TSN will air more Canadian games than ever before, while Sportsnet Ontario has the biggest Toronto Maple Leafs presence, as sportscasters recently unveiled schedules for the 2008/09 National Hockey League season.

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada continues its exclusive coverage of Saturday night regular season games involving Canadian teams, and of English-Canadian teams in the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final.

HNIC announced a 69-game schedule, opening its 56th season on Oct. 4 with coverage from Europe, as the New York Rangers take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Czech Republic, followed by Ottawa against Pittsburgh in Stockholm, Sweden.

A doubleheader featuring the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings versus the Maple Leafs, followed by the Calgary Flames at the Vancouver Canucks kicks off coverage in North America on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Other highlights on HNIC include 25 all-Canadian matches, five tripleheaders, Original Six Saturday, the ninth annual Hockey Day in Canada and the All-Star Game in Montreal.

Over on TSN, the caster’s 70-game schedule — which marks the start of its new six-year agreement with the NHL — gets underway Tuesday, Oct. 14 with Calgary taking on the Colorado Avalanche. Each regular season game on TSN will feature at least one Canadian game — a first in network history.

Other highlights on TSN include two all-Canadian contests, 13 doubleheaders and seven Original Six match-ups. The specialty also retains exclusive coverage of hockey on Wednesday nights. The Leafs will make 17 appearances on TSN, followed by the Montreal Canadiens with 15, and 10 each for the other Canadian clubs.

The marquee Leafs will have the biggest presence on Rogers Sportsnet Ontario, which kicks off its coverage on Friday, Oct. 17 with Toronto taking on the Rangers. Sportsnet has increased its Leafs games from 22 to 28 this season.

Meanwhile, Sportsnet West will broadcast a network-high 46 Calgary Flames regular season games, also getting underway Oct. 17 as the Flames host the rival Edmonton Oilers.