Got Nothing Better to Do on Canada Day?

TSN and Sportsnet both have Free Agent Frenzy. Again, I don’t know why so many people watch this, but they do. Continue after the break for the  TSN and Sportsnet press releases.

Sportsnet:

It’s one of the most exciting off-ice events on the NHL calendar and hockey fans from coast-to-coast will be glued to Sportsnet’s HOCKEY CENTRAL Free Agency coverage as the multiplatform sports media brand and its best-in-class hockey experts cover the start of NHL Free Agency from all angles – across television, radio, digital, mobile and print – on Sunday, July 1.

TV – Sportsnet
Nick Kypreos, Doug MacLean, John Shannon Scott Morrison and Brad May, alongside hosts Daren Millard and Jeff Marek, headline HOCKEY CENTRAL Free Agency, starting on Sunday, July 1 at 12 noon ET/9 a.m. PT – the official opening time of the NHL free agent market – on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific. Throughout the two-and-half hour special, the panel will update viewers with the most up-to-date information including live breaking news and instant analysis of each transaction. Sportsnet’s HOCKEY CENTRAL Free Agency coverage will also focus extensively on the seven Canadian NHL teams and feature reaction of players and GMs from around the league.

Sportsnet has all the bases covered for hockey fans who also want to catch the Blue Jays game on Sunday afternoon, as HOCKEY CENTRAL will provide updates regarding breaking signings and transactions during the live broadcast of the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays game at 3 p.m. ET/ 12 noon PT on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific.

Coverage of HOCKEY CENTRAL Free Agency continues at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT with a one-hour wrap-up of the day’s signings plus in-depth analysis on the remaining marquee free agents in play. The panel will stand-by to report any late-evening activity during the early and primetime editions of Connected at 7 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET.

Digital and Mobile – sportsnet.ca and Sportsnet Mobile
Coverage of NHL free agency on sportsnet.ca includes:
Live streaming of HOCKEY CENTRAL Free Agency at 12 noon ET and 6 p.m. ET, including live web updates from the HOCKEY CENTRAL panel between 3 – 6 p.m. ET
NHL Signing Tracker: fans will be provided with an updated list of every free agent signing as it breaks, complete with player contract details and statistics, and will also be able to rate each signing through an interactive poll
Columns and features including a team-by-team breakdown for all pending restricted and unrestricted free agents, a profile of the top-12 free agents and a deeper look at the needs of the Canadian teams. Mark Spector will host a live chat with fans on Friday, June 29 at 1 p.m. ET ahead of the opening bell for NHL free agency
NHL on Twitter: fans will be kept on top of all hockey-related Twitter topics throughout the day with a heatmap of tweets about NHL teams, free agents and GMs
Sportsnet Mobile provides fans up-to-the-minute news on the latest transactions from NHL free agency with the HOCKEY CENTRAL app on iPad and Playbook

Radio – Sportsnet 590 THE FAN and Sportsnet 960 THE FAN
Sportsnet 590 The FAN and Sportsnet 960 The FAN will be at the pulse of all the breaking news and updates on NHL free agency on Sunday, July 1. Sportsnet 960 The FAN sets the table with full day coverage on July 1 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. MT with hosts Andrew Walker and Dean “Boomer” Molberg, followed by Pat Steinberg and Bryn Griffiths from 1– 4 p.m. MT. Coverage includes guests from around the NHL with special attention on the Calgary Flames.

And TSN.

It’s long been a perfect complement to Canada Day, and once again it can be found on Canada’s Sports Leader, as TSN, TSN2, TSN.ca and TSN Mobile TV keep tabs on all of the NHL’s free agents with the sixth annual, multi-platform event: FREE AGENT FRENZY. Coverage begins on Sunday, July 1 at 12 noon ET on TSN when the free agent market officially opens for business, and then continues at 2 p.m. ET on TSN2.

For fans hanging out on the dock or kicking back with family, FREE AGENT FRENZY is also available live in its entirety on TSN Mobile TV and TSN.ca in Canada, and on NHL Network in the U.S.

FREE AGENT FRENZY made its debut on TSN in 2006 and has become a Canada Day tradition for hockey fans across the country. This year, the FREE AGENT FRENZY broadcast is part of a jam-packed Canada Day of marquee live sporting events on TSN and TSN2, including the UEFA EURO 2012 Final (see below for broadcast schedule).

Host James Duthie leads TSN’s FREE AGENT FRENZY team of hockey analysts, Insiders, reporters and correspondents – providing breaking news and instant analysis of the day’s events, along with live interviews with players, coaches and GMs. TSN’s correspondents are with each Canadian team to file live reports throughout the day.

The FREE AGENT FRENZY broadcast team is as follows:
· Host: James Duthie
· Free Agent Signing Breakers: Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Gord Miller
· Instant Analysis Panel: Duthie with Ray Ferraro, Marc Crawford and Pierre McGuire
· Post-2-Post: Jamie McLennan
· TSN The Reporters Panel: Dave Hodge with TSN’s Dave Naylor, Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber and Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons
· TSN Correspondents: Farhan Lalji, Ryan Rishaug, Jermain Franklin, Sara Orlesky, Mark Masters, Katherine Dolan, Brent Wallace, and John Lu

Social media is front and centre throughout the broadcast, as fans can keep up with their favourite free agents by following TSN’s hockey experts on Twitter. Fans can also join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #TSN – with tweets from fans and NHL players featured during FREE AGENT FRENZY.

Immediately following the UEFA EURO 2012 Final match on TSN, host Kate Beirness recaps the first day of free agency with reaction from around the NHL on SPORTSCENTRE at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Later, Duthie returns at 7 p.m. ET on TSN2 with the FREE AGENT FRENZY broadcast team to wrap up the day that was in the NHL.

TSN.ca
Canada’s industry-leading sports website has comprehensive coverage of one of the league’s pivotal days. Complementing TSN.ca’s live streaming of FREE AGENT FRENZY is a live blog – giving fans the ability to chat while watching the broadcast. TSN.ca also has a complete list of restricted and unrestricted free agents by team and a free agent tracker that shows all the relevant UFAs. Fans can sort the tracker by position, new team, old team and contract value.