The NHL's Depressing Decline Into Irrelevancy

In this video, we take a look at the NHLs recent decline and ask what it will take to improve the league. After all, it's been declining for a while now...

[@tybg-]

bettmen has to go

[@tybg-]

It’s Really that simple , everyone has their time & departure. His departure is here.

[@SGTRIP-dh7fz]

Yep!

[@tybg-]

The anchor being chosing fanatics of all possible choices as the next jersey creators league wide due to adidas contract expiring .

[@colesonlamb5981]

I don't think Bettman is the problem. Bettman doesnt control the league, he works for the owners. For example if the owners wanted a team in Quebec Bettman would come out and say that Quebec is getting a team. If we want change we need to get new owners in the league

[@tybg-]

@@colesonlamb5981 you are bettmans burner account & im not reading all that

[@gavinrichter654]

Totally mismanaged, they are focused on expansion when they need to focus on fans

[@AttilatheThrilla]

Fans are a part of expansion.. 😂

[@Windyyyyyyyyy]

@@AttilatheThrillathey have to actually keep caring.

[@WilliamMale-hi7hi]

You basically just described Formula 1

[@AttilatheThrilla]

@@Windyyyyyyyyy That’s why Vegas won the cup this year

[@ispeed7013]

Ayyy history is repeating itself!

[@HughJorgan1]

As Hectic alluded to, the best player in the league and arguably the most exciting player in history (McDavid) is very rarely on TV in the US and, if he is, it’s often at 10 or 11 pm Eastern. That’s brutal.

[@Spetsnazty]

hes also one of the worst interviews to listen to ever

[@chizorama]

When people compare him to Gretzky they miss one major component, Gretzky was equally awesome off the ice, & helped grow the sport. You put the spotlight on McDavid off the ice & all you get is a shadow, & that's a shame, & he's not the only moderm talent that lacks the character needed to garnish attention. Idk who's grooming these young players into robots, that's something that needs to change.

[@HughJorgan1]

@@chizorama They’re a different generation and nowadays everyone has to be politically correct and very careful what they say. They also all take media training so that makes them robotic. It’d be nice if they could be completely open and honest but that isn’t going to happen.

[@nathanadrian7797]

McDavid is a great player, one of the best ever, but if you think that he is the most exciting player ever you need to watch more games from years gone by.

[@HughJorgan1]

@@nathanadrian7797 As I said... arguably the most exciting ever lol.

[@sqidvishus]

The blackouts are the worst. I live in Texas, 4 hours from Dallas. It's not like it's even easy for me to get to a game, as it requires time off from work, gas, hotel, dining out, etc. Why punish actual fans who want to support their team? This makes absolutely zero sense.

[@lucasvidsTV]

As a canes fan who lives 3 hours from Raleigh I feel this

[@gerrylee1687]

Blame bettman. Remember he is Jewish

[@notsoflyguy7635]

@@gerrylee1687bro stfu how many times are you gonna comment the same ignorant ass anti semitic shit

[@nathanadrian7797]

I live in B.C, but I am a Canadiens fan, games are at least a 5 or 6 day drive away and yet are blacked out here. Our provincial team, the Canucks, 9 hr. drive, Edmonton, 10 hrs., Calgary 7 hrs. and Seattle is I think 9 hrs., and all but Seattle will be blacked out. I gave up and got rid of my tv a few years ago, I just catch the highlights on you tube.

[@roberteaston6413]

@@gerrylee1687 In the late 1930's Canada had the worst record of any immigrant country for taking in Jewish refugees. Canada took in less than 5,000 refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. One thing both English Canada and Quebec had in common was they were both anti-Semitic. I once saw a film on anti-Semitism in Canada. They showed a film from cottage country in Northern Ontario in 1950. There was a sign that said "For Christians only". No Jews allowed". If I were a Jewish American living in New York City I would not care for Canada. Also Canada is changing. Most of our immigrants come from China, India, the Philippines, and Africa. The good thing is that Canada is producing some good tennis players, soccer players, football players that make the NFL, and basketball players but does not dominate hockey like she used to.

[@saydaddy91]

I think one of the main problems that is unrated in terms of hockey’s marketability is that of the major North American sports it’s the least accessible. In order to play you not only need to afford the very expensive equipment you also need regular access to an ice rink which aren’t exactly the most convenient or affordable options for either rural or urban kids. Even schools in the middle of the projects or in the boonies have football fields and basketball courts. Meanwhile if you aren’t a rich kid from the suburbs good luck

[@johnnyroberts3761]

Spot on.

[@zigbo5659]

This... Plus sports like basketball and football/soccer can be played literally at every corner of the earth, whereas hockey requires ice, which is very expensive to maintain esp. in tropical countries.

[@bigbearkat2010]

I personally find the expense thing very ironic given that NHL salaries are dwarfed in comparison to the other major leagues. The NHL superstars make low 8 figures whereas NBA teams will spend that much on a bench player without blinking, so even the upside of possibly making the pros just looks insanely low.

[@rowdyruffboy120]

They just recently started a summer ball hockey training program for kids in Pelham alabama (suburb of birmingham and location of the bulls sphl team), and if they can do that in more smaller towns or suburbs near bigger southern cities like atlanta, biloxi and chattanooga, then by 2026 most americans will know the sport way more and most kids will be playing ball hockey during the summer.

[@gordieparenteau6555]

The NHL just cannot get out of it's own way. Leaving NBC, where they were THE star attraction, was a colossal mistake.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

*its

[@gabetalks9275]

The NHL left NBC because NBC wanted to lock all hockey content behind Peacock. They wanted to keep NHL hockey on national television.

[@Matanumi]

@@gabetalks9275 ...and yet now that's gonna fuckin happen anyway with amazon prime! during the playoffs! are you fuckin kidding me?

[@gabetalks9275]

The NHL refusing to cooperate with the IIHF to make a World Cup of Hockey happen with McDavid and Crosby still playing at an elite level solely because they're scared of injuries taking away viewership from NHL games is perfect example of how out of touch the NHL is. Time is almost up for our last chance to the two greatest players of the best two decades teaming up for Canada, yet instead of seeing how much spotlight and growth that will bring to the game, the NHL is instead, more concerned about their tv revenue, while still somehow failing to see that their blackouts are the problem. It's the same problem the NHL has with growing the game. The NHL has millions of fans in cities like Quebec City, Milwaukee, and Portland that have been begging for the opportunity to throw their money at the NHL for years now, yet the NHL refuses to expand there in favor of non-traditional markets in effort to introduce the sport to new fans. The success of the Kings, Stars, Hurricanes, Predators, and Lightning are proof that expanding to Southern markets is objectively a good thing, but their refusal to expand up north is alienating their core fanbase. Traditional markets are the markets that grow the game the most because they have the most fans, making hockey front page news over there, introducing the sport to non-hockey fans from media and word of mouth far more than expanding South ever could. There's a reason why Seattle is already a top 5 revenue generator for the NHL. Bettman should've been gone yesterday. It's ridiculous that the same guy has been running this league since 1993, before Google even existed yet. We live in a completely different era now. It's long overdue to be led by a fresh young mind who actually understands this new generation of fans and where the league needs to go.

[@ghoul5371]

Literally bro the baseball international tournaments have done wonders for its sport why can’t they take notes

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

You seem lost. The IIHF has nothing to do with the World Cup of Hockey. You seem to be talking about the Olympics. Best two decades? You must be very young, haha! Quebec City doesn't even have a population of a million, yet it magically has ''millions of fans''? You're basically talking about three cities with only half a million people each. This isn't a market that interestes the NHL, with the exception of Quebec City, that could in the future become a new Winnipeg. ''There's a reason why Seattle is already a top 5 revenue generator for the NHL'' Source? Bettman has done his job well. The game has grown like never before. What relevance does Google have? How is that a valid comparison? You're beyond lost.

