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Eddie Olczyk will be Turner Sports’ top NHL game analyst beginning next seasonJeff Agreston May 6, 2021 at 2:19 am

Eddie Olczyk (right) and Pat Foley are calling Blackhawks playoff games together but apart. Foley is in a production truck outside the United Center, and Olczyk is at NBC Sports Network’s studios in Stamford, Conn. | James Foster/Sun-Times

Olczyk will join Kenny Albert as the network’s top team when it begins its seven-year deal with the 2021-22 season.

Blackhawks analyst Eddie Olczyk will be the lead NHL game analyst for Turner Sports when TNT begins its seven-year broadcast deal next season, according to an industry source. Olczyk will join Kenny Albert as Turner’s top team.

Olczyk, who agreed in principle to a five-year deal, has been NBC’s lead game analyst since 2006, when he took over for John Davidson. Albert and Olczyk are expected to call the Stanley Cup Finals for NBC this season, the network’s last with broadcast rights.

Turner outbid NBC for the NHL last month, buying the league’s secondary package for a reported $225 million per year. ESPN bought the primary package in March for a reported $400 million annually.

NBC/Comcast has aired NHL games since 2005, when they were shown on Outdoor Life Network. That became Versus, which became NBC Sports Network, which will shutter at the end of the year. NBC/Comcast will turn USA Network into an entertainment/sports channel.