Sharks Hard To Find on 2023-24 National TV Schedule

How the mighty continue to fall.

ESPN and TNT released their national TV and streaming schedules for the 2023-24 NHL season today, and the San Jose Sharks aren’t easily found.

Of course, the Sharks are four years and running out of the playoffs, and the rebuilding organization also traded their top forward, Timo Meier, and top defenseman, Erik Karlsson, in recent months.

The San Jose Sharks will appear exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu five times this season. At the moment, they’re not scheduled to appear on ESPN, ABC, or TNT:

Nov. 9 San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers
Nov. 14 San Jose Sharks vs. Florida Panthers
Dec. 19 San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings
Dec. 21 San Jose Sharks vs. Arizona Coyotes
Apr. 4 San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings

It appears that the Sharks’ local broadcast partner, NBC Sports Bay Area, will have Karlsson’s return to San Jose on Nov. 4 and Meier’s return on Feb. 27 to themselves.

The Sharks, and their five national TV/streaming games, are among just four North American NHL teams with single-digit appearances exclusively on the ESPN networks and TNT this coming campaign. The Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets, three apiece, and the Arizona Coyotes, with just one, round out a group that the NHL’s North American national TV partners are essentially deeming as irrelevant this season.

US National TV Games for 2023/24 season, by team

• 62 exclusive games on TNT

• 100 games exclusive across multiple ESPN Networks:
– 16 on ABC
– 34 on ESPN
– 72 on ESPN+
– 50 on Hulu

📺 ESPN: https://t.co/limmlyXRnj
📺 TNT: https://t.co/5aILFPKSLc pic.twitter.com/uCh75QyI7l

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) August 30, 2023

It will be up to the San Jose Sharks to turn ESPN and TNT’s plans upside down. National TV schedules, to a small degree, can change in season.

Last year, the Sharks were scheduled to appear on national TV or streaming 10 times. In 2021-22, they were scheduled eight times.