Predicting the 2011-12 Hockey Night in Canada Schedule
June 23, 2011 23 Comments
Oct. 6
7:00 Montreal vs. Toronto
10:00 Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver
Oct. 8
2:00 Buffalo vs. Los Angeles
7:00 Ottawa vs. Toronto
10:00 Pittsburgh vs. Calgary
Oct. 9
5:00 Montreal vs. Winnipeg
Oct. 15
7:00 Calgary vs. Toronto
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Phoenix
7:00 Ottawa vs. Washington
7:00 Colorado vs. Montreal
10:00 Vancouver vs. Edmonton
Oct. 22
7:00 Toronto vs. Montreal
7:00 Columbus vs. Ottawa
7:00 Carolina vs. Winnipeg
10:00 NY Rangers vs. Edmonton
Oct. 29
3:00 Ottawa vs. NY Rangers
7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Toronto
7:00 Boston vs. Montreal
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Tampa Bay
10:00 Washington vs. Vancouver
Nov. 5
7:00 Boston vs. Toronto
7:00 Buffalo vs. Ottawa
7:00 Winnipeg vs. New Jersey
7:00 Montreal vs. NY Rangers
10:00 Edmonton vs. Phoenix
Nov. 12
7:00 Ottawa vs. Toronto
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Columbus
7:00 Montreal vs. Nashville
10:00 Calgary vs. Colorado
Nov. 19
3:00 Philadelphia vs. Winnipeg
7:00 Washington vs. Toronto
7:00 NY Rangers vs. Montreal
10:00 Chicago vs. Edmonton
Nov. 26
3:00 Edmonton vs. Colorado
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Boston
7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Montreal
10:00 Vancouver vs. San Jose
Dec. 3
3:30 Montreal vs. Los Angeles
7:00 Toronto vs. Boston
7:00 Ottawa vs. Washington
7:00 New Jersey vs. Winnipeg
10:00 Calgary vs. Edmonton
Dec. 10
3:00 Montreal vs. New Jersey
7:00 Vancouver vs. Ottawa
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Detroit
10:00 Edmonton vs. Calgary
Dec. 17
7:00 Vancouver vs. Toronto
7:00 New Jersey vs. Montreal
7:00 Anaheim vs. Winnipeg
10:00 Edmonton vs. San Jose
Dec. 31
7:00 Ottawa vs. Buffalo
7:00 Toronto vs. Winnipeg
10:00 Vancouver vs. Los Angeles
Jan. 2
1:00 NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia
Jan. 7
1:00 Vancouver vs. Boston
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Buffalo
7:00 Detroit vs. Toronto
7:00 Tampa Bay vs. Montreal
10:00 Minnesota vs. Calgary
Jan. 14
7:00 NY Rangers vs. Toronto
7:00 Ottawa vs. Montreal
7:00 New Jersey vs. Winnipeg
10:00 Los Angeles vs. Calgary
Jan. 21
4:00 San Jose vs. Vancouver
7:00 Montreal vs. Toronto
7:00 Ottawa vs. Anaheim
10:00 Calgary vs. Edmonton
Feb. 4
3:00 Vancouver vs. Colorado
7:00 Toronto vs. Ottawa
10:00 Detroit vs. Edmonton
Feb. 11
2:00 Edmonton vs. Ottawa
7:00 Montreal vs. Toronto
10:00 Vancouver vs. Calgary
Feb. 18
7:00 Toronto vs. Vancouver
10:00 Calgary vs. Los Angeles
Feb. 25
2:00 St. Louis vs. Winnipeg
7:00 Washington vs. Toronto
7:00 Boston vs. Ottawa
10:00 Philadelphia vs. Calgary
Mar. 3
7:00 Toronto vs. Montreal
10:00 Buffalo vs. Vancouver
Mar. 10
3:00 Edmonton vs. Colorado
7:00 Philadelphia vs. Toronto
7:00 Buffalo vs. Ottawa
10:00 Montreal vs. Vancouver
Mar. 17
7:00 NY Islanders vs. Montreal
7:00 Toronto vs. Ottawa
10:00 Columbus vs. Vancouver
Mar. 24
2:00 Calgary vs. Dallas
7:00 NY Rangers vs. Toronto
7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Nashville
10:00 Vancouver vs. Colorado
Mar. 31
1:00 Ottawa vs. Philadelphia
7:00 Buffalo vs. Toronto
7:00 Montreal vs. Washington
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Tampa Bay
10:00 Calgary vs. Vancouver
Apr. 7
3:00 Ottawa vs. New Jersey
7:00 Toronto vs. Montreal
7:00 Tampa Bay vs. Winnipeg
10:00 Edmonton vs. Vancouver
Puck The Media 
I’d be a little surprised if CBC could muster up the bodies for a fifth production team. (To say nothing of announcers – we’d be looking at Dan Robertson or Bruce Rainnie or somebody by that point.) Most likely Winnipeg will get left out of the cold a lot until they start playing all-Canadian matchups regularly in 2012/13.
No, I think it’s a safe bet Winnipeg will get plenty of games on CBC for their first season back.
I think you’re right. A big clue is that Saturday night games in Winnipeg are scheduled for 7pm ET, not 7pm, or 7:30 local time in Winnipeg, which pretty much means they are working around HNIC’s schedule.
It’ll be interesting to see how they handle it, though. Will there be weekends where one team (almost certainly Ottawa or Winnipeg) gets shutout and their game is not broadcast? (If so, count on an anti-CBC backlash from the fanbase of whichever teams get screwed.) Or will they scrounge up the bodies for an extra crew? Does that mean they’ll, some Saturdays, split the country four ways at 7pm? And what are the HD implications? Last season, not every HNIC game was in HD – the Canadiens and Senators sometimes had to make do with SD.
