At the end of an NHL season, there are always some interesting polls that come out from various sources. The Athletic surveyed 8,000 fans across the various NHL markets to find out what they thought of the game commentators. They were asked to rate the quality of their work from 1 to 5.
The Kraken already had a star-studded broadcast. Then they added Eddie Olczyk.
It was a massive swing and it worked. Seattle finds itself in the top spot of our 2023 broadcast ranking.
Ranking the other 31, according to The Athletic’s readers: https://t.co/uODTpAqQTQ
– The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) May 31, 2023
The results were compiled globally, nationally and locally (in the market in question).
The results are quite interesting, as the CH commentary teams were ranked 13th in the entire NHL. The word “them” is used here because the ranking corresponds to the combination of the RDS, TVA Sports and TSN teams.
For those who don’t follow games on TSN, commentators rotate on the English-language network, which doesn’t please the fans surveyed.
The Athletic also reports that TVA was heavily criticized. On the other hand, RDS is really appreciated, thanks in particular to the work of Pierre Houde.
Last year, the overall ranking of the combined commentary teams was the same.
Surprisingly, based on local ratings, the CH came 20th out of 32.
Meanwhile, the controversial Boston Bruins commentary team is ranked 30th. The colorful Jack Edwards, criticized in particular for his comments on Pat Maroon at the start of the season, hasn’t received much love, except from some Boston Bruins fans who like his energy.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken are in last and first place respectively. There’s a transition period in Chicago, and on the Kraken side, fans have fallen in love with John Forslund on description, Eddie Olczyk on analysis and J.T. Brown between the two benches.
In gusto
– Good game ahead.
Last game of the preliminary phase of the #MemorialCup tonight #RDS2 at 21:00 (ET) the 2 #WHL teams face off Kamloops vs Seattle.
Tonight’s winner advances to Friday’s semifinals, and tonight’s loser must play tomorrow’s tiebreaker vs PET.
– Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) May 31, 2023
– Freshly recalled from the minor leagues.
WATCH Abraham Toro’s unequivocal slap in the face!💪⚾️https://t.co/awVdIX3nbn
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 31, 2023
– He’s right.
Tourigny praises Samuel Montembeault https://t.co/nvWN4GGxrx
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 31, 2023
– Interesting observation.
The Stars have a solid foundation for the futurehttps://t.co/fI9unH7ISv
– RDS (@RDSca) May 31, 2023
– It’s already been two years.
Merry ‘It was 3-1’ to all that celebrate. https://t.co/CwJshZEQwx
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) May 31, 2023