NHL on CTV NHL on CTV is the name of a former television program that broadcast National Hockey League games on the CTV Television Network . Regular season coverage . For the and seasons , CTV aired regular season games on Friday nights ( and some Sunday afternoons ) as well as partial coverage of the playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals . CTV / Carling O ' Keefe initially signed a contract well into the 1984 - 85 season . As a result , they wanted to cram as many games as possible ( beginning in February ) in the brief window they had . 1985 - 86 ' s coverage didn ' t begin until November , so to avoid conflicts with CTV ' s coverage of the Major League Baseball postseason . While Molson continued to present " Hockey Night in Canada " on Saturday nights on CBC , rival brewery Carling O ' Keefe began airing " Friday Night Hockey " on CTV . This marked the first time in more than a decade that CBC was not the lone over - the - air network broadcaster of the National Hockey League in Canada . The deal with CTV was arranged by the Quebec Nordiques ( who were owned by Carling O ' Keefe ) and the 14 U . S . - based NHL clubs , who sought to break Molson ' s monopoly on NHL broadcasting in Canada . All of CTV ' s regular season telecasts originated from Quebec City or the United States , as Molson shut them out of the other six Canadian buildings ( as Carling did to them in Quebec City ) . Following the 1985 - 86 season , CTV decided to pull the plug on the venture . Their limited access to Canadian - based teams ( other than Quebec , whose English - speaking fan base was quite small ) translated into poor ratings . For the next two years , Carling O ' Keefe retained their rights , and syndicated playoff telecasts on a chain of channels that would one day become the Global Television Network under the names " Stanley Cup ' 87 " and " Stanley Cup ' 88 " , before a merger between the two breweries put an end to the competition . All - Star Game coverage . The Canadian coverage of the All - Star Game was to be provided by CTV . However , CTV had a prior commitment to carry a U . S . ns ( TV miniseries ) | mini - series ] ] . As a result , TSN took over coverage of the game in Hartford . Playoff coverage . In , Danny Gallivan and Ron Reusch called the Philadelphia - Quebec Wales Conference Final series . They also televised Games 3 , 4 , and 6 of the Montreal - Quebec Adams Division Final and games 2 and 5 of the Philadelphia - New York Islanders Patrick Division Final . In , Dan Kelly and Reusch called the Calgary - St . Louis Campbell Conference Final series . CTV ' s coverage was blacked out in Calgary , where CBC provided coverage . For the Calgary Flames - Winnipeg Jets first - round series in , CBC , who initially had the rights to the series , ultimately passed as they were already maxed out with three other series ( Montreal - Boston , Chicago - Toronto , and Edmonton - Vancouver ) . The rights to the Calgary - Winnipeg series were eventually sold to the CTV affiliates in Calgary ( CFCN ) and Winnipeg ( CKY ) as well as Carling O ' Keefe . On the call were Ed Whalen of the Flames and Curt Keilback of the Jets . CBC and Molson Brewery used a loophole in that games involving Canadian based teams ( excluding the Quebec Nordiques ) in the playoffs could be televised locally by CBC . Stanley Cup Finals coverage . In , " Hockey Night in Canada " moved all playoff coverage from CBC to CTV to avoid conflict with the lengthy National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians strike against the CBC . Eventually , MacLaren Advertising , in conjunction with Molson Breweries and Imperial Oil / Esso ) , who actually owned the rights to " Hockey Night in Canada " ( not CBC ) decided to give the playoff telecast rights to CTV . Initially , it was on a game by game basis in the quarterfinals , and then the full semifinals and Stanley Cup Finals . Because CTV did not have 100 % penetration in Canada at this time , they asked CBC ( who ultimately refused ) to allow whatever one of their affiliates were the sole network in that market to show the playoffs . As a result , the 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs were not seen in some of the smaller Canadian markets unless said markets were close enough to the United States border to pick up the signal of a CBS affiliate . In , CBC televised Games 1 and 2 nationally while Games 3 - 5 were televised in Edmonton only . CTV televised Games 3 , 4 , and 5 nationally while games were blacked out in Edmonton . In , CBC only televised Games 1 and 2 in Montreal and Calgary . CBC would go on to televise Games 3 - 5 nationally . When CTV televised Games 1 and 2 , both games were blacked out in Montreal and Calgary . New Year ' s Eve broadcast . On New Year ' s Eve 1985 , CTV broadcast an exhibition game between Montreal Canadiens and CSKA Moscow in Montreal . Although CTV aired the game ( as a " Special Presentation of CTV Sports " ) , it was not considered an official part of " NHL on CTV " package . That was because the broadcast was presented by Molson instead of Carling O ' Keeke . However , the regular " NHL on CTV " on - air talent were still utilized . " Hockey Night in Canada " rumours . The possible movement of " Hockey Night in Canada " to another broadcaster caused some controversy and discussion during the 2006 – 2007 hockey season . CTV had outbid the CBC for Canadian television rights to the 2010 and 2012 Summer Olympics as well as the major television package for curling . The broadcast requirements would have focused on CTV - owned TSN ( The Sports Network ) , a cable channel which already carries Canadian NHL hockey during the week as well as other NHL games throughout the season . CTV did , however , buy out the previous theme to CBC ' s " Hockey Night in Canada " for use in TSN ' s broadcasts immediately after the 2007 – 08 NHL season .