Today, ESPN NHL commentators Steve Levy, Ray Ferraro and Emily Kaplan were joined by media for a preview discussion on the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season and ESPN’s Opening Night tripleheader, which begins Tuesday, October 7 on ESPN.
A TRANSCRIPT OF THE CONVERSATION IS BELOW:
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us. Today we have Steve Levy, Ray Ferraro and Emily Kaplan here to preview NHL’s opening night on October 7.
I’ll get us started. With the upcoming NHL season kicking off next Tuesday in a marquee triple header on ESPN, what story lines or players are you most excited to watch unfold, and how do you think this season could redefine the league’s power balance?
STEVE LEVY: Good afternoon. It’s just past noontime here in the East, everybody on board. Thanks for taking time out of your schedule as well. Everybody’s busy, and we’re happy you’re here as well and excited to get started with the NHL.
I think the biggest story really is how does the NHL outdo what we saw last season? I can’t tell you what a great time I had personally last season. The enjoyment was off the charts, and it’s really hard to imagine this upcoming season being better than the season we had a year ago.
4 Nations, the Ovechkin chase, the trade deadline was even unprecedented too with big-time player movement and finally getting some new blood in there in the playoffs, Montreal and Ottawa in the playoffs.
The downside was not having the Rangers and not having Boston. Who else will take the step up this year? That’s the biggest question mark from me.
Again, we’re all prisoners of the moment. I get that. As you get older, your memory isn’t great. So, what’s in the recent past seems to jump out more, but I can’t remember a better – really even – regular season than the season we enjoyed last year.
In addition to that, we’ve got the big Kaprizov contract announcement today. The NHL has done a really good job of becoming more interesting out of season even with the coaching changes that are interesting, player contracts, the potential for player movement. Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, those kinds of story lines.
That’s where I sit. Just looking forward to it. The season will in some way, we’ll find a way to top what we experienced last season, but last season – just epic – and I’m personally still on a high from what we saw last year.
RAY FERRARO: I’ll jump in. Welcome, everybody. As Levs outlined, the season last year was just so awesome. We had a lot of Ovi’s games, which were pretty incredible events to be around. Just the way Spencer Carbery and the Capitals kind of gathered around Ovi, and they helped him to the record. It was really cool to watch.
For me looking forward, Sasha Barkov’s injury changes really everything in Florida. I would have thought they were going to be — I would have had them as almost my prohibitive favorite again, as crazy as that is, to try and win three times in a row, and I just can’t do that without Barkov at least part of the picture now, whatever it’s going to be coming back is a different story, I guess.
The margins of the league are so small now, I see such unpredictability and volatility in it, that that’s really what excites me. There’s going to be a team this year we’re not thinking about that is going to do well. Is this a year that — we asked this the last few years – can Detroit finally pop their way back in? Columbus was right on the cusp last year. Could they get in? What does Kaprizov’s contract do for the guys out there, McDavid, Levs mentioned, but Eichel as well, Kyle Connor in Winnipeg. These are big, big deals that are sitting there.
Of course, looming over all of it, the greatest player of this generation is Sidney Crosby, and where is he going to end up come March? Is it in Pittsburgh? Is it somewhere else? That’s something that Emily will be tagged into all winter, I’m sure.
EMILY KAPLAN: Great transition. Echoing Levs and welcoming you guys all, and appreciate you guys having interest in us and as much as we’re interested in this sport.
With due respect to Ray Ferraro’s 408 career goals — don’t worry, Ray, we’ll never forget those – there’s never been a more exciting time to watch the NHL. I feel like I said this the last several seasons, and each season elevates more.
The game is faster than ever. The guys are more skilled than ever. And the one thing that has remained consistent is the intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the emotion, the passion, the physicality, and the sacrifice the guys play through to get that Stanley Cup.
Because of that, the sport is in such a great place. The guys were alluding to it, though, what’s different this season is we’re truly entering this player empowerment era. Part of it is due to shifting attitudes culturally.
Part of it is just the fact that the salary cap is seeing a significant increase. It’s overdue past several years. It was stagnant due to COVID. Because of that, we have guys that are saying I know what I’m worth and I know where I want to go, and I’m not afraid to stand my ground. I think that aligns with a lot of the other sports.
