TSN Will Also Launch Deadline Coverage at 8 a.m. ET

Toronto, ON (February 21, 2012) – Let the Trade-sanity begin! A whole new type of craziness hits the hockey world next week and TSN has it covered from every possible angle, as Canada’s Sports Leader delivers the industry’s most-watched, most-respected and most-comprehensive coverage of NHL Trade Deadline Day with the network’s multiplatform event, TRADECENTRE ’12.

TSN’s 10-hour flagship show, TRADECENTRE ’12, airs live nationally on Monday, Feb. 27 beginning at 8 a.m. ET.

TRADECENTRE ’12 is also available live in its entirety on TSN Mobile TV, online at TSN.ca, on the popular TRADECENTRE app for iPad and iPhone, and in the U.S. on NHL Network.

Fans across the country can also experience TSN’s all-encompassingTRADECENTRE ’12 coverage wherever they are by:

• Visiting TSN.ca for the latest trade news, opinion, and analysis, plus on-demand video clips and highlights, and a real-time Trade Tracker, which has been a mainstay of TSN’s online trade deadline day coverage since 2000
• Listening to TSN Radio locally in Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg, or nationally on TSN.ca, for deadline day coverage of the Leafs, Canadiens, and Jets
• Downloading the TRADECENTRE app for iPad and iPhone
• Joining the conversation on Twitter by following the Verified accounts of TSN’s hockey experts and Insiders and using the hashtag #TradeCentre when tweeting about NHL Trade Deadline Day
• Heading to the TSN Fan Page on Facebook to join the discussion and check out exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photos from the TRADECENTREstudio

TSN has brought comprehensive day-long coverage of NHL Trade Deadline Day to fans since 2000, and has set the benchmark for industry-leading multiplatform coverage of one of the most anticipated events on the NHL calendar.

Last year, Canadians made TRADECENTRE ’11 their first choice for trade news, opinion and analysis as TSN’s 10-hour live broadcast delivered its highest average audience ever with 268,000 viewers and nearly quadrupled the average audience delivered by the network’s closest competitor on NHL Trade Deadline Day. Overall, more than 2.6 million hockey fans tuned in at some point to TRADECENTRE ’11 on TSN.*

Online, TSN.ca recorded its second busiest day ever with 14.9 million page views across all platforms (web and TSN app for iPad, iPhone and BlackBerry). To date, the top five busiest days for TSN.ca have been on NHL Trade Deadline Day. In addition, the TRADECENTRE app was the #1 Free Sports App in Canada for both iPad and iPhone on deadline day last year.

Once again, the NHL Trade Deadline is proving to be one of the hottest properties for advertisers in Canada. Major sponsors of TRADECENTRE ’12 on TSN include BlackBerry, Chrysler, FedEx, Molson Coors, Sony Pictures, Tim Hortons, and Toyota.

This year, leading up to TRADECENTRE ’12, fans can get set for the NHL Trade Deadline with a special 60-minute episode of THAT’S HOCKEY 2NITE on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 12 midnight ET on TSN, featuring host Steve Kouleas and analysts Craig Button and Jamie McLennan, teeing up and reporting any trade news leading up to the highly-anticipated day. The show also has TSN’s Hockey Insiders checking in with TRADECENTRE reports.

TRADECENTRE ’12 Broadcast Team
Host James Duthie leads TSN’s TRADECENTRE ’12 team of hockey analysts, Insiders, former NHL players, coaches and general managers, reporters and correspondents – providing breaking news and instant analysis of each transaction, along with interviews with players, coaches and GMs. TSN’s correspondents are with each Canadian team to file live reports and deliver instant reaction for each trade.

