The Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Monday, and the NHL on TNT crew is getting excited about the teams in the running and hosting the final.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs kick off on Monday, but the NHL on TNT crew can't help but look ahead a couple of months to hosting its first Stanley Cup Final.
"It would be incredible if Edmonton was in the finals and you have Wayne Gretzky talking about what the next Wayne Gretzky — Connor McDavid — is going through and experiencing and thinking in the moment," said second-year TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette during a media call this week. "I got chills just talking about it."
With the NHL's U.S. TV rights now shared between two networks, ESPN hosted the 2022 final, which saw the Colorado Avalanche take down the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
Last year, the TNT crew of Gretzky, Bissonnette, Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet and Liam McHugh worked through the Western Conference final, taking their show out of the studio in Atlanta and onto the road in Denver and Edmonton.
"It was strange to have the run we had last year," said McHugh, a veteran of multiple Stanley Cup finals during his time with NBC. "Go to the Western Conference final, have all the fun that we had, and then go home and watch the Stanley Cup final. That was very different.
"It was odd, and I can't say that I loved it. So I can't wait to be on the road with this crew when that trophy is there and it's four wins away from being hoisted by some captain who's got this giant smile, missing teeth. It's such an unbelievably epic moment where the whole arena is experiencing those emotions at once."
Carter covered nine finals with NBC before joining the TNT crew.
"Sitting on the couch last year, watching it, I had a serious case of FOMO," he said. "I had a great time with the fellows on set for the Western Conference final, and I didn't want that run to end."
The crew on the desk will look a little different this year. Tocchet, of course, has moved back behind the bench as coach of the Vancouver Canucks. His seat has been filled by a rotating cast of analysts, including Vezina Trophy-winner Henrik Lundqvist, former ironman Keith Yandle and eight-year NHL veteran Colby Armstrong.
Lundqvist, Yandle and Carter also all spent time as players with the New York Rangers. That should add some spice to the marquee first-round series between the Rangers and the New Jersey Devils. The first two games, from Newark, will be carried on TNT's sister station, TBS.
"First, I owe an apology to Jersey fans for saying they weren't going to make it when they were on a 20-game heater," quipped Yandle. "I think I had a brain cramp when I said that; I forgot Tommy Fitz (Tom Fitzgerald) was GM.
"They're a team that's going to come in and try to shock some people. They're not just looking for, 'Hey, we're happy to be here.' They're building something serious there, and I think this is their first step towards that."
In other matchups: Welland, Ont. native Bissonnette likes the Toronto Maple Leafs' chances of finally getting past the first round for the first time since 2004 in their rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning — and potentially going even farther.
"I think they've got a lot going for them and that Tampa maybe looks a little bit fatigued, so that's a huge bonus," he said.
"As far as the way that (the Leafs) made their deadline moves, I like how they adjusted to get a little bit tougher, and then obviously, the addition of O'Reilly adds that depth as well.
"The one concerning thing, obviously, is always going to be goaltending with this team. They're still trying to figure it out and get healthy. But overall, I think they're going to win that first round, and that's just going to propel their confidence, moving forward throughout the playoffs."
Asked to pick a team that could make a run at taking down the mighty Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference, Yandle says he's hoping for a rematch of last year's first-round battle between Boston and the Carolina Hurricanes.
In the wide-open West, he's backing the Dallas Stars, whose 2022 breakout star Jake Oettinger should be fired up to play in his home state against the Minnesota Wild in Round 1.
"I can't wait to watch Oettinger in the playoffs to see if he can do what he did last year," Yandle said while also acknowledging a couple of other contenders from out west. "I think the way Edmonton is playing right now, Colorado is buzzin', but I've said Dallas for a while now, so I'm sticking with Dallas."
Carter likes the Leafs or the Rangers to potentially challenge the Bruins if they can get out of their tough first-round series. In the west, he has his eye on the Avalanche and the Oilers, who are a league-leading 18-2-1 since Mattias Ekholm joined the blueline on March 1.
"I really love the way the Oilers have been playing," said Carter, who spent three seasons in an Edmonton jersey in the early 2000s. "(Evan) Bouchard, the evolution of his play since Ekholm came has been unbelievable. (Darnell) Nurse, now, is playing where he should be playing — maybe not 26, 27 minutes a game, but cut back those minutes a little bit and then play mean, mean hockey.
"Stuart Skinner, I've loved him. McDavid, having Draisaitl there, now they get more pieces up front. I think they're the team that could potentially knock off the Bruins if they meet up in the final."
If it happens, that would be a repeat matchup from 1988, when the Oilers swept the Bruins, and Gretzky won his second Conn Smythe trophy. His league-leading 43 points in 19 games would prove to be his swan song in Edmonton; he was traded to Los Angeles in the shocking blockbuster deal fewer than three months later.
Elsewhere in the west, the Vegas Golden Knights went from their first-ever playoff miss last season to a Western Conference title this year under new coach Bruce Cassidy, despite dealing with another long list of significant injuries.
That means, in his eighth NHL season, Jack Eichel will finally suit up for his first career playoff game.
"I couldn't be happier for Jack — he's gone through so much," said Carter. "He looks like he's healthy again, and there's a chance for him to play on the big stage.
"He's delivered for Vegas so far, even with (Mark) Stone being out. And not just Jack, but also Jonathan Quick being back in the big dance."
The NHL on TBS will host a Game 2 doubleheader this Thursday, with Jets/Golden Knights following Rangers/Devils.
"Our eyes will be glued to that series to see what those guys can do, what they can bring to the table," Carter said.