Hockey Night in Canada may be about to enter a completely new era

Hockey Night in Canada could soon look nothing like it used to, and the PWHL keeps coming up as the reason why.

Ever since Sportsnet and the CBC confirmed their 12 year NHL broadcast partnership had officially ended, the public broadcaster has been left holding a trademark with no obvious home.

CBC kept the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada name when the sub licensing deal with Rogers wrapped up, but with no NHL games returning to CBC this fall, the Saturday night block sits wide open.

That gap is exactly what has fans and analysts speculating again this week.

A widely shared post pointed to the PWHL as the most logical fit for the brand, arguing that while rights announcements usually get saved for a formal press release, reviving a beloved Canadian institution like Hockey Night in Canada for the PWHL would justify special treatment.

The PWHL already has real Canadian broadcast history to build on.

TSN, Sportsnet, CBC and Prime Video split national coverage last season, and the league is expanding to twelve teams with four new markets joining this year.

CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson has said the network takes its stewardship of the Hockey Night in Canada trademark seriously and is exploring what a refreshed version could look like.

Nothing is official yet. The PWHL typically releases its schedule and broadcast plans in the fall, so a formal announcement could land in the coming weeks.

If CBC does attach its most famous hockey brand to the womens league, it would mark one of the biggest media moments in PWHL history and a genuine changing of the guard for Saturday nights in Canada.

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