Linda Cohn isn’t returning to Kraken Hockey Network this season, according to Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times.
Cohn worked as a studio host for KHN periodically during the network’s debut season in 2024-25, but the Kraken decided to go with Ian Furness exclusively for the 2025-26 season.
“Linda brought passion and hall-of-fame experience to our inaugural KHN season, and we are so grateful she was part of our broadcasts as special host,” a team representative told The Seattle Times. “We wish Linda nothing but the best and will remain in contact about opportunities in the years ahead. The decision to go exclusively with Ian as host was to build on last year and bring a more consistent on-air group to our KHN broadcasts in 25-26.”
Cohn joined KHN last September when the Kraken launched the network after ending their relationship with ROOT Sports Northwest. The team moved to a free, over-the-air model on KONG and KING 5 in Seattle, with games also streaming on Prime Video for members in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Cohn flew from Los Angeles to Seattle on days off and vacations to host games, something she said she wanted to do because of her ties to the city from her time at KIRO-TV from 1989-1992.
“It’s a big reason why I’m doing this,” Cohn said when she joined KHN last year. “Besides the fact that the Kraken are an amazing organization and there’s so much promise with this team, it’s personal for me to be back in Seattle. It’s a city that I’ll always love forever because it’s a family connection.” She also said she was excited to be part of a team again after spending decades anchoring SportsCenter. “I’ve spent, like, a million years at SportsCenter — well, 32 years and I’m still doing it. But here is an opportunity to join a team. A real team, right?”
The Kraken cited continuity as the reason for the change, with Furness now handling studio hosting duties exclusively. Furness hosts a show on KJR, the Kraken’s radio partner, and has done play-by-play for the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. The team said they’ll stay in contact with Cohn about future opportunities, though what that actually means in practice is unclear.
Cohn remains with ESPN full-time, where she’s been a SportsCenter anchor since 1992. She signed a multi-year contract extension with ESPN in 2022 shortly after celebrating her 30th anniversary with the network. Earlier this year, ESPN ended the Los Angeles-based edition of SportsCenter that Cohn had been co-hosting with Stan Verrett at 1 a.m. ET. The network moved that edition to Bristol, and Cohn’s role shifted to anchoring some SportsCenter shows while also working on features and special projects. She’s based in Los Angeles and travels to Bristol when needed for her ESPN work, which is why the Kraken gig made sense as a way to stay involved with hockey without leaving the West Coast.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.