We saw Kaprizov, he turned down the biggest contract in NHL history because he was like, no, I’m worth more than that, and he got it. We saw Connor McDavid in previous years, of course the marquee player in the league is going to resign a long-term deal with the team that drafted him. At this point, if he does resign in Edmonton, I’m expecting it to be a shorter-term deal to give himself some flexibility.
Ray mentioned Sidney Crosby, so many questions there. Quinn Hughes, what does his future hold? I think that drama and that intrigue aligns with the type of juice we see in other sports. I’m interested to look into it. I think it’s going to elevate hockey here in the United States and pull in more casual fans.
Q. I cover the Buffalo Sabres for the Buffalo News, and I’m trying to get some perspective, from an analyst’s perspective, from a former player perspective, what is the identity of the Buffalo Sabres going into the season from a watcher’s point of view?
RAY FERRARO: I’ll take it first. The identity is you don’t really know how you know what it could be. I think the biggest problem the Sabres have had over the last bit is they’re kind of swirling around. You try to fix one problem, and another one springs up. Then you make yourself stronger in one area, and then you become weaker in another.
Last year they were 29th, I believe, in goals against. The identity is they’ve got to cut 50 goals off their goals against if they’re going to have any kind of chance. That means their goaltending needs to be better, their defense needs to be better, but in no world do I see the Sabres as a lockdown team at this time, a team that could be really good defensively.
So, in my mind, the Sabres have to score. Certainly, they lost Thompson last year. When he’s out there, they’re just — how do you replace that? They had 79 points. Like how — if you’re thinking about a playoff spot, you’ve got to come up with another 15 or 16 points. That’s a lot to do when you’re trying to carve your goals against way down.
I think the 14 years out of the playoffs becomes this unbearable weight you carry around. You can’t fix 14 years. The Sabres need to look immediately at where they’re at and say what do we need to fix first? For me, it’s they have to be an offensive leaning team because they can score, but their focus has to be — they’ve got to cut some goals against or the story’s going to remain the same.
STEVE LEVY: I would just add that — not from an analyst’s perspective because I don’t have that perspective at all, but I am a sympathetic ear to western New York. I’ve always appreciated that area. I’ve got lots of buddies there. I’m not going to speak for anyone else, but I love going to Buffalo. I have an early season game, Maple Leafs, which is always fun when Toronto drives across and goes to Buffalo. That’s great. I know the building will be full that night.
Just that fan base and that sports market, what they deserve — unfortunately, we were talking about it before we joined with you wonderful folks, but the Sabres have — they’re the Jets of the NFL. It’s that same thing. Ray nails it. It’s the same old Jets. It’s kind of the same old Sabres. What can you do in one off-season to do away with 14 consecutive years of not making the playoffs? It’s impossible, and it doesn’t seem to matter who comes in, who they draft, who the coach is, all those kinds of things.
I always just hope for the best for all of Buffalo. It’s an unbelievable fan base. I know the local television ratings are usually great, especially considering the lack of success. I’m always let’s go Buffalo, and I’ll close with “No goal,” for those of you that get that.
EMILY KAPLAN: Too young, Steve. I’m too young. I’ll provide the quick reporter’s perspective.
When I speak to other teams around the league, they really envy the job that Buffalo has done drafting, that they have one of the youngest, most skilled prospect pools in the entire NHL. That should excite Buffalo fans, but to the same point, you’ve seen the same result the last several years and there’s a bit of impatience.
In terms of identity, it’s a shifting identity. I know when I’ve spoken to Kevyn Adams, specifically at the end of last season, over the off-season, something that’s very important to him is to be a team that’s much harder to play against. And that’s not just fighting. It’s not just standing up for teammates. It’s being more competitive, winning puck battles, and being tougher overall. A lot of that, to Ray’s point, is in front of the net, defending better and making life easier for their goaltenders.
I think all the players are in place to be an excellent team. I think it’s all about structure. If you’re Buffalo, you should feel really good about the fact you have more than one singular star right now. Rasmus Dahlin was on my Norris ballot last year. Tage Thompson, just one note on him. Everyone I talk to would be shocked at this point if he’s left off the USA American Olympic roster.
Q. This is for all three of you. Why do you think the Blackhawks are picked to play in these type of games — they’re opening the season with the Panthers — so often, despite their place in the standings the last five, six, seven years?
