NHL offering expanded lineup of animated shows, simulcasts

The NHL, the leader in producing animated versions of its players and events, will be busy doing just that in the coming weeks.

The league announced Wednesday it will help produce several animated shows and simulcasts for the rest of the 2024-25 regular season. The first show, “Best Snow Day Ever,” had been previously announced. It will air March 11 on NESN+ and the NESN 360 app, as a simulcast of the Boston Bruins-Florida Panthers game on NESN.

Marchand’s face at the end says it all 😭

Tune in to the “Best Snow Day Ever,” a collaboration between the @NHL, @NHLBruins and @NESN on March 11 at 7 ET! pic.twitter.com/CZ4hpgkpPp

— NESN (@NESN) March 5, 2025

Other upcoming animated shows include:

• “NHL Showcase presented by Dr Simi+” (March 16), airing on Max and Sky Mexico. It will feature real-time animated data visualization of the Colorado Avalanche-Dallas Stars game broadcast on TNT and truTV.
• “Hockey Paradise” (March 29), featuring a collaboration between the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning. It will air on the Lightning app and website and accompany the Lightning-New York Islanders game airing on FanDuel Sports Network. It’s also Kids Day at Amalie Arena.
• “Music City Hockey in Smashville” (April 1), will air on WTVF 5 and accompany the Nashville Predators-Columbus Blue Jackets broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.
• “Harvey’s Mountain Classic” (April 13), will air on Sportsnet 360/Sportsnet+, along with the national Sportsnet broadcast of the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks.

Also, the Sharks and NHL are collaborating to produce animated content that will be shared on Sharks’ digital and social platforms in March and April.

All content will be available after the original air date on-demand on @NHL on YouTube and NHL.com.

The NHL has enjoyed great success and buzz with previous animated efforts, notably the Big City Greens Classic.

The Disney broadcast of the ‘NHL Big City Greens Classic’ in action. 🏒📺 https://t.co/NgiCKaE9Jo

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2023

The NHL also recently launched NHL Hockeyverse in February, a 30-minute animated show recapping a recent NHL game.

“The NHL continues to pioneer the use of data visualizations and animated programming,” David Lehanski, NHL Executive Vice President, Business Development & Innovation, said in a statement. “Building on the League’s past animated program successes, we are thrilled to announce another slate of groundbreaking animated data visualizations.”

Why does the league produce these animated shows and simulcasts? Because kids love them. And those kids grow up to buy season tickets, merchandise and drive TV ratings.

While the NHL has been a leader in this field, it’s not alone in embracing the trend. The NFL garnered plenty of buzz for its The Simpsons-themed altcast during a Monday Night Football game last season. That game certainly went better than a 2023 ESPN Toy Story altcast of an NFL game that experienced some technical issues.