NHL on Fox

NHL on Fox
The general NHL on Fox logo.
Also known as	Fox NHL Saturday
Genre	Sports
Directed by	Sandy Grossman (Stanley Cup Finals) Bob Levy (Stanley Cup Finals studio show) Artie Kemper (NHL on Fox) Peter Bleckner (NHL on Fox) Michael Frank (NHL on Fox)
Presented by	See "personalities" section
Theme music composer	Scott Schreer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
Production
Executive producers	David Hill Ed Goren
Producers	Richard Zyontz (Stanley Cup Finals) Nancy Bernstein (Stanley Cup Finals studio show) Mike Burks (NHL on Fox) Peter Macheska (NHL on Fox) Rich Russo (NHL on Fox)
Production locations	Various NHL stadiums (game telecasts) Fox Network Center, Los Angeles (studio segments, pregame and postgame shows)
Cinematography	Robert Lawton Pete Chavelrus David Geller Don Cornelli Al Mountford Martin Miller Andy Mitchell James Lytle Mark Stacey
Editors	Andy Boyle Mitch Fehr David Millar Thimmiah Snyder
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	150 minutes or until the game ends
Production company	Fox Sports
Original release
Network	Fox Fox Sports Networks
Release	April 2, 1995 (1995-04-02) – June 17, 1999 (1999-06-17)
Related
NHL on ABC

The NHL on Fox is the branding used for broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games that were produced by Fox Sports and televised on the Fox network from the 1994–1995 NHL season until the 1998–1999 NHL season. NHL games continued to air on the Fox Sports Networks in the form of regional game telecasts until the 2021 rebrand to Bally Sports. As of 2024, only one Fox station airs hockey broadcasts.

History

On the heels of its surprise acquisition of the television rights to the National Football League (NFL) in December 1993, Fox sought deals with other major sports leagues to expand its newly created sports division, opting to go after the rights to broadcast National Hockey League (NHL) games. CBS, which had just lost its NFL package (which primarily included the rights to regular season and playoff games from the National Football Conference) to Fox and had also lost its Major League Baseball and college football rights to other networks, was Fox's primary competitor for the NHL package, hoping to replace some of the sports programming it had lost to Fox.

Nevertheless, in a serious blow to CBS, Fox outbid CBS for the NHL package as well. On September 9, 1994, the National Hockey League reached a five-year contract with Fox for the broadcast television rights to the league's games, beginning with the 1994–95 season. The network paid $155 million ($31 million annually) to televise NHL regular season and postseason games, considerably less than the $1.58 billion Fox paid for the NFL television rights.

The NHL's initial deal with Fox was significant, as a U.S. network television contract was long thought unattainable for the league during the presidency of John Ziegler. For 17 years after the 1975 Finals were broadcast on NBC, there would be no national over-the-air network coverage of the NHL in the United States (except for the 1979 Challenge Cup and Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals on CBS, and NBC's coverage of the NHL All-Star Game from 1990 to 1994) and only spotty coverage on regional networks. This was because no network was willing to commit to carrying a large number of games, in turn providing low ratings for NHL telecasts. ABC would eventually resume the network broadcasting of regular NHL games (on a time buy basis through ESPN) for the 1992–93 season. This continued through the 1993–94 season before Fox took over for the next five seasons.

Fox inaugurated its NHL coverage on April 2, 1995, toward the end of the 1994–95 regular season, with six games (between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers; St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings; Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals; Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars; Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning; and the San Jose Sharks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim). Mike Emrick and John Davidson were the lead broadcast team, and Joe Micheletti served as the reporter for national game broadcasts on Fox, while regionally-distributed games were handled by a variety of announcers, in addition to the trio. For the first four years of the deal, James Brown hosted the show and Dave Maloney was the studio analyst from the Fox Network Center studios in Los Angeles. For the fifth and final season, Suzy Kolber served as the studio host and Terry Crisp served as the studio analyst. Occasionally, active NHL players such as Mike Modano would serve as guest analysts.