RAY FERRARO: People are always interested in the Blackhawks. They’re a huge market. They’re a team outside of Chicago that people care about. They’re interesting, the Blackhawks. That would be my perspective. Clearly, they’re at the bounce part of a rebuild where they’ve pretty well bottomed out and now it’s just adding young player over young player and hoping they mature, or waiting for them to mature, however it plays itself out.
I think there’s a real interest. They’re one of the teams in the league that, good or bad, people are interested outside of their market in watching it. I’m not quite the marketer of — or the understanding of the TV decisions that get made that maybe Levs would be in particular, but to me it’s that. It’s the interest outside of Chicago that drives their appearances in marquee games.
STEVE LEVY: It’s the logo. You feel like, hey, it should be more. It should be who’s wearing the logo. Obviously with Bedard, there’s a lot of attraction there, and see him take the next giant step. It was great to see the United Center much more full last season than in previous seasons. There’s much more juice there.
Unfortunately, it’s the sweater. It is. It’s the logo. It’s the Original Six. It’s 100 years. A lot of teams are celebrating this upcoming campaign. I think the Blackhawks are one of those teams that the league is better when Chicago is good.
RAY FERRARO: Yes.
STEVE LEVY: We need to get back to that. I’m not sure they’re ready to make the same step. It seems like there’s more upward mobility in the East than the West. It seems like the playoff teams in the West are very sort of static, and that’s because maybe they are so good or so top heavy. In the East there seems more fluctuation, if you will, from the bottom team squeezing out a team that is just a step away.
So, I don’t know why that is. I can’t really explain it. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks are caught in the wrong spot, in the wrong conference for that part. They just can’t gain any traction. Maybe they take another step closer this year, but really the reason they get these national games, the Chicago Blackhawks, they’re a national team. People don’t even have to know who’s on the team to see the logo you recognize. It’s a major city.
The Cubs got away with that forever, right? They were terrible for a long time, but they’re still the cute, cuddly Cubs and Harry Caray and Wrigley Field and all those kinds of things. There’s something special about Chicago for sure, as Emily knows.
EMILY KAPLAN: That’s where I chose to live as an adult, so obviously biased here. It’s an Original Six team. Original Six teams have built that national brand, that history, that equity that fans care about, even when they have their ebbs and flows.
You’ll see us program a lot of Original Six teams based in the United States. When you see our schedule, you’ll see the Detroit Red Wings, who in the longest playoff drought in their history featured prominently because they are that brand in the same way the Chicago Blackhawks are.
Again, even though they’re not having the success that we’ve seen specifically during their most recent dynasty, it’s interesting to watch them at their lowest point try to climb back up. I know in so many conversations I’ve had with their president, Jaime Faulkner, and their general manager, Kyle Davidson, they have full commitment from ownership to do the right way so that, when they do build this, it’s sustainable again.
What we’re doing at ESPN in featuring them in these premier matchups is documenting that rise and seeing, okay, can they be successful? Or if they’re not, why?
Q. Penguins and Rangers, they each have their own story. My question is about the metro, though. It seems like that the top three is clearly defined in some order, Capitals and Devils and Hurricanes. What do you make of the rest of the division? Who could potentially step up in that division? It seems like maybe a couple teams could try to unseat those three.
RAY FERRARO: It is interesting when you look at the way that some teams are able to work their way up from a position where what exactly do you have? Do you think you could challenge? Do you think you can break through?
You’re right, the top of the division seems like it’s stacked. I look at — like, for example, Washington. Last year they had a million guys have career highs. They all hit high numbers. Is that going to happen again, or is that about where they’re at? Is Ovi really going to score 40 goals again this year? I don’t know. I didn’t think he could do it last year.
To me there’s going to be points available — I don’t think Washington’s going to get 110 points again, I guess is what I’m saying. I look at the Islanders, and I think they’re primed for a little bit of a jump here. Just watching the youngster Schaefer in his preseason game, like super excited to watch him play. Man, can that kid skate. It just looks like he’s glued to the ice, like there’s — there’s something smooth about that kid that like he stands out. Barzal is healthy again.
It seems to be like a newer time. They made the big trade with Montreal, and they had a great first day in the Draft. There’s real hope there. Now, is it — a couple of those picks aren’t going to be around this year, but I don’t know, I just feel like the Islanders might be a team that pushes with Columbus.
