The Edmonton Oilers, like the other six teams across the country of Canada, get plenty of national attention when it comes to broadcasts. Throughout the course of the season, Edmonton routinely plays on Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers’ Hometown Hockey and Wednesday Night Hockey on Sportsnet.
In the United States, however, the Edmonton Oilers are never shown on television. In fact, since NBC took over the NHL contract prior to the 2005-06 season, the Oilers have only been aired on TV in the regular season once. That time was in January of 2008 when the club hosted the San Jose Sharks on what was then known as VS, now NBCSN.
The Oilers were scheduled to play on NBCSN last season against the Buffalo Sabres, but that game was taken off air in favor of a makeup date between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s been almost a decade since the Oilers got the national spotlight in the states.
Prior to the 2007-08 regular season tilt, Edmonton had only been on the NBC family of networks during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, where every game from those four rounds was aired on OLN or NBC.
In terms of even talking time on the network’s pregame or postgame programming, the Oilers are rarely the topic. There will be some talk about Connor McDavid and maybe a highlight or two, but that’s usually it. Outside of draft day, the Oilers have been completely ignored by the flagship station of the NHL in the US.
That, however, is about to change. For Oiler fans in the states like myself, and for hockey fans hoping to catch an extra glimpse of Connor McDavid, that is great news.
Just talked to NBC’s Sam Flood – he says they’re looking into adding more Leafs and Oilers games to this year’s sked b/c of Matthews/McDavid
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) November 3, 2016
Earlier this season, in fact just hours after his four goal debut, Auston Matthews and the Leafs were added to the NBC schedule on the first Saturday of the season. NBCSN pulled the CBC feed of the Bruins visit to Toronto for Matthews’ first home game. The response was mostly positive, and that’s opened the door for more viewings.
In reality, NBC would be foolish to not add Edmonton and Toronto to their game schedule. No, the clubs aren’t major pulls in the US. Yes, you have fans of both teams down here, but it doesn’t compare ratings wise to teams like Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago or Pittsburgh. People, however, want to see the stars.
Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have garnered attention from places that normally wouldn’t give hockey the time of day (I’m looking at you, ESPN). These two have people who don’t even watch the sport talking. I’ve had non-hockey people come up to me and say just how amazing they think McDavid is.
He’s a pull, just like Matthews, and people want to see him play. Adding McDavid and Matthews to the schedule will only help grow the game in the States, and that should be the focus, no?
From an Oilers’ prospective, this is a big step forward. McDavid obviously is the main factor, but hockey fans are talking about this club down here again. The team getting out to a hot start, with recognizable names, has them bordering on relevant again.
Getting added to the NBC schedule, even if McDavid is the top reason, is a pretty damned big deal.
Allow me to recommend Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh, Mr. Flood. After all, we’re all going to need a break from that circus known as the Presidential Election.
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