The NHL's Depressing Decline Into Irrelevancy

[@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 .

[@colesonlamb]

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-]

@@colesonlamb 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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@Kishanth.J]

I am from Canada, a country that has a strong hockey culture. Their used to be subsidized hockey programs and hockey was more affordable when I was a kid. Now it much harder to get into it, the subsidized programs that let poor kids like me play no longer exist and organizations like hockey Canada tarnished hockey’s image.

[@RackEmRack]

The local blackouts are absolutely absurd and frustrating

[@SSNESS]

NBA ratings are horrible too

[@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?

[@milanek1527]

​@@gabetalks9275thats basically happening rn with how many subscriptions you need. Isnt this just espn+?

[@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!

[@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.

[@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???

[@v4v819]

It makes sense if you think about it...

[@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.

[@Melitonen]

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

[@Melitonen]

@@ninjaman815 you’re so wrong

[@ninjaman815]

@@Melitonen 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

[@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 >:(

[@alfiesmullet1311]

They need to let NHL player go to the olympics again

[@FoxxyBrown1111]

If the NBA does everything right, while the NHL does not, how comes viewership in the NBA is down too? By 50 percent compared to a decade ago! My guess is people are tired of too much greed (endless comercials, gambling). They certainly dont want MORE "entertainment". Fans want legit sports. Its really that simple.

[@kfnwuwbw9s]

The NHL is the most obvious example of why pro sports should not have monopoly rights. The game is completely dying because the League keeps chasing short-term gains (and killing the integrity of the sport just to make non-markets look like markets).

[@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.

[@donaldjgumpofficial5754]

@@sampicano I wouldn't say Baltimore is ignored. They have a team right on their doorstep.

[@sampicano]

@@donaldjgumpofficial5754 the point was hockey markets are ignored in favor of dying southern franchises (like miami, tampa, carolina, anaheim, atlanta and phoenix) and soon to be houston....

[@v4v819]

I don't know anyone who hasn't played street hockey or floor hockey in gy or a game of shinny or mini sticks before... I don't know where you live... But tell me son where the cantaloupes grow...

[@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.

[@synapses9973]

I’m glad Iowa has the USHL. I can go see the Waterloo Blackhawks, Cedar Rapids Rough Riders, Dubuque Fighting Saints, and the Des Moines Buccaneers, all within about a 3 hours drive. Youth leagues are the future of hockey, especially if competition is more localized.

[@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

[@v4v819]

You could say that about every major sport... NBA is even more expensive, and the NFL is playing on the moon next Superbowl- bring your own rocket ship! Obly the MLB is relatively affordable these days... Hard to find any affordable entertainment these days- just the way of the new world! Hell, i can barely afford a game of centrifugal bumble puppy with the kiddies at the local central H & C centre... At the rate things are going i'll be lucky to be able to take my kids to the feelies on a feisty friday night!

[@johnnnyk]

As a Canadian I subscribe to sportsnet, and when I look at the schedule some nights and all but 1 game is unavailable or restricted in my area... so I can't even watch games as a paying fan

[@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.

[@myronachtman4304]

When I played hockey, a wooden stick cost me $8.00.

[@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.

[@4517onlyglory]

espn is the worst sports net and it's not even close

[@toastecmo]

I went to my hometown Kansas City in July, first visit in 25 years (Live near LA for the last 20 years). My son and I are LA Kings fans, wore my LA Kings hat and in the KC Airport 2 people asked me what hat I was wearing. One did not know LA had a NHL team. Nuff said.

[@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..

[@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.

[@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.

[@v4v819]

It's called exclusivity it's a basic marketing strategy you would learn in a 101 if you went to business school like these NHL executives who actually know what they are doing...

[@Sarah-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.

[@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.

[@SimonNissen94]

Im sorry to say this but as horrible as that Kyle Beach incident was i don't think most people cares as long as sports contiues, the NFL is a league filled with murders, wife beaters and gangbangers no one cares and it's the biggest sports league in world when it comes to generating money (thought it would be the preimer league but nope nfl)

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@WalkerSnap]

Correct on Regional Black Outs and more behind the scenes social media, the NHL face off series on prime was very good because they don't do things like that. A few things you missed why viewership is down: -Fans hate the Digital Board Ads and a lot of stopped watching -Too many gambling ads, they push them way too hard -I heard Certain Networks actually show ads instead of live gameplay, so it would suck to miss a goal -Playoff format is very boring, the old one allowed natural rivalries to form but the new one is too forced and the same teams will just meet every year

[@BreadFred3]

I come from non-traditional market (South Florida, and yes, Go Panthers). I'm not invested much to the sport nor any other. I'm getting older and now follow casually. But I always respect the sport of hockey. My opinion about is that ice hockey is very limited when it comes to marketing and growth as the growing population of North America is coming from the south. Have you notice one thing about hockey and all other sports with the new stars coming to the leagues? Most of them are coming from wealthy families. I think all major sports are going to decline in ratings as it's losing relation with the working-class.