FoxTrax

Fox's NHL broadcasts are perhaps best remembered for its use of FoxTrax (colloquially called the "glow puck," "smart puck," or "super puck"), a specialized ice hockey puck designed for the network's NHL telecasts which featured internal electronics that allowed its position to be tracked. It was primarily used to visually highlight the puck on-screen and display a trail when the puck was moving rapidly. The FoxTrax puck, while considered to be generally popular according to Fox Sports, generated a great deal of controversy and criticism, especially in Canada, from longtime fans of the game, and was ridiculed by comedians on both sides of the border.

Stanley Cup playoff coverage

During the first two rounds of the playoffs, at least two games were aired each round and were distributed regionally, unless other series involving other scheduled games were already finished, in which case the telecast was broadcast nationally. Canadian viewers were upset over the apparent preference that the NHL had for Fox ahead of CBC Television in regards to the scheduling of playoff games; Montreal Gazette sports journalist Pat Hickey wrote that the schedule was "just another example of how the N.H.L. snubs its nose at the country that invented hockey and its fans."

All-Star Game, Conference Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals

For the All-Star Game, Conference Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals, the games (which were national telecasts) were hosted from the arena. The 1996 and 1997 All-Star Games were televised in prime time.

Stanley Cup Finals

Fox split coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals with ESPN. Game 1 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the first Finals game shown on network television since 1980 and the first in prime time since 1973. Games 1, 5, and 7 were usually scheduled to be televised by Fox; and Games 2, 3, 4, and 6 were set to air on ESPN. However, from 1995 to 1998, the Finals matches were all four game sweeps; the 1999 Finals ended in six games. The consequence was that – except for 1995 when Fox did televise Game 4 – the decisive game was never shown on network television. Perhaps in recognition of this, Games 3–7 were always televised by ABC in the succeeding broadcast agreement between the NHL and ABC Sports/ESPN.

Game 4 of the 1995 Final was notable because not only did the New Jersey Devils win the Stanley Cup, but also the team's main television play-by-play announcer, Mike Emrick, announced it.

KTVU, the Fox affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, dropped Game 4 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals (June 24) for a San Francisco Giants game. The game between the Giants and Florida Marlins in Miami had a long rain delay. This allowed KTVU to broadcast the hockey game after all. However, the baseball game finally started before the hockey game ended. KTVU got a lot of complaints, so they re-aired the end of the hockey game the following Saturday (July 1).

Stanley Cup Finals broadcast schedules

• 1995 – Games 1, 4, 7 on Fox; Games 2, 3, 5, 6 on ESPN
• 1996 – Games 1, 3, 5, 7 on Fox; Games 2, 4, 6 on ESPN
• 1997 – Games 1, 5, 7 on Fox; Games 2, 3, 4, 6 on ESPN
• 1998 – Games 1, 5, 7 on Fox; Games 2, 3, 4, 6 on ESPN
• 1999 – Games 1, 2, 5, 7 on Fox; Games 3, 4, 6 on ESPN

The end of NHL on Fox

Things ended badly between Fox and the league in 1999, when the NHL announced a new television deal with ESPN that also called for sister broadcast network ABC to become the new network television partner (as previously mentioned). Fox challenged that it had not been given a chance to match the network component of the deal, but ABC ultimately prevailed.

Fox placed a bid for NHL broadcast rights when they came up for renewal in 2011 but dropped out of the running as a result of a bidding war between NBCUniversal and ESPN. The bid made by NBCUniversal (which owns NBC, Versus and USA Network and, through its ownership of the Philadelphia Flyers, a stake in the league itself) was selected by the league, in a ten-year extension of its existing broadcast contract.

After Disney acquired the entertainment unit 21st Century Fox (excluding the main network and sports units) in 2019, it resold the regional Fox Sports Networks to Sinclair Broadcast Group, which maintained the rights on some NHL teams. In 2021, Sinclair rebranded the channels as Bally Sports.

