NHL schedule finally out!

The NHL has returned to us! Perhaps you can tell based on what you’ve seen on Puck the Media over the weekend. Between NBC, NBC Sports Network, NHL Network, CBC and TSN, there are 254 NHL games slated to be on television networks (some are doubled up, but I like cool, big numbers!) and they can be hard to track, especially if you only care about one team.

So, as I do every year (and even for the season that didn’t happen!), I compile every team’s national television schedule and put it in one easy-to-read, team-by-team slate.

You may have heard this before: hockey is popular in Canada. Therefore, TSN and CBC will bring Canadians all the hockey they can get between now and April.

CBC will broadcast 49 games as part of Hockey Night in Canada starting on opening day, Jan. 19, with a triple-header. They will bring their signature Hockey Day in Canada to the airwaves on Feb. 9.

The NHL is back, and the NHL is back on television, and Puck the Media will be posting the TV schedules as they come in this evening, starting with the United States and the networks of NBC (NHL Network technically counts!)

NBC will air games in 14 different timeslots (15 games total, as opening day will feature a regional telecast), the most they’ve ever done. NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine to air over 70 games, while NHL Network will air 78. The NHL on NBC premieres on opening day, as some viewers will see either Penguins-Flyers or Blackhawks-Kings. All viewers have been promised that they will see the Kings’ banner-raising, according to the NHL press release.

The National Hockey League is back! The NHL and NHLPA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, finally ending the lockout after 119 days. The NHL schedule was released shortly after the signing of the MOU, and we’re ready for a ton of hockey in not a lot of time, all starting next Saturday, Jan. 19.

Some brief highlights of the 2013 NHL schedule:

With the new collective bargaining agreement expected to be ratified on Saturday following the completion of a two-day vote of the 700-plus members of the NHL Players’ Association, it is anticipated that the NHL will officially release the condensed 48-game regular season schedule for 2013.

According to reports, it is believed that the NHL has already distributed mock-ups of the schedule to all 30 teams so that it can be reviewed and altered in the case of conflicts.