The TRADECENTRE ’12 broadcast team is as follows:
• Host: James Duthie
• Trade Breaker Desk: Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Gord Miller
• Instant Analysis Panel: Marc Crawford, Aaron Ward, Mike Johnson and Pierre McGuire
• Deadline Panel: Gino Reda and Steve Kouleas with Craig Button and Michael Peca
• TRADECENTRE ’12 West Panel: Blake Price with Ray Ferraro and Darren Pang• Trade Bait: Darren Dutchyshen and Craig Button assess which players are available for trade
• TSN The Reporters Panel: Dave Hodge with Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber, Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons and National Post’s Bruce Arthur
• Social Media: Alyonka Larionov covering social media and satirical bloggerDown Goes Brown tweeting for TSN from his Twitter account@DownGoesBrown• TRADECENTRE ’12 Live Blogger: Jay Onrait
• TSN Correspondents: Ryan Rishaug, Jermain Franklin, Sara Orlesky, Shawn Churchill, Katherine Dolan, Mark Masters, Nabil Karim, Brent Wallace, John Luand Paul Hollingsworth
• SPORTSCENTRE Updates: Darren Dutchyshen

Immediately following TRADECENTRE ’12 on TSN, host Rod Smith recaps the day’s events with reaction from around the NHL on SPORTSCENTRE at 6 p.m. ET, while host Gino Reda moves over to the THAT’S HOCKEY desk for a special 60-minute episode beginning at 7 p.m. ET with additional analysis, reaction and player interviews.

The action then moves from the boardroom to the ice as NHL ON TSN has live coverage of St. Louis @ Calgary beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.

TRADECENTRE ’12 on Twitter presented by BlackBerry
TSN’s Alyonka Larionov continues the trade talk on Twitter, taking fans behind-the-scenes of TRADECENTRE ’12 with exclusive photos, videos and interviews with TSN’s hockey experts and Insiders. Larionov also keeps fans up-to-date on what NHL players and coaches are saying about the decisive day with Twitter hits presented by BlackBerry throughout TSN’s live broadcast.

Joining Larionov on the social media front is popular satirical blogger Down Goes Brown, who provides his unique perspective on the day’s events using the #TradeCentre hashtag on his Twitter account @DownGoesBrown.

Fans visiting TSN.ca or using the TRADECENTRE app can keep track of all the tweets from TSN’s hockey experts and Insiders using the built-in Tweetbox – enabling fans to get Twitter updates from their favourite TSN personalities without leaving TSN.ca or the app.

TRADECENTRE ’12 on TSN.ca
Canada’s industry-leading sports website is the ultimate destination for breaking trade news on NHL Trade Deadline Day. In addition to live streaming ofTRADECENTRE ’12, TSN.ca once again presents its real-time trade tracker with updates on all the trades as they happen and live streaming audio ofTRADECENTRE ’12 for fans with no online video access.

Other TRADECENTRE ’12 features on TSN.ca include:
• The latest players in play on TSN.ca’s Trade Bait page, along with a complete2011-12 NHL trade list, Deadline Day archive and Deadline Day FAQ
• All the latest rumours from around the NHL, plus blogs and articles from TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun
• TSN’s Jay Onrait’s seventh-annual, 10-hour TRADECENTRE ’12 live blog and chat with fans (bathrobes optional)
• TSN Fantasy Guru Scott Cullen’s take on NHL Trade Deadline Day and its impact from a fantasy perspective
• Capgeek.com’s Matthew Wuest updating fans on team cap situations as trades are made

Along with recording 14.9 million page views, TSN.ca registered more than 812,000 video views last year on NHL Trade Deadline Day – an 87% increasecompared to 2010 and the second-most video views ever for TSN.ca on an NHL Trade Deadline.

TRADECENTRE ’12 on iPad and iPhone
Fans can keep tabs on breaking trade news wherever they are by using theTRADECENTRE app for iPad and iPhone. Along with live streaming ofTRADECENTRE ’12, the TRADECENTRE app has a live trade tracker and up-to-the minute trade news and alerts, plus on-demand video clips on the iPad version of the app.