The Rangers to me are a complete wild card. I have really no idea what to expect from them. They’ve got the — they’re clearly in transition a bit. They trade Kreider, but they brought in Miller last year. Is Zibanejad going to be a center, a winger? There are all these transitional things about the Rangers that, I don’t know, they’re not going to be far off, but are they in those other teams? I don’t know because the top three are pretty good.
Carolina will get close to 100 points again. Devils will be probably pretty good again. Even though I think Washington will come back a bit, I mean, there’s not much room I guess is what I’m saying. You’re going to have to fight your way in there.
EMILY KAPLAN: I was just going to say I’m a bit more bullish on the Rangers than Ray is, and Ray and I have covered so much of Mike Sullivan and Mike Sullivan’s teams over the years, both with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Team USA at 4 Nations, and we know what he’s about. He’s a coach that demands a lot from his players in terms of structure, accountability, and just a commitment to the full 200-foot game.
I think the Rangers are going to buy in in a big way because they were embarrassed by the way that last season unraveled. As long as Igor Shesterkin looks like Igor Shesterkin, I see no reason why they can’t be one of the top teams in the league.
As for the team that can break through, I look at Columbus and the way they finished last season after dealing with the unthinkable tragedy of losing Johnny Gaudreau, but injury after injury, and those players persevered. There’s a really good nucleus there. I think that they bought into Dean Evason’s system. As long as they get goaltending, which was a big issue last year, they’ll be a playoff team.
RAY FERRARO: I think him, you know Donny Waddell quite well. They tried hard to improve and upgrade, and like everybody else, the market is tight. There’s not a lot of guys just floating around. So, I think that’s a big question in Columbus. They had an amazing year last year. It will be interesting to see if their goalies can hold up.
STEVE LEVY: That outdoor game was spectacular in Columbus. The people were so into it. It was one of the better actual outdoor games on the ice itself. It was so cool.
I think there’s real pressure on the Rangers. I think they’re a wild card too. New coach, new captain, which seems to be a very big deal in New York, especially when you sit next to Mark Messier, talk about how heavy that C is on that Rangers sweater. I think there’s a lot of pressure right at the top with Chris Drury too.
There are always a lot of eyeballs on the Rangers and stuff, and they still have the big name talent, maybe top heavy, maybe they get some younger player pushing, and I just can’t wait for my first Matt Rempe update of the season.
Q. I just want to go back to that Kaprizov signing. I want to get your opinion on it, the length and the term. I also want to ask you how do you think that’s going to affect a possible McDavid signing now that that number is out there?
EMILY KAPLAN: I think that this was a no-brainer for the Minnesota Wild. It is a lot of money to commit to a player. Yes, Kaprizov has had injury concerns throughout his career. At the same time, through five seasons, I think he’s singularly the best player that has ever worn a Wild uniform. He is already atop so many single-season franchise records. He changes the complexion of this team. They look different when he’s not there.
You cannot afford to have a player like that in your locker room and lose him to other teams like — I don’t want to mention who because of whatever potential tampering, but there were plenty of other teams that were itching to get their hands on a guy like Kirill Kaprizov. I do know so many unrestricted free agents and their representatives were waiting for the contract specifically to reset the market with a new cap.
So, I do think this will affect the Jack Eichel contract. I’m expecting him to resign in Vegas. Adrian Kempe is obviously not going to earn this much money, but he’s looking at the benchmarks.
As it pertains to Connor McDavid, though, no one really knows what Connor McDavid is thinking besides Connor McDavid, but the last two trips to the Stanley Cup Final only reaffirmed his thirst to win and how badly he wants it. He knows to be on a winning team sometimes you do have to take a little less money, especially when you’ve got Leon Draisaitl making the second most money in the NHL, to get a competitive roster around him.
Sure, this is now setting the new market for this new salary cap, but I don’t think Connor McDavid was waiting for Kirill Kaprizov’s number waiting to sign, he’s waiting for other things. I’m expecting him to take less money than we all think Connor McDavid deserves.
RAY FERRARO: I’m going to jump in a little bit there on the team friendly thing. First off, I think guys are crazy if they’re into the team friendly thing, and here’s why.
