in Canada, where hockey is by far number 1.
Ray Ferraro spent years analyzing games on tsn. He's fantastic.
ANY Canadian network at all can put together a better hockey broadcast team! 🤣🤣🤣
Bro Ferraro is the worst analyst in the game and TSN and Sportsnet aren’t good they’re just better.
Ray Ferraro is excellent and the studio crew are solid but not better than TNT…Emily Kaplan is not Jackie Redmond in any way
McDonough is fine but he simply does not have the charisma or enthusiasm to be calling cup final games. Regular season games fine, but cup final absolutely not. What irritates me the most is that it seems like ESPN quiets the crowd audio whenever they get loud. Can’t even hear the goal horns and the crowd going crazy after a goal. That’s like the best part of playoff hockey
Yeah I thought it was just me. The audio always sounds like it's piped in instead of the actual game sound. And this is on top of the sync issue where the commentary is ahead of the gameplay.
This drives me crazy about most broadcasts these days...the crowd/arena/goal horns are so much quieter than they used to sound on TV. 20 years ago, you could barely hear the PBP because the arena sound was so loud, and it was awesome!
All these points are correct but simply ESPN being ESPN they will grow the game. Rating for this Final are 50% higher than last year while on TNT. Yes this is a better matchup but it's not some perfect NY vs LA matchup. Edm is a Canadian city so only 1 American city is driving the ratings and that city is Miami, not exactly a sports mecca, especially hockey. Some of that bump is ESPN related.
Sure you could make that argument but for them to truly grow the sport they have to be in a place that actually values the sport.
There is very little play by play, only hockey history lessons… like I care that Bobrovsky is the oldest goalie to have a shutout in a Stanley Cup Final… who cares about the last time there were two 50 goal scorers in a SCF was in 1994!!! Who gives a crap?
Perfectly said.
I mean that stuff is interesting but I agree that you shouldn’t talk about that during play. If only the was like a show before the game were they could talk about that. However such a thing is impossible.
I've always disliked espn trying to put other sports above NHL. There was a time when the NHL was bigger than the NBA, way back. But I believe espn was the reason, they hate hockey.
Yep, when ESPN had coverage prior to the lockout, the NHL coverage was one of their top priorities.
Now, it's constantly playing second-fiddle and they make too many regular season games exclusive to ESPN+.
Should have stayed with nbc or go to tnt
This Stanley cup final graphic this year was absolute shit. And the announcers didn’t even care about the panthers they were all on McDavid, like damn hop off
I highly disagree with this, the Cup is back fully on a Network channel. They had 7.7mil for game 7, biggest numbers in over a decade. They are growing the game, network TV is always bigger than cable. NBC and Turner moved games to cable, they didn't get enough numbers.
They game drew those numbers by being the most electric game in years and ESPN did nothing to hype it up besides giving making it a bit more accessible to the average person. A game like that should have at least hit 10 million with the Oilers comeback story but espn didn’t promote it at all.
Ferraro simping for McDavid gave me those creepy Pierre McGuire/Sidney Crosby vibes. Dude, you're a grown ass man lusting after a hockey player; you trying to get hired by the Blackhawks or something?
Fuck you for having an actually funny Blackhawks chirp. I want to be mad but I’m too busy laughing my ass off
They only did it because Disney, who own ESPN, is the largest corporation in the US.
Ah the drawback of seeing a larger cheque and ignoring the realities of the organization signing it.
The 1st broadcast ever in the 1st minutes of the game with Sean McDonough calling a Blackhawks vs Avalanche season Opener Sean McDonough called the puck a ball. Sean McDonough needs to stay off NHL broadcast. The ESPN broadcast have been a mess ever since they took over and the suit at the Disney Co. for ESPN clearly don't care.
SOMEBODY had to say something! Thank you!!! ESPN is an embarrassment to hockey.
How the hell Sean McDonough won the main PBP role over Steve Levy is a head scratcher. Levy was the #2 behind Gary Thorne when ESPN originally had coverage 20 years ago. He is being wasted being a studio host. And it's even worse when you consider John Buccigross is doing PBP. All that guy does is just babble about players' contracts and spout annoying one-liners.
Wichusen definitely should be the #1 over McDonough. He has that excitement factor. McDonough seems like a Joe Buck-lite. He's no longer as good as he was 30 years ago.
Sean McDonough and Joe Buck are cut from the same cloth. They only got to where they are because of who their daddies were.
It's the same story as Bell/ TSN and the CFL. TSN buys up the rights to be the only one to show it in Canada, yet they treat it as an afterthought
WBD just does it better.
In the fact that NHL was the best sport this year. I'm a black guy from Atlanta and taught myself Hockey. Sean McDonough isn't good bro I don't agree
It has been a great year for Hockey ending with potentially one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. Its always great to add new fans like yourself it would just be nice if the networks taught the game and its history better to make it easier on new fans.
@@TrashMonkeySports content creators have become better teachers than the analyst in most sports
This! I'm trying to lobby the cherry family to do an intermission report.
Congrats on the new sport. I just hope it doesn't go the way Ba$eball, football and basketball have gone.
@@staceyvandiver That's true and its a shame cause most of us didn't play or coach sports at a high level but unfortunately most of the current analysts who have just aren't very good at explaining sports or their history.