TRADECENTRE ’12 on TSN Radio
TSN Radio in Toronto (AM 1050), Montreal (AM 990) and Winnipeg (AM 1290), along with Bell Media sports radio stations Team 1040 in Vancouver and Team 1200 in Ottawa, have end-to-end deadline day coverage with a focus on the local NHL team in each market.
• TSN Radio 1050 Toronto: In Leafs Nation, THE MIKE RICHARDS SHOWkicks off TSN Radio 1050’s live coverage of NHL Trade Deadline Day at 5:30 a.m. ET, followed by Scott MacArthur with co-host and former NHL head coach Davis Payne at 9 a.m. ET; Bryan Hayes with Jamie McLennan at 12 noon ET; and CYBULSKI & COMPANY wrapping up the day’s events beginning at 4 p.m. ET.

• TSN Radio 990 Montreal: The Montreal Canadiens are front and centre on TSN Radio 990, as the station goes around the NHL to get instant analysis of all the day’s moves and their impact on the Habs. Fans can get their deadline day fix with PRICE & STARR IN THE MORNING at 6 a.m. ET and then join MELNICK IN THE AFTERNOON at 3 p.m. ET for the drive home.

• TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg: Jets fans are well-served next week with TSN Radio 1290’s end-to-end coverage of the NHL Trade Deadline, with THE BIG SHOW WITH JAY & WESTWOOD hitting the airwaves at 6 a.m. CT, immediately followed by THE ILLEGAL CURVE hockey show at 12 noon CT and HUSTLER & LAWLESS at 4 p.m. CT.

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Sportsnet Launches Their Deadline Coverage at 8 a.m. ET Monday, with Marek, Wyshynski, Other People

TORONTO, ON (February 21, 2012) – It’s one of the biggest events on the NHL calendar and all eyes and ears will be on Sportsnet’s HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline Presented by Coors Light as the multiplatform sports media brand fuels fans with the country’s most comprehensive and informative NHL Trade Deadline coverage – across television, radio, digital, mobile and print – on Monday, Feb. 27.

Sportsnet’s marquee 10-hour HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline broadcast kicks off Monday, Feb. 27 at 8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific, led by a world-class team of insiders, analysts, commentators and reporters. HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline will be streamed live in its entirety at sportsnet.ca on desktop, mobile and tablet, as well as via the Sportsnet HOCKEY CENTRAL iPad app and within Greg Wyshynski’s Puck Daddy blog on Yahoo! Sports. Fans can also connect to all things Trade Deadline at Sportsnet by listening to Sportsnet 590 The Fan and Sportsnet 960 The Fan, following Sportsnet’s personalities on Twitter, joining Sportsnet’s fan page on Facebook and checking out the February 27 issue of Sportsnet magazine.

Below are the key details of Sportsnet’s HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline coverage on all platforms:

TV- Sportsnet

Sportsnet’s HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline team boasts the most knowledgeable and engaging personalities in hockey today. From Stanley Cup Champions, to NHL GMs, coaches, executives, players and award-winning journalists who’ve seen it, done it and been there when it comes to all things trade-related, Sportsnet’s star-studded roster features:

o Four former NHL GMs (Pat Quinn – Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs; Doug MacLean – Columbus Blue Jackets; Neil Smith – New York Rangers and New York Islanders; and Brian Lawton – Tampa Bay Lightning)

o Four Stanley Cup Champions with a total of five Stanley Cup Rings (Nick Kypreos – NYR ’94; Neil Smith – NYR ’94; Brad May – ANA ’07; and Marty McSorley – EDM ’87, ’88)

o Six former NHL players (Kypreos, Lawton, McSorley, Quinn, May and Garry Valk)

o Three former NHL Team Presidents (Quinn, MacLean and Smith)

o Two former NHL Coaches (Quinn and MacLean)

o 2002 Olympic Games Gold Medallist, Men’s Ice Hockey, Canada (Quinn)

o Hockey Hall of Fame Member (Scott Morrison – ’06 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award)

o Five renowned and award-winning journalists: Morrison, Damien Cox, Stephen Brunt, Mark Spector and the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch

In total, 30 of Canada’s best hockey experts, sports journalists, reporters and hosts will deliver live breaking news, rumours, scoops, behind-the-scenes reports and instant 360° analysis of each transaction throughout Sportsnet’s 10-hour program:

o Main Set Panel: Host Daren Millard quarterbacks the entire day and will be joined by McSorley, Cox and Billy Jaffe

o Breaking News Panel: Host Christine Simpson works alongside expert insiders Kypreos, Morrison, Garrioch, Spector and John Shannon

o Strategy Room: Host Jeff Marek analyzes all of the trades with former NHL GMs Quinn, MacLean, Lawton and Smith

o Pacific Panel: Host Don Taylor and analysts Valk and May talk all things Vancouver Canucks and provide analysis from a western perspective

o Reporters Panel: Bob McCown, Cox and Brunt break it all down, using their distinctive style, viewpoints and opinions

o Smart Board Panel: Host Brad Fay checks the pulse of the digital nation, reviewing social media trends and online chatter throughout the day. Greg Wyshynski – better known to Yahoo! Sports and hockey bloggers as Puckdaddy – joins Fay along with podcast partner Jeff Marek for Marek vs Wyshynski hits throughout the day

o Connected Updates: Hazel Mae provides hourly updates and recaps from Sportsnet’s Connected newsroom

o The following reporters will be on-location with each Canadian NHL team:

– Vancouver Canucks: Dan Murphy and Craig MacEwen (reporting from Phoenix)

– Calgary Flames: Roger Millions

– Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets: Ryan Leslie and Gene Principe (reporting from Winnipeg

– Ottawa Senators: Ian Mendes (in Ottawa to start the day, then travels to Boston with the team)

– Toronto Maple Leafs: Barry Davis; Tony Ambrogio will provide reports from Leafs GM Brian Burke and Leafs Senior Vice-President of Hockey Operations Dave Nonis

– Montreal Canadiens: Louis Jean (reporting from Florida)

HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline coverage will also feature special look-ins to select Canadian NHL Team “situation rooms” with live coverage of team management deliberating trade possibilities and each Canadian team’s post-trade deadline press conferences. Immediately following HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline, Hazel Mae hosts a one-hour edition of Sportsnet Connected to recap all the day’s big trades at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.

From now through to NHL Trade Deadline Day and beyond, Sportsnet keeps fans on top of all of the latest trades, reactions and outcomes on all five platforms, and also preps fans for the big day with the HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline preview show on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. local (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific), featuring HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline panelists and reports from around the NHL.

Digital and Mobile – sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet Mobile and HOCKEY CENTRAL app on iPad and Playbook

Sportsnet’s digital platforms provide wall-to-wall coverage of HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline for fans at home, at work and on the go, including live streaming of the 10-hour broadcast on desktop, mobile and tablet, and via the HOCKEY CENTRAL app on iPad and Playbook. In addition, sportsnet.ca provides the following features to keep fans in the know on Trade Deadline Day:

o Trade Deadline Live – the hub of all trade deadline online coverage including live reports utilizing ScribbleLive’s live article technology and fan chats

o Trade Tracker – provides a detailed look at all confirmed trades, links to stories with details of the deals and real-time fan polling of which team won each trade

o Twitter Tradar – keeps fans on top of all hockey-related Twitter trends throughout the day by showing a heatmap of tweets about NHL teams, players and GMs. At the end of Trade Deadline Day, the heatmap will be presented in a timeline movie, allowing fans to re-live the day through the filter of social media

o Trade Maker – a tool available only to sportsnet.ca, Trade Maker uses proprietary intelligence and stats from PowerScout Hockey and enables users to track actual trades or create their own, evaluating the outcome by measuring the impact on team stats and salary cap

o Fan Fuel Polls – provides a single destination for Fan Fuel contributors to voice their opinion

Radio – Sportsnet 590 THE FAN and Sportsnet 960 THE FAN

Sportsnet 590 THE FAN is all Trade Deadline, all the time on Monday, Feb. 27. Brady and Lang in the Morning set the stage for the day from 5:30 – 9 a.m. ET, followed by the Jeff Blair show from 9 a.m. – 12 noon ET. Two of hockey’s top reporters, Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet magazine and Mike Zeisberger from the Toronto Sun join Blair live in studio.