In August 2019, Fox Sports SVP/sales Mark Evans told The Big Lead that Fox would be interested in pursuing NHL media rights when they became available.

In April 2021, Fox Sports was reportedly considered a front-runner to acquire the NHL's "B" package after ABC/ESPN acquired the "A" package from NBC; the rights would ultimately go to Turner Sports.

After the bankruptcy of Bally Sports in 2023, Bally Sports SoCal (the former Fox Sports Prime Ticket) lost the rights to the Anaheim Ducks broadcasts and its local games moved to the Fox-owned station, KCOP-TV, for the 2024–25 season.

Coverage overview

Regular season

Fox's logo for their regular season broadcasts.

Fox televised between 5 and 11 regionally distributed games on Saturday or Sunday afternoons during the regular season, where anywhere from 2 to 6 games ran concurrently. All times below are Eastern.

1994–95

Main article: 1994–95 NHL season

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
4/2/95	New York Rangers at Philadelphia St. Louis at Detroit Boston at Washington Dallas at Chicago Florida at Tampa Bay San Jose at Anaheim	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Dave Strader and Denis Potvin Dick Stockton and Mike Eruzione Kenny Albert and Gary Green
4/9/95	Boston at Buffalo New York Rangers at New Jersey Dallas at St. Louis Detroit at Chicago Los Angeles at Anaheim	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Greg Millen Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Kenny Albert and Gary Green
4/16/95	Detroit at St. Louis Pittsburgh at Philadelphia New York Rangers at New York Islanders Chicago at Dallas Tampa Bay at Florida Los Angeles at San Jose	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Jiggs McDonald and Greg Millen Dave Strader and Gary Green
4/23/95	New York Rangers at Boston Chicago at St. Louis Detroit at San Jose Philadelphia at Buffalo Anaheim at Los Angeles	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Dave Strader and Denis Potvin Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Gary Green
4/30/95	St. Louis at San Jose New York Rangers at Philadelphia Washington at Florida Chicago at Detroit Pittsburgh at Boston Anaheim at Los Angeles	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Kenny Albert and Mickey Redmond Mike Emrick and John Davidson Dick Stockton and Mike Eruzione Dave Strader and Denis Potvin Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Bob Miller and Gary Green

1995–96

Main article: 1995–96 NHL season

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
1/27/96	New York Rangers at Boston Philadelphia at Pittsburgh* Anaheim at Los Angeles Colorado at San Jose Tampa Bay at St. Louis Detroit at Chicago	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Dave Strader and Greg Millen Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond
2/3/96	Chicago at San Jose Florida at Tampa Bay New York Rangers at Colorado* Pittsburgh at Detroit Buffalo at Boston Philadelphia at St. Louis	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Dave Strader and Greg Millen Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Rick Jeanneret and Mickey Redmond Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin
2/10/96	St. Louis at Dallas New York Rangers at New Jersey Detroit at Tampa Bay Philadelphia at Boston* Chicago at Pittsburgh San Jose at Los Angeles	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin Mike Emrick and John Davidson Dave Strader and Greg Millen Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
3/31/96	Boston at Buffalo Pittsburgh at Philadelphia St. Louis at Detroit* Dallas at Chicago New York Rangers at New York Islanders	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin
4/7/96	Colorado at Dallas Detroit at Chicago* Boston at Philadelphia New York Rangers at New Jersey Anaheim at San Jose	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Dave Strader and Greg Millen Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin Randy Hahn and Pete Stemkowski
4/14/96	Detroit at Dallas Pittsburgh at Boston Philadelphia at Tampa Bay New York Rangers at Florida* St. Louis at Chicago Los Angeles at Colorado	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Dave Strader and Greg Millen Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Mike Emrick and John Davidson Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin

Note: *Denotes use of FoxTrax puck.

