Turner Sports is bringing on its biggest star to help drop the puck on TNT’s NHL coverage. NBA analyst Charles Barkley is joining their Wednesday night telecast of NHL games to debut the sport on TNT.
Barkley is famous for his antics and analysis on TNT’s Inside the NBA, and Turner wants some of that same feel for their brand new hockey studio team.
The analyst is a big NHL fan and is joining voices like studio host Liam McHugh “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky, 10-year NHL veteran Anson Carter, three-time Stanley Cup Champion Rick Tocchet, along with hockey personality and former NHL veteran Paul Bissonnette.
Barkley has plenty of influence at Turner, and he helped seal the deal with Gretzky.
“Charles Barkley is a good friend, and he called me every single day and said, ‘This will be fun for you,’” Gretzky told Sportsnet 590 in Toronto this past July, “and ultimately I decided, OK, this is something I’ve got to try, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be exciting.”
Don’t expect Gretzky to get as zany as Barkley does during the NBA season. “The Great One” just wants to be himself in the new TNT hockey studio.
“I love everything about our game, and I told everyone at Turner and Charles, ‘Look, I’m not a controversial guy. I’m not going to be that guy that’s going to be so negative on players. I’m the exact opposite, so if you’re looking for that guy, I’m not the right guy.’
“People have said to me … ‘what are you going to do, what are you going to be like?’ I’m going to be Wayne Gretzky. I’m going to be forthright. I feel like I know the game, I feel like I respect the game, and I’m just really excited about being part of it again.”
TNT airs its first NHL game tonight when the New York Rangers visit the Washington Capitals.