[@gabetalks9275]

@@incumbentvinyl9291 The NHL has been in discussions with the IIHF to bring back the World Cup of Hockey for years now, so yes, the IIHF is involved. I mentioned multiple hockey markets without teams, yet you're singling out QC. Tell me you barely read my comment without telling me you barely my comment. And besides, the Battle of Quebec was fierce, and just like Winnipeg has a diehard fanbase. They would thrive because they thrived before the Canadian recession kicked them out. When Shane Wright was selected in the 2022 Draft, the commentators said that Seattle was already a top 5 money maker for the league. I'm not lost. It's ridiculous that the same regime has been in control of this league since before Google even existed. That comparison is relevant because the current regime pre-dates the digital age. They're completely out of touch with the younger generation and it shows in how little young people today care about hockey. The league never markets itself. It still relies on TV deals like we're still in the 2000's making it impossible to watch most of the games. The league cowardly banned all themed celebrations to keep the neckbeards and bigots happy. Player safety is a joke. The blatant favoritism for certain markets over others (Ottawa getting punished over a minor inconvenience harder than Chicago ever was for covering up a SA). Bettman fumbling the chance to have a best-on-best tournament 3 consecutive times. Bettman refusing to expand to cities that are literally on their knees begging for teams. The list goes on and on.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@gabetalks9275 Wrong again. The World Cup of Hockey has exactly zero relation to the IIHF. You're still talking about the Olympics, but pretend to know what you're talking about. Show me a source where the NHL is in talks with the IIHF concerning the World Cup of Hockey. I touched on all three cities with adequate detail. You're confused and do not comprehend how the world around you works. ''They would thrive because they thrived before the Canadian recession kicked them out.'' If that was true, then they would have made it, other teams did too. Obviously it's not true. ''When Shane Wright was selected in the 2022 Draft, the commentators said that Seattle was already a top 5 money maker for the league.'' Hearsay. What has Google got to do with it? That last much later. Zero relevance as mentioned, yet you keep mentioning it. The 90s was already the digital age. You're lost, you're just not willing to admit it. ''The blatant favoritism for certain markets over others'' What is your source for this information? ''Bettman fumbling the chance to have a best-on-best tournament 3 consecutive times'' How is it three times? Also, how is that Bettman's fault? ''Bettman refusing to expand to cities that are literally on their knees begging for teams'' So any city that begs for a team should automatically get one? You already explained how little you understand about this as you mentioned cities that are completely unrealistic. You have no idea what is going on, yet you're pointing fingers like a child. Grow up.

[@tahreesuh]

​​@@incumbentvinyl9291 Wtf are you a Lawyer? 😭 Bro open your fucking eyes the NHL is DYING because the big execs refuse to do any sort of marketing with the players or the teams. You can ask anyone in America what they think about hockey as a sport and they'll probably tell you that it's entertaining. I would know. I moved from Canada to the U.S in 2018 and I've had MANY people say that EXACT thing to me. Even if you don't know jack shit about hockey rules you can still be entertained. It's rare to have a sport like that. So why is hockey so dead? The only people to blame are the executives in charge of the NHL who refuse to make any major changes out of fear AND people like you who want to preserve outdated traditions.

[@nalaeel219]

My biggest gripe is I pay for espn+ hockey all season long, only to not be able to watch one playoff game. Stupid

[@The_Frozen_1]

And games blacked out because it's on "the NHL Network". I mean really???

[@RackEmRack]

The local blackouts are absolutely absurd and frustrating

[@SSNESS]

NBA ratings are horrible too

[@Nichaelas]

It's crazy that as a sport it has pretty much anything a fan could want. And when you ask people typically its perceived as a fast paced, high action sport. Yet even MLB, which fans have complained can be too slow, isn't doing as bad as the NHL. It really does have to be the marketing. I've seen so many videos on KZbin of basketball fans or football/soccer fans (way more popular sports) being wowed by NHL compilations and be completely surprised by the dekes/dangles which remind them of players they love in their sports. It shows people aren't opposed to the idea of hockey as a sport, but their cluelessness shows the league has failed to market itself. The other issue I could see is some of these fans are literally fanatical to where they might not have time to devote to another sport like they do for the one they already follow.

[@darrinstefaniak]

baseball makes a spectacle out of it and charge people like 5 bucks a ticket lol I hate boring ass baseball, but they have been doing something right lol

[@Philippe8876]

They should bring back the Olympic and I believe we would definitely see a raise in the fanbase worldwide. Everyone want this to happen! I feel like there are few thing like this they could do to get more fan whitout spending too much money.

[@airprok8328]

They don’t really have special players to market anymore. I know there is a couple but back in the day, you could even market fighters! The NHL chose not to of course but who doesn’t love a throw down in a blowout to send a message or to get your players and fans juiced back up??! The NHL is a wimpy league anymore with nothing special to offer anymore.

[@Paul-ud7pt]

Baseball is trying to destroy itself.

[@Embargoman]

​@@Paul-ud7ptThe MLS is giving all the leagues a run for it's money!

[@kyerannisbet8895]

Lmao and Gary Bettman says what he's doing with the NHL now is "growing the game" Yeah, how's that working out for you, old man? 💀

[@Windyyyyyyyyy]

He grew the game in Arizona and Florida, and yet the markets don’t give a damn 😂

[@gerrylee1687]

Gary bettman is Jewish remember. You know what they are

[@gerrylee1687]

They are arrogant

[@Yankeesofpeople]

6 billion dollars in revenue, Say that Nhl is declining is pretty dumb

[@melissaj9504]

​​​@@gerrylee1687 my uncles jewish >:(

[@codyge18]

The NHL's war on fighting has been damaging. Most of the NHL's interesting characters were goalies and grinders. Also said this at the time, Skipping the 2018 Korea Olympics, when Korean NHL fanbase was growing, hurt not only in Korea but all of Asia

[@JakeStevyson]

Interest enough, NHL tried to attract in China when they hosted there and some Chinese aren't familiar with that sports and also it 3 years. They have a KHL team for instance, but the sports is lacking there.

[@codyge18]

@@JakeStevyson most Chinese outside of major cities won't know what it is, but Teir 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai have a hockey base. I even saw a girl in Chengdu wearing a Sabres jersey, and I was pretty stoked. China is also a 3rd world country that pretends to be a 1st world country, so it is too expensive for a lot of kids to play, where as basketball is nearly free to get into. So exposure is key, and the NHL fails to provide that

[@andrewzhao6397]

@@codyge18 You will soon see a couple in Qingdao wearing Oilers jersey because Chinese- Canadian visiting their homeland. What makes them standout other than a 97 McDavid jersey. lol

[@hillfortherstudios2757]

What have they ever done to stop fighting?

[@alexprish5402]

People unfamiliar with hockey see it as a sideshow kind of like wrestling. It's all because of fighting. It looks like a trailer park brawl.

[@cesarcanete3402]

It's funny that you mentioned all this because Nascar has the same marketing problem the NHL fanbase too. They also have an older fanbase and have a hard time attracting to a younger audience. I'm a big fan of both and want to see both leagues succeed.

[@jekcu3693]

I used to be all about football and basketball, but as of 2020, Hockey has completely taken over. It’s such an exciting sport that I don’t even keep up with any other sports anymore, they are all just snooze fests to me at this point. I really wish hockey had more recognition because I think it is one of the highest skilled sports out there and the things these guys can do in the league is just incredible. Anyone can catch a ball and run with it, but how many people can skate, while maneuvering a 6 foot stick, and tracking a little puck, and avoiding 6’5 guys trying to smoke you, while taking a shot with only inches open on a net. It’s ridiculous.

[@MosheModeira]

I love this comment because it validates how I felt when I first fell in love with hockey after having grown up playing only basketball and soccer and baseball. Have love for all sports in general, but I agree with your comment - hockey is jaw-dropping, every single second of NHL hockey for me is miles above any other sport. It's such a shame so few people get exposed to watching it or attending games for prolonged periods of time, to gain an appreciation and understanding for the nuances of the game, the rules and when they are reinforced versus when they are not, the sub-plots/storylines, hero-villain arcs that play out all in a single game. It is a far more engaging sport for me on a three dimensional level than any other sport.

