In the booth

CBC has announced it's broadcast pairings for the playoffs.

Bob Cole and Greg Millen will call the Ottawa/Pittsburgh series. I can already hear a certain Sens fan muttering about having to put up with a clueless Cole making statements like "The Ottawa defenceman clears the puck."

Jim Hughson and Harry Neale get the Canucks and Stars. This is probably CBC's strongest team. It's too bad all their games will on late out east.

Don Wittman and Drew Remenda have been given the Flames and Red Wings. This pair can go either way. Wittman's folksy call can get old fast, but Remenda's strong HNIC rookie year just might salvage the team.

Mark Lee and John Garrett were handed the only all-American series on CBC, the Devils and the Lightning. Garrett is my least favourite analyst, so I'm happy that's he's been put on the series I have the least interest in. I'm pretty ambivalent towards Lee. It's fair to say that these two will only be around for the first round.

Oiler fans will be happy to know that despite their team's miserable performance, Craig Simpson has been added to CBC's studio team, at least for the early rounds. Given for all the calls for his ouster this year, this might be an audition for a long term TV gig.

TSN has the other four series and as of right now I'm unsure where their top team of Miller and McGuire will end up. It's likely that at least two of their series will feature American announcers.

NBC will also have some weekend games. They're broadcasts are often worth viewing, especially if they're able to get Brett Hull all worked up.