It may be a bit late for the start of the season, but Verizon's added the NHL Center Ice package, letting viewers subscribe to 40 out of market NHL games every week and early round playoff games, with "select" games in high definition. Beyond the $169 season bundle, FiOS also will soon be home to the NHL Network channel promising 75 HD games this season, along with 24 hours a day to talk cross-checking, zambonis and whatnot. We don't know if it can save hockey but we're glad Verizon is providing another option to the MLB, NBA and NFL action going on right now.

TSN2 just launched on two Canadian carriers last month, but apparently that's not enough for the channel. It's also announcing that beginning this weekend, the network's entire slate of in-house programming will be transitioned to HD. In just a few days, viewers will be able to see the CFL on TSN pre-game show in spectacular high-definition, and in the future, you'll be able to catch NHL on TSN, TSN The Reporters with Dave Hodge, Raptors on TSN and In This Corner with Russ Anber -- all in HD. When this is complete, nearly 75% of everything the channel airs will be in high-def, though there's no telling when that final quarter will be seized.

We know, the major sports outlets aren't even playing it up, but the 2008 - 2009 NHL season is upon us. For fans of the Montreal Canadiens, they'll be enjoying the live action more than most thanks to a 50,000-pound scoreboard that's lighting up the Bell Centre this year. The board, which stands in at 25-feet high and 40-feet wide, sports an undisclosed HD resolution and is (of course) 2.5 times larger than the one recently purchased by the rival Maple Leafs for the Air Canada Centre. So yeah, now it's not just about the score, it's about the board the score is on.

[Thanks, Bruno]

The NHL may not have the viewership in America as, say, the NFL, but that doesn't mean it can't find fans elsewhere. In a rather unexpected move, Hong Kong-based All Sports Network (ASN) has signed a multi-year deal to posses rights for broadcasting NHL matchups throughout much of Asia (India, South Korea and China included). Over 130 upcoming regular-season games will be televised on ASN's Yes TV along with the All-Star game, playoffs and the Stanley Cup Final. The good news? The broadcast rights include "all forms of television, including HDTV." The bad? Japan, Australia and New Zealand have been excluded from the agreement.

[Image courtesy of The Globe & Mail]

It's just about that time, hockey fans, and for those of you who proudly rock an oversized Caps jersey each and every Friday to work, we've some excellent news to share. 73 Washington Capitals games will be televised by Comcast SportsNet during the 2008 - 2009 season, and a full 50 of those will be aired in high-definition. The team's season starts on October 10th at Atlanta, and the following night will see the home opener shown in high-def when Chicago comes to the District. Sure, the NHL may not have the same following as say, the NFL, but this is definitely a trend we could stand to see catch on.

[Image courtesy of OnFrozenBlog]

Sure Sidney Crosby's Penguins just went up 3-0 in a playoff series against the Flyers, but the National Post suggests HDTV might give a bigger boost to the sport of hockey than either he or Alexander Ovechkin can. Courtesy of an expanded widescreen format that gives a better look at the ice and enhanced resolution allowing viewers to finally discern the puck without annoying FoxTrax graphics. While we've always found being able to see what's going on as a plus, we're not sure high definition alone will move hockey, soccer, arena football or any other hopefuls closer to the big three in American's sports consciousness.

Check it: Time Warner Cable has seemingly inserted Versus / Golf HD into the lineup some 20 days prior than expected, presumably to satisfy demands of avid hockey fans wanting their NHL playoffs in high-definition. We've had numerous reports from varying regions in the Empire State affirming that the channel is now live on slot 794, but be sure and drop a note in comments if you've somehow been left out. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Shortly after Sharp's AQUOS HD Netcam took the ice in a Rangers / Devils matchup, the National Hockey League has announced that it will be utilizing a certain carrier's own HD PVR for instant replays during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. Apparently Bell Canada's dual-tuner 9242 -- which can hold up to 30 hours of HD / 200 hours of SD content -- will be used throughout the playoffs in order to view instant video replays, but details beyond that are scant. High-def aficionados up north who'd like to get ahold of the same box being used by the NHL can procure one for a stiff $599 (one-time fee) or rent one for $20 per month.

