Ben McDonald\u2019s disinterest in the NHL caused quite a stir on ESPN airwaves on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Calling the Wild Card Series matchup between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, play-by-play man Kevin Brown began to promote ESPN\u2019s upcoming coverage of the NHL\u2019s Opening Night. But as he leaned on McDonald for a testimony, the MLB analyst provided the exact opposite.<\/p>\n
\u201cBen, I know you\u2019ve got an opinion on this: Panthers three-peat this year? What do you think?\u201d Brown asked, referring to the defending two-time Stanley Cup champions?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you say so. I mean, good luck to \u2019em,\u201d McDonald replied. \u201cAre you asking if I\u2019m going to be watching?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you\u2019ll be watching, of course, because you work for ESPN, and you\u2019ll be watching,\u201d Brown responded, trying to steer his broadcast partner in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is zero chance I\u2019ll be watching,\u201d McDonald interrupted. \u201cI\u2019m just going to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is zero chance I\u2019ll be watching, I\u2019m just gonna be honest with you.\u201d \u2013 ABC\/ESPN MLB analyst Ben McDonald with a ringing endorsement of ESPN\u2019s NHL Opening Night coverage. pic.twitter.com\/OaWXf68hsy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n McDonald\u2019s uncommon honesty certainly stood out, as it\u2019s not every day you hear an ESPN broadcaster boastfully claiming that he won\u2019t be watching ESPN programming during an ad read. After making the rounds on social media, the comments elicited a reaction from one of ESPN\u2019s most prominent NHL personalities, John Buccigross, who\u00a0took a dig at<\/a>\u00a0the former MLB pitcher over his lack of postseason appearances<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Thursday, McDonald appeared on FS1\u2019s Wake Up Barstool, where he was asked about his now-viral exchange. And while he insisted he didn\u2019t mean any harm, he also doubled down on his disinterest in hockey.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that thing popped up on the screen, I didn\u2019t even know ESPN had the hockey contract to be honest with you,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cI know that they probably paid more than a dollar or two for it, but I just didn\u2019t even know that, to be honest. And then when I looked at the dates and I went, \u2018well that\u2019s kind of the same time as playoff baseball.\u2019 And if I\u2019ve got a choice between preseason or beginning of hockey season and October baseball, I\u2019m probably leaning slightly toward playoff baseball to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben McDonald addresses the comments he made about the NHL playoffs on yesterday\u2019s Cubs-Padres broadcast pic.twitter.com\/IJD6yLtYDT<\/a><\/p>\n