With training camp less than two weeks away and the season starting in under a month, ESPN and TNT released their broadcast schedules Wednesday. In a mild surprise, the Rangers are slated to be on for 15 of their 82 contests, tied with Pittsburgh and Minnesota for most in the league (h/t to jimbo for the graphic posted on the prior blog). Thursday, Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers announced that the King will return to the Garden in a newly created business operations role.
National Broadcast Schedule You will see below that ESPN has made a much more concerted effort to have games on the main channels. Of the eight games that will be broadcast on Disney airwaves, five of the eight will be on ESPN or ABC in addition to the seven on TNT. Where last season, more contests were aired on ESPN+, which drove certain fas and viewers mad, there looks to be a better balance between contests on cable as opposed to the streaming services.
ESPN: Tuesday, Oct. 11, 7:30pm - Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Rangers (Opening Night - ESPN) Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8pm - Colorado Avalanche vs. New York Rangers Thurs., Nov. 3, 7:30pm - Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers Sunday, Dec. 18, 7:30pm - New York Rangers vs. Chicago Blackhawks (ESPN) Saturday, Feb. 25, 1pm - New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals (ABC) Saturday, Mar. 4, 1pm - New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins (ABC) Tuesday, March 14, 7pm - Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers (ESPN) Saturday, March 18, 8pm - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers (ABC)
Note - if not ESPN/ABC, games are on ESPN+/Hulu
TNT: Wednesday, Oct 26, 7:30pm - NY Rangers at NY Islanders Wednesday, Dec. 7 -10pm - NY Rangers* at Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday, Jan. 25, 7pm - NY Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday, Mar. 1, 7:30pm - NY Rangers* at Philadelphia Flyers Sunday, March 12, 4pm - NY Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday, April 2, 1pm - NY Rangers at Washington Capitals Wednesday, April 5, 7:30pm - Tampa Bay Lightning at NY Rangers
* = TNT’s game telecast will not be available in the local participating market
The @WaltDisneyCo & ESPN reveal the 2022-23 @NHL schedule
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 7, 2022
Oct. 11 | Opening night doubleheader (ESPN/@ESPNPlus)
Feb. 3-4 | #NHL All-Star Skills (ESPN) & All-Star Game (ABC/ESPN+)
Feb. 18 | NHL Stadium Series (ESPN/ESPN+)
Details: https://t.co/LSX5oGd0nd pic.twitter.com/g3vRxXWWsj
.@NHL_On_TNT to feature 62-game schedule for 2022-23 season beginning with an opening week doubleheader on Wednesday, Oct. 12:
— TurnerSportsPR (@TurnerSportsPR) September 7, 2022
@NHLBruins vs. @Capitals at 7 p.m. ET
@NHLBlackhawks vs. @Avalanche at 9:30 p.m. ET
Full Schedule: https://t.co/oXpdnyss4x pic.twitter.com/nuDcmOZINI
Lundqvist When Lundqvist officially retired, we all figured it was just a matter of time before he was back as a member of the Rangers and Garden. That amount of time was just a year, with Lundqvist in essence filling a similar role to that handled by the late Rod Gilbert as well as Adam Graves and Brian Leetch while also taking on additional responsibilities. Lundqvist will once again be somewhat the face of the franchise while also maintaining his role as an analyst on MSG Network. It's great that he is officially back in the fold as a member of the organization.
From the press release: Lundqvist will be involved in numerous areas including representing MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment in a variety of partner and sponsorship endeavors, assisting with content development for digital platforms across both companies, growing and strengthening the connection with Rangers alumni, as well as lending his support with the Garden of Dreams Foundation. In addition, Lundqvist will once again be a lead studio analyst on MSG Network throughout the Rangers season.
There's no place like home.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 8, 2022
Officially - welcome back to @TheGarden, Henrik! https://t.co/NQTzoIrtGK pic.twitter.com/9Bcb2acabl
The memories.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 8, 2022
The people.
The support.
The Garden is just home. pic.twitter.com/VIef1VrMpI
I’m really excited about this next chapter. See you @thegarden! pic.twitter.com/oyjHVpH62B
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) September 8, 2022
In my new role I will continue to work with @MSGnetworks, support @gardenofdreams, assist content development, help with marketing partnership deals, further strengthen the connection with Rangers alumni, and attend different events at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) September 8, 2022
I’m so grateful and excited to start my new role as Ambassador of Madison Square Garden! I look forward to working with the amazing people within The Garden family and participating in a variety of new endeavors. pic.twitter.com/dC7W19cWj1
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) September 8, 2022