It was the first Saturday night of the NHL season, but it didn\u2019t feel right to a lot of Canadian hockey fans.<\/p>\n
For the first time since 1952, there were no NHL games featured on CBC\u2019s Hockey Night in Canada on TV. Instead, feature games were presented under Rogers\u2019 new \u201cSaturday Night Hockey\u201d<\/a> banner and were broadcast exclusively on Sportsnet across the country.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, hockey\u2019s ancestral home, the CBC, was busy broadcasting cricket at 7 p.m. EDT<\/a>, a spot that would usually be reserved for Hockey Night in Canada\u2019s primetime Saturday night game.<\/p>\n FIRST SATURDAY OF THE SEASON \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n Saturday Night Hockey coverage begins at 6:30pm ET \/ 3:30pm PT on Sportsnet \ud83c\udfd2 pic.twitter.com\/20XfOVau7H<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The content on Sportsnet\u2019s new branding was largely the same as Hockey Night in Canada of the past several seasons, but many hockey fans were not too thrilled with the branding change that came with Rogers and the CBC not extending their sublicensing deal for NHL games this year.<\/p>\n It just felt wrong for a lot of people who grew up watching the iconic brand to see it replaced<\/p>\n \u201cWe are still calling it Hockey Night in Canada,\u201d said one Canadian hockey fan on X.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss Hockey Night in Canada. Like, what do you mean it\u2019s Saturday night hockey now?\u201d said another upset hockey fan.<\/p>\n Saturday Night Hockey is about to start, but it will always be Hockey Night in Canada to me. #HNIC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/O3y39Upip0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rob Suggitt (@30G30N) October 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Saturday night in Canada and the first weekend of the NHL season, and the CBC is showing the Super60 cricket league. Imagine,\u201d said one baffled hockey fan.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will always be Hockey Night in Canada. Forever,\u201d said another angry fan.<\/p>\n First Saturday in 74 years we don\u2019t have NHL Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. We use to be a proper country \u2026 pic.twitter.com\/RjY9vLCIwD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Hockey Illuminati (@Hky_Illuminati_) October 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cRogers, the company that killed Hockey Night in Canada. Shameful,\u201d said a disgruntled fan.<\/p>\n \u201cDisgusting it\u2019s not Hockey Night in Canada anymore,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n \u201cHockey Night in Canada\u201d replaced by \u201cRogers Saturday Night Hockey\u201d pic.twitter.com\/xLvjgDKNBK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Julio (@JulioHashem) October 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou call it what you want; in my house it\u2019ll always be \u2018Hockey Night in Canada,’\u201d said another fan unhappy with the change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be Hockey Night in Canada for us true fans,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n First Saturday without ‘Hockey Night In Canada’ since birth. Traditions should never die. Especially not one you remember watching with your dad every Saturday night since you were 6. <\/p>\n I am truly gutted.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jennifer Chefero (@ShootwAuthority) October 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the death of Hockey Night in Canada by any stretch. Though NHL games will no longer be broadcast on CBC under the brand, the network did announce last month that they plan on airing \u00a026 PWHL games<\/a> this season, with eight of those matchups being on Saturday.<\/p>\n Those Saturday games will air under the Hockey Night in Canada banner, keeping the brand alive for another year, albeit with a different product than usual.<\/p>\n