On May 10, 2021, Andrew Marchand of the "New York Post" reported that Ray Ferraro and Brian Boucher had signed with ESPN to become ESPN's top hockey analysts. On May 17, Marchand announced that ESPN hired Leah Hextall to be a regular play-by-play announcer on NHL broadcasts, making her the first woman in league history to hold that role, having worked the 2016 World Cup of Hockey for ESPN.