The Chicago Blackhawks routinely draw big-time ratings when they’re on national television, and the league is taking advantage as over one-quarter of the Hawks’ games will be nationally televised next season.
The NHL released their national TV schedule on Thursday afternoon, and the Blackhawks will appear on the NBC family of networks a combined 21 times next season, including in the 2017 NHL Winter Classic game against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 2.
The Hawks will have 11 games exclusively available on national TV, the maximum amount allowed by the league’s television contract with NBC. 10 more games will be available on NBCSN, but will also be carried by local networks in Chicago.
Here is the full schedule of games (nationally exclusive games marked with an *)
Wed, Oct. 12: vs. St Louis 7:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Fri, Oct. 14: at Nashville 7:00 p.m. NBCSN
Tues, Oct. 18: vs. Philadelphia 7:30 p.m. NBCSN
Local
Wed, Nov. 9: at St. Louis 7:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Wed, Nov. 23: at San Jose 9:00 p.m. NBCSN
Tues, Dec 13: at NY Rangers 6:00 p.m. NBCSN
Mon, Jan. 2: at St. Louis 12:00 p.m. NBC*
Thurs, Jan. 5: vs. Buffalo 7:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sun, Jan. 15: vs. Minnesota 6:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Tues, Jan. 17: at Colorado 8:00 p.m. NBCSN
Wed, Feb. 8: at Minnesota 7:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Sun, Feb. 19: at Buffalo 5:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Tues, Feb. 21: at Minnesota 7:00 p.m. NBCSN
Sun, Feb. 26: vs. St. Louis 6:30 p.m. NBCSN*
Wed, March 1: vs. Pittsburgh 7:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Sun, March 12: vs. Minnesota 6:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Tues, March 14: at Montreal 6:30 p.m. NBCSN
Mon, March 27: at Tampa Bay 6:30 p.m. NBCSN
Wed, March 29: at Pittsburgh 7:00 p.m. NBCSN*
Sun, April 2: vs. Boston 11:30 a.m. NBC*
Tues, April 4: at Colorado 8:00 p.m. NBCSN
Numbers in the 2015-16 season were down a bit for the Blackhawks in the TV ratings game, as they averaged a 3.96 in games on Comcast Sportsnet. Part of the decline can be blamed on the Chicago Cubs’ playoff run, which coincided with the beginning of the Blackhawks’ season. All five of the top-rated games for the Hawks occurred in the 2016 calendar year, according to Danny Ecker of Crain’s Chicago Business.