Hockey Central @ Noon simulcasts Sportsnet’s HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline coverage, while Tim and Sid add their twisted take on the day starting at 1 p.m. ET with frequent studio visits from Sportsnet’s hockey experts. Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown at 4 p.m. ET wraps up the day’s activities with interviews and insight from the most prominent movers and shakers of NHL Trade Deadline Day. Throughout the day, Sportsnet 590 THE FAN will break into regular programming immediately with all new trade news and will update all trades from the Coors Light Trade Deadline Desk every 20 minutes.

Sportsnet 960 THE FAN’s extensive coverage kicks off at 6 a.m. MT with Dean “Boomer” Molberg, former Calgary Flame Rhett Warrener and Andrew Walker. Throughout the day, Sportsnet 960 THE FAN will simulcast portions of HOCKEY CENTRAL Trade Deadline from Toronto, with special guest host Eric Francis rounding out the afternoon. Capping off Trade Deadline Day on Sportsnet 960 THE FAN is the Calgary Flames vs. St. Louis Blues showdown at 7 p.m. MT.

Print – Sportsnet magazine

The February 27 issue of Sportsnet magazine, on newsstands now, provides an ultimate six-page guide on who is available, who will be active and how Trade Deadline Day all goes down. Two NHL General Managers (anonymous contributors) and a player agent provide insider perspectives on the uncertainties, rumours, and negotiations that make the NHL Trade Deadline a much-anticipated event. Plus, Sportsnet heavyweights weigh in on the potential action, including Kypreos, MacLean, Morrison, Marek, May, John Garrett, Mike Brophy, Gare Joyce and Ryan Dixon.

Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis Lead Hockey Day Local Ratings

It’s easy to see why Hockey Day in America was a ratings success for NBC, given the solid local performance from many of the NHL’s larger markets, though both markets for the late game waned a bit.

The NHL used some of it’s more reliable players in the 12:30 window, and that turned out to be a big success, led – as NHL local ratings often are – by Buffalo, where the Sabres/Pens game drew an 11.1 local rating. The Penguins were no slouches themselves, as the game notched a more-than-solid 9.0 in Pittsburgh.

The Red Wings drew the second-highest numbers for a local market in the entire event, as their tilt against the Sharks scored a 9.5 in the Detroit market. To my knowledge, only the 2009 Winter Classic has drawn a better regular season local rating on NBC in the Motor City. In the Bay Area (San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland), where the game began at 9:30 a.m. PT, it was far from dead. 1.5 percent of the folks out in the bay tuned in. To put it in perspective, the Sharks recently set a record for regular season ratings on CSN California, drawing a 2.2 for game in January.

The biggest surprise for some people may come out of St. Louis, where Blues/Blackhawks – a game that started at 11:30 a.m. local time in both markets – drew a whopping 7.0 rating in St. Louis. Again, for perspective, the Blues record local number for a regular season game on FS Midwest is a 5.6, while the team’s season high is a 5.5. That said, it’s well known that the Blues used to draw blockbuster numbers regularly in the Gateway City during the FOX era. If the Blues don’t get at least one or two Game of the Week appearances next season, NBC is making a foolish mistake. Meanwhile, in the host city of Chicago, the game drew a 3.9. NBC’s drawn higher in the Windy City before, but for the #3 market, not bad.

Compared to the smashing numbers in many markets for the early games, the late game could seem a bit of a lag. The game drew a 4.6 rating in Boston. This is down from the Bruins’ last appearance on the network, as Beantown scored a 5.9 for the Thanksgiving Showdown against Detroit back in November. Meanwhile, the game drew a 3.9 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, which served as the host market for the entire event. A non-conference game and the Wild being on the downside of their season may have affected both.

