SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn joining Kraken’s in-house ROOT Sports replacement

There’s a name for the Kraken’s ROOT Sports replacement — Kraken Hockey Network, the team announced Monday morning.

The team arm is set to produce games that aren’t nationally televised. Prime Video will stream those games for Prime members in Washington, Oregon and Alaska as part of their membership cost. The Kraken are the first NHL team to partner directly with the streamer.

The Kraken announced in April they were leaving ROOT. and going to a free, over-the-air model, which is gaining popularity in the NHL. Spokane-area broadcasts will air on KREM.

Shortly before last season began, Comcast announced it was putting ROOT on a higher-tiered package, meaning sports fans would be paying more for the regional sports network, a model that has been struggling as more people “cut the cord.”

Joining the existing on-air talent, nearly all of which is returning, SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn and Ian Furness will serve as KHN hosts. Cohn will host at least 15 marquee games, while Furness handles the rest. For the games Cohn is hosting, Furness will be involved in other ways.

Cohn was a sports anchor and reporter at Seattle’s KIRO-TV from 1989-1992 before moving to ESPN.

“It’s a city that I’ll always love forever because it’s a family connection,” Cohn said in a team release. “It’s just very personal and I’m thrilled for this opportunity.”

Furness is the longtime host of the Ian Furness Show on the Kraken’s radio partner, KJR. He has served as the play-by-play lead for the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. In 2021 he filled in for the Kraken’s regular radio play-by-play announcer, Everett Fitzhugh, who tested positive for COVID-19 just before the Kraken’s first regular-season road trip.

John Forslund, JT Brown, Eddie Olczyk, Alison Lukan and Piper Shaw will continue in their broadcast roles this season.