1996–97

Main article: 1996–97 NHL season

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
1/25/97	Colorado at Boston New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Detroit at Philadelphia Tampa Bay at Florida Anaheim at Los Angeles	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m.	Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Bob Miller and Jim Fox
2/1/97	Phoenix at Pittsburgh Detroit at St. Louis Colorado at San Jose New York Rangers at Philadelphia Washington at Florida	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Lange and Paul Steigerwald Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
2/8/97	New York Rangers at New York Islanders Chicago at Colorado St. Louis at Boston Detroit at Pittsburgh	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Mike Emrick and John Davidson
2/15/97	Pittsburgh at Philadelphia Boston at Phoenix Colorado at St. Louis New York Rangers at Chicago	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
2/22/97	Phoenix at Anaheim Chicago at Pittsburgh Detroit at St. Louis Philadelphia at Florida	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Kenny Albert and Brian Hayward Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
3/1/97	Philadelphia at Boston Florida at Tampa Bay New York Rangers at Detroit Chicago at Colorado	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab

1997–98

Main article: 1997–98 NHL season

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
1/24/98	Philadelphia at Detroit St. Louis at Chicago New Jersey at New York Rangers Los Angeles at Anaheim Dallas at Colorado Boston at Pittsburgh	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti John Kelly and Craig Simpson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp
1/31/98	New York Rangers at Boston Chicago at Los Angeles Detroit at Pittsburgh Dallas at St. Louis Tampa Bay at Florida Colorado at San Jose	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp John Kelly and Craig Simpson
2/7/98	New Jersey at New York Islanders Carolina at Boston Philadelphia at Colorado Los Angeles at Anaheim Chicago at Dallas Detroit at St. Louis	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Howie Rose and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp Mike Emrick and John Davidson John Kelly and Craig Simpson Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
2/28/98	Philadelphia at New York Rangers Chicago at Colorado Pittsburgh at Boston Washington at Tampa Bay St. Louis at Los Angeles Phoenix at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp John Kelly and Craig Simpson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
3/7/98	Detroit at Los Angeles New York Rangers at New Jersey Florida at Washington Dallas at St. Louis Philadelphia at Pittsburgh Chicago at Boston	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	John Kelly and Craig Simpson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh
3/14/98	Buffalo at Pittsburgh Detroit at Philadelphia New York Rangers at Boston Chicago at Tampa Bay Colorado at Los Angeles Phoenix at St. Louis	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp John Kelly and Craig Simpson Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh
3/21/98	Phoenix at Los Angeles Boston at Buffalo Philadelphia at Pittsburgh Detroit at New York Rangers Colorado at San Jose	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	John Kelly and Craig Simpson Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
3/28/98	Carolina at Philadelphia New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Anaheim at Colorado Detroit at St. Louis Florida at Boston San Jose at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	John Kelly and Craig Simpson Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh
4/4/98	Detroit at Chicago Colorado at St. Louis Florida at Philadelphia Los Angeles at Washington New York Rangers at New York Islanders	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp
4/11/98	New York Rangers at Detroit Florida at Pittsburgh Phoenix at St. Louis Washington at Philadelphia Dallas at Tampa Bay Colorado at Los Angeles	1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 6 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Josh Lewin and Daryl Reaugh John Kelly and Craig Simpson
4/18/98	Chicago at Dallas Detroit at Colorado New York Rangers at Philadelphia Anaheim at Los Angeles Boston at Pittsburgh	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti John Kelly and Craig Simpson Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp

Notes

• Fox was initially scheduled to air a Pittsburgh Penguins-Tampa Bay Lightning game on April 4.

