[News] ESPN reaches 7 year ~$2.8-billion US broadcast deal with NHL

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

So no Bob Mackenzie?

Nope. He tweeted out that he is officially a free agent for NHL draft coverage in the US. Apparently NBC told the NHL before the awarded the ESPN contract that they wouldn't be able to produce a draft show because of the Olympics, that is why ESPN gets the draft early.

[getbak]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1409645585301311492

https://twitter.com/user/status/1409646583826706437

https://twitter.com/user/status/1409647921620873220

[dammage79]

Damn bloody shame to see Bobby Mac of all hockey pundits go like this. I know he was inching towards full time retirement regardless. But the draft is his thing.

[Erick Estrada]

I'm happy for Cassie. She's done a good job on RSN and is fully deserving.

[BlAcKNoVa]

Originally Posted by gt4flames

This makes me happy she wont be on every flames broadcast.

What if they replaced Cassie with Sarah Nurse on Flames telecasts? We'll be begging for Cassie back lol

[stemit14]

I always wonder if broadcasters make any demands/pressures on the league when finalizing deals like this. Nothing on paper, just before the final handshake is done, I could see ESPN saying something like “we’ll pay this much but you have to make the game more entertaining so we can sell it.” For example… ESPN might want the reffing improved or the review process sped up or altered. They also may not like that teams that go deep in the playoffs don’t seem to have as many superstars that they can market (with the exception of Tampa bay of course).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[the_only_turek_fan]

Sportnet should try and snag Kathryn Tappen.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I'm happy for Cassie. She's done a good job on RSN and is fully deserving.

Agreed. Killer_carlson wrote a dandy of a post a few months back, that I'm manually requoting as for whatever bizaare reason that thread was locked, and I'm unable to actually quote from it.

Here it is.
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...07#post7773107

I do not post much anymore - been close to 2 years since my last post - but I think some of you forget how lucky we are to have Cassie Campell-Pascal doing Flames games. She's a ground breaking icon who has mad respect around the game of hockey.

Her resume:
Team Captain of 2 Team Canada Olympic Gold Medal winning Teams. The pressure and lead up to the 2002 win in particular was unreal (for those of you too young to have remembered).
She's a member of the Order of Canada
She replaced Eric Duhatschek on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee when Duhatschek's term ended. She became the first woman on that committee. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...ion-committee/

Let me say that again: The highest level of the hockey community thinks highly enough of Cassie Campbell-Pascal that they asked her to replace Eric Duhatschek on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. No one on this site can remotely compete with that. No one.

She's a Member of the Order of Canada. Again, that is our nation's highest honor for its citizens.

Along with 3 other leading Canadian women athletes (Jen Kish, Kerrin Lee-Gartner and Fran Rider), she has agreed to donate her brain for the Canadian Concussion Centre. The CCC has analyzed the brains of 44 former professional athletes but they were all male donors. This will permit the examination on the effects of concussions on female brains as well. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/former...arch-1.3924208

As her husband works for the Flames, she has to demonstrate her objectivity and goes out of her way to speak about the other team and player otherwise she'll be called a homer. Even with that said, I received a text last night from an Oiler fan hollering about Cassie highlighting Tkachuk.

I enjoy her on the HNIC crew. But for 1 game a couple weeks ago, i've always enjoyed her participation. I think she gets better each time out and my daughters seem to notice when they hear a "girl" speaking about the game. Listening - actually listening - I think she's holding back on what she may really want to say at times so as to not be overly critical. Instead she is trying to spin the situation in a positive way for an opposing player rather than call out the poor play of another. Interestingly, in doing that she's opening herself up to critique. My hope is that she continues to grow and actually lets us know what she really wants to say some times. I'd like to see them ask her how she would have approached certain situations in her role as "Captain".

You don't become Team Captain of the planet's best women's hockey team if you're not able to see when players aren't performing and then deal with it - whether on the bench, in the dressing room, at practice, off ice etc. There have only been five people to be Team Captain of the Women's Team Canada at the Olympics. She is the only person to have done so twice. We won both times. Best in the world.

The objective indicators of her expertise are beyond compare. I don't know what more we can ask of a colour commentator that she doesn't bring to the table.

She is a ground breaker.

She's a credit to the sport of hockey.

We are so lucky to have her doing Flames games.[/I do not post much anymore - been close to 2 years since my last post - but I think some of you forget how lucky we are to have Cassie Campell-Pascal doing Flames games. She's a ground breaking icon who has mad respect around the game of hockey.