[@ninjaman815]

Hockey is a snooze fest

[@jekcu3693]

@@ninjaman815 you’re so wrong

[@ninjaman815]

@@jekcu3693 You can actually play sports like football and basketball, no one plays ice hockey growing up as a kid. People are excited by sports they grew up with

[@EFLXR782]

Hockey is the third most played sport in the entire world, ahead of baseball, basketball, and american football@@ninjaman815

[@math3342]

I am a huge NHL fan since I am 5 years old. I live in Europe and I can "never" watch the NHL draft live!! I have an NHL TV membership and evrytime there is a game at a decent hour, the game is blacked out because it is presented on pay tv... Pretty sad!!

[@Matanumi]

pirate the streams fuck paying for anything if they black you out

[@rmst2022]

I'd say by FAR the worst factor in the decline in popularity is how expensive this sport is. It's absolutely ridiculous and if the NHL wants to grow the game it needs to pull it's head out of it's own ass and start doing something to at the very least try to decrease the cost of playing the game. The other major problem is marketing. Yeah blackouts are a problem but people will find a way to watch the games illegally, something that TV numbers don't take into account. The marketing of the league is so fucking atrocious that ESPN, one of the league's broadcast partners, is airing one of their most popular personalities on one of their most popular fucking shows groaning when hockey is mentioned and saying "Football, baseball, basketball. Hockey doesn't count" or something like that.

[@bigbearkat2010]

What's worse about the expense is NHL players don't make nearly as much as the other sports, so it just looks flat out not worth it.

[@jasonanderson5034]

decline in popularity based off what? revenue is higher than ever. tv numbers. are irrelevant less people watch tv . its going keep going down . popularity of the nhl and hockey is bigger than ever before, more money is made, more money is spent, more people play it, more people watch it.

[@chickenalaking1319]

Ice rinks are expensive, especially in warm climates.

[@chickenalaking1319]

@@jasonanderson5034everybody loves their doomer taeks.

[@alfiesmullet1311]

They need to let NHL player go to the olympics again

[@AdamOBrien-ke8tg]

This and they need more interviews with entertaining characters that are also relatable. As a viewer who doesn’t watch hockey you might see some guys passing and shoot a puck around and think it’s cool but probably won’t get you invested. If you have a few characters in a story they’re more than a jersey and you might watch them specifically then watching a single player you get to watch the game more in depth. Watching how he skates, passes, shoots, plays the boards, infront. And then it goes from a player to a team and gets you curious about the game and becomes a rabbit hole. That’s just my opinion though.

[@bubbabear244]

So long as Hockey Canada is using membership fees as hush money to cover SA, and the hawks being rewarded Bedard after the Kyle Beach situation, expect interest to continue to decline.

[@GamercraveGFX]

its sad but true. I went to a Canadian highschool and almost everyone followed basketball or at least knew a few players but we never talked much about hockey. The NHL could start by letting players dress how they want. NBA players get posted all the time on social media with their pregame outfits whether its good or bad and it catches people’s attention while also getting recognized for it.

[@funkyowl4629]

Where tf did you live?😂 I don’t think it was Canada

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Dress first class you play first class. Hockey's a classy game

[@Yankeesofpeople]

Its true, I was the door 🤣🤣🤣

[@Azgoon69]

Remember Brent Burns and his tuxedo t-shirt ? Probably not, that's why the way players dress is not an issue and by the way that's not on the league that's an organisation decision, I think the Arizona Coyotes decided to stop that restriction a few years ago and it's still the most irrelevant team in the entire league

[@xRipeh]

U sure u were in Canada? I'm 4 years removed from highschool but NHL was the only sport anyone ever talked about, teachers included. It's like the NBA and MLB never existed. And still now everyone around my age only ever brings up hockey for conversation. Go to any local bar during a Raptors game nobody is actually there to watch the Raptors. Go when the Leafs r playing and the bars are packed with leaf jerseys??? Maybe ur in the "basketball people neighbourhoods" if you know what I mean lmao.

[@kantstenchonthemel5641]

considering it from a foreign point of view (hockey fan in France) NHL is almost invisible here... I should say Hockey in general is absent. Back in the time I remember watching 1980 lake placid miracle on public TV and world championships! today you can't watch hockey unless you pay and abandon sleep.

[@greathoonta3461]

It’s the fault of the owners, not Bettman, until people understand that it won’t be fixed. Bettmans job is to be the leagues mascot and spokesman. He does not make decisions. The owners are who makes the decisions, which is why the boys club mentality thrives so well in the league. Until they are held accountable for what they have done nothing will change. Not to mention, the entire “fall” here that is being described is comparing viewing stats from COVID to now. Comparing a time when there is nothing better to do to normal life isn’t exactly fair. Not to mention using a playoffs with two extremely hated teams in the finals to show the decline. The NHL isn’t in decline, it’s merely stopped growing because of the garbage it has become. Not to mention, the only good way to watch it now is piracy which doesn’t show up on the books.

[@KyleJon]

BETTMANS a mascot alright..

[@Emily-qd9bq]

Instead of putting teams where they have a market like Quebec City who rightfully deserves their team back or maybe even Hartford depending on who you ask they’re putting them in such obscure places. That’s also damaging the league because people are getting tired of it after years and years

[@jmill3147]

And not only that, it's as if the league is going to extremes to make sure these teams in non-hockey cities are relevant year after year by any means necessary (Tampa, Vegas). And then when a team is a complete failure like Arizona they keep them there instead of moving the team to a true hockey city like Quebec.

[@joeydrummer7929]

@@jmill3147Vegas is a hockey city now whether you like it or not. I live here. Almost every single car on the road has a VGK bumper sticker on it, when you wear a jersey around town people stop you and say “go knights !” , during the playoffs this year I would walk around my neighborhood and listen to the games in my headphones and walked by house after house of people watching the game in their garage . When Stone got his hat trick in game 5 of the SCF I was walking and heard cheering come from multiple different houses all over the neighborhood. People absolutely love this team here and have become a hockey city. They also lead the league in attendance every year since they’ve existed . Just not true that they’re not a hockey town.

[@Kcman1827]

@@joeydrummer7929 I feel like that’s what the commissioner wanted. He wants to turn these places into hockey towns, but in places like Arizona, it has failed. Btw living there with such a devoted community sounds super fun. Coming from a caps fan, it’s clear to see what a cup win does to a town

[@jmill3147]

@@joeydrummer7929 We'll see how much of a hockey town Las Vegas is once the league loses interest in pushing them to the front and moves on to their next pet project.

[@MrZachtheKingsfan]

I’ll agree with you about Arizona being a hot mess that should have relocated years ago, but Vegas alone should prove to you how wrong you are about that.

[@gabrielidusogie9189]

I just got into hockey……

[@HecticHockey]

Stick around we need you!

[@jonasgorea3823]

Ur a dying breed my man

[@gabrielidusogie9189]

@@HecticHockey you hit the nail on the head. So much star talent, American star talent, that the NHL needs to market to the populace. As a black hockey fan, the NHL would thrive if they could market to African Americans. I mean look at black people Twitter and pop culture in general. We have literal skin in the game and we make things cool.

[@coastaku1954]

@@gabrielidusogie9189 PK Suban mean nothing to you?

[@gabrielidusogie9189]

@@coastaku1954 I love Pk. One of my fav players. Dustin Byfuglien too. But PK is Canadian. It’d be a lot better if he was an African American. I can guarantee you most people don’t know who PK Subban is but everyone knows Lebron James

[@stanbwildin4749]

I completely agree with what your saying man. I feel like if hockey was cheaper and more appealing to teens around the world. Hockey would be back in the top 3. Its getting really bad with the new generation. The high school league in my city is closing down cus kids would rather play soccer or basketball. I definitely hope a resurgence will happen soon. Anyways great job dude! You earned a new supporter

[@Nichaelas]

Yeah I mean just look at Football (Soccer). Sure there's actual equipment if you play officially games on teams, but at its very basics all you need to play is a ball and your feet. It's easily one of the most accessible sports out there. Whereas even if you can afford all the hockey equipment every time you want to play you have to spend time strapping yourself up with armor essentially. Not to mention you have to have ice to play on. For most people not living in a cold area with frozen ponds that means you gotta go to a local rink (which is not very possible in some areas such as where I'm at I would need to drive over an hour to Tampa). Football can be practiced in your back yard. I don't ever expect the NHL to be the most popular because of these reasons but they could certainly market themselves better, the sport has a lot to offer and I truly think in my opinion its the best.

