When did Sportsnet's Hockey Night In Canada lose its way?
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6. Too many bodies. Having six (and sometimes seven) competing talking heads during pre-games and intermission is drastic overkill. The result is that the sum of the parts is thus far less dynamic than some of the individuals. It also mutes the potential star power of those on the panel hired to provide just that.
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7. Back to the TNT-HNIC comparison. Not that pre-game interviews are often revealing, but prior to Game 6 the American broadcaster did a better setup job with rinkside comments from the key face of each team — the Oilers' Connor McDavid and the Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk.
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8. Chemistry. I'm of the belief that there are enough engaging voices on the Hockey Night crew, but the key to making them shine is to have them work with each other. On-air chemistry shouts authenticity to the viewer and the show aches for this.
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9. Entertainment value. As one seasoned observer of the telecasts put it to me, none of the on-air group are a disaster (though some are better than others) but there is a blandness to the group. Analysis is important, but when it comes across as overdone and scripted, it's begging viewers to turn to the baseball game at intermission.
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10. Give us some banter. For all its faults, especially towards the end, the back-and-forth between MacLean and Don Cherry on Coach's Corner was appointment viewing. I'm not sure if anything does that in the current iteration. Over on TNT, meanwhile, you get to hear Wayne Gretzky giving it to Bissonnette or the panel goading Barkley into telling viewers why he jokingly detests Seth Jones because of his NBA-playing father Popeye.
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11. Inane analysis. Not a slight on Jennifer Botterill specifically, but when five commentators are asked to come up with three or four talking points per intermission, it's a reach. Case in point: After 40 minutes on Tuesday, with all but the final score inevitable, Botterill said 'Can the Oilers find a way to come back? Absolutely.' If the former Canadian Olympian really believed that, she might have been the only one in the building.
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12. Kelly Hrudey could be better used. If anyone gets lost in the drone of competing voices, it might be him. On a more focussed show, for example, a host would have grilled him more on the struggles of Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, a huge story line throughout and again in Game 6. Hrudey offered some of that in the second intermission, but we wanted more.
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13. Speaking of more … As previously noted in this space, the one potential impact voice is Kevin Bieksa, the former hard-nosed defenceman who dishes hard-nosed commentary. Let him loose. And maybe bring in the always-opinionated Nick Kypreos for the odd cameo.
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14. Take a breath. When there are so many talking heads scrambling to get in as many words as possible, information overload mutes the impact. Too often, the show needs to breathe.
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15. Chris Cuthbert. No, the veteran play-by-play man isn't a fault — he's the opposite. From Sidney Crosby's Golden Goal to now, he has been the voice of so many iconic Canadian hockey moments and continues to be so just as the late, great Bob Cole was in his day. Now it's incumbent for Cuthbert to have a better produced show around him.
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