Charles Barkley will join ‘NHL on TNT Face Off’ pregame show tonight

Blackhawks fans have to wait until 9 p.m. Wednesday to watch the team’s season opener on TNT, but they might want to tune in early for the network’s first NHL pregame show.

SHARE Charles Barkley will join ‘NHL on TNT Face Off’ pregame show tonight
2017 NBA Awards Live On TNT - Inside

Charles Barkley (right), shown with the cast of TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” will appear on the network’s NHL pregame show Wednesday,

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for TNT

Blackhawks fans have to wait until 9 p.m. Wednesday to watch the team’s season opener on TNT, but they might want to tune in early for the network’s first NHL pregame show.

The No. 1 question TNT has been asked since acquiring the rights to NHL games is whether Charles Barkley will join the broadcasts this season. The network answered that today, announcing that it will put the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and “Inside the NBA” analyst on its first “NHL on TNT Face Off” at 6 p.m. To mark the occasion, the show will be commercial-free.

Barkley will join the cast of Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet, Paul Bissonnette and host Liam McHugh. They’ll work from TNT’s new state-of-the-art NHL studio in Atlanta before the network’s first regular-season game between the Rangers and Capitals at 6:30. Kenny Albert, analyst Eddie Olczyk and rink-side analyst Keith Jones will call the action.

The Hawks visit the Avalanche in Game 2 of TNT’s debut doubleheader. Brendan Burke, former Blackhawks goalie Darren Pang and former Blackhawks forward Jamal Mayers will have the call. Mayers was part of the Hawks’ studio shows at NBC Sports Chicago for years but wasn’t brought back this season.

Former NHL official Don Koharski will join the game telecasts to provide insights and analysis. He worked in the league for 32 years.

The Latest
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.
Chatterbox doesn’t seem aware that it’s courteous to ask questions, seek others’ opinions.