TNT is licking its chops over the rematch with Tom Wilson
By Steve Paulus
The NHL schedule makers gift wrapped a present for Turner Sports by giving the New York Rangers a rematch with Tom Wilson and the Washington Capitals in their first game of the new season. It will be the first game televised by Turner on TNT as part of a $225 million deal with the NHL. How TNT and the NHL promote the game will tell us a lot about the future of hockey on Turner.
Wednesday, October 13, the Rangers will travel to Washington to play the Capitals. It will be the first game between the two teams since they played in a match that featured six fights and 72 minutes in penalties in the first 4:14 minutes. It will be the first game as a Ranger for Ryan Reaves, one of the fiercest enforcers in the NHL and the first game for Gerard Gallant as new coach.
It will be Artemi Panarin‘s first game against the Capitals since he was ragdolled by Wilson, sustaining an injury that ended his season.
After the Tom Wilson “incident,” Ryan Reaves was on John Scott’s podcast and talked about it. He said that if he had been on the Rangers, he would have fought Wilson and more than once. “Because if that happens and he doesn’t get kicked out of that game, I can promise you, we’re fighting three times that game. And if he does get kicked out of that game, I promise you, I’m telling him, ‘We’re fighting three times or I’m jumping you. Take your pick. Defend yourself or let’s just get it over with.’”
He made a point of saying that the Rangers didn’t have anyone in their system that Wilson was afraid of, though he did complement the players who stood up and fought in the next game.
Reaves has had several run-ins with Wilson in the past. Does anyone believe that they are not fated to mix it up in that first game?
What the league should do
In a sane world, Gary Bettman would arrange for a sitdown with Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom and instruct him to make sure that both teams behave. Walkom should assign his best veteran officials to the game with strict instructions to maintain order. Bettman should warn both teams that if a donnybrook erupts, there will be immediate and long suspensions.
That’s in a sane world. In a sane world, Tom Wilson would have gotten suspended by the NHL for his dangerous and out of control behavior. Remember the report that George Parros, NHL’s senior vice president of player safety who thought a fine was sufficient, didn’t even want to suspend Wilson for his dangerous hit on the Bruins’ Brandon Carlo. It was Bettman who overruled Parros and forced the seven-game suspension, the fifth of Wilson’s career.
What TNT will do
In a sane world, TNT will make its NHL debut a celebration of ice hockey and its fans. They will highlight the skill and talent of its greatest players. Forgive us if our expectations are somewhat lower. Here’s the wording about the game in the official release from WarnerMedia:
“Turner Sports, in its first season of NHL coverage, will feature a 50-game telecast schedule during the 2021-22 NHL regular season, starting Wednesday, Oct. 13, with a TNT opening week doubleheader featuring the New York Rangers visiting the Washington Capitals in one of the fiercest rivalries in sports at 7:30 p.m. ET.”
In a prior release, they described the game this way: “TNT’s opening week coverage will bring together two of the fiercest rivals in sports – the Rangers and Capitals – as the two teams meet for the first time since their hotly contested two-game series last May. “
We added the italics for emphasis and would point out that the Rangers were outscored 10-5 in the two games and the outcomes were never in doubt. To describe them as “hotly contested” is not quite the real story. It’s also worth noting that in their release they don’t describe any of the other games they are televising the same way. Ranger fans know that while the Rangers and Capitals are rivals, it’s the rivalry with the Islanders that can be called fierce.
It raised some eyebrows when Turner announced that they had hired Paul Bissonnette as an in-studio analyst. Bissonnette is a former NHL enforcer who is co-host of the immensely popular podcast, “Spittin’ Chiclets.” He’s well known for crossing the line with his comments and it was comments made on that podcast that got Jeremy Roenick fired from his gig at NBC Sports.
The combination of Tom Wilson, Ryan Reaves and Paul Bissonnette will be irresistible to TNT and the NHL. Get ready for fireworks.
With the season set to begin in less than a month, you can expect Turner to ramp up its promotion for the NHL. How they promote this game will tell us a lot about what to expect for the next seven years. We’ll be watching.
National TV exposure
The Rangers will get a decent amount of national television exposure this season. Games will be televised on ABC, ESPN, TNT and ESPN+/Hulu. Here is the full schedule (as of now):
- October 13 at Washington – TNT
- November 26 at Boston – ESPN+/Hulu
- December 14 at Colorado – ESPN+/Hulu
- January 19 vs. Toronto – TNT
- February 1 vs. Florida -ESPN+/Hulu
- February 24 vs. Washington – ESPN
- February 26 at Pittsburgh – ABC
- March 2 vs. St. Louis – TNT
- March 30 at Detroit – TNT
- April 7 vs. Pittsburgh – ESPN+/Hulu
- April 13 at Philadelphia – TNT
ESPN definitely wanted into the Rangers-Capitals action and they will televise Washington’s first trip to Madison Square Garden on February 24. Six of the 11 games will be on the road and at one point in the season, three consecutive games for the Rangers will be on national TV.
How do the Rangers do on a national stage? Last season they went 3-7-1 while going 6-5-1 the prior season. Their best season most recently was 2016-17 when they won 10 of 16 nationally televised games.
ABC and Turner will surely modify their schedules if there are games late in the season with playoff implications. It’s worth noting that the third and last game between the Capitals and the Rangers will be the Blueshirts’ final game of the season on April 29 and it is not on the national schedule. If the first two games live up to their prior billing, don’t be surprised to see the Blueshirts find their way to a national stage for round three.
A final word
Before anyone gets overly agitated over this post, let me say that there are good reasons why fighting is still allowed in the NHL. With the inconsistencies of NHL refereeing and disciplinary rulings a huge problem, there has to be a way for the Tom Wilsons of the world to be held accountable.
It’s a way to protect the stars and it keeps “dirty” play out of the game…or at least it should. In a sport as fast and physical as ice hockey, the fact that fighting is allowed limits the number of dangerous hits. That’s just a fact.
Fighting shouldn’t be glorified and the danger it poses to the health of players has to be acknowledged. No team should be allowed to succeed based on intimidation. The days of the Broad Street Bullies are over.
To a hockey fan, fights are part of the game. But it’s up to the league to make sure that gratuitous violence has no place in the league. It’s exactly what they didn’t do after Tom Wilson went ballistic last May. If the league can’t do it, then the players have to.
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