@@TrashMonkeySports Bettman is also the most gullible and foolish commish in all of sports as well
ESPN Is a political organization
Bingo!
Disney
You’re making this political by even saying
The idea that anyone prefers NBC over ESPN is the craziest thing I have ever heard. NBC showing the same 8 teams, "rivalry night" featuring the sabres vs wild?, and Milbury? JFC come on......
NBC wasn't great but the actual broadcast of the game was better than what ESPN does today. But that studio crew of Millbury and Keith Jones was pure garbage so glad both of those guys are gone they were the worst.
ESPN's NHL Coverage Sucks! TNT Is Better!
How was NBC’s coverage compared to either of them?
NBC was better at actually broadcasting the game. Outside of that they were pretty mediocre the studio crew with Millbury and Jones was always awful. Plus they had very little shoulder programming to go along with it they didn't do trade deadline specials or have any shows or documentary series. So they were okay but definitely left a lot to be desired.
I live in a place where I can watch most, if not all hockey broadcasts. The broadcasts from the USA are very, very poor. The Canadian networks TSN or Sportsnet are far better in all aspects. Things you notice are superb pregame shows, the actual play by play is fantastic, and the intermissions are excellent. Another thing..there are fewer commercials on Canadian broadcasts, therefore better all round coverage. If you have a chance to watch a Canadian broadcast, you will not want to watch a USA one again...
100% Agree the Canadian broadcast are much better than anything we get in the states.
The Roman circus the flock will still swallow it up.
This is one reason why NHL should regret choosing ESPN/ABC over NBC. No offense to McDonaugh. He did good calls for NHL OT games, but yeah. ESPN's NHL coverage is just like the Atlanta Thrashers trying to garner crowd attendance but couldn't capitalize, even if they won the Southeast Division Finals. Not being biased on NBC's wonderful coverage, since it also has its flaws, but if you compare the coverage of the 2 networks, NBC gets the upper-hand, and understands the knowledge and language of hockey very well. You have people like Kenny, Milbury, Doc, Eddie Olczyk, dedicated their lives in covering the league for the peacock for 16 years. That is a testimony that hockey is NOT HOCKEY if it's not aired on NBC.
I am from the Philippines btw, where basketball runs deep, but not on me. I always love other sports, like volleyball, football, badminton, and of course, HOCKEY. I learned to love the sport, even if I only check the news on NHL's website, watch highlights on UA-cam, or even play EA NHL on my computer (Before they go full-on on consoles beginning with NHL 10). I never played hockey, even if I wanted, since it is for the rich guys in my country, but I do enjoy watching wonderful NHL coverages from NBC, including the 2013 Cup Final where my Big Bad Bruins (AMERICA'S #1 HOCKEY TEAM. PERIOD.) got rekt by the Blackhawks, and saw Toews carry their 2nd cup in 2 seasons. That coverage is one of the coverages that solidifies NBC as the HOCKEY AUTHORITY of America, and even if NBC is reported to take on, and share the rights to broadcast NBA games with ESPN/ABC, I will still yearn for an NHL on NBC revival. It doesn't have to be perfect nor like the days of Doc Mike Emrick and all, but it has to be the one that we puck lovers love to watch, and enjoy.
Also, Canada should change their NHL rights carrier to TSN. SN is boring as hell.
NBC was much better than ESPN they weren't perfect but they at least cared about the sport and making the product watchable. It's awesome to see a hockey fan from the Philippines it's a great sport that should be more available to play everywhere. Also TSN is fantastic I've always enjoyed their broadcast especially during the world juniors they do a phenomenal job covering that tournament.
@@TrashMonkeySports Thanks. We also have our national team which is not known to many, and yes. It should be accessible even if we're a tropical country. It's just the fact that hoops runs deep in my countrymen's blood. Such a shame.
@@TrashMonkeySports Also, they don't even know that we have an NHLer who's a Fil-Am. It's Dallas Stars' LW, Jason Robertson.
@@TrashMonkeySports NBC has the tools to make hockey more enjoyable to watch. It's just the fact that when the league is off, they can't generate enough revenue, but still, they have their way of making hockey theirs. It is not perfect, but it is beautiful in every way. I can't imagine another US network doing the same way NBC did.
NBC is hockey, and the NHL made a grave mistake. ESPN is good, but totally not. You have hockey haters like Stephen A. Smith, who only knew that the puck is black. Brainless scum. At least PTI's Wilbon has a thing or two about hockey since he is a Blackhawks fan.
I thought that only in ESPN Brazil the hockey was forgotten.
The Cup Finals' TV coverage really is a pick-your-poison case. Either it's on ABC where it's at accessible on network TV but the coverage is awful, or it's on TNT where the coverage is excellent but it's stuck on cable, which honestly is borderline asinine with how much cable is falling off right now (although at least now they'll be on the premium Max sports tier too).
If ESPN was smart bring over some of the panelists & announcers from TSN or just give us the TSN feed in the states full time for the NHL coverage
We watched every SCF game on the CBC.
ESPN is simply terrible at hockey nowadays.
I totally agree. TNT is much better then ESPN. I doubt the NHL will do anything about it. It's not about growing the game, it's about the $$$$$$
I put up with them so I don't have to hear Craig Simpson babble on Sportsnet.
Lol
He doesn't sound quite right. Makes me cringe how he makes one-syllable words into two. Creepy.