Evan’s NHL Daily: Another Team Makes TV Change, Everybody Loves EJ

When it comes to broadcasting NHL games to fans, the times certainly are changing around the league, and Avalanche fans continue to be left behind, at least for now. On Tuesday, a sixth NHL team announced that they’re moving their games to make them free for fans to watch either over the air or through streaming. That’s a little over 18% of the league. How long until most of the league shifts to this new model?

I snuck over to Family Sports on Monday and will do so again today to check things out, but it should come as no surprise that Erik Johnson is still in town skating with the group that’s here. Everyone loves the guy, and he loves the city.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche were in on Yaroslav Askarov and came up short. It could potentially change plans for next year on their depth chart if Metallurg is able to extend Ilya Nabokov.

News And Rumors

X: Diamond Sports Group promised to broadcast NHL games for this upcoming season, but teams aren’t waiting another year to find a solution. On Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks announce that all of their games will be available for free to fans either through TV or streaming. They became the sixth team to announce a move like that since last season ended.

🚨 BROADCAST UPDATE 🚨

All local Ducks TV broadcasts will now be 100% FREE on all devices.

Victory+, an all-new sports streaming service, will carry all live broadcasts on a dedicated Ducks channel that will feature exclusive shows and content. https://t.co/IoDST23oEu

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) August 27, 2024

Avalanche games can be found here in Colorado, but you have to have a very specific provider. There’s still no solution in sight between Altitude and Comcast, the biggest cable provider in town. A move like this would be welcome news to Avalanche fans, but I’m not sure I see it happening. Just a brutal situation all around.

X: Is EJ the player he once was? No, not anymore, but he’s still loved by fans and everyone on the Avalanche. He’s still skating with the fellas over at Family Sports, only in his Flyers gear. When the Hejduk brothers hit the ice, he came over and gave them a big fist bump, and he’s out there helping youngsters like Calum Ritchie and Jean-Luc Foudy. He’s the consummate professional, and that’s why the Flyers wanted to keep him around another year.

Erik Johnson one of the guys skating at Family Sports. Rocking his Flyers gear. pic.twitter.com/fK8rffUXCL

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) August 26, 2024

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: He asked for a trade months ago but nothing has happened. What would it take for Kyle Dubas to bring in Nick Robertson?

Montreal Hockey Now: The hype is out of control for Ivan Demidov right now up in Canada.

Buffalo Hockey Now: It must have been hard to keep this list to just 5, but here are the 5 biggest blunders that have kept the Buffalo Sabres from becoming relevant again.