NHL Network was a Canadian English language Category B specialty television channel broadcasting ice hockey programming.

The channel went on the air on October 4, 2001 and was owned by the NHL Network Inc., a venture consisting of the National Hockey League and two of its Canadian member franchises, CTV Specialty Television Inc. (a division of Bell Media and ESPN Inc.), and Insight Sports Ltd.[1] The network's ownership structure, which gave the league only an 11.6% interest, was due in part to foreign ownership restrictions for Canadian broadcasters, which prevented the NHL (which, during the channel's existence, was owned by 30 member franchises, of which at least 23 were based in the United States) from exercising majority ownership directly.

In November 2000, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted approval to former NHL executive Jim Gregory on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated (formed later as The NHL Network Inc.) to launch The Hockey Channel, described as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty television dedicated exclusively to all aspects of the game of hockey".

[4] On June 1, 2015, The Globe and Mail columnist David Shoalts reported that NHL Network in Canada would cease operations on September 1, 2015.

In August 2015, the NHL announced that MLB Advanced Media would take over the U.S. NHL Network and operate it from the broadcast facilities of MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey, as well as the league's websites, and digital properties such as GameCenter Live (due to Rogers' rights deal, it will not handle distribution of the service in Canada).