[@stanbwildin4749]

@@Nichaelas agreed dude

[@bigbearkat2010]

There's also the salaries that go with the sports. If a kid is asked "hey would you rather be a superstar in the NHL and make about 13 million or be a superstar in other leagues and make bare minimum at least twice that much?", it's probably an easy decision for them.

[@jasonanderson5034]

back in the top 3 it was never in the top 3 lol are uslow

[@Walgriff]

I remember paying for a monthly subscription, could have been sportsnet, only to find out that the games of the team I support can’t be watched in my region. I promptly cancelled my subscription and don’t pay to watch anymore.

[@nbarealtalker]

I can’t think of anything genuinely dumber for your product than knowingly limiting where it can be watched.

[@AV57]

The NHL primarily made its money directly from fans (ticket sales, merchandise, vending sales) prior to the 90s. In addition to that, the NHL made a little money from selling physical ad space and radio ads, which was basically just free money so long as it didn't negatively affect the fans' enjoyment of the game. But in the 90s they grew the sport to a point where advertisers and TV providers were willing to offer massive upfront contracts to where the NHL owners totally changed their priorities away from fans and towards advertisers. That, in and of itself, might have been fine if they had gone all in on that strategy, but they got too greedy and they still wanted to treat fans as customers. They still wanted to sell outrageously priced tickets, beers, hot dogs, jerseys, and they wanted to sell monopolistic TV broadcasting rights to regional providers to ensure that it wasn't too easy for fans to consume the game. On one hand, the modern NHL fan is a customer, but on the other hand the NHL fan is a product to be sold to advertisers, and it's always at the convenience of what NHL owners want in a given moment.

[@GlassJ0e]

It’s pathetic. Blackouts, games ending at 1am on a Monday night, taking out hits and fights…yet another example of a corporation telling us what we should want and force feeding it.

[@AlwayzFresh]

I tried for years to pay the NHL money to watch Maple Leaf hockey games, but they kept blacking out so many games I eventually dropped them and went to illegal streaming, never looked back. They don't want my money or viewership.

[@liltrix3006]

How can you ship drop 22% between 2021 and 2022? Crazy it's almost like people were stuck at home in 2021 with nothing to do and then 2022 they were able to move about freely again

[@Matanumi]

video game markets saw a decrease as well- the reality is these corporations are greedy and hate seeing ANY numbers in the decline

[@jasonanderson5034]

@@Matanumi greedy no its called being a business the goal is to profit as much as possible . if they were greedy their would be no other option nobody is stopping u from watching junior hockey or the sphl or any small european league u choose to support these guys u tool

[@DocsGreetingCards]

I'm a hockey fan but the sport's popularity is what it is. It's obviously the biggest sport in Canada, but it just isn't that popular in the US. Look at the TV ratings. and they keep trying to expand into warm weather regions that aren't interested. the NHL thinks it's something that it isn't.

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

The stars too need to be promoted more!! From an article I read "As mentioned, superstars are what drives the marketability of a league. Wayne Gretzky’s move to Los Angeles took the NHL to new heights. It created two more hockey teams in California and in other non-traditional hockey markets. So it hurts the NHL when its best players, like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews (an American!), are perennial playoff losers."

[@dwayneharms8336]

The lack of the rivalries between teams is a major problem also.

[@vincenzoscarapicchia8298]

The NHL needs to make their product more assessable. Figure out the blackouts and scheduling mishaps first, then focus on growing your brand. Focus on your current fans staying interested, then focus on growing the game in non traditional markets.

[@Roacha9]

Something Real Madrid did in I think 2004 when aquiring David Beckham, it was solely a Media presence aquiring, not saying he is a great player but they didnt really need him, they had a tour in Asia that pulled MILLIONS upon MILLIONS new fans and sold shirts and stuff of all their star players like it was candy.

[@trixus4768]

I fully agree with showing the player's personality. You can clearly see how popular is Pastrnak just because of his outgoing and cheerful demeanor...

[@marblox9300]

I was a fanatical hockey goalie and fan in the 1970s. Now I never watch even the biggest games of the year. Doing other things.

[@williamanderson6006]

This is happening to all pro sports

[@barryfinkle1755]

Playoff viewership is at an all time high. Also, hockey has never been ran well. Even during the original 6. There was a reason the Leafs and Habs got all the cups. Owners owned multiple teams. The Rangers were a farm team.

[@beatime8430]

as a fan in the uk, i dont get too many opportunities to watch hockey, but there is a clear difference between watching a game in person and watching it on tv. at the finland games last year, the energy was palpable, people were excited and the arena kept things interesting between periods with music, interviews, etc. watching a game on tv, i was bored out of my mind seeing old men on my screen describing exactly what i just saw happen in the game. they NEED to invest in new personalities in tv!

[@chief3619]

Well, they did have one of the most colorful analysts in the game with don cherry be he had to be let go because of #muh-racism. Then they let roenick go because of #muh-sexism.

[@tomault3063]

I find all halftime shows that don't involve Prince boring. Haven't watched one in decades, and I've been a pretty big sports fan all my life.

[@AV57]

When I'm watching the game at home, I set a timer and go do something else for 18 minutes between periods.

[@sampicano]

that's EXACTLY how I feel about watching english soccer for the record....you think the personalities are INTERESTING????? You think Canadians care what Thierry Henry thinks???? It goes both ways. Canadians couldn't care less. UNLESS YOU LOVE THE PREMIER LEAGUE....then you care. Pretty sure you don't ACTUALLY LIKE HOCKEY you just watched a game a handful of times.

[@beatime8430]

@@sampicano uhh dude i hate soccer. its my least favourite sport. not sure what all the aggressiveness is for, when theres a bunch of people in the comments that agreed with me that the tv personalities in hockey are uninteresting. i watch nba, nfl, wnba, mlb, and nhl. i watch all of these as consistently as i can with the time difference. this is not to shit on the sport as i said, ive loved every single hockey game ive watched and attended, im only speaking on the tv program, which i think is subpar compared to other sports

[@monztermovies]

DEI hires, any DEI involvement, seizure promoting digital ads whoring out my eyes, 177 teams with unknown players, a pathetically goofy all star game, local TV blackouts and so on will continue to ruin the most beautiful sport…..SAD.

[@chickenalaking1319]

Don't forget the Fanatics official NHL jerseys

[@hhtptai]

I also think that last year's Stanley Cup Finals had such low viewership because the series was pretty much a sweep.

[@bpastorb]

The equipment/cost issue is really hard to understand for anyone who never went through it or is not planning to put their kid through it. This is why its so hard for people to understand all modern NHL'ers come from a wealthy family (or a country like Russia where you are a state sponsored athlete). You did a good job to mention 'keeping up with gearing' but its not really that simple as kids grow rapidly. Hockey is a sport where you have significant advantages the earlier you begin - also increasing that cost per growth. If you do get good and succeed - each one of those equipment resizes will be into better and better equipment. This is at the same time as paying normal league costs. House league the very base level, still cost more than every other sport base league because the need for ice, enclosing that ice in a physical building and paying to maintain it all throughout the day. Every step you increase in level those costs also go up. Then they also add in travel costs - with individual trips costing as much as a whole year of playing. The sticks should not be understated either because they don't just cost $400 and you need one and that's it. Generally players will try to keep 2 of the same (one for backup) if they can afford it. Whenever one breaks they need to go replace it, that could be as many as one a week to one a month - its total luck. Realistically it's easily into the six figures for a successful career path just with all the mandatory costs - then many/majority parents will pay much much more for 'extras' such as private training and private sports schools - you're talking millions of dollars. Imagine the stress of needing to succeed under those circumstances.

