Subban Works SportsCenter as NHL Analyst

PK Subban, Devils’ defenseman and 2021 finalist for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, has found an offseason gig.

The affable blueliner made his ESPN SportsCenter debut last Wednesday as a NHL analyst for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He will work for ESPN through the end of the playoffs.

The press release put out by the NHL notes that ABC and ESPN, along with “Turner Sports will take over national coverage of the NHL in the United States beginning next season, each signing a seven-year contract. The Stanley Cup Final will alternate between ABC and TNT, televised on ABC in 2022, 2024, 2026 and 2028, and on TNT in 2023, 2025 and 2027.”

In addition, the networks of Disney, “ABC and ESPN will televise 25 exclusive regular-season games each season. TNT and TBS will televise 72, including the NHL Winter Classic, the annual outdoor showcase on New Year’s Day.” ESPN will also “produce 75 national broadcasts each season and stream them on ESPN+ and Hulu, and stream more than 1,000 games each season on ESPN+.”

We have not really touched on the new broadcast contracts here on the blog, but it was confirmed back in May that Wayne Gretzky will be working as a studio analyst on the Turner broadcasts. While not really known as a “big” personality like Subban, Gretzky at least has credentials to his name. What he lacks in charisma, the “Great One” more than makes up for in name value. Even the most casual of hockey fans has heard of Wayne Gretzky. Whether that translates to “must see TV” remains to be seen, but Turner is at least trying to reel in eyeballs to their broadcasts by going for the big names.

Just don’t expect Charles Barkley or Shaq in terms of entertainment value.

Subban’s broadcasting spot on SportsCenter is an early preview of the synergy that the NHL and ESPN/Disney and Turner Sports will be able to provide. Hopefully that will continue and the networks will get bored with the league after a few seasons.

When his playing days are over, no one would make as good a TV personality as Subban. He is a likeable man and can give insight into what is going on on the ice. I can see nobody in the game today who would make a better analyst when he retires.

If Mike Babcock can get a job doing analysis on NBC, with his wooden delivery, then I see no reason to doubt that Subban can do well.

The aforementioned Barkley is a known hockey enthusiast. Shaq has even been honored by the Devils, being a native of Newark. That should help to connect the NHL and NBA, Turner’s main sports properties.

How the networks use their resources will, of course, decide how good the broadcasts are.

Duggan Chosen for University of Wisconsin Hall of Fame

Meghan Duggan, the newly hired Devils’ Manager of Player Development, will be entering the University of Wisconsin’s Athletic Hall of Fame. She will enter in the Contemporary category for 2021, Amanda Stein reports.

In her blog post, Stein listed Duggan’s collegiate accomplishments. During Duggan’s time with the Badgers, they won three NCAA championships – Stein notes that she was captain of the 2011 champs; she is second in assists (130) and third in total points (238) as well as third in plus/minus rating (+164) in Badgers’ history. In addition, Stein notes that she was the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner – given to the top women’s player in the NCAA – in 2011, the year she captained the national champions.

Stein also notes her Olympic accomplishments: three medals (which includes the gold medal team that she captained at the 2018 Winter Olympics).

Congratulations to Meghan Duggan on this great accolade!

In other news around the NHL, Reuters reported five days ago that “(t)he Canadian government has approved a travel exemption for the National Hockey League on Sunday [June 6] that will allow teams to cross the Canada-U.S. border for the Stanley Cup playoffs without the mandatory 14-day quarantine.”

This will only affect the Vegas Golden Knights-Montreal Canadiens series as of now.

The statement put out by the Canadian government said that “[t]his decision was made in conjunction with the Public Health Agency of Canada, with the approval of provincial and municipal public health officials, including Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta.” The provinces included in the decision were the ones with teams participating in the playoffs.

The statement continued that “[t]he NHL’s COVID Playoff Protocol will permit cross-border travel that is safeguarded by strict quarantining, a bubble, daily testing and a comprehensive protocol that will apply to all travelling NHL players and personnel.”

Teams will only be able to travel from country to country in private planes and, once in “Canada players will live in a modified bubble that will be limited to the team hotel and arena, and there will be no contact with the public.” In addition, “[p]layers will be tested daily as well as before they board planes and when they land.”

This was done so that the Canadiens, the eventual playoff winner of the North Division over the Winnipeg Jets, would be able to participate in a series with the eventual West Division winners without needed to relocate temporarily. This exemption will continue should the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final.

The Vegas-Montreal third round series gets underway on Monday, June 14 in Las Vegas. The series will shift to Montreal for game three on Friday, June 18.