If a manager comes to me and asks to take a million and a half less dollars because I’m going to make a better team, is the manager going to come and ask me about the guy he’s signing? Is he going to come and ask me about the guy he’s trading for? He might trade for a lousy winger. There is no guarantee giving back money is at all advantageous. It’s not the player’s job to do the manager’s job. The manager doesn’t come out and help Connor McDavid score goals. It’s on Connor’s head.
So, each of these contracts are so different because, Emily mentioned it earlier, and I don’t quite have your term, but like a player driven sort of scenario –
EMILY KAPLAN: Player empowerment era, sure.
RAY FERRARO: This is exactly what it is, though. In the past the teams dictated because of the rules, and maybe what we all thought as players, where players were going to play. I don’t think that’s the case anymore. I think we’re just tiptoeing into it.
When Kaprizov turns down the highest contract in NHL history, I think that’s a really good example of it. He’s like, hey, I’m worth more.
So, while people say, oh, McDavid should take less, are they saying Kaprizov should have taken less? I don’t think he should. The market is changing so fast. It was — what was it? February, I guess. February, maybe March. Mikko Rantanen signed for $12 million in Dallas. You mean to tell Kirill Kaprizov is worth $5 million a year more valuable than Mikko Rantanen? No chance. But that’s how fast this market has moved, and what a challenge it is for teams to piece it all together.
I think if McDavid wanted to — I wouldn’t know because I don’t have a chance, I don’t talk to Connor or his representatives about — I just don’t talk to him. Other than see him, he’s always real pleasant. But if he wanted to sign, it would be done. If he wanted a two-year deal, do you think there’s a negotiation to this? Like it’s an open piece of paper, I would assume, with just different years on it, and he fills in both columns. If he wanted two years, three years, six years, wouldn’t it be done? That’s my gut sense of where they’re at right now.
STEVE LEVY: And to fast forward to now, now there’s a bull’s eye on Kaprizov’s back. Now the Minnesota Wild become a national team, I think. Now you’ve got the highest-paid player in hockey history. Now all eyes are on Minnesota. Minnesota becomes Chicago, in essence. We should put them on ESPN all the time because they’re going to be the team to watch, and now you have to win. So, the pressure ramps up.
When was the last time the Wild won a playoff round? It’s relatively recent they won one, but it hasn’t been two rounds in forever. I called the Andrew Brunette goal in Patrick Roy’s last game.
RAY FERRARO: Bruno’s a good buddy. That’s why Woll retired. He figured when Brunette decked him, he should just retire.
STEVE LEVY: The point is the Wild have not been good — they’ve been a playoff team, but they’ve had no traction in the playoffs. What was Bill Guerin to do? Are you going to have your name and your fingerprints on the GM with the best player in franchise history leave town? You can’t be that guy. So, it’s leverage. Kaprizov could have asked for anything he wanted, and apparently he did.
Ray’s right. The negotiation with McDavid is not really a negotiation. What is it going to take? Here you go. I think all of a sudden Minnesota, which is Minnesota nice and they’re chill and they’re laid back and they like their team and they’re a friendly team and great market in St. Paul, now it becomes really a pressure cooker to try to win now with this player.
Q. Emily, I wanted to ask you about the evolution of your role with ESPN this year. I know that insiders have to sort of operate in the shadows, but what can you share with us about how your day-to-day changes this season and what you’re up to? And while you’re lurking around in the shadows, what are you hearing about the possibility of a Sidney Crosby trade?
EMILY KAPLAN: Really appreciate the question and the interest. I absolutely love being on games, but I do feel like the role solely being a rinkside reporter could be limited given the structure of our broadcast. So, I’m really excited to be a bigger part of our studio show — breaking news, sharing stories, giving fans tidbits that they wouldn’t know to care about their teams deeper — in a way that I think aligns with the reporting that we see in other sports.
I’m also looking forward to the opportunity of appearing on more of ESPN’s daytime programming, which I think will elevate the NHL in not only the ESPN ecosystem, but here in the United States.
All of that said, I think it is pretty daunting to say that I’m going to be the NHL insider for ESPN. There are some challenges to that for sure. For one, I consider that this is a role that traditionally women have not held. We’re also covering a league that notoriously is so tight lipped with information. But I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I’m looking forward to leaning in and chipping away, and I absolutely will be chipping away at what Sidney Crosby’s future holds.