[@DohertyT2319]

6:01 i’m 26 I’m from Boston. I love the Bruins Hockey was at its best when the players cared about winning respected the game and had class. I personally do not care about a players personality. It has no effect on if I watched the game I think we need to focus on the actual gameplay, more than player X his favorite ice cream

[@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!

[@KennethSchamehorn]

Too many teams that nobody cares about diluting the talent. Ticket prices way too high and$16 beers, No more dynasties because they need to keep mediocre teams afloat, It costs a fortune to keep a kid in minor hockey. People are trying to pay rent and put food on their table.

[@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.

[@HunteronaBudget]

Dude!!! Same here. I have TSN and had Sportsnet and we able to watch all Canadian games whenever I wanted. Now I can't watch my nuks because I live in northern Alberta. I cancelled Sportsnet right away.

[@Johnamekin]

With the advent of high speed internet, it shouldve been the easiest condition to grow the sport....yet NHL is wayyyyy behind other sports when it comes to conquering the online market.

[@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.

[@derekgreen7319]

It's sad because it's such a great sport. Hockey has potential in Europe but the NHL needs to help cultivate it more. Somehow they need to make hockey more affordable too.

[@vcoolwater]

Fans are part of the problem. They are elitist gatekeepers. They only think certain places deserve team - mostly Canada cities. Also they hate casual fans. They are unnecessary mean and nasty to them

[@joshpadraig]

Truth. I stopped following hockey 20 years ago. I grew up supporting Detroit (my home team), but grew disinterested. Getting back into the NHL this season I realized how the worst fans in all of US-Canada sports (hockey “Ultras”) kill the fun of the game and drove me away from the sport. Too bad, considering most hockey and NHL fans are first-class. Looking forward to interacting with real hockey fans like you and KZbinrs like The Hockey Guy.👌🏼👍🏼

[@Kevin.lee.01]

Gary Bettman went from saving the nhl to destroying it. And now his ego is just too big to just quit. He took the coyotes away from Arizona instead of just forcing the owner to sell. And then moved them to Utah like nobody gives a shit about hockey in Utah. Nobody cares. Vegas is another issue that I have. It’s not a team with fans it’s an attraction for the city. That’s all it is. There is nothing special about them besides the millions and millions they can pour into a team to compete every year. Bettman has become too greedy. He would rather have the NHL make millions and millions behind these paywall games rather than actually grow the game despite the fact that he says he’s growing the game. He is now a cancer to the league and the only way we can move up is getting rid of him. And that’s just step 1.

[@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.

[@myronachtman4304]

I don't watch NHL games anymore because of the relentless sports-betting commercials.😮

[@deferr42]

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.

[@deferr42]

@@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

[@NHL94Podcast]

Game was better decades ago. Players weren't as skilled but players protected themselves when needed, there were less gimmicks (OT), unique ice surfaces (Hawks, Bruins, Sabres), a team in Quebec and Hartford, and so much more. Plus the video games were better back in the day. I'll take NHL '94 over any recently released hockey game.

[@marktogher7488]

I'm irish and have always wanted to go to a hockey game. I have very little knowledge of the game outside NHL 99 on the PC and PlayStation when i was younger, the mighty ducks, and the hockey episode of the Simpsons. I got to my first game last week between the Rangers and Sabres. It was a bizarre experience as a massive sports fan. The lack of real care that thier team was 5-0 down was really surreal to me. All people seemed to care about eas getting on camera and acting a bit clownish. Now, i accept it probably wasn't a typical experience. On my next visit, i will probably take in an Islanders game instead, on the assumption that the typical supporter there cares more about their team than what celebrity is at the match. On this video, to be fair to whoever the guy was with the apparent boring personality, his job is to be good at hockey. Not to entertain people. It's a really bizarre concept to me and a relatively new phenomenon, even in soccer, where kids don't support teams, but obsess over players. It's sad in my view but that's life. All in all, i enjoyed my first ever NHL game. Mad to think my ancestors invented the sport and what it has morphed into. With that fact alone, you would think it would have an appeal here, but it's not even on the radar. Whereas NFL and NBA have big following. A serious problem though is the cost to play the game as set out in this video. That is going to have serious long term affects and needs to be addressed quickly

[@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

[@cameronward9443]

This is an old video but it has just gotten worse. Local blackouts this year are like 30% of games. They just need to move to amore accessible broadcasting/streaming model.

