John Forslund will work for NBC during playoffs; Hurricanes have replacement in mind
John Forslund is headed to the NHL playoffs. So are the Carolina Hurricanes. They are not going together as the bizarre saga of Forslund’s still-not-quite-official departure from the team continues to linger.
Forslund confirmed Wednesday he will be freelancing for NBC, with Hurricanes sideline reporter Mike Maniscalco expected to take over play-by-play duties on Fox Sports Carolinas — but still without any official word from the Hurricanes on Forslund’s future since his contract expired last month.
“I have to work,” Forslund said Wednesday. “I have an opportunity. And we don’t have a deal.”
With Forslund now officially out of the mix for the FS Carolinas broadcasts of the Hurricanes’ preliminary-round series against the New York Rangers starting August 1, the end of his three-decade tenure with the team appears imminent even as Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell has said the door remains open for Forslund’s return. There have been no negotiations in July, no movement toward the middle between sides that remain far apart.
“John and I talked on Friday,” Waddell said. “We left the door open. We’re not negotiating anything right now, but we’ll get through this and see where we go.”
Last Friday, Forslund told the team in the absence of a new contract, he would work for NBC during the playoffs instead. On Wednesday, for the first time since 1991, Forslund did not receive a bimonthly paycheck from the Hurricanes.
“There is no dialogue between the two sides,” Forslund said. “I’m exploring other options and getting ready for this assignment. For the first time in my career, I don’t work for someone. I didn’t get paid today.”
The Hurricanes offered Forslund and broadcast partner Tripp Tracy contracts that made them independent contractors paid almost entirely on a per-game basis and tied to team revenue, which under current circumstances will mean a substantial decrease from their old contracts. Tracy accepted the team’s offer in June. Forslund did not.
The Hurricanes discussed the play-by-play job with former Charlotte Checkers broadcaster Jason Shaya but appear to have settled on Maniscalco, who was the radio play-by-play broadcaster during last year’s playoffs when the Hurricanes were on national TV. (The normal Hurricanes radio broadcast on WCMC-FM has been a simulcast of the television broadcast since Chuck Kaiton was allowed to leave in 2018. The Hurricanes recently announced a two-year renewal of their radio deal.) Maniscalco, who like many team employees has been furloughed this summer, declined to comment.
Any announcement of a replacement for Forslund on FS Carolinas will have to wait for Sinclair Broadcast Group — which now owns several Fox Sports regional broadcasters — to finalize its agreement with the NHL for local broadcasts of the new playoff format, which should be complete by the end of the week. While the announcers are employed by the team, FS Carolinas does have right of final approval, which is not expected to be a stumbling block.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