[@user-gw5wg2jf9c]

its not expensive bro talk like that is why u have guys like owen power who basically sucks

[@bpastorb]

@@user-gw5wg2jf9c How does that argument even make sense? This is a league wide problem, has nothing to do w/ a specific player you dislike.. But since you want to focus on him sure.. Owen power allegedly materialized at the age of 14 and there is no record of him going to private sports school. He only has record of three years playing AAA If anything he is an example of someone using as little money as possible (hence how your argument makes little sense) - however in reality I am willing to bet his rookie career cost a shit load more then his elite prospects page gives off. He likely was just kept in lower leagues where he dominated all the while getting shit tons of private training. There are several years of his rookie career missing as well as what high school he attended. His whole story is how he is just physically gifted and essentially how every team wanted him for size alone, which sounds nice and all..

[@bpastorb]

@@user-gw5wg2jf9c That's not to mention that his 3 years in AAA hockey probably cost his parents anywhere from 10-30k per year, for league+travel costs alone. Not including his premium equipment while going through growth spurts or all the $400+ sticks he is breaking, or equipment he is literally wearing out playing so often in his 6ft 5" frame

[@MatzeMB85]

As a European hockey fan I will say this. If I would like to watch a game I need to stay up to 2 am and go to bed after 4 am, if my works start at 7 it's just not doable. Now let's do this 82 times if you wanna watch every game. If you wanna follow the play offs as I tried this year you got maybe 7 games and you don't know which one will be the good one to watch, the first ones won't see a winner and the last ones may be on days you just can't watch. Making it hard to follow a team at all so you stick with the local league as it's just simpler and more enjoyable. Add to that the fact that the best players leave and often aren't seen again as the players don't play international hockey, something that has a big fanbase in Europe. Just look at the world cup this year, many smaller nations were on fire by the success their team had. But the NHL was on a record low when it came to player playing for their countries. Something the fans of the world deserves and the players too. We care little about who lifts the stanley cup this year, because we can't watch anyway. A few games a year with jetlagged "stars" isn't going to change that either. I am a hockey fan and I want to enjoy all and the best of it and for the sport to grow. Over the recent years I have come to the conclusion that hockey probably with be more fun and popular without the circle jerk the NHL has become.

[@bobbydigital8243]

the nhl would be in so much better shape if Mcdavid was playing for the los angelas kings, watch how big Bedard will be with the blackhawks

[@JakeStevyson]

Doing the Gretzky LOL

[@jockejocke1]

I'm old school, I *listen* to NHL games on the radio streams.

[@dennisjordan4952]

ESPN is killing hockey.havent even watched a game since they took over

[@foxprohitman]

Because it's not being aired on free TV like it used to when it was on NBC, NBC is aired over broadcast so people who don't have cable can still watch the channel for free so I didn't watch hockey on TV at all this year because NHL games no longer air over the air ways major reason viewership is down

[@jasonanderson5034]

so how is that a loss more profit is not a loss and the exposure is pointless hear me out,. people fall in love from playing hockey not watching a sport they don't understand why do u think cricket has failed over here nobody has easy access to play or learn the sport their not going to watch it same applies to hockey in afghanistan cricket is popular their because the people understand it and can have access to it

[@chief3619]

The broadcasting schedule was so bad this year, especially during the playoffs after my team was knocked out. This was the first year in decades I couldn’t watch the final cuz I don’t have TNT and I wasn’t about to pick up yet another streaming service to get it. Their broadcasting is a major reason their popularity has never soared any higher than at its highest peaks.

[@matthewanderson7852]

for me the issue i have is they make it super hard to even watch the teams you want to see. all last season as a Lighting and Wild fan, if i wanted to watch a game from either I would need 2 diffrent streaming services to watch either (bally for a wild game, and espn plus for the lighting) and if either was on a national brodcast on TNT I would need another service on top of those 2. I love hockey but i am not paying for 3 diffrent streaming platforms to watch the games i care about. The first step in my mind to help the NHL do better is make it so we can watch any game from 1 service.

[@henrikkitahvanainen9276]

I Have to say that your international assesment was little off... Hockey has lots of international players compared to other sports and there has Been long tradion of that. Oveckin, datsyk, Hasek, Kurri, Forsberg, Selänne etc. Biggest problem with hockey IS The cost. Only The upper middle class cab has IT as a hobby. Other problem IS The lack of international tournaments like NHL WC and NHL not allowing players play on olympics.

[@ChurchOfTheHolyMho]

Although defensive at first, I think you have alot of this correct. Separating the Stanley Cup several days apart and scheduling after pre-season baseball and competitive deck shuffling on ESPN (doesn't seem very important to them), I found that those bizzare times always fell while I was busy... I missed a few of the games completely, and just caught a period or two here and there... And yes, scheduling 14 regular season games on the same day at the same time doesn't help. And I also remember the commercial where Ovechkin calls room service and orders like 200 items, and when asked his name says "Crosby"... which cuts to Crosby looking at all the food and shouting "Ovechkin!"... funny stuff - and it builds the names of the players for the viewers... You are correct. There is so much the league could do - but doesn't.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

*a lot

[@joshbradfield629]

My criticism on the NHL is how corporate everything has gotten since Covid. They removed teams logo from helmets and later turned the boards into a distracting form of advertisement

[@SigmaRho2922]

The 2023 finals was the lowest rated finals in Canada and the second lowest rated finals on both sides of the border despite being the third lowest rated in the US ahead of only 2020 and 2007. The main reason for this other than the limited availability of TNT is because of the high scoring nature of games 1, 2, and 5, with games 2 and 5 being blowouts.

[@jasonanderson5034]

no its pretty simple and clear that the lack of Canadian viewers helped it succeed the lowest viewed status having it be the 3rd lowest in america helped . its not rocket science its basic math

[@sampicano]

I turned the playoffs off out of protest...it was LAS VEGAS AND FLORIDA.... Why would ANY SELF RESPECTING CANADIAN...SUPPORT THOSE GRBAGE MARKETS???? I hope they relocate...Miami loses more money than ANY OTHER TEAM IN THE NHL...and they were in the finals two years in a row....it doesn't matter. America hates hockey. And Canada doesn't support American teams.

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

can hockey rinks be built as part of multiple use ice arenas, with speed skating, figure skating and other ice sports?

[@jonasgorea3823]

I mean where do we even start… 1. Nobody knows what the hell a penalty is 2. Stars have 0 personality and marketability 3: the playoff format sucks ass and is detrimental to the quality of the product see this past scf. 4. The nhl doesn’t look to improve its product it looks to make money off the current product. Ive been a lightning fan and hockey fan hardcore for almost a decade. Its sad to see its decline compared to thriving upencoming leagues like MLS and F1. I dont often agree with Steve dangle but he is 100% right with this… Its not a legitimate league. Its rinky dink and borderline amateur.

[@DukeParkes]

It’s still a professional sport. It’s just because Gary bettman and his board are a bunch of lazy fvcks

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

How does the playoff format ''suck ass''? What's your suggestion? *up and coming F1 isn't a league. Something tells me you're not very bright.

[@MattM-oe6qs]

Playoffs are the same as NBA and MLB so what are you talking about? 😂

[@chickenalaking1319]

@@incumbentvinyl9291"almost a decade" lol

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@chickenalaking1319 Yeah, what a comedian, haha!

