Monumental, NHL agree to in-house broadcasts of Caps' national games, ensuring a Beninati call of Ovi record-breaker
Fear not, Capitals faithful – our own TV voice of the Caps, Joe Beninati, will in fact be on the call of Alex Ovechkin's entire Chase to 895 the rest of this season!
Monumental Sports announced a landmark agreement with the NHL on Tuesday that will allow Monumental Sports Network to have their own local broadcast of all four of the Capitals' remaining nationally-televised games this season, part of comprehensive coverage plans for Ovechkin's pursuit of the all-time NHL goals record, which they have dubbed "The GR8 Chase."
MSN is scheduled to have 14 of the remaining 18 games, starting Tuesday night, with all four of the exclusive national telecasts coming in April – including three straight from April 6-12 – and four of the last six games on the schedule.
However, with the agreement, Monumental will produce its own in-house broadcast of those four games, featuring Joe Beninati on play-by-play, Smokin' Al Koken rinkside, and color commentary from 'other recognized MNMT talent' (likely including current main analyst Alan May), as Craig Laughlin continues to recuperate from a medical procedure earlier this year.
Those broadcasts will air 24 hours after the national broadcast on Monumental Sports Network, but if Ovechkin does tie, break, or extend the record in any of the games, Monumental will be allowed to release real-time clips of the broadcasts on social media to capitalize on the moments.
"We are immensely grateful to the NHL for their collaboration in ensuring that Capitals fans will hear Alex Ovechkin's historic moments called by Joe Beninati and our incredible Monumental Sports Network on-air talent," said Zach Leonsis, MSE's President of Media & New Enterprises, said in the group's statement announcing the venture. "After 28 years in our broadcast booth, Joe's voice has become synonymous with Capitals hockey and he deserves to call these once-in-a-lifetime goals. I'd also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Capitals fans. Your passion and dedication inspire us every day, and our network could not be more excited to bring you unparalleled coverage of this incredible journey as we celebrate greatness together."
"Having the chance to call this exceptional moment in hockey history is a profound honor for me and our entire live game crew," said Beninati.
"We have had the pleasure of describing and documenting almost all of Alex's goals throughout his career and capturing his pursuit of the all-time goal-scoring record is a privilege few get to experience. We can't wait to share this incredible milestone with our viewers and celebrate the legacy of an all-time great."
Monumental also announced the extended coverage will include pregame and postgame coverage of the national broadcasts on Monumental Sports Network, as well as more themed special programming around the chase – including "a special original program that will relive all of Ovechkin's 895 goals in his journey to break Gretzky's record."
As the 'Gr8 Chase' continues to heat up, we're listening to our fans and delivering even more coverage of the Capitals and Ovi. We want to ensure that Capitals fans can listen to their hometown announcers' call of Ovi's record-breaking achievement," Zach Leonsis Tweeted in announcing the news. "We're so excited to cover the 'Gr8 Chase' and everything Capitals hockey as we gear up for the playoffs!"
We are, of course, going to remind you that all Caps games the rest of the way will air on either The Team 980 or 106.7 The Fan, as well, but we know that both Joe Beninati and our own John Walton will surely have calls that live forever when Ovi's chase concludes!
