The Most Underrated Part Of The NHL's New Broadcasting Deal Is The Return Of The "NHL On ABC" Theme Music
Obviously when the NHL and the Walt Disney Company announced their new deal, everybody's mind immediately turned to bringing back the NHL on ESPN theme music as well as Gary Thorne's magical pipes returning to our ears. And for good reason. That song is an absolute banger, and Gary Thorne is an absolute stallion.
But let's not forget about the NHL returning to ABC. The theme may not be quite as iconic as the ESPN score, but you can't tell me this isn't one of the hottest tracks of the summer.
I don't know how to read music but I have a feeling that if I were to see the sheet music for this one, the pattern would look like Mike Modano's jersey flapping behind him in the wind as he wheels his way down the ice, and Joe Sakic was the orchestra's conductor. And the final crescendo of the song?
OFF THE FLOOR! ON THE BOARD! PAUL KARIYA!
I feel like the NHL was only on ABC for 4 or 5 years. But there were still so many legendary moments made by so many legendary players. And all you have to do is hear the first few notes of that theme music for all those moments to come flooding back into your memory close to 20 years later. So hopefully bringing back the NHL on ABC theme will have the same effect 20-27 years from now once this younger generation of hockey fans get a chance to watch maniacs like Matthews, McDavid and MacKinnon go sicko mode on ABC.
Sidenote: The actual best part of this deal is going to be NHL TV moving over to ESPN+. For anyone who already has the Hulu/ESPN+/Disney+ bundle, this week has been like Christmas.