SportsHockeyMaple LeafsCanadiensOilersCanada

American remote broadcasts of Canadian NHL playoff games have notable quality drop

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
|
Apr 29 2025, 4:17 pm
American remote broadcasts of Canadian NHL playoff games have notable quality drop
Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images

NHL hockey fans are not pleased with TNT’s decision to broadcast Canadian playoff games remotely.

Instead of sending a full broadcast team to Canadian cities like Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal to cover games in the arena, the American network has opted for a cheaper alternative.

Play-by-play and colour commentators have been calling the games remotely from TNT’s studio in Atlanta, Georgia. While it is certainly a more cost-effective way to cover the playoffs, the product has been lacking, as the commentary is missing an element of excitement.

Here is an example of a TNT call from Steve Mears that suffered from being remote. Leon Draisaitl’s Game 4 OT winner against the LA Kings helped the Edmonton Oilers tie up their series on Sunday night.

Notice anything different between TNT’s call and the one Jack Michaels had for Sportsnet?

It’s not a bad call by any means from Mears, who is a very good play-by-play guy in his own right, but there is a stark difference between his call and Michaels’. The TNT broadcast sounds like it is being called from a quiet booth hundreds of miles away from the actual game.

This forces the announcers to manufacture excitement as they try to gauge the vibe of the arena despite not being there. Meanwhile, Michaels is in Rogers Place in Edmonton and can feel the atmosphere, allowing his call to sound a lot more natural and match the tone of the game.

It’s not just with Oilers games either. The same could be said for Toronto Maple Leafs games as well. The remote nature of the broadcast removes an important element from each goal call.

If that wasn’t enough, TNT has even refused to send broadcasters to the iconic Bell Centre to cover the first Montreal Canadiens playoff games with fans in nearly a decade. That is the type of atmosphere that is hard to describe in person, rather than miles away in Atlanta, watching on a monitor.

Not only that, but TNT has also muted crowd noise on some of their broadcasts, which is a huge detriment. Just listen to the difference on this Cole Caufield go-ahead goal in Game 4.

It’s a little confusing that the network that has the American NHL rights has decided not to send full broadcast teams to cover Canadian playoff action. On top of the playoffs being the most important time of the year for a broadcast rights-holder, Canadian teams often bring the best in-arena atmosphere in the postseason as well.

Sure, it’s cheaper, and nobody would bat an eye at the move if it wasn’t so blatantly obvious what was happening, but that’s not the case. Fans are noticing this as well and are making their concerns heard on social media.

One can only hope that American hockey fans are treated to in-arena broadcasts as the playoffs go deeper.

ADVERTISEMENT