The Chicago Blackhawks announced their complete television broadcast schedule for the 2017-18 season Wednesday. WGN and NBC Sports Chicago will be handling the local coverage in addition to national games broadcast on NBC and NBC Sports Network. Comcast SportsNet Chicago is being rebranded as NBC Sports Chicago, effective Oct. 2.
The Blackhawks open their season Oct. 5 against the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center, then welcome back forward Artemi Panarin and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 7 before hitting the road.
NBC Sports Chicago and WGN will have local broadcasts for 70 games, while NBCSN will exclusively broadcast the remaining 12 games.
Pat Foley (play-by-play) and Steve Konroyd (analyst) will provide the coverage on both NBC Sports Chicago and WGN. Eddie Olczyk (analyst) will miss the start of the season as he undergoes treatment for colon cancer. In August, Hawks physician Michael Terry said Olcyzk had surgery to remove a tumor and will undergo chemotherapy to treat the cancer. The Hawks have not announced any temporary plans to replace Olczyk in the booth alongside Foley, but Konroyd seems to be the likely choice since he fills in for Olczyk on occasion.
BEHOLD! #Blackhawks 2017-18 TV schedule.
*NBCSCH is the new CSN* pic.twitter.com/QIdk0tNL74
— Second City Hockey🏒 (@2ndCityHockey) September 6, 2017
The Hawks will also play six preseason games, starting Sept. 19, which can all be seen on CSN Chicago and WGN.