Blackhawks announce slate of national TV broadcasts

While the Chicago Blackhawks have little interest in winning many games during the 2022-23 NHL season in hopes of landing a top draft pick in 2023, the team’s ability to fetch TV ratings is not affected by that strategy — at least in the eyes of the NHL.

On Wednesday afternoon, the team announced its national broadcast schedule while also announcing a handful of changes to start times.

There will be three Blackhawks games broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2:

• Dec. 18 vs. New York Rangers, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
• April 1 vs. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
• April 10 vs. Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Five games will be broadcast exclusively online through ESPN+ and Hulu, which means those games will not be available via traditional cable subscriptions:

• Nov. 19 at Los Angeles Kings, 9:30 p.m.
• Dec. 16 at Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m.
• Dec. 23 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 7:30 p.m.
• Feb. 19 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 5 p.m.
• March 16 at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m.

Six Blackhawks games will be broadcast on TNT, including the season opener:

• Oct. 12 at Colorado Avalanche, 8:30 p.m.
• Nov. 16 vs. St. Louis Blues, 6:30 p.m.
• Nov. 30 vs. Edmonton Oilers, 8:30 p.m.
• Feb. 15 at Toronto Maple Leafs, 6 p.m.
• Feb. 22 at Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m.
• March 8 at Detroit Red Wings, 6:30 p.m.

According to the team’s press release, that Feb. 22 game against the Stars will not be broadcast in the Chicago market, which means the local broadcast will still carry that game in the Chicagoland area.

Four of the games above now have different start times to accommodate the national broadcast schedules and four other games were also affected:

• Oct. 25 vs. Florida Panthers, 7:30 p.m.
• Nov. 1 vs. New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
• March 2 vs. Dallas Stars, 7:30 p.m.
• April 11 at Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:30 p.m.

Along with the television update, the Blackhawks announced that single-game tickets will go on sale next Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. Training camp opens one week later on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Adjust your fall and winter plans accordingly.