NBCSN Releases National Broadcast Schedule, Avalanche Featured Once

The NBC Sports Group has released the schedule for the 90 regular season games that will be broadcast on national television this season, including the Winter Classic, Stadium Series, and the NHL100 Classic. The Chicago Blackhawks will have the most games broadcast this season at 17. Interestingly, there is a large gap between games between February 6th through the 26th. I wonder what could be happening then?

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Avalanche will have the national spotlight just once this season, playing against the Minnesota Wild on March 13th. The Avs share this number with the Arizona Coyotes, the Tampa Bay Lighting, and the New York Islanders, among others, inching above the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and the Winnipeg Jets who all sit at zero. The Avalanche, comparatively, had 9 nationally broadcasted games last season.

Somehow, arguably our only real rivalry did not make the cut for NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry series and will be just a regular game. The roaring Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets have one, though.

My tone may have a certain amount of snark to it that would make one think that this is news fans should be upset about, which, depending on how you feel about Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick on commentary, they shouldn’t be. Only one game on NBCSN means that fans only have to listen to 3 hours of Blackhawks talk once.

On the other side of the coin, only one nationally broadcasted game means less exposure for the Avs, maybe deservedly so.

What do you think? Would you rather have more games on NBCSN or are you happy in the decline of national games for the Avs?