NHL on NBC parts ways with Milbury, hires Babcock in studio role
Mike Milbury will not be back as an analyst for NBC Sports this season.
The network released its broadcasting roster for the upcoming campaign Monday, and the longtime commentator's name is not on the list.
Mike Babcock will make his debut as a studio analyst for the network this season while Kenny Albert moves into the top play-by-play role, succeeding retired legend Mike "Doc" Emrick.
Milbury stepped away from NBC for the rest of the playoffs in late August after drawing widespread criticism for an on-air remark he made insinuating women would be a distraction for players in the bubble.
"We are grateful to Mike for all of his contributions to our coverage for 14 years, but he will not be returning to our NHL announce team," an NBC spokesperson said Monday, according to The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno. "We wish him well."
Here are NBC's in-game broadcasters for 2020-21:
| Play-by-play | Analysts |
|---|---|
| Kenny Albert | Eddie Olczyk |
| Jon Forslund | Brian Boucher |
| Brendan Burke | Pierre McGuire |
| Mike Tirico | AJ Mleczko |
| Gord Miller | Kendall Coyne Schofield |
| John Walton | Keith Jones |
| Randy Hahn | Anson Carter |
Note: These are not paired commentary teams
Here are the network's studio voices for the upcoming season:
| Hosts | Analysts | Insiders |
|---|---|---|
| Kathryn Tappen | Keith Jones | Bob McKenzie |
| Liam McHugh | Anson Carter | Darren Dreger |
| Patrick Sharp | ||
| Mike Babcock | ||
| Ryan Callahan | ||
| Dominic Moore |
NBC will air about 100 games on its primary channel as well as NBCSN.
The Toronto Maple Leafs fired Babcock from his head coaching role in November 2019. Mitch Marner later confirmed the longtime NHL bench boss publicly shamed the forward during his rookie season. Johan Franzen called Babcock "the worst person I have ever met" after Chris Chelios accused the former Detroit Red Wings head coach of verbally abusing Franzen, causing the Swede to have a nervous breakdown.
The NHL season begins Wednesday.