October 15 is especially interesting. Winnipeg @ Phoenix is a really compelling game for off-ice reasons, and I’m sure many Canadians outside of Manitoba would be curious about it. Will any of them have the chance, or will that game go only to Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan?
Forget Vancouver/Colorado on February 4th. Add Washington @ Montreal at 2pm that day, and Winnipeg @ Montreal at 2pm on February 5th. It’s becoming a tradition that Montreal plays at home both afternoons of Super Bowl weekend, and that both of them are HNIC games.
Yes the Saturday afternoon games that the CBC usually shows are the 2 PM starts. The 3 PM games go to the local broadcasters. The CBC’s exclusive window for Saturdays starts at 7 eastern.
I also think that Winnipeg will find a way to get all their games on TV which means CBC on Saturdays and then TSN and Sportsnet during the week….
Yes, those Montreal weekend games of the Super Bowl will be on HNIC.
The CBC should be able to find a broadcast crew to do the Winnipeg games. This is Canada after all! Also keep in mind that CBC has exclusivity in English Canada on Saturday nights which means that if the game isn’t on CBC it can’t be shown by TSN, or Rogers SportsNet.
It’s too bad they couldn’t find a way to get Winnipeg into the Hockey Day in Canada schedule, but we can’t have everything.
With all these games starting at 7pm Eastern now with the addition of Winnipeg, something CBC might want to consider is staggering the start times. Let’s take October 15 as an example.
Instead of: Oct. 15
7:00 Calgary vs. Toronto
7:00 Winnipeg vs. Phoenix
7:00 Ottawa vs. Washington
7:00 Colorado vs. Montreal
10:00 Vancouver vs. Edmonton
Why not:
7:00 Calgary vs. Toronto
7:15 Ottawa vs. Washington
7:30 Colorado vs. Montreal
7:45 Winnipeg. vs. Phoenix
10:30 Vancouver vs. Edmonton
This gives more viewers more hockey. It allows everyone to watch the start of the feature game and then the affiiliates can peel away as their games start. Plus, it allows a very large audience – the feature game’s audience – to watch the endings in all the other games. You could leave the intermission features as they are if you want and it would still be a bonus for fans. Plus, you’d lose that awkward gap that they have as it stands between the end of the 7pm games and the start of the late game, you’d just have hockey, all the way through.
Just to be clear, I’m not predicting this, but I’m saying it’s something they really should consider.
It’s not the broadcast crew that worried me so much as the production crew and equipment. Point taken though, especially with regards to CBC exclusivity.
I really wonder what’s going to happen for regional broadcasts – Sportsnet can barely handle two teams on their West feed as it’s currently set up. Given the intense local support for the team, I almost wonder if Shaw Cable would try for the rights…
Well – they could always just create a new channel. Sportsnet Manitoba? Or maybe they put Winnipeg games on Sportsnet West, and create Sportsnet Alberta for the Oilers and Flames?
I think it’s a safe bet that the CBC will split the country and do more regional games just so that teams playing at 7 eastern are not shut out. This isn’t all that new it’s just the old becoming new again. In the 1980’s and early 90’s they pretty much only had regional games. As for HD, some teams will get left out there.
Here’s a fun solution but a huge long shot: Instead of sending Bob Cole to Montreal every Saturday, send him to Winnipeg and bring in Darren Eliott (former Thrashers colour commentator), and bring Dick Irvin back for the Habs games with Garry Galley. Even if for a few weeks only, it would be awesome.
Yeah, you acknowledge that it’s a long shot and I think it is. Part of the reason – I suspect, at least – for having Cole do the Montreal games is that for the most part, they involve the least travel for him from his home in Newfoundland.
Yes there is the travel thing for Cole there’s also the fact the Dick Irvin is 79 years old. I doubt he’s coming out of retirement….
Take out some of the Canucks, Oilers, Flames and Senators afternoon games. Sportsnet gets most of those. I’d say these won’t be on CBC
3:00 Edmonton vs. Colorado
1:00 Vancouver vs. Boston (almost certainly)
4:00 San Jose vs. Vancouver (certainly)
3:00 Vancouver vs. Colorado (certainly)
2:00 Calgary vs. Dallas
1:00 Ottawa vs. Philadelphia (certainly)
I think CBC will take Healy off the Hughson/Simpson crew and use Rainnie for weeks where they have 5 games. They already did it once last season. The pairings would probably depend on what game Hughson/Simpson are doing.
The 2:00 PM game could be on the CBC. That tends to be their afternoon time slot. Bruce Rainnie is a good guess on who their extra play by play guy might be. I heard him on a couple of the AHL games that were on the NHL network last year and he’s pretty good.
Pretty sad if HNIC does not televise the Vancouver @ Boston game.
It may not be their choice. There are 14 other Canucks games on Saturday nights and CBC can only air 14 Canucks games per year. Also, they almost never air 1pm ET games. The only reason I could see it scheduled for HNIC and at 1pm ET is because of the NFL games later that afternoon and those would take away from HNIC ratings.
I honestly thought that game would be a 7pm ET game on one of the weeks that the Leafs don’t play on Saturday night.
4:00pm Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks could be on HNIC Oct. 22
7:00pm Montreal Canadiens @ Philadelphia Flyers will be on HNIC March 24
>>4:00pm Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks could be on HNIC Oct. 22
Why would you say this? I think this is very, very unlikely.
The Canucks gave the CBC record breaking ratings so the Canucks should be on as much as possible. I didn’t realize that there is a hard cap of games certain teams can have.
I couldn’t care less what they televise in Canada…unlike Canadians that beetch about the US tv schedule
The Canucks gave the CBC record breaking ratings so the Canucks should be on as much as possible. I didn’t realize that there is a hard cap of games certain teams can have.