[@LucasPelusso]

I'm Mexican and just got into hockey last year during the Stanley cup playoffs but it always seemed like a rad sport since I was a kid like fr there were many movies and tv shows where I could see hockey represented (my fav ones are in Malcolm in the middle) but when I tried to watch a game they were nowhere to be seen, not a single match in public tv and when I got cable television I didn't even knew they broadcasted NHL games, it was until 2023 where I found a match zapping trough channels, like wtf is going on at the marketing department bro. During this season at least they're trying to advertise the games a lil more but they only broadcast 1 match a day. I know hockey ain't the most popular sport here but bro I would watch way more hockey if only they could add 2 or 3 channels exclusively made for NHL to watch my team like they do for La Liga and the Bundesliga, hell nah man even MLB and NFL have Mexican fans, it ain't like we don't like American sports, it's more like they don't make an effort to advertise them here. Anyways thanks for reading my longass Tedx talk lmao 😤👊

[@jasonanderson5034]

yea the mlb has mexican baseball fans mexico is arguably the 3rd best country in the world at the sport and they have the 3rd best league which is crazy when u think about how poor the country is compared to japan and america the league wouldn't be good if it couldn't pay its players its not millions but its good money . if it had the money america did mexico would have a baseball league that rivals the mlb almost

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

The owners need to can Bettman. He’s the main culprit of this issue and largely out of touch for what is needed to advance the league in a positive direction.

[@AV57]

Bettman doesn't dictate to the owners. The owners dictate to Bettman. Bettman is their employee.

[@buchmemes]

I wrote my senior essay for English on these exact topics in the same format. Was shocked there wasn’t a video essay on it. Guess I’m not the only one who was doing research on it lol

[@cyrillum434]

We dont here about McDavid on american broadcasting because McDavid plays in a Canadian Meduim sized market. Crosby played in a east coast market in the heartland of the states and Ovi is in the capital. Its no suprise more people know who they are than McDavid I think its safe to say the low viewership this year was because the finals was between 2 teams the border NHL don't care for as much. Same happened in 07 with the ducks and sens. While the blackouts aren't helping its safe to say the increased amount of games broadcasted diluted the market a bit. Bad scheduling is an issue but they can fix that pretty easily. Those are my only points

[@samwilley8748]

It’s Bettmans fault. He made it an owners league so he can’t get voted out and is killing the league in the process. Also I thought nbc was bad but ESPN says hold my beer. I bet that viewership would go up if the just took Leah Hextall off lol

[@mrconfusion87]

Two Words: Gary Buttman! 🤣 I heard some rumors/conspiracies that he was an NBA plant sent in to sabotage the NHL (since back in the early 1990s, the two leagues weren't too far apart as far as popularity in the USA went)... 🤷‍♂️

[@WarioSaysSo]

Gary Bettman and his lackies must go. There MUST be a great change of NHL officials who can take the sport of hockey and market it more international. I remember in the 90's hockey had a great swing that was all the way up til the 2005 NHL lockout....then it cam slowly down to where wer are now.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

Why and how should it be more international? It's a sport played on ice, not on sand in the desert. People have to comprehend the limitations of a game that is dependant on weather to thrive in the community.

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@incumbentvinyl9291 True, but the entertainment value and quality beats soccer, baseball and football any day for example and even if I also love basketball, I rather pick hockey at first hand if I'm forced to choose.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@WarioSaysSo Obviously. That's not hard to do. The truth however is that football requires something round and two rocks. It can be played even in the most impoverished corners of the Earth.

[@WarioSaysSo]

@@incumbentvinyl9291 True!

[@danza1612]

The scheduling sucks, and a lot of the channels like ESPN sometimes don't carry the games. Like who the hell is gonna pay for TNT to watch the NHL??? Most of baseball games, soccer, and american football are on a lot of streaming services unlike the NHL. The choices are abysmal sometimes.

[@johnnyraven4217]

I am going to suggest it’s the product itself. I find too many games are boring. Low scoring, tight checking and too much favouring of strong defense, especially in the playoffs , makes me tune out . Players are all huge, goalies with their pads look like an impenetrable wall- it’s hard to get a lot of truly high quality scoring chances. Shrink player pad sizes. Especially goalies . Move icing line from centre line to D zone blue line to encourage even more stretch passes or breakouts into the O zone with a bounce off the O zone boards. A return to an offense oriented game where a lead can easily be erased.

[@thebaconmanthony]

The league has seen an absurd rise in goals within the past 10 years with these problems still being prevalent. I don't think offense can be correlated with popularity.

[@alfiesmullet1311]

The latest TV deal was dumb. Especially in Canada... sportsnet is way more expensive than tsn to get all the games for just your local team.. new TV deal next year should hopefully fix that..

[@MadeOnTape]

at this point I think of hockey as North America's "Aussie Rules Football", but way more expensive for kids and families to participate. And i'm a huge hockey fan. I played it growing up (mostly roller hockey cuz of the expense of ice hockey being too great for my family) ...the good side: Australians love their sport and it's really cool. However, if you have an expansion mindset, it would seem like hockey's lack of international appeal is disappointing. I think it's fine. there are lots of cool sports all over the world that don't make their way here. Seems jingoistic to worry about hockey's lack of international appeal. What worries me about the current state of hockey is a slow death from within given the high cost to participate.

[@Mayor_Of_Eureka17]

Have faith...its not the VS or OLN era. If you were watching during that era you wouldn't hop on this train so easily.

[@lkrnpk]

When I heard MLS being called 4th league in USA I knew yeah… something happening with hockey and it is not good

[@onesoberguy1847]

I live nowhere near any hockey market in Canada and games are blacked out here. In CANADA! Bobblehead Bettman is so busy trying to carve out his legacy that he has almost no interest in the game. Throwing out traditions to try to clone the NBA has been a slap in the face. Remember the old Norris, Smythe, Patrick and Adams Divisions? Remember the Wales Conference and the Campbell Conference? Remember how he decided to remove team logos from pucks and replace them with a league logo emblazoned with his signature? Hockey is being pushed out of the spotlight and blame for that can be placed at the feet of Bettman. Even with him gone, it may be too late to save the league from mediocrity and indifference from a public that has no interest in the game.

[@brandonconforto315]

So is that why NHL players aren’t usually marketable? The culture looks down on individual personalities? That make sense because the only hockey player that had national fame,in my lifetime, was Wayne Gretzky

[@johnm8096]

No irrelevance here. Love the NHL. Checked out of MLB and NBA long time ago. No better postseason than the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[@stevebuscemi3622]

Tickets for pens games are $90+ keep it niche and small lmao

[@Matanumi]

couldn't get a ticket for less then 100CAD in vancouver.... yea it's not gonna work for the middle class person (whos struggling anyway on CoL)

[@chickenalaking1319]

Keep the prices too low, then you'll have to ban alcohol, enforce dress codes, and have security checkpoints with drug sniffing dogs.

[@ryang7941]

I've been a fan for 40 years, and I have almost completely lost interest the last 5 years. Too many teams, a diluted product, once great clubs like the Montreal Canadians, have been reduced to middling franchises. We need the original 6 and other great clubs to dominate at the top. Clubs like Vegas come into the league and win the cup is a joke.

[@ZiggyZou]

Most Americans have never played hockey. All play football, baseball and basketball and even soccer now.

[@jasonanderson5034]

even soccer now are u mentally slow soccer has been in gym class for decades get out of your bubble

[@sampicano]

and the areas that DO PLAY hockey...are ignored by the NHL.... Milwaukee, Quebec City, Hamilton, Portland, Baltimore, Hartford, Cleveland....no teams.

[@maximilianmaier3950]

Add a lot of confusing rules to the mix. Like high stick: Usually it's with the stick above the shoulders, unless the puck goes into the net, then it's stick above the crossbar. WHY? I mean it's not a big deal for established hockey fans, but for potential new fans it can be confusing. And I know it's not the most significant rule, but I mentioned it because it's one of the most unnecessary confusing rules.

[@MattM-oe6qs]

Crossbar is an easy visual reference.

[@savax1551]

As a hockey fan, what is making me lose interest is the irregularities with regards to the referee's. It feels like every game follows a different rule book

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

*referees I disagree.

[@lancecampbell4323]

Not sure about your take on other sports. Nobody cares about baseball and NBA ratings are collapsing worse than hockey. Bettman has been a disaster and I couldn’t identify a single player from my home team so I agree with you on these troubles. You are right, every sport should be worried about soccer, lucky for them MLS is even worse at marketing than hockey.

