It appears that the NHL on TNT found its new analyst between the boards.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that Brian Boucher, a former 13-year goalie in the NHL, is joining Warner Bros. Discovery as an analyst for the NHL on TNT. He had worked with ESPN for the past two NHL seasons after several years with NBC Sports, which held the league’s TV rights until the end of the 2020-21 season.
Boucher replaces Keith Jones, who left after TNT’s coverage of last season’s Stanley Cup Final to take the job as president of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The TNT team has earned stellar reviews since WBD acquired broadcast rights for the NHL in 2021, bringing some of the sensibilities of its Emmy-winning “Inside the NBA” with a hockey bent. The sport finally had a show where its broadcasters could let their hair down, sort of speak, while bringing the coverage its fans expected.
ESPN’s coverage, on the other hand, has left much to be desired. Despite initial excitement around its reunion with the NHL after an acrimonious split in 2005, some fans and media have felt underwhelmed by its studio teams and play-by-play announcing. Some of that could be rooted in the stark contrast with TNT, which basically inherited many of the former staffers at NBC Sports who had worked together for years.
To that point, NHL on TNT studio host Liam McHugh has talked about the different climates between NBC and TNT, namely how he had to “self-edit” at times at NBC. It spoke volumes of the looser but still professional approach at his new employer. Boucher, now reunited with some of his old teammates, may find himself feeling the exact same way.
ESPN’s NHL coverage may not feel noticeably different, but it loses Boucher after letting go of Hall of Famer and former studio analyst Chris Chelios back in June as part of company-wide layoffs.
