NHL Radio is the official national radio broadcaster of the National Hockey League, covering the Stanley Cup Finals, both Conference Finals, selected early round playoff action, the All-Star Game, the NHL Winter Classic and a selected number of regular-season games.
This arrangement lasted through the end of the 2007-08 season[3] until it was relaunched for the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals, through the network's NBC Sports Radio service.
[4] The contract was continued for the 2016-17 season with a playoff game of the week, both conference finals, the Stanley Cup Finals, the Winter Classic and select regular season games being added.
[5] The NBC Sports Radio brand was dropped in 2020; Westwood One will syndicate the broadcasts directly.
Also, during the Stanley Cup Finals, there is also no requirement that only the 2 participating teams' flagship stations are allowed to carry coverage, as is the case with the NFL during the Super Bowl and Major League Baseball during the World Series; local network affiliates may continue to carry the local broadcast and are not forced to carry the Sports USA feed.