Andrew Marchand has wasted no time trying to figure out what the next move is for The NHL on NBC. The New York Post columnist published a piece on Monday after his colleague Phil Mushnick broke the news of Emrick’s retirement outlining what NBC’s plan could be for replacing the NHL’s iconic voice.
Marchand says not to rule out Mike Tirico as the one tapped to take over. He is the face of the NBC Sports brand and outside of Sunday Night Football, the NHL on NBC is the network’s only relationship with any of America’s four major professional sports leagues.
Tirico certainly has a full plate at NBC. He is a studio host for Sunday Night Football and is expected to take over the play-by-play role after Al Michaels retires. He also handles studio coverage of horse racing’s triple crown, the Olympics, and major golf events. Tirico is also the play-by-play voice of NBC’s coverage of Notre Dame football. Still, this could give NBC the opportunity to paint Tirico the way FOX does Joe Buck – the voice of the network’s most important sports moments.
Marchand mentions that Kenny Albert, the more obvious candidate, is still a strong possibility. He has been on the call of NBC’s #2 NHL game each week. The network also uses him to call the conference finals each year and Olympic hockey every four years.
It is also possible that no permanent replacement is named right away. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed back the start of the next NHL season. It has also delayed the 2020 Summer Olympics to July of 2021. It would make it virtually impossible for Tirico’s schedule to not overlap.
On top of that, the NHL is set to negotiate a new media rights deal soon. NBC only has rights to the league’s national broadcasts, including the Stanley Cup Finals, for one more year. The league is reportedly interested in splitting its national TV rights with ESPN and FOX said to be interested. What effect that might have on NBC’s hockey schedule remains to be seen.
