They say ex-goaltenders make the best hockey TV analysts because they once played the most important position in the sport.
The Flyers will get to test that theory this season when ex-netminder Brian Boucher takes over as play-by-play man Jim Jackson’s sidekick, replacing Keith Jones, who was named Philadelphia’s president of hockey operations during the offseason.
The former NHL and Flyers goaltender has covered the NHL for national TV networks for the last eight years after beginning his media career with NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“It’s been my fortune to be so deeply connected with the Philadelphia region and the passionate Flyers community for nearly 30 years since joining the organization as a draft pick,” said Boucher. “I’m thrilled to return to this city, which my family and I consider home, and rejoin NBC Sports Philadelphia and the talented team that covers the Flyers year-round for this incredible fanbase.”
Boucher recently joined TNT’s NHL coverage, where he will serve as a between-the-benches analyst. Previously, he covered the NHL for ESPN from 2021 to 2023 after beginning his national TV career with NBC Sports in 2015. As a studio and inside-the-glass analyst for NBC Sports, Boucher covered NHL regular season and playoff games, including the Stanley Cup Final, and contributed to NBC Olympics’ coverage of the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games. He has also appeared regularly on the NHL Network.
Boucher got his start as an analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Flyers coverage after retiring from his 13-year NHL playing career in 2013. In addition to Jackson, who has served in his role since 1995, Boucher will reunite with pregame and postgame analysts Al Morganti and Scott Hartnell, his former Flyers teammate, and host Ashlyn Sullivan on Flyers’ pre-and post-game shows.
A first-round selection of the Flyers in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Boucher spent six seasons over three stints with the team from 1999 to 2013. He played in 174 regular-season games with Philadelphia, while also appearing in 42 games in five postseasons, which includes the team’s run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. Overall, Boucher played in more than 300 NHL games for seven teams. He holds the league’s all-time record for longest shutout streak (332:01), which he set with Phoenix during the 2003-04 season.
