Auston Matthews has helped put the Maple Leafs on the radar of national TV networks GETTY IMAGES
The Maple Leafs and Jets face off tonight on NBCSN's "Wednesday Night Hockey" series, marking the "first-ever all-Canadian regular-season broadcast produced by NBC Sports," according to Mike McIntyre of the WINNIPEG FREE PRESS. The "hype machine will be in overdrive" as NBC is "sending their 'A' team ... with the legendary Doc Emrick calling the contest" alongside Ed Olczyk. It will be Emrick's first game call in Winnipeg in 23 years. NBC Sports Exec Producer Sam Flood said, "We're realistic knowing that with no U.S. market the (ratings) number won't be as high. But we also know to grow the game of hockey and get the audience aware of the incredible talent on a team like the Jets, on a team like the Maple Leafs, we have to lead them and engage them in these games." He noted some of the best hockey is "being played north of the border" and said NBC "shouldn't be afraid of it." Flood: "We should embrace it and celebrate it, which is what we're doing." He also said there is a need for "new places and new stars to get the hockey fans excited about." McIntyre notes the game will not be a "one-hit wonder" for the Jets, as the team "will appear on NBCSN four more times during the regular season" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 10/24).