1998–99

Main article: 1998–99 NHL season

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
2/7/99	New York Rangers at Boston Detroit at Pittsburgh Colorado at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Peter McNab
2/14/99	Detroit at New York Rangers Philadelphia at Colorado	3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
2/21/99	Boston at Chicago Colorado at Dallas Detroit at Buffalo	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Kenny Albert and Peter McNab Jiggs McDonald and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
2/28/99	Philadelphia at New York Rangers Pittsburgh at Washington Los Angeles at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
3/7/99	Colorado at Pittsburgh New York Rangers at Boston St. Louis at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
3/14/99	Detroit at Colorado St. Louis at Chicago New York Rangers at New York Islanders	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Peter McNab Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
3/21/99	Pittsburgh at New York Rangers Detroit at Philadelphia Colorado at Chicago	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Peter McNab
3/28/99	Philadelphia at Detroit St. Louis at Chicago Los Angeles at Colorado	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Peter McNab
4/4/99	New York Rangers at New Jersey Detroit at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
4/11/99	Pittsburgh at Detroit^ Colorado at St. Louis Los Angeles at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Peter McNab
4/18/99	Pittsburgh at New York Rangers^ Dallas at Colorado Boston at Philadelphia	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Sam Rosen Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab Kenny Albert and Joe Micheletti

Notes

^The Pittsburgh Penguins-New York Rangers game on April 18 (Wayne Gretzky's final game before his retirement) began on MSG Network in the New York City market as WNYW (Fox's flagship station) aired a Yankees game against the Detroit Tigers. The station joined the hockey game midway through the second period. The week prior (April 11), WNYW aired another Yankees game over the Pittsburgh-Detroit NHL game, which instead aired on MSG from start to finish.

Stanley Cup playoff coverage

1995

Main article: 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentators
5/7/95	New Jersey at Boston Buffalo at Philadelphia Dallas at Detroit Vancouver at St. Louis	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Dave Strader and Denis Potvin Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond
5/14/95	New York Rangers at Quebec Washington at Pittsburgh Buffalo at Philadelphia Detroit at Dallas	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Denis Potvin Jiggs McDonald and Mickey Redmond Dave Strader and Joe Micheletti
5/21/95	San Jose at Detroit New York Rangers at Philadelphia	3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
5/28/95	New Jersey at Pittsburgh	3 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/4/95	Chicago at Detroit	3 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/11/95	New Jersey at Philadelphia	3 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/17/95	New Jersey at Detroit	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/24/95	Detroit at New Jersey	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti

Notes

• The May 14 game in Colisée Pepsi was the final home game ever for the Quebec Nordiques. The team became the Colorado Avalanche in the fall of 1995.
• The June 24 game in New Jersey was the Stanley Cup Finals' deciding game as the Devils swept the Red Wings. Although Fox did retain rights to certain other games where the Cup could be decided (including any seventh games), 1995 was the only time during its run as NHL broadcaster that Fox carried the Cup-clinching victory on-air.

1996

Main article: 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentators
4/21/96	Philadelphia at Tampa Bay New York Rangers at Montreal* Detroit at Winnipeg Chicago at Calgary	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Kenny Albert and Mickey Redmond Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
4/28/96	New York Rangers at Montreal* Pittsburgh at Washington Detroit at Winnipeg	3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Pat Foley and Mickey Redmond
5/5/96	St. Louis at Detroit* New York Rangers at Pittsburgh	3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
5/12/96	Florida at Philadelphia St. Louis at Detroit*	3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
5/19/96	Colorado at Detroit*	3 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
5/26/96	Pittsburgh at Florida*	3 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/4/96	Florida at Colorado*	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, Joe Micheletti, and Sandra Neil
6/8/96	Colorado at Florida*	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, Joe Micheletti, and Sandra Neil

*Denotes use of FoxTrax puck.

Note

• The April 28 game in Winnipeg was the final home game for the original Winnipeg Jets. The franchise became the Phoenix Coyotes in the fall of 1996.

1997

Main article: 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentators
4/20/97	New York Rangers at Florida Colorado at Chicago Detroit at St. Louis Anaheim at Phoenix	2 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
4/27/97	Detroit at. St. Louis Dallas at Edmonton Anaheim at Phoenix	2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Craig Simpson Jiggs McDonald and Peter McNab
5/4/97	Anaheim at Detroit New York Rangers at New Jersey	2 p.m. 2 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
5/11/97	New York Rangers at New Jersey Philadelphia at Buffalo*	2 p.m. 2 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
5/18/97	New York Rangers at Philadelphia	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
5/25/97	New York Rangers at Philadelphia	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
5/31/97	Detroit at Philadelphia	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, Joe Micheletti, and Craig Simpson

