from A.J. Perez and Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports,

With or without the glowing puck, Fox Sports is interested in broadcasting NHL games again, sources tell Front Office Sports.

Fox Sports joins ESPN and NBC — which is in the final season of an exclusive decade-long, $2 billion deal — as potential bidders for the next U.S. broadcast rights package. Even though NBC announced it was shutting down NBC Sports Network, insiders believe the network will retain a major share of the NHL broadcast package with games on NBC, USA and Peacock.

In that scenario, Fox or ESPN would bid to broadcast a smaller slate of games. Front Office Sports reported in October that ESPN was interested in bidding for the U.S. rights. That potential package would likely run 20-30 regular-season games along with a piece of the playoffs.

“Fox could view this as a strategic play,” former Fox Sports executive Patrick Crakes said. “If they do that, maybe they can let something else go in the future. The NHL fits a specific niche for them.”

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