Fans looking for more backstory and personality from their favorite NHL athletes finally have a show to call their own. Amazon's newest foray into hockey content comes in the form of a docuseries called "FACEOFF: Inside the NHL."
Viewers get a glimpse inside the locker room and the lives of players and their families during last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, offering insight into the homes and hearts of players at the most significant time of the year. The show will be available on Prime Video starting Friday.
It features faces and storylines from across the NHL and attempts to add context to already well-documented headlines. The Golden Knights' Jack Eichel opens up about his exit from the Buffalo Sabres and the surgery that saved his career, leading him to a Cup in Vegas. Vancouver's Quinn Hughes talks about finding his footing as a young captain, and Rangers captain Jacob Trouba gives his perspective on the physicality of the game. But the series also covers uncharted ground - taking the viewer into the locker room after a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final loss, for example.
Whether the show delivers on its ambitions is up to viewers to decide, but here are some of the takeaways from the six-part series.
This isn't 'Drive to Survive'
It's tempting to draw early comparisons between "Inside the NHL" and Formula 1's breakthrough docuseries "Drive to Survive" - the two were produced by the same company, Box to Box Films, after all. However, it's clear from the outset that the NHL production is different. While the later episodes, which tell the story of the Stanley Cup Final, have all the intensity and storytelling archetypes that make for addictive TV, the earlier ones are less emotional and meander through the backstories of last year's postseason contenders.
Fans who expect the series to be the hockey version of "Drive to Survive" might be disappointed with the lack of drama in the earlier episodes, but the storylines become more apparent as the show marches toward the Stanley Cup.
A new side to McDavid
The league's brightest star is often criticized for not showing enough emotion, but "Inside the NHL" offers a new perspective. The trailer already shows a postgame meltdown in which the Oilers captain screams at his team because he felt their effort wasn't good enough, but the show puts even more emotion on display. Episode 5 opens with McDavid crying in the locker room after the Oilers' Game 7 Cup Final loss and reveals his real-time decision process in declining to accept the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
"I wouldn't have gone out there for a million dollars," he later says.
By the way, he's heard that commenters sometimes call him a robot. "It hurts," he says in the show. He's just an introvert who loves hockey.
Tkachuk is the perfect villain
The show does a good job of contrasting the two opposing styles of last year's Stanley Cup competitors. It casts the Oilers as a nose-to-the-grindstone, hockey-obsessed team that's openly comfortable with being "boring," and introduces viewers to the simultaneously intense but laidback approach adopted by the Florida Panthers - specifically Matthew Tkachuk, who's seen driving his golf cart to the Panthers' training facility, stopping to acknowledge a Jeep of partying women along the way.
"I don't know what to tell you. It's just Florida. Everyone's having a good time," he says.
During the finals, Tkachuk gave an interview while floating in his pool, sunglasses on, completely relaxed about the task at hand.
"I don't know what the weather's like in Edmonton right now. I don't even know if they have pools, to be honest. I'm sure they don't," he says with a smirk.
His Stanley Cup victory is the pinnacle of his villain persona, but the show also does a good job of showing Tkachuk's human side - building the story of his family legacy with extensive home video footage.
Nylander's migraines remain a mystery
Leafs fans looking for answers on William Nylander's disappearance in the first three games of their Round 1 matchup against the Boston Bruins might be disappointed. The show follows Nylander in its opening episode, but most of the focus is on his relationship with David Pastrnak - the two have been friends since they were teens. But, unlike Tkachuk's story, the same handful of childhood photos are relied upon to try to build up this storyline. It just doesn't work, especially when they're burying the lead: What was up with Nylander's migraines?
The severe migraine that kept him out gets a bit of attention, but the show misses an opportunity to explore Nylander's humanity in the process. It includes a shot of Nylander at home, watching the Leafs take on Boston and wishing he could be with them, but it would have been more impactful to see him wrestle with the decision to sit out. Failing that, it could have included more details on the physical impact of his migraine so viewers could develop an understanding of what must have been an agonizing situation.
In contrast, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who's been sidelined for two seasons with a knee injury, is open, reflective and sincere when talking about the impact of his injury and the frustration of not being on the ice.
"You're not able to make an impact. You're not able to make a difference at all. I think that's what makes it so hard watching. I talk to a lot of the other guys who aren't playing. We're like a very invested hockey parent. You're just so into every single play," Landeskog says. "When you're playing, you're not nervous at all."
Swayman's personality on display
The premiere comes at a timely moment for Bruins fans - their starting goalie, Jeremy Swayman, is mired in a messy contract negotiation that's turned into a standoff. Episode 3, which follows Swayman's postseason journey, provides insight into his mindset during last year's playoffs when he was battling with former teammate Linus Ullmark for the top job.
"We don't have to shy away from it, there's a contract on the line. I want to treat every game as if it was my last because you really don't know what the hell could happen," he says. "I do whatever I can to not have regret when I look at myself in the mirror after it all."
It also paints Swayman as a down-to-earth Alaskan who's close to his family and doesn't take himself too seriously - he even plays guitar and sings on camera. It's all just more insight into the man behind the goalie mask.
Jolene Latimer is a feature writer at theScore.
