Back in March, the NHL announced that they had reached an agreement to bring their league back to ESPN starting next season in 2021-22. ESPN will pay $420 million annually for the seven year package to get rights to all sorts of NHL events and games, spread across traditional television and the ever-expanding streaming platforms.
This sent a shock wave across the sport and has left the future of hockey on NBC up in the air. The NHL is also looking to negotiate a “B” package of TV rights, and won’t be exclusive on ESPN the way they have been exclusive to NBC in the past.