NHL Network to Air Special on Film ‘Slap Shot’

The NHL Network plans to air an original documentary looking at the hockey comedy Slap Shot, which hit theaters almost 40 years ago.

Slap Shot at 40 premieres Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. ET  It will be followed by Slap Shot at 8:30 p.m.

Slap Shot at 40 is the second installment in a planned series of NHL Network Originals. The first, Orchestrating An Upset: The 1996 World Cup of Hockey premiered in September 2016.

The documentary is built around an interview with Jeff Carlson, Steve Carlson and Dave Hanson who starred as the fighting Hanson brothers in the film.

The three were former professionals who played with the team that inspired the film, the Johnstown Jets of the North American Hockey League.

Testimonials to Slap Shot’s enduring popularity come from current NHL players Victor Hedman, Connor McDavid, Kyle Okposo, Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, as well as Hockey Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Phil Esposito, Mike Gartner, Al MacInnis and Adam Oates.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.