1998

Main article: 1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentators
4/26/98	New Jersey at Ottawa Washington at Boston Detroit at Phoenix Dallas at San Jose	2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.	Kenny Albert and Terry Crisp Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson Jiggs McDonald and Daryl Reaugh
5/3/98	Washington at Boston Detroit at Phoenix	2 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
5/10/98	St. Louis at Detroit Montreal at Buffalo	2 p.m. 2 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
5/17/98	St. Louis at Detroit	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
5/24/98	Detroit at Dallas	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
5/31/98	Dallas at Detroit	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/9/98	Washington at Detroit*	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti

1999

Main article: 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentators
4/25/99	New Jersey at Pittsburgh Phoenix at St. Louis Detroit at Anaheim	2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Kenny Albert and Peter McNab Mike Emrick and John Davidson
5/2/99	New Jersey at Pittsburgh Phoenix at St. Louis	2 p.m. 2 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
5/9/99	Buffalo at Boston Detroit at Colorado	2 p.m. 2 p.m.	Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti Mike Emrick and John Davidson
5/16/99	Detroit at Colorado Buffalo at Boston	2 p.m. 2 p.m.	Mike Emrick and John Davidson Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti
5/23/99	Buffalo at Toronto	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
5/30/99	Colorado at Dallas	2 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/8/99	Buffalo at Dallas	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/10/99	Buffalo at Dallas	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti
6/17/99	Buffalo at Dallas	8 p.m.	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Joe Micheletti

Personalities

Play-by-play

• Kenny Albert
• Mike Emrick
• Pat Foley
• Randy Hahn
• Rick Jeanneret
• John Kelly
• Mike Lange
• Josh Lewin
• Jiggs McDonald
• Bob Miller
• Howie Rose
• Sam Rosen
• Dick Stockton
• Dave Strader

Color commentators

• Terry Crisp
• John Davidson
• Mike Eruzione
• Jim Fox
• Gary Green
• Brian Hayward
• Joe Micheletti
• Peter McNab
• Greg Millen
• Denis Potvin
• Daryl Reaugh
• Mickey Redmond
• Pete Stemkowski
• Craig Simpson
• Paul Steigerwald

Studio commentators

• James Brown – studio host (1994–1998)
• Sandra Neil - fill-in studio host/rinkside reporter (1996)
• Terry Crisp – color commentary/studio analyst (1998–1999)
• Suzy Kolber – studio host (1998–1999)
• Dave Maloney – studio analyst (1994–1998)

Reporters

• Joe Micheletti
• Sandra Neil
• Craig Simpson

Ratings

Stanley Cup Finals

Year	Teams	Games Carried	Rating
1995	New Jersey-Detroit	1, 4	3.4
1996	Colorado-Florida	1, 3	3.6
1997	Detroit-Philadelphia	1	4.0
1998	Detroit-Washington	1	3.3
1999	Dallas-Buffalo	1, 2, 5	3.4

Game 4 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals drew a 4.7 rating and a 10 share. In the New York City market (on Fox owned-and-operated station WNYW), the game drew a 10.6 rating and 21 share; in Detroit (on Fox affiliate, now owned-and-operated station, WJBK), it drew a 14.1 rating and 26 share.

Regular season

Season	Number of Dates	Rating
1994–95	5	2.0
1995–96	6	2.1
1996–97	6	1.9
1997–98	11	1.4
1998–99	11	1.4

All-Star Game

Year	Rating
1995	No game due to lockout
1996	4.1
1997	2.8
1998	2.7
1999	2.2

NHL coverage on other Fox-owned outlets

Fox owned-and-operated television stations

Main articles: Fox Television Stations, Owned-and-operated television stations in the United States, and Historical NHL over-the-air television broadcasters

Team	Station	Years of broadcast rights
Anaheim Ducks	KCOP 13	2024–present
Dallas Stars	KDFI 27	2000
Philadelphia Flyers	WTXF 29	1973–1985

