First match(es) will be played: 18 September 2016. Source: NHL
Broadcasting
In Canada, Rogers Communications will hold broadcast rights to the tournament; the tournament will be aired by Sportsnet in English and TVA Sports in French. Although it was initially reported that Rogers was allowed to match competing bids for the rights (such as by Bell Media's TSN) per its holding of exclusive national media rights to the NHL in Canada, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman denied that there was such a rule, and that the bidding process was "competitive". In the United States, the tournament will be broadcast by ESPN; NBC Sports, who is the national rightsholder of the NHL in the United States, passed on the tournament due to scheduling conflicts with various events, such as auto racing, college football, the Ryder Cup, and the Summer Paralympics.[2][3]