[@shaneimler9328]

You missed a key aspect. They've slowly taken the hockey out of hockey. Hockey use to be a blue collar sport. A hard hitting, fighting, league. Now it's a White collar, business mans, league. They've all but eliminated both fighting and hard hitting. The two things most blue collar fans loved about the game. Marketing may have a little to do with it, but the NHL abandoned its traditional fan base.

[@williamlacombe8958]

Oh right we need to ruin careers of the great most exciting players in hockey history .look at the talent lost to concussions alone

[@ruffrida100]

@@williamlacombe8958he’s just stating the obvious. It’s not just fighting, it’s the physical play in general, they just let whoever has the puck do what they want, there is no 100% given to take the puck away, which would require a pancake into the boards.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

*white collar, businessman's league.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@williamlacombe8958 How many greats have been kept off the ice due to concussions? It was mostly enforcers, with a select few other players retiring because of concussions. I don't see it.

[@higherground9888]

​@@incumbentvinyl9291Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya have entered the Chat.

[@Kevinmac1120]

This has never ever bothered me though, and I'm surprised so many fans care about the worldwide "popularity" of the league. In fact my biggest issue with the NBA is that everybody and their mother has an opinion on the league, which causes for polarizing takes just to get views when I'd much rather just sit down and watch the sport. Hockey is the last sport out there that I feel like I can just turn on a game and enjoy it for what it is. We've already seen this with ESPN putting on those horrible announcers trying to get non-fans interested, and damn near every hockey fan can't stand it. But when people say "the league needs more personalities", that is exactly what they're asking for. But when they get it, they hate it because it's dumb and takes away from the sport. If the league gets more popular, the ticket prices would also become more expensive. I can understand if you are like an NHL exec wanting to increase popularity. But as fans, why should we care? I love watching the sport, I don't care if my neighbor also loves watching the sport. I'm not making any money off more fans watching. It literally has no effect on me. To me, as long as the league doesn't literally fold and isn't on TV anymore (which won't happen), I couldn't care less about the popularity of it. In fact, I much prefer it this way. Totally agree that they make it difficult to watch games though. That does suck and needs to be fixed, for everyone's sake

[@Pol-xu4on]

I think the fear is NHL will lose its already dwindling talent pool atleast in North America as it loses relevancy further.

[@samuelfaria8522]

The NHL made a terrible mistake skipping the last two Winter Olympics. Hockey has 15 days of free worldwide publicity every four years and somehow someway the NHL just threw that on trash for no reason.

[@Matanumi]

they are afraid of injuries they couldn't control also those last two Olympics weren't for the west- they were for China and South Korea to increase and EXPOSE their games. South Korea couldn't give less of a shit and China is more amusing- Kunlun Redstar is composed of players majority from WESTERN CANADA... yeah...China doesn't give a shit either.

[@homer30]

Gone are the time of Pavel Bure, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Sakic, Ed Belfour, Mike Modano, Sergie Fedorov. Paul Kariya. This 90s hockey generation is the best!!

[@OutOfTouch2]

Going with an all speed and skill league has killed the excitement for casual fans, let alone most of us diehards. Basically all 700 players in the league have the same scouting report and it took away what was once a unique sport.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

What an ignorant thing to say.

[@rayanomar4832]

@@incumbentvinyl9291 no, he's right. The NHL now has only 1 meta/blueprint for winning, which eliminates much of traditional hockey values

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@rayanomar4832 He said for casual fans. He is under no circumstances right.

[@tomault3063]

@@incumbentvinyl9291you are correct. as a casual fan, who is quickly becoming a devoted one, I would much rather see Nikita Kucherov make a sick pass than some bully beat a guy up.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@tomault3063 Indeed. It's a completely different sport for you than it is for people who have played competitive hockey and been around the game for decades in nothing short of a devout manner. Old habits die hard, and as we grew up with and in a tough game, it's natural for us to view the ballerinas of today as soft when for us the ice was a battlefield. I wasn't the biggest or toughest guy out there in my day, and I had to mentally prepare for every game in order to get more grit out of myself as it didn't come naturally. I put my heart and soul into being a wrecking ball on the ice. This is not required in the same way as before. Intimidation and fear is no longer part of the game, and in my opinion that reduces the sport's value greatly. It's not nearly as competitive.

[@yelling3874]

I am a new fan, and it's solely because someone I know is great at storytelling and got me really into their team. I don't remember ever seeing NHL marketing as an adult and never felt it was something I needed to look into. I grew up right next to DC in the Crosby/Ovechkin era so you would think I'd have heard a little more, but no... I was talking to my little brother the other day and he didn't even know who Ovechkin was. They only won that cup five years ago, how is that even possible? He would have still been in high school! It should have been one of the most interesting things going on that year... I ended up getting espn+ assuming I could watch the playoffs. It's so disappointing and confusing just trying to figure out HOW TO WATCH! I don't care at all about the only team near where I live now so blackouts wouldn't even have been an issue to me. How can an organization with this much money be so bad at this?? Maybe if we're all lucky, there'll be some new leadership soon. Bettman's over 70, right?

[@gabetalks9275]

Bettman said that he's not going to be the commissioner into his 80's, so is tenure in its twilight years.

[@tylerbrooklyn4187]

The fact that the league spends more time promoting and marketing rats like Ryan Reaves and Pat Maroon instead of upstanding guys like Aleksander Barkov and Nathan MacKinnon also makes me frustrated. Especially because some casual hockey fans don’t even know who the best NHL players are outside of Crosby, Ovi, McDavid and Patrick Kane

[@pookerville]

ESPN has tried to do Spanish Hockey telecasts, but they're dwarfed by soccer telecasts on Fox Deportes and Univision. One time, a Mexican soccer telecast in Spanish outdrew an NHL game in English.

[@geoff3103]

I only watch NHL hockey at playoff time. And I hate the NHL playoff format. Bottomline is I can't stand the NHL's mindset of doing everything and anything based on whether it'll make a penny or save a penny, decorum be damned. Like the playoff format. Its just an embarrassing league thats slowly descending into irrelevancy. My motto is "I love hockey but hate the NHL"; its just so embarrassing and Bush League now.

[@bjdon99]

If the Rangers end up playing the Oilers in the Cup Final this season it will see very high ratings in both countries

[@CleverContrarian]

The real issue is groupthink that is pervasive among the entire leadership group from the President/CEO etc to the NHL owners, board of governors etc they have to change their mindset of how they run league.

[@L1V2P9]

When one person called the game it was a lot more exciting. A good play-by-play injected excitement into the game as his voice would rise as the puck entered the opponents end of the ice. You always knew who had the puck, and who was in goal. Now two commentators are used and they droll on reciting boring stats and meaningless histories often when the puck is in play, dragging down the tempo of the game. Sadly, on some occasions they would break off the chatter and say "we have a goal." This broadcasting style was likely adopted from baseball where there was time between pitches. But hockey is all about action and the commentator should focus totally on the play.

[@joeydrummer7929]

Eh I disagree. There’s plenty of really great commentators in the league.

[@TheWarawaj]

broadcasters definitely make or break the experience. I'm and Oilers fans, and we love our broadcasters, they are amazing!

[@Dexter037S4]

@@joeydrummer7929 Hell, TSN has most of the good ones. Give me Gord on ESPN, please!

[@joelgrosschmidt5507]

I purchased a product from the NHL that they marketed as “view all games from any device”. As you all know, once I purchased it I was delighted to find out that my local games were blacked out. I phoned and asked for a refund so I could purchase the package that would ACTUALLY let me see the games I wanted to see. The lady was outright rude and basically told me I was an idiot for not reading the fine print and to piss off. I’ve been pirating the NHL ever since and giving stream links to anyone that wants them. I will never spend another dollar on the NHL outside of the two unavoidable-when I go to a stadium once a year, or buying a new jersey every 10 years

[@tomault3063]

The blue lines do seem a little bluer this year.

