Jason Demers Back For Second Nbc Sports California Sharks Studio Analyst Stint

Jason Demers back for second NBC Sports California Sharks studio analyst stint originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.

The Sharks’ biggest addition this summer might not be trade acquisition Darnell Nurse, free agent signings Jacob Trouba and Mason Marchment, or even 2026 No. 2 overall pick Ivar Stenberg.

It might be bringing Jason Demers back to San Jose as NBC Sports California’s lead analyst on “Sharks Pregame Live” and “Sharks Postgame Live.”

The charismatic ex-Sharks defenseman, still with NHL Network and Sharks Audio Network, is ready to add his signature spice to the broadcast.

“We’re going to get wild,” Demers said. “We’re going to get zany late night in the Bay Area after a Sharks win, after two points. Stay up, because Daddy’s home, baby. Daddy’s home.”

Demers spoke more to San Jose Hockey Now about what he’s adding to studio shows, why he’s coming back to San Jose and why the Shark Tank feels like a homecoming.

This is an excerpt from a longer interview.

Sheng Peng: Why is now the right time for you to come back to regular Sharks coverage? From what I understand, you’re going to be doing 60-plus [games]?

Jason Demers: “Honestly, it was partly a family decision. I’m still going to do a lot of NHL Network stuff, probably will do the same amount of days as I’ve done the last couple years.

“Macklin’s a big part, just the team and what they’re building, and following them last year … I want to say it’s felt like back when I started [as a player] in 2010-11. You can feel that buzz in the building, and you can see it.

“When I first started my first year [doing media] with the Sharks, two or three years ago now, my first year retired, I loved it. I had a great time. [But] it just wasn’t the right time to do a lot of games because it was kind of still figuring out where I was in my career. I said yes to a lot and I kind of overextended myself. I was like, ‘Oh, I might have to move full-time to New York and do that stuff with [NHL] Network and really hone in on that.’ I wanted to get some broad coverage of the NHL and really learn a lot instead of being focused on one team. I wanted to just kind of sharpen the iron a little bit, so to speak, and get as many reps as possible.

“Last year, during the season, I was watching the [Sharks], and I got to say, I got a little bit like, I miss it. I miss the buzz of the Shark Tank every day.

“We’re on [NHL] Network, we’re talking about the Sharkies are exciting. Macklin’s exciting. I got to go to the Olympics and cover that and talk to Macklin, watch Macklin there, and also when I went on the road with the team for a couple games, I got to sit with a lot of the guys and talk to some of the younger guys and guys who have been there. Got to talk with the coaching staff. Hang out with Drew Remenda, have dinner with Randy Hahn and Dan Rusanowsky and all these just amazing people, that just brought me back to when I was playing and [where] I started.

“As people, we sometimes don’t realize where you’re appreciated the most and where you feel most comfortable is where you got to wade into.

“Sometimes, we seek out that discomfort and the uncomfortable side of things. And I did that for my first two years [retired], and not to say that I’m [not] really going to push the envelope this year because I’m going to, but it’s nice to be around, and I light up when I see everybody in that organization and people that I kind of grew up with and became a man with. I’ve told Dan a lot, and sorry for being long-winded, but I told Rusanowsky a lot, they called my first game and they called my last game, my last NHL game, that group. To then be calling with them was such an amazing, surreal moment.

“And to be in the studio, doing pre and post, I feel like that’s where I really thrive in that quick wit. We can get really creative and really kind of spice things up for Sharks fans. So in between periods, when you’re thinking about going to get a beer, or you’re thinking about going to get a glass of milk, or give a coffee to your kid because it’s an exciting game…

“No, stay up, because we are going to absolutely blow the doors off of this thing every game that I’m there, and even the games that I’m not, because we got a great lineup of guys and gals … We’re just gonna have so much fun, and that’s the important thing, that’s what I think the essence of this Sharks team is now, which it was back in 2010. It’s fun. Let’s have some fun and let’s win some hockey games and laugh while we’re doing it.

SP: You’ve actually already been covering the Sharks very heavily this summer on your YouTube channel, The Bite. Just for example, you have a video breaking down Sam Dickinson tape, could he be a No. 1 defenseman? Is that the kind of coverage, the in-depth kind of coverage that we’re going to get on Sharks pre-game and post-game?

JD: “1,000 percent.

“I really want to do some breakdown stuff. We already got some amazing new software and technology, I think that’s going to be getting used.

“And I think providing some of the best coverage in the NHL for a specific team, I think we’re going to be different. That’s the important thing with Sharks Nation and the Shark Tank, is we’re different. We’re different the way we watch hockey, the way we support hockey is different. That’s why I loved it. I was kind of a different personality, and I was embraced by Sharks fans, and it’s always felt like a second home to me.

“I love breaking down video, breaking down tape. And we’re going to do a lot of that. We’re going to try to add in some other stuff with some cool videos and maybe some on-ice stuff. And as the season goes, really give great coverage for the Sharks fans because I think they deserve it, because they’re the best fans in the game.”

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