The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that on Thursday, Rogers announced it had sold off the rights to a chunk of the NHL games it bought in that splashy $5.2-billion 12-season deal it struck a decade ago. The Globe's Simon Houpt writes that for the final two seasons of that contract, starting this October, Amazon's Prime Video service will produce and stream the Monday night games in Canada, which up to this point have aired exclusively on Sportsnet. The games, at least 26 of which will be streamed each season, will be available only to those who subscribe to Prime. The move marks the first time that one of the big four North American leagues will have a meaningful number of games on a streaming service operating only in Canada. (In 2022, Apple scooped up all of the global streaming rights to Major League Soccer games, in a 10-year, $2.5-billion (U.S.) pact.) Amazon wants to boost Prime's subscribers, and sports is key to its strategy. Just as important, it will also help to increase the value of the NHL's media rights. That was part of the strategy behind the NFL's decision to sell its Thursday Night Football franchise to Prime in the U.S., as well as a wildcard playoff game in January to NBC's Peacock.