What I can tell you is I was just in Pittsburgh yesterday actually working on a feature story we’re going to air on opening night, that man has tunnel vision. He is just so focused on what is in front of him. So many people around him for several years have been trying to float the possibility, hey, you’re on a team that’s rebuilding. You’re Sidney Crosby. You’re still operating at such a high level. Don’t you want to go to a situation where you can win again?
From my understanding in years past, he has just shut it down because he’s singularly focused on the Penguins, but we’re going to see how this season goes. I don’t expect anything to happen until the Olympics. I think that is such a big benchmark for these players, something they fought for, for so long. I think his focus is with the Penguins right now, fully with Canada and the Olympics in February, and then we’ll see what the landscape looks after that.
This off-season, more than any off-season in the past, I do believe it is a possibility he could finish his career elsewhere, but I also know he is so committed to Pittsburgh. He loves the idea of finishing his entire career in one sweater, and I would not be surprised if that’s the route he goes.
STEVE LEVY: I’m looking forward to seeing Emily on other day parts also, like First Take with Stephen A. Smith every single morning Monday to Friday. The press release should be out on that. Is that coming out tomorrow?
EMILY KAPLAN: I will bring the good name of Matt Rempe to First Take, Steve. That’s what I can do for you.
Q. Emily, to kind of expand on what you just said about your role, this is obviously a Stanley Cup year for ESPN. How do you hope that hockey coverage continues to evolve on the network heading into The Finals?
EMILY KAPLAN: Absolutely. I think it was just what I said in that we need to be aggressively covering the stories of this league. We’re also going to need participation of people in this league. We’re not used to sharing that type of information and understanding that we have a true opportunity here at ESPN with the reach that we have to so many casual sports fans to get them to care about our sport, which is an incredible sport.
Anyone who watches hockey knows how amazing it is. Just get in the door and you’ll find out. I’m hopeful that we’ll have more of a presence, specifically in a Stanley Cup year, on the daytime programming, on top of all of these big stories. I think that we always do show up in these big moments.
We saw this past season with 4 Nations the interest in our company, especially once we got to that final. USA-Canada in Boston was tremendous. I did more SportsCenter hits in those two days than I had done in the last six to eight months combined.
When we got to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between Edmonton and Florida, when Edmonton nearly completed the most historic comeback that any of us had ever seen, we were all over the place. As long as the stories and the teams and the product dictate it, we’ll be all over it. I do expect an even larger presence at ESPN this season in the Stanley Cup year.
Q. I guess I will start with Emily here. With the Kraken, Jason Botterill comes in there, they missed the playoffs the last two seasons but had that crazy run against the Stars. What are the thoughts there? What do you think they’re thinking with giving Francis a bigger title and bringing in a new coach? What are we thinking the plan is there? What are the expectations?
EMILY KAPLAN: From what I understand, Jason Botterill really is the general manager, and he is calling the shots. Obviously working with Ron Francis, but putting his stamp on this team.
A big thing they did was hiring Lane Lambert, and from what I have heard throughout training camp and their preseason games, Lambert is bringing a pretty tight structure. They are going to be a team with a much more defined identity this season. I think what you saw with Lane in his time with the Islanders could carry over to the Kraken in terms of a very sound defensive team.
I think there have been some challenges in just there were so many expectations because of how great Vegas did in their expansion year, and Seattle just had a much tougher expansion draft because everyone got savvier. When you look at the roster they were left with, there are no bona fide stars. They invested in goalies. They did make some mistakes.
So, they have drafted a lot. They have collected a great pool of prospects. I think the future could be bright there, but they’re still in a bit of a transition figuring out who they are as a team and who they could be consistently. The good news is when you get a new coach, and hopefully Lane Lambert stays there a couple of years, they’ll be able to build that all together and hopefully bring more talent into those doors.
I think that’s the one thing, when you look at their roster and talk to other teams around the league, they just feel that they don’t have the star power that maybe other teams in the West have.
RAY FERRARO: If I can add a little bit. I was at their game the other night, and I ran into both Ron and Jason. Ron seemed pretty comfortable as the president. He doesn’t have to take 8 million phone calls a day anymore. That’s Jason’s job. It was very apparent how quick the Kraken, the young players are, how fast they are.
