Look, Ma, The Avs Are On TV!

The NHL television schedule was released today, which means we now know when the Avs will be on national TV. Perhaps befitting a team low on star power and lower on expectations, the team is slated to have significantly less appearances nationally than they did previously. (The NBC games aren't scheduled yet, although the Avs haven't appeared on the peacock in a couple of years). Overall, on the "big 3" listed below, the Avs have 8 national games, down from 14 last year and 18 games in 2007-2008.

Versus

The Avs have just three games on Versus this year, down from five VS games last year and seven matches two seasons ago. One of those games may be the most important of the year, however: Joe Sakic night. The press release above touts the ceremony, so you can safely assume we'll get to see the festivities man-sob inducing event. The Avs also appear on VS on December 9th (Minnesota) and March 1st (Detroit).

CBC

My favorite hockey coverage is Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, although it's not quite the same without the old, beloved theme song. Three years ago, the Avs were broadcast 7 times across Canada on the CBC. This year? Twice: November 14th (Vancouver) and February 6th (Edmonton).

TSN

Last year, the Avs appeared 7 times on the Canadian ESPN. This year, just 3 times: November 18th (Edmonton), December 30th (Ottawa) and March 17th (Calgary).