The 2023-24 NHL season is closer than you may think. Soon enough, the best hockey players in the world will grace your television screens.
And though the Detroit Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs in seven seasons, they still possess some national appeal. And the two national broadcasters aren’t hesitating to take advantage of it.
Both TNT and ESPN released their schedules for the season on Wednesday. In total, some 13 Red Wings games will be on center stage, starting with the season opener in New Jersey against the Devils, exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu. That game time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 7:30.
The following week, when the Wings are in Pittsburgh, that game will be on TNT at 7:30. The Wings will be a part of a TNT doubleheader on as they host the Rangers on Nov. 7. The same two teams will be back at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 29 at 7:30, also on TNT.
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The Wings will be back exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu on Dec. 5 in Buffalo at 7 p.m. Their Dec. 12 game in St. Louis will be on ESPN at 8 p.m. and two nights later, they host the Hurricanes on ESPN+ and Hulu (7:30).
There’s a bit of a national TV respite until February, when they get a rare Monday afternoon game in Seattle, Feb. 19 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, on ESPN. The ABC cameras will be at LCA on Feb. 24 when the Blues visit for a noon puck drop.
Then on March 6 (not the 26th, so the refs can put away the whistles), the Wings visit the Avalanche in the second game of a TNT doubleheader, beginning at 9:30 p.m. On March 28, Detroit is at Carolina for another ESPN+/Hulu exclusive at 7:30 p.m.
Finally, the Wings host the Sabres on TNT at 1 p.m. April 7 and then take on the Capitals on April 9 on ESPN starting at 7 p.m.