[@hatermcdader9566]

Bro I live in Edmonton and half the people I talk to don't even know who McDavid is, and half of the people that do know who he is cant even say his name correctly. The funnier thing too is that if I were to talk about a missed foul call in a preseason NBA game, I would have those results flipped around. The NHL is irrelevant even in the city with the best player in it, its sad and funny at the same time.

[@Michael_RareZebra]

Wow!!! 😮

[@roberteaston6413]

I live in Edmonton, too. Look at where our immigrants are coming from. They come from China, India, the Philippines, and Africa. Hockey is not in their culture. I am an immigrant myself. I was born in Japan but grew up in Canada. At work Punjabi is the number two language. We need immigrants as Canada's birth rate is too low but they would rather follow soccer and basketball.

[@jasonanderson5034]

your just lying

[@jasonanderson5034]

@@Michael_RareZebra no take that wow back he is a liar even old ladies who don't watch hockey know mcdavid

[@jasonanderson5034]

@@roberteaston6413 the amount of immigrants is extremely low why wouldn't punjabi be the second biggest language at work nobody speaks french out west. your acting like its 1/3 of the population its not even 10% ... most people in Edmonton know who he is quit lying why do u guys have to lie go around asking people you'll see im right

[@ngarcia103]

There was a half-decade or so in the NBA where there was a down period with zero parity. The same two teams were either in the Finals or close to it. And despite this, the NHL STILL couldn't overtake them in popularity during that period.

[@gregclark8256]

I watch close to 100 games a year, and sometimes i dont know when the outdoor games are on. I miss fighting, and the hard hitting the nhl used to be known for. Plus the nhl punishes players with any personilty, jeremy roenick wont get into the hall of fame, sean avery was kicked out prematurely becuase he was controversial, now player agents discourage players say anything thst isnt scripted and boring.

[@cinemafile7478]

I hope the Blackhawks and NHL do a better job of marketing Connor Bedard than Edmonton did for Connor McDavid. He’s playing in a bigger market so it should be easier to promote him. He doesn’t have a big personality though…His play and highlights alone will have to suffice for entertainment

[@brandonmclean58]

The NHL will be fine, just because it isnt as popular as the other major sports doesn't mean it is going anywhere, its never been up there in terms of popularity compared to baseball, basketball and football. If the NHL was in any actual trouble, why would they be expanding adding more teams and increasing the salary cap with more and more guys making ridiculous sums of money, sure not as much as the other major sports guys but they are making more money than ever.

[@mamaji277]

I do agree that the NHL has not put themselves in a great spot to contend with the other leagues, but I do not agree with the narrative that the league itself is in a decline in terms of popularity. First off, the viewership being down 22% is a misleading stat. US national broadcasts were down 22%, which is only the games aired by ESPN and TNT, not the hundreds of games aired on regional broadcasts such as Bally, NBC, Root Sports, NESN, MSG Networks etc. This drop was not because of a lack of interest. In 2021-22, TNT aired games exclusively on their channel, but this season they shared quite a few games with regional broadcasts, which spread out the viewership of the regular season. Had the numbers been publically available for the regional coverage which shared broadcasts with TNT, the combined viewership would have been closer to the 21-22 season regular season average. The stanley cup playoffs this season had one of the most viewed first rounds in history, sadly the markets advancing to the further rounds were not the greatest for viewership, but this year and last year proved that the floor for playoff games has definitely increased based on viewership in comparison to the last few TV deals. The finals low viewership can be explained by the fact that the 2 teams are not exactly a huge draw. Vegas does not have a top tier market size and Florida has been basically non-existent until 2021. Not to mention, the finals was exclusively on cable (TNT), but last year when it was on ABC, the ratings were very good despite 2 medium sized markets being involved. ABCs coverage also set a record for the most viewed game 3 in finals history! Not to mention, the draft this year was the most watched draft every recorded. The McDavid situation does seem bad on the surface, but we need to look at the context. Sure hes arguably the most entertaining player of all time, but him playing for a small market Canadian team in the Pacific time zone is not helping. Think for a second, why would ESPN and TNT (US national TV Channels) put a small market Canadian teams games on at primetime? Sure hes the best player, but they wont get much viewership from a Canadian team, and broadcasting 2 american teams head to head at the same time will likely have much better viewership. I also believe popularity has jumped a bit thanks to ESPN posting more hockey content on social media now than ever. They cover playoff games, great goals, big moments etc. Sure the coverage is only a small amount compared to the other leagues but its significantly more coverage than in the previous 15+ years or so.

[@mamaji277]

The game is definitely growing, you can see internationally just how much Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia are growing now because of solid performances in tournaments, and how Finland, Sweden, Russia, Czechia remain at the top too. The league and sport needs more international participation from NHLers, and as soon as that happens youll see a big difference. The problem is not that the NHL is declining, its growing, but it could be growing so much more. For starters, the blackouts, ESPN+ exclusive games, and non-exclusive international games are definitely preventing current fans and potential fans from seeing games. Not to mention TNT getting the finals in odd numbered years, that is gonna be a big issue for viewership. The players having next to no personality also doesnt help. These guys are trained to act like robots, just look at McDavid, Crosby and now Bedard, these 3 cannot carry hockey just off of performance, guys like Shaq are even more famous for their personalities than their actual play. The culture really does need to change, when guys with personality come around, their shunned by the media - Subban and Ovechkin are prime examples of this. Overall the NHL and the sport can grow more just by figuring out their TV situation, being more accepting of characters of the game, and allowing for players to play at the olympics and world cup of hockey. If hockey can consistently get international performances from NHLers. the growth will skyrocket

[@matthewfranke9988]

@@mamaji277 Out of all the comments on here, yours is the only one that hits the nail on the head. I have been a hockey fan (Stars in particular) from South Texas since I was real little, and I don't see where this decline is but the league definably time and time again gets in it's own way and the growth could be much bigger.

[@dzanier]

I’m a traditionalist. This is not a sport for everybody. The rules are many and the nuances too. If the NHL has to tweak anything that’s been part of the game forever, like fighting and open ice hits, just to get more fans, then I’ll be glad to stay in obscurity. Most young kids today don’t have the attention span for sports.

[@johnnyroberts3761]

When I was a kid, I was never huge into ice hockey so my dad was glad he didn’t have to spend money for me to play the sport - which would have included costs for new equipment every year, playing on a team, tournament costs, travel, etc. As I got older, I found myself becoming a huge hockey fan even though I never did played the sport. I think there are others like me who do like the game or would like to play it, but can’t get into it because of the costs. It feels like there would be more interest in the NHL if there were more available resources for that matter, but the NHL seems to want to put their product behind a paywall they can’t even access.

[@jasonanderson5034]

u basically just said he could pay but he is glad he didn't if he couldn't pay their would be nothing to be glad about. and than u said u couldn't get into it because of the cost get your story straight . why start off by acting like he could afford it but he is glad he didn't have to .

[@jasonanderson5034]

so your blaming the nhl for the cost of youth hockey ?

[@jasonanderson5034]

what a awful take you blame the nhl because hockey requires alot of gear that is not cheap and won't be cheap ice time costs alot of money last i checked the nhl dosen't own my local rinks . u know how u slove this problem u make a pro ball hockey league the ice is the reason this sport is not huge . on the ice and with pucks u need more gear i basically never played ball hockey with anything but a stick and a cup and gloves at high end tournaments with junior a players i did use chest protector and knee pads but outside of that u don't need much gear u can play anywhere u can even play with a broken stick off a tree and a cow patties

[@drummssticks]

The biggest issue I see, is having the Standley Cup Finals on Cable. I remember when NBC sports broadcost it and they put a good chunk of the playoff games on free national TV around 6 or 7 games that were not the finals. The finals they only had 2 of the games on cable the rest on the national NBC channel.This last tournament, I saw one game on ABC and that was only because of a scheduling conflict which meant 1 game on ABC the other at the same time on ESPN. Get more games on regular TV and make it available to stream for freez then maybe you would see a higher viewership.