The NHL released its national TV schedule today, with news that should not be surprising to Blue Jackets fans. As usual, our team gets no respect from the league or its national media. Just two CBJ games will be seen on TNT and ESPN combined.
The Jackets are one of just two US based teams with fewer than 7 games on national TV. The other team is Nashville, with 3 such appearances. Every other team in the Eastern Conference has at least 9 games on the calendar.
US National TV Games for 2026/27 NHL season, by team:
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) August 26, 2026
🏒 72 exclusive games on TNT networks
🏒 100 exclusive games on ESPN networks
- 15 on ABC
- 38 on ESPN
- 47 on ESPN+ / Disney+ / Hulu
📺 TNT: https://t.co/WbyORfTbns
📺 ESPN: https://t.co/xvwpfGWEIj pic.twitter.com/eSkiH6bHJc
Disrespect, or is it deserved?
Depending on how you look at it, this situation could mean a variety of things. Of course, the 5th Line is immediately going to point towards disrespect. Honestly, that's fair, as this team has been right on the cusp of the playoffs in each of their last two seasons.
However, they still haven't crossed that line to this point. As a small market franchise, they need to be competitive to draw the eyes of the national media into Columbus.
If you want proof of that, look no further than two other small market Eastern Conference teams who have had success in recent years. The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes are featured 12 times.
The team who won the two previous Cups-the Florida Panthers-will be featured 15 times this season. If you dig back a few years into the conversation surrounding both of these teams, you will find a lot of similar comments to the ones we hear about the Blue Jackets.
You know the ones: They don't belong here. Move them to Quebec.
As ugly as those comments are, it's not up to the fans to change that narrative. It's on the team. The Hurricanes and Panthers have figured out how to compete in this league, so the entire outlook on those franchises has changed.
That's the only path to success for the Blue Jackets. If the McConnell family wants some of that national media attention, they need to command a better product and manage their business to effectively change this team's plight.
Until that happens, the disrespect will continue. ESPN isn't going to throw the Blue Jackets a bone just because one of their broadcasters is a vocal supporter. Because let's be honest: does anyone outside of Columbus really want to watch this team play?
Heck, some nights I don't even want to watch them play. And I'm a die-hard 5th Liner.
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