We were already well aware that TSN and HD were like BFFs, but now hockey fans have yet another reason to tune in to NHL games aired on the network. Starting with tonight's tilt between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils, TSN viewers will get a look at the netminder's territory like never before. Tonight marks the debut of Sharp's AQUOS HD Netcam, which is being hailed as the first ever netcam to be used with high-def capabilities. Of course, the remainder of TSN's regular season and playoff broadcasts will take advantage of said camera, and if you're one to call goals into question due to SD replays of the puck crossing / not crossing the line, we suppose your skepticism is about to take a real hit.

[Image courtesy of USA Today]

Fans of NHL Live should know the noon broadcast is now on TV, straight from the studios in New York to NHL Network. Hopefully, hosts Don La Greca and E.J. Hradek have their HD makeup ready for the spotlight, since theirs is the first satellite radio program to make the jump to HDTV. Faces made for radio or not, we figure they've got to be better than listening to the skinny Mike (from Mike & Mike on ESPN) go on and on about his hair.

Just in time for another season, Dish Network adds the National Hockey League Network to their always-growing HD lineup. NHL HD will sport 50 live regular-season games, classic games, documentaries, and how-to shows; we're wondering how much of the extra features will be in high-def however. The station is already live on channel 403 and 559 for subs with America's Top 100 package or the NHL Center Ice subscription respectively. This new station should calm rabid Hockey fans but they do hold Hockey's dirty, little high-def secret: the sport is, arguably, the best looking programming in high definition.

It's a fantastic, albeit hectic time to be a sports fan right now, as there just seems to be too many good matchups going on to truly enjoy them all. Additionally, the NHL season is just now getting underway, and for those who eat, sleep and breath cross-checking, we've got stellar news. Reportedly, the 24-hour NHL Network will launch on several communications outlets this month, including Comcast, DirectTV and Dish Network. All told, it should be available to around 75 million homes across the US, but exact launch dates on the aforementioned carriers have yet to be pinpointed. Notably, Dish Network stated that it was targeting October 17th as the channel's first on-air date, and a spokesperson even mentioned that it would "only be available in high-definition." Hey, it won't hurt our feelings.

Following directly in the footsteps of Comcast, it looks like Cablevision has become the next carrier to add Versus HD and Golf Channel HD to its high-definition lineup. Additionally, the deal moves Golf from Cablevision's $4.95-per-month sports tier package to its iO digital lineup. Interestingly, the company's CEO even mentioned that a whopping "80-percent of its cable subscribers were embracing digital television," but neglected to mention the concentration of paying HD customers. So while hockey may be a good ways off at this point, the Cablevision golfers in the crowd will have a lot to look at in the upcoming months.

Mark Cuban's high-def network, HDNet, cannot be found on Comcast and with hockey season right around the corner, many fans want the network not because of the Hogan's Hero's reruns but the 52 high-def hockey games they are going to broadcast this year. Comcast owns the NHL high-def broadcast rights and you would think that they would want to provide their subscribers with the most possible high-def NHL content but it all boils down to one thing: money. Comcast is blaming subscribers by stating that they don't want to watch HDNet and plus, the station is very expensive. We highly doubt that Comcast subscribers would not want to watch the station as the vast majority of HDTV owners would agree that there is a dearth of programming on their current high-def stations and we will take anything we can get. Hogan's Hero's, hockey, anything HDNet can add to the good of the HD cause would be greatly appreciated. Mr. HDNet himself, Mark Cuban, was contacted and he said that they are trying to get a deal on the table but it's going to take the subscribers saying they want the NHL in HD via HDNet. Can you hear that in the distance? That's the grassroots stating to organize into a movement.

The NHL Stanley Cup finals had an exciting series and a nice high-def broadcast, so everybody's happy right? Wrong. Once again, some SDTV holdout is ranting about how HDTV is ruining the game. The source of his complaint? At some point in Game 6, they couldn't locate the culprit when an extra man on the ice penalty was called. The announcer said later that "'I've just been told if you have HD (High Definition Television) you would be able to see the (extra) man going off the ice". As a result the writer gets all up in arms about how people without HDTVs are being called poor slobs, and worse , that the integrity of sport has been compromised because god forbid, there might be a moment where no camera angle shows every single player on the ice.

We're not sure why he has a problem with widescreen aspect ratio and increased resolution helping you to see a bit more of the ice than you otherwise could (isn't that the point?), not to mention that the announcer was probably joking. NFL officials last we heard were considering high definition instant replay, but until now have been restricted to SD so his concerns about a difference in quality in game officiating appear to be unfounded. Too bad high definition wasn't there to compromise the integrity of the game during the '66 World Cup