They’ve got — like a young player like Catton, man, he gets around the ice so fast, but they’re still so young. Emily touched on it that Vegas just smashed it out of the park because nobody knew the rules, and the other GMs made a bunch of mistakes. They didn’t know the rules as intimately as they did a few years later. When Seattle got there, there wasn’t much picking at the cupboards.
So, the Kraken had to — when you come in as an expansion team, you don’t have a farm system. The you don’t have anybody underneath the 25 guys that are on your NHL roster, and they’re now in year 5. So, some of these young guys they have drafted and added and have been waiting for, it’s kind of time for them to start to pop a little bit.
I think there’s a lot of internal enthusiasm in Seattle, and we’ll see where these young guys take them.
Q. Steve, we’re about, I don’t know, maybe four or five years now into the NHL player tracking system that’s really matured over the past couple years. I’m curious how that in real time changes how you call a game or impacts how you call a game, how you communicate with the front bench, and over time has it changed how you understand the game at all?
STEVE LEVY: I think it’s really difficult to use in game for myself. I have the luxury of doing studio and play by play. The game is so fast and so quick. I have that monitor immediately to my right, but it’s hard to look down at anything let alone look to the side. Those are numbers I will use in between periods. It’s much more readily available in the studio while the game’s going on we can look at it and make that a talking point for Mess and P.K., attack zone time, those kinds of things.
The analytics — we’ve got to keep up with the other sports, and hockey is doing a great job with those numbers, I think. Attack zone is really good. Takeaways, blocked shots, hits, even as far as shots on goal, that is so subjective. That’s such a gray area. It really depends on the building and the market you’re in.
That’s been an issue over the years. Some of us will laugh at the hits or the shots on goal or blocks or those kinds of things. I think Ray was smirking as well. You’ve been there. You’ve seen it yourself. But some of the metrics being used, the speed, the skating speed, to me, that is really interesting. Obviously, the velocity of the shots are also really interesting.
Again, you have to keep evolving. There is a thirst, a demand, a need for these kind of numbers. I think especially from younger viewers who are interested in the game. Then it’s up to us to provide those numbers to keep everybody locked in.
RAY FERRARO: Just to add to Levs there, a lot of the stuff is really tough to verbalize in the pace of the play, but our truck does just, I think, a terrific job of dropping stats out of the bug, out of the score bug, and you’ll see like a little tidbit come out, and you just read it. While we’re not saying it, it’s still in the broadcast because it’s really hard to say when, I don’t know, Pittsburgh is cycling the puck around in the zone, and you say, oh, they’ve got the puck here in the zone, and they have 22 — or 12 minutes of attack zone time.
In that statement, even if you say it much more smoothly than I just did, they’ve probably shot the puck. All of us will tell you the most embarrassing thing to do is to be yapping away when the puck goes in the net. It happens enough that you’d think we’d get better at that.
EMILY KAPLAN: To everybody but Ray, it happens to.
RAY FERRARO: Man, it’s the worst. The puck’s in the corner, and you think, okay, I’ve got three seconds to talk here. Then I can see as I’m speaking, uh-oh, that pass is going right to the slot. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to the goalie in my head thank you for that save because otherwise you’re just burned on it.
That’s where the stats come from, I think, the analytics you’re talking about. A lot of them come from the bug, and I think it’s a really terrific way to integrate them into the broadcast.
STEVE LEVY: So, a lot of times, we call it wallpaper sometimes. That’s for the fan at home watching to see. Ray and I would never see that. I never look at the monitor. In hockey there’s no chance I can look at the monitor while the action is going on. So therefore, quite honestly, unless the producer tells me in my ear, hey, we just put this up or we’re showing this graphic, I don’t even know.
That’s really for the audience at home for their enjoyment because I know the second I look down for a note from my yellow legal pad or from something popping out of the score bug, that puck is definitely going in, even from center ice on four hops. Then everybody’s embarrassed and you get burnt that way.
But it’s an extra added benefit. It’s a great thing for the game, and it’s terrific for the broadcast. I think we do a really good job of bringing that home.
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CONTACTS:
ESPN
Danny Chi | danny.c.chi@espn.com | 213-405-4400
Andrea DiCristoforo | andrea.dicristoforo@espn.com | 603-759-7670
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