Calling His 500th National NHL Game, TNT’s Kenny Albert Is A Unique Quadruple Threat

More than 30 years into his broadcasting career, Kenny Albert will call his 500th national NHL game for the NHL on TNT on Wednesday night.

It’s Albert’s second major milestone of the year. He also hit the 500-game mark for the NFL on FOX in October.

Who's keeping that tally?

“For the national games, there’s actually a group that keeps track of these things," said Albert on Tuesday, as he prepared to call Rangers and Predators from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for MSG Radio Networks. "It's a site called Unnecessary Sports Research, believe it or not. They have these lists online that they update every week or so."

As impressive as those numbers are, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Born into the business as the son of Basketball Hall of Fame broadcaster Marv Albert, Kenny grew up around Madison Square Garden.

"The 1994 Game 7 — it was devastating in Vancouver, but having the opportunity to call that game and the Rangers, my hometown team, winning the Cup... That’s certainly up there." - Kenny Albert

His own career began in earnest after he graduated from New York University in 1990 with a degree in broadcasting and journalism. First up: the AHL’s Baltimore Skipjacks.

​​”I was 22 years old when I was hired, and we had a 26-year-old assistant coach named Barry Trotz,” Albert recalled. “To save money, they had us room together on the road for two years — the radio guy and the assistant coach. Obviously, he’s gone on to an unbelievable career and here we are, 32 years later. We just had lunch today. here in Nashville.”

While in Baltimore, Albert also called the first professional goal of his future broadcasting colleague Keith Jones, now the Philadelphia Flyers’ president of hockey operations.

In 1992, when Jones was called up to the NHL by the Washington Capitals, Albert also made the jump to the Caps’ broadcast booth.

He made his national TV debut on ESPN2 during the 1993-94 season, called the famous ‘glowing puck’ games on FOX NHL Saturday in the late 1990s, then joined NBC before signing on with TNT when the U.S. broadcast rights changed hands in 2021.

“NBC did an unbelievable job, for about 15 years, of raising the profile of the NHL in the United States,” Albert said. “They implemented so many great things into the world of hockey and television — the Winter Classic and the outdoor games, and using an analyst between the benches for the first time."

Now, fans are enjoying the fresh flavor TNT brings to hockey.

“Here we are in Year 4, and it's been so much fun working with those guys — with Eddie (Olczyk), Jonesy and now Bouch (Brian Boucher) and some of the others,” Albert said. “We had the opportunity to do the Cup final in ‘23, and we’ll have it again this year. And the studio show that the Turner executives put together with Liam McHugh, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter, Wayne Gretzky — and originally it was Rick Tocchet, now it’s Henrik Lundqvist. That show has also done so much for hockey in the United States.

"It's entertainment, but they also teach. Turner had one of the greatest sports pre-game shows of all-time with Inside the NBA — I put it right up there with FOX NFL Sunday. They wanted to build something similar on the hockey side, and they’ve done it. They have a lot of fun. But they're also among the best analysts in the business at teaching the sport to the viewers."

On top of his NHL and NFL duties, Albert has also called more than 400 baseball games for MLB on FOX and over 300 New York Knicks games for MSG Networks. He's the only broadcaster currently covering all four major North American sports. In addition, he's a longtime member of NBC’s Summer and Winter Olympics crews.

In 2023, Albert published his autobiography, A Mic For All Seasons. That offered an opportunity to reflect on some of his most memorable moments.

"In hockey, I’ve had the good fortune to call 10 Stanley Cup finals," he said. "Eight on the radio side, including 2014 when the Rangers made it, and two on the TV side. So the 1994 Game 7 — it was devastating in Vancouver, but having the opportunity to call that game and the Rangers, my hometown team, winning the Cup. I'm on the call on radio. Their first Cup in 54 years. That’s certainly up there.

"Having the opportunity to call 2021 Tampa Bay and then '23 Vegas on national TV in the U.S. Also calling men's and women's hockey at six Winter Olympics. The women's gold medal game in South Korea in 2018, USA and Canada, that’s certainly up there on my list.

"As far as individual games, I did the game when Mika Zibanejad scored five goals, did a game where Marian Gabrorik scored five goals. The three years when Wayne Gretzky played in New York, those were obviously thrilling games to call. I had a chance to work a game with Wayne for TNT a couple of years ago — he joined us in Hamilton, Ont., for the outdoor game. That's certainly up there on the list, having Wayne as one of the color commentators."

On New Year’s Eve, Albert will be in Chicago when the Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues for the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. It’ll be his 14th outdoor game — and one of his most challenging assignments of the year.

"They’re all a lot of fun," he said. "Love the atmosphere, love being a part of it. But either you're really far away, up in the baseball or football press box, and the ice might be out in the middle of the field by second base, or you're too close. During regular NHL games, I'm looking at the ice the whole time, but for the outdoor games, you do rely on the monitor a lot more."

All in a day's work.

Albert will hit his 500-game milestone Wednesday night when the Detroit Red Wings host the Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m. ET, TNT). Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will join him on the call.

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