The NHL and Amazon made several announcements on Monday regarding their streaming lineup for the upcoming season. Among them were the details of Prime Monday Night Hockey and NHL Coast to Coast, including the talent involved in both shows.
As the name would suggest, Prime Monday Night Hockey will be a Prime-exclusive stream of an NHL game every Monday night during the regular season.
Seattle Kraken play-by-play voice John Forslund will lead the stream, which will also feature a panel of analysts before and after the game and during the intermissions. There are 27 games on the schedule, all featuring at least one Canadian team, starting with the Canadiens hosting the Penguins on October 14.
On Thursday nights, Prime will also feature NHL Coast to Coast, an NFL Red Zone-like production that will allow the viewers to swing across the league each Thursday.
Andi Petrillo will lead a group of rotating analysts beginning on October 10. Like Red Zone, the show will feature live look-ins on games going on during the busiest night of the week.
Exclusive to Canada
It is important to note that both Prime Monday Night Hockey and NHL Coast to Coast will be exclusive to Prime members in Canada, so subscribers in the United States won't be able to partake.
The move comes with the television rights to NHL games with Rogers Communications set to expire in 2026. Amazon has a deal in place to stream Monday night games on their platform over the next two seasons.
Amazon is primed to go head-to-head with Rogers for the Canadian TV rights to NHL games. We've seen the success of Thursday Night Football with the NFL as Amazon continues to grow its influence over the sports world.
Having two staple shows to gauge their newest venture could be an indicator of whether this model is sustainable long-term for Canadians.
There's something for the US, too
Along with the Canadian exclusives, Amazon also announced the players who will be featured for FACEOFF: Inside the NHL. A six-part docuseries, the show will center around 12 players during the 2023-24 season.
Included in the bunch are Vegas' Jack Eichel, Boston's David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman, Toronto's William Nylander, and Vancouver's Quinn Hughes.
The show will be available to stream on Friday, October 4 with an episode featuring Nylander and Pastrnak with a focus on the rivalry between the Maple Leafs and the Bruins.
Each episode will center around a few players at a time, culminating in a two-part finale during the Stanley Cup Final highlighting Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Matthew Tkachuk.
After the intrigue of All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs on Prime back in 2021, I have high expectations for the show to be a hit.
With streaming becoming the way the world watches television, a deal between the NHL and Amazon feels like a no-brainer.
While they've collaborated before, this appears to indicate a new era for the league. While I hate that NHL Coast to Coast won't be available in the United States, I hope that one day we might be able to get something like it.