(Source: Mark Erlichson)

Two Years In, NBC Has Much of Hockey Day Down to a Science

The first Hockey Day in America was fine. It isn’t as if the entire thing is starting from scratch, a totally new concept. They had Hockey Day in Canada, and it’s almost decade-long time spent reinforcing the most positive of Canadian stereotypes once a year. They weren’t going into this cold, there was at least a loose outline – if not a script – to do this. The plan for Hockey Day in America seemed simple. While being much smaller in scale (i.e. very little remote reporting outside of the games, the American version’s most significant difference from it’s Canadian counterpart), the message is the same: use storytelling to explain why everyone who loves this sport loves it with an uncontrollable passion.

Safe to say, last year, with fairly meager promotion, it was pretty successful. The best part of the show was easily the 30-minute pre-game that ran before the regional action that showcased various aspects of living a life dedicated to hockey around the nation. The games were a tad secondary, though NBC made sure to lead up well to the showcase game, Penguins/Blackhawks, later in the day. All that said, it was still that 30-minute special (which re-ran numerous times on VERSUS) that caught my attention.

Much of what NBC did for year two was merely updating, or beefing up, what was good and what needed a little work from year one. I thought, overall, that the remote segments from St. Paul were much better than last year. The interview with Rob McClanahan was a good time-waster, and overall, Minnesota seemed to provide a more picture-esque setting for the event that rainy Chicago didn’t have in 2011.

As far as the pre-game goes, it was bigger and better, and NBC and the league should find a way to expand it. Perhaps three or four ‘Hockey Across America’ specials throughout the year that would bring out different hockey programs throughout the United States. There are limitless hockey stories to tell around America that don’t involve the NHL or the Olympics, why let all the others be limited to just 30 minutes a year? NBC, USA Hockey and the NHL should partner up to expand to more shows like this. Perhaps HBO could do something.

The segments were all not only entertaining, but informative about certain segments of the hockey culture that I was not familiar with. I had vaguely heard of things like the Roseau-Warroad high school battles, sled hockey, and the U.S. National Team Development Program, but I had never seen any coverage of those teams in real detail. The segment about the Tampa-bred sled hockey player aimed right for the heartstrings, and tore at them effectively. It made me want to see Paralympic sled hockey coverage on NBCSN at some point in 2014. The segment on ‘The Program’ was also interesting, and took folks into the life of Seth Jones, who will likely be a name to know in the future.

Getting prospects like Jones, and featuring others throughout the telecasts is fantastic. Other than Pierre McGuire rattling off junior teams, there is almost no national exposure for prospects aside from their brief moment in the spotlight at the NHL Draft, and it would be good for casual and diehard hockey fans to know more about the kids that are on the way.

As far as the game coverage, it could be a little better in ways that don’t involve out-of-market streaming. I still think the games should be staggered a little further apart. Say, 1:35/1:45/1:55 instead of 1:35/1:40/1:45. Folks will see more action, and central time zone teams hosting games can star closer to Noon locally. I’d like to see a southern team and one of the other California teams involved next season. If the Kings make any sort of run in the playoffs, have the late game held in Los Angeles next year and do a ton a Gretzky-building-hockey-in-the-sun-belt retrospectives.

Also, not to overstate the obvious, but the NBC Sports Network game should probably take place in America. I love watching the Devils, but having their game in Montreal be a part of Hockey Day in America was more than a little awkward. I also would have liked to have seen the NBCSN game promoted more as a part of the whole weekend, rather than as a separate entity.

What would I add next year? How about this: At 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN, or at 9 p.m. ET after everything’s done, add a college game. NBC Sports Network has been airing college hockey, and will air college hockey for the next few years, including a big deal with Notre Dame. Why not air a Notre Dame home game against a Boston school or a Minnesota school to kick things off or finish things up? I like the idea of getting all forms of hockey involved, and college seemed like the only level really left out of things.

On a whole, though, Hockey Day in America is great. It really is. It was nine hours of blissful hockey action. Please, bring us more doubleheaders and triple-headers in the future. I just want to watch lots and lots of hockey. If it’s surrounded with lovingly done, emotional, insightful features searching the nooks and crannies of the hockey universe, all the better. Keep this going, and build and make it better.