The Avalanche will make more appearances on national TV in the U.S. than any other team during the 2023-24 NHL season, according to broadcast schedules released by ESPN and WBD Sports this afternoon. The defending Central Division champions will appear on TNT nine times and ESPN six times for a total of 15 nationally televised games, two more than the Bruins, Penguins and Golden Knights. The Rangers will have the most appearances on over-the-air broadcast TV with five on ABC.
The NHL season begins Oct. 10 with a tripleheader on ESPN (up from a doubleheader in the first two years of the network’s seven-year rights deal) beginning at 5:30pm ET with Predators-Lightning. The lineup also includes the NHL debut of highly touted Blackhawks No. 1 draft pick Connor Bedard against the Penguins and the defending champion Golden Knights’ banner-raising opener against the Kraken. WBD Sports’ coverage begins with a doubleheader the following night featuring Blackhawks-Bruins and Avalanche-Kings.
WBD will air 62 regular-season games on TNT. ESPN has a total of 100 exclusive regular-season games (excluding All-Star weekend), including 16 on ABC/ESPN+, 36 on ESPN (some of which will be simulcast on ESPN+) and 48 streaming on ESPN+/Hulu. ESPN+ will also continue to be home to all out-of-market games as part of its regular subscription offering, which the network has branded as NHL Power Play.
The Stanley Cup returns to ABC/ESPN+ this season after airing on TNT in 2022-23. TNT will air the Winter Classic from Seattle between the Kraken and Golden Knights on Jan. 1, while ABC/ESPN+ will air both Stadium Series games from MetLife Stadium: Flyers-Devils on Feb. 17 and Rangers-Islanders on Feb. 18. The 2024 NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 3 will air from Toronto on ABC.
ESPN will also try something new on Oct. 24 when all 32 NHL teams are in action. In addition to a tripleheader on ESPN, ESPN2 will carry a whip-around show featuring continuous action from around the league.
| 2023-24 U.S. National TV Appearances* by Team | ||||
| TEAM | TNT | ABC | ESPN | TOTAL |
| Colorado Avalanche | 9 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
| Boston Bruins | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Washington Capitals | 6 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Seattle Kraken | 5 | 1 | 6 | 12 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 8 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| New York Rangers | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| St. Louis Blues | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| New Jersey Devils | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 5 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Minnesota Wild | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Dallas Stars | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| New York Islanders | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 6 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Florida Panthers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Nashville Predators | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| San Jose Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calgary Flames | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ottawa Senators | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NOTE: *=Does not include games streaming exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu | ||||