Her resume:
Team Captain of 2 Team Canada Olympic Gold Medal winning Teams. The pressure and lead up to the 2002 win in particular was unreal (for those of you too young to have remembered).
She's a member of the Order of Canada
She replaced Eric Duhatschek on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee when Duhatschek's term ended. She became the first woman on that committee. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...ion-committee/

Let me say that again: The highest level of the hockey community thinks highly enough of Cassie Campbell-Pascal that they asked her to replace Eric Duhatschek on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. No one on this site can remotely compete with that. No one.

She's a Member of the Order of Canada. Again, that is our nation's highest honor for its citizens.

Along with 3 other leading Canadian women athletes (Jen Kish, Kerrin Lee-Gartner and Fran Rider), she has agreed to donate her brain for the Canadian Concussion Centre. The CCC has analyzed the brains of 44 former professional athletes but they were all male donors. This will permit the examination on the effects of concussions on female brains as well. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/former...arch-1.3924208

As her husband works for the Flames, she has to demonstrate her objectivity and goes out of her way to speak about the other team and player otherwise she'll be called a homer. Even with that said, I received a text last night from an Oiler fan hollering about Cassie highlighting Tkachuk.

I enjoy her on the HNIC crew. But for 1 game a couple weeks ago, i've always enjoyed her participation. I think she gets better each time out and my daughters seem to notice when they hear a "girl" speaking about the game. Listening - actually listening - I think she's holding back on what she may really want to say at times so as to not be overly critical. Instead she is trying to spin the situation in a positive way for an opposing player rather than call out the poor play of another. Interestingly, in doing that she's opening herself up to critique. My hope is that she continues to grow and actually lets us know what she really wants to say some times. I'd like to see them ask her how she would have approached certain situations in her role as "Captain".

You don't become Team Captain of the planet's best women's hockey team if you're not able to see when players aren't performing and then deal with it - whether on the bench, in the dressing room, at practice, off ice etc. There have only been five people to be Team Captain of the Women's Team Canada at the Olympics. She is the only person to have done so twice. We won both times. Best in the world.

The objective indicators of her expertise are beyond compare. I don't know what more we can ask of a colour commentator that she doesn't bring to the table.

She is a ground breaker.

She's a credit to the sport of hockey.

We are so lucky to have her doing Flames games.

[Ragnar]

Congrats to Cassie for getting the ESPN gig! Bigger congrats to Flames fans now that we don't have to listen to her colour commentary anymore!

Edit: I do like her on the SN intermission panel, she'll likely be missed there. Just not cut out for game commentary IMO.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Sportnet should try and snag Kathryn Tappen.

And Patrick Sharp.

[InternationalVillager]

Please enlighten me in this regard.

If I’m Bobby Mack. I have my own brand. My own following. Why would he sign a contract just to work for TSN? Can he not structure a contract on a per event basis and produce content for all channels? Wouldn’t that make the most sense for him personally? Or is there THAT much rivalry that opposing TV execs would never go for that. Imagine Bobby Mack splitting time between SNET/TSN/ESPN. If i was him, i’d work for all three on my own terms.

Also - Kenny Albert is a hell of a PBP guy. what a joy to watch the NBC broadcast tonight.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by InternationalVillager

Please enlighten me in this regard.

If I’m Bobby Mack. I have my own brand. My own following. Why would he sign a contract just to work for TSN? Can he not structure a contract on a per event basis and produce content for all channels? Wouldn’t that make the most sense for him personally? Or is there THAT much rivalry that opposing TV execs would never go for that. Imagine Bobby Mack splitting time between SNET/TSN/ESPN. If i was him, i’d work for all three on my own terms.

McKenzie is free to work with any company in the US right now. He is exclusively signed to TSN in Canada though, and apparently gets paid pretty well for that exclusivity.

[sureLoss]

Announcement by ESPN of their entire roster to cover the NHL next season

https://twitter.com/user/status/1409904963900280842

[getbak]

That's a lot of analysts. I wonder if Cassie will be doing colour or if she'll be in-studio?

[Toonage]

Sean McDonough huh? I remember the excitement he brought to MNF.

[getbak]

Ferraro clarifies that he'll still be doing work with TSN...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1409916583187681280


I wonder if that might also be an indication that Cassie will still be around to do weekend Flames broadcasts?

[powderjunkie]

Maybe it's already been noted, but great to see Leah Hextall in there!

[InternationalVillager]

So no Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk? What a miss by ESPN. Very underwhelming PBP team.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by InternationalVillager

So no Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk? What a miss by ESPN. Very underwhelming PBP team.

They're both going to TNT.

[InternationalVillager]

Originally Posted by getbak

They're both going to TNT.

Sorry so what does TNT get now? This is so confusing.