The Montreal Canadiens are used to playing second fiddle to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday nights in Canada. Hockey Night In Canada has often been dubbed Hockey Night In Toronto by viewers and fans outside of the Ontario capital.
While many of the Canadiens games will still be on one of Sportsnet’s channels throughout the upcoming season, and the rest will be available on TSN, you can expect the Habs to get pushed aside by the main channels to make room for the Maple Leafs when both teams play at the same time.
It should come as little surprise then, that the Canadiens are getting very little exposure in the United States. In fact, they are getting absolutely zero coverage on national games outside of Canada.
The NHL got a huge new contract from the United States television markets two years ago to air games on TNT, ESPN and ABC. The full schedule for the 2023-24 NHL season was recently released, and it turns out the Canadiens are one of very few teams that will not get a single national game in the country.
US National TV Games for 2023/24 season, by team
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) August 30, 2023
• 62 exclusive games on TNT
• 100 games exclusive across multiple ESPN Networks:
- 16 on ABC
- 34 on ESPN
- 72 on ESPN+
- 50 on Hulu
📺 ESPN: https://t.co/limmlyXRnj
📺 TNT: https://t.co/5aILFPKSLc pic.twitter.com/uCh75QyI7l
The only other teams in the league to have no national games are the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators. While the games are obviously, and understandably, heavy on major American markets, it does seem odd that the Vancouver Canucks get two games and the Canadiens, one of the original six teams, get zero.
The Canadiens are not expected to be very good, but then again neither are the Canucks. And while we are focusing on the heavy USA team focus here, it is worth pointing out no team in the league gets more national games in the United States than the Edmonton Oilers who have 18. The Maple Leafs, Canadian television’s favorite team, will get 11.
No one should expect the Canadiens to be among the most popular teams on American networks, but if the Canucks are getting games and even the Arizona Coyotes get one, wouldn’t a Habs-Bruins or Habs-Rangers game be a decent choice for a national game?
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!