Fox Sports Networks owned-and-operated affiliates

Network	Region served	NHL team rights	Notes
Fox Sports Arizona	Arizona New Mexico Utah southern Nevada	Arizona Coyotes	The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Arizona on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Carolinas	North Carolina South Carolina	Carolina Hurricanes	The network was later renamed as Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Detroit	Michigan (statewide) northwestern Ohio northeastern Indiana northeast Wisconsin	Detroit Red Wings	FSN Detroit produces a pre-game/post-game show titled Red Wings Live. Fox Sports Net Detroit acquired the local television rights to Red Wings games (as well as those from the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Tigers) from PASS Sports, which subsequently ceased operations in 1997. The network was later named Bally Sports Detroit on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Florida	Florida (statewide) southern Alabama southern Georgia	Florida Panthers	Shares broadcast rights to the Panthers with co-owned Sun Sports. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Florida on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Midwest	Missouri southern Illinois southern Indiana eastern Nebraska eastern Kansas western Kentucky northern Arkansas	St. Louis Blues	Fox Sports Midwest's telecasts of Blues games are also available on Fox Sports Kansas City. The networks were later renamed as Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Midwest on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports North	Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa North Dakota South Dakota	Minnesota Wild	The network were later renamed as Bally Sports North on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Ohio	Ohio eastern Indiana Kentucky northwestern Pennsylvania, southwestern New York	Columbus Blue Jackets	Fox Sports Ohio carries the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets in southern Ohio, Kentucky, and eastern Indiana, while the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers are carried in northern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania, and southwestern New York. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Ohio on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Southwest	Texas northern Louisiana New Mexico Arkansas	Dallas Stars	Stars telecasts are sometimes broadcast on Fox Sports Oklahoma, a sub-feed of Fox Sports Southwest, whenever an Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma Sooners or Oklahoma State Cowboys game telecast is not scheduled. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports Southwest on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports Tennessee	Tennessee northern Alabama	Nashville Predators	The network was later renamed as Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast on March 31, 2021.
Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket	Southern and Central California, southern Nevada, and Hawaii	Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks	The network was later renamed as Bally Sports West on March 31, 2021.
Sun Sports	Florida	Tampa Bay Lightning	The network changed its name to Fox Sports Sun on October 4, 2015 and eventually Bally Sports Sun on March 31, 2021.
SportSouth	Georgia Alabama Mississippi Tennessee South Carolina North Carolina	Nashville Predators	SportSouth and Fox Sports South previously held the regional television rights to Atlanta Thrashers games until the team's relocation to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2011, when it became the Winnipeg Jets. The network was later renamed as Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast on March 31, 2021.

Former regional rightsholders

Network	Region served	NHL team rights	Notes
FSN Bay Area	Northern and central California, northwestern Nevada and parts of southern Oregon.	San Jose Sharks	Cablevision sold its 60% interest in FSN Bay Area in April 2007 to Comcast, which relaunched the network as NBC Sports California on March 31, 2008 (the channel continued to carry select FSN programming until August 2012); Fox Sports retains a 25% ownership stake in the network.
FSN Chicago	Northern Illinois, northern Indiana, and eastern Iowa	Chicago Blackhawks	FSN Chicago lost the regional cable rights to the Blackhawks to NBC Sports Chicago; FSN Chicago ceased operations on June 23, 2006.
FSN New York	New York, northern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, southern Connecticut.	New Jersey Devils New York Islanders	Now co-owned with MSG Network, which also broadcasts NHL games from the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers.

External links

• Official website
• NHL on Fox at IMDb
• TV Theme - FOX, Hockey Theme.wav
• Puck The Media - Great Moments from The NHL on FOX
• Videos of the Week - NHL on Fox
• The Suitor Tutor, Part 3: All The Rest
• Sports Media Watch: How Disney outfoxed the NHL.
• Glow Pucks, Fox Trax and Robots. The American Hockey Fan's Fascination with NHL on FOX Part 1