As they piece together their NHL rosters, ESPN and Turner are reportedly pursuing the league’s biggest name of all.
Incoming NHL rights partner ESPN and Turner Sports are both pursuing Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for an on-air role, Front Office Sports reported Friday. News of ESPN’s interest in Gretzky was first reported by The Athletic on Thursday. It is unclear whether Gretzky, widely considered the greatest hockey player of all-time, is interested.
Gretzky has previously hosted episodes of the ESPN+ series “Detail” but has never held a regular broadcasting role.
The networks’ pursuit of Gretzky comes as they begin to set their rosters for next NHL season, the first under their new seven-year media rights deals with the league.
According to multiple reports Thursday, lead NBC NHL analyst Eddie Olczyk has reached a five-year deal with Turner to serve as its lead NHL analyst. Olczyk, NBC’s lead analyst since the 2006-07 season, will work alongside his current colleague Kenny Albert on Turner’s coverage. Per NHL reporter Craig Morgan, who was first to report the news, Olczyk will be free to continue in his role on NBC’s Triple Crown horse racing coverage.
Other names being bandied about include former ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro — a contender for ESPN’s lead analyst position, per The Athletic — and NHL Network’s Kevin Weekes. Former ESPN and NBC lead analyst John Davidson was fired from his position with the New York Rangers this week, but it is unclear whether he wants to return to television.
[News from Front Office Sports 5.7, The Athletic 5.6 a, b, Craig Morgan/Twitter 5.6]