[@ngarcia103]

8:36 - "And it doesn't help that international competitions featuring NHL players occur infrequently." Actually, there's a World Championship that occurs every year that features NHL players. However, the NHL fanbase seems to have a hatred towards it for whatever reason.

[@kd2453]

Because rather than watch their country lose sometimes they need to tell themselves it doesn’t mean anything. Any rosters that dont look like my video game with injuries turned off arnt worth watching.

[@v4v819]

Real die hard fans watch the blackouts and imagine the game is being played with the lights out in the hockey arena... That's the dedication you need to be a NHL fan, bruh!

[@SGBassplayer]

The League peaked in the ‘90s, there’s absolutely no question about that.

[@JasonTzzz]

My family were 3rd generation Rangers season ticket holders. We gave up our tickets because the sport became unwatchable through several rule changes, decrease in fighting, and boring players. Fans do not care about players being off-ice tiktok influencers. They love on-ice characters like Sean Avery & Matthew Barnaby. Today there are too many soft players with no personality. Matt Rempe is the most entertaining active player. The NHL marketing is terrible. Wayne Gretzky & Gordie Howe were household names whereas no average Americans know who Alex Ovechkin or Connor McDavid is. UFC is the hottest sport and NHL is missing out on the action by decreasing fighting. UFC fans pay $80 per ppv. But NHL fans ain't subscribing to multiple platforms to watch every game.

[@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

[@MatthewMitchell-r9q]

I used to watch hockey all the time. Grew up on it, I just lost interest at some point and literally couldnt tell you when it happened.

[@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.

[@joshpadraig]

Because Canadian expansion teams sell tickets but contribute little to revenue growth.

[@donaldjgumpofficial5754]

It's been a disaster. How much better would hockey be if they went into places like Portland and Seattle in the 60s and 70s instead of places that don't give a shit about hockey? Atlanta may be getting a third shot when it's not a hockey city.

[@wade5307]

I’m a huge hockey fan, I dont need it to be accepted by the mainstream the way the NFL and NBA are. It’s a niche sport and probably always will be. The fans who love hockey, REALLY love it, all we need

[@andygrenn680]

I’ll refer to an oldie but goodie regarding Hockey’s perceived decline…The puck is too small and hard to follow…

[@maga-hat709]

That's funny. In Finland if the national team gets to the playoff stage at the World Championships, there's approx. 3-3,5 million viewers for those games on average. That's pretty lot for a nation thats population is only 5.5 million strong.

[@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.

[@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

[@jimmyhayes8703]

bettman love or hate him he has tried to grow the league south. the main problem is the fact that hockey media is trash and cringe

[@saydaddy91]

A thing that I’ve long noticed is that hockey is also pretty hostile towards players of color. I’ve never had a bad experience as a fan going to a game and it’s honestly the best sport to watch live, but even ignoring the cost I don’t know if I would want my kids to play hockey. Every player of color from the scrubs to HOF guys like grant fure and Jerome iginla have their own horror stories of racism at every level from the pros to juniors

[@JakeStevyson]

Don't forget Willie O'Ree thought

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

''grant fure'' Hahaha! Hockey is very much a middle class sport and is dominated by northern countries. It shouldn't surprise anyone that few non Caucasoids play the game. Why are you so concerned about the lack of color on the ice? Does it make any difference what nationality, race and ethnicity the players are? I say let them be.

[@saydaddy91]

@@incumbentvinyl9291 the issue isn’t that hockey is a sport played predominantly by white players or even that it’s predominantly played by middle to upper class people. Like I said I love hockey. I genuinely think it’s one of the best sports on earth but it’s hard for the game to grow when it’s so hostile towards new types of people. As much as I love hockey there is no way in hell that I would let my kids consider junior hockey.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@saydaddy91 How is it hostile towards ''new types of people''? Good, the game doesn't need your kids. Be an imbecile.

[@robrick9361]

​@@saydaddy91 Have you considered that maybe you're the racist. How is taking a few stories and acting like everyone is doing it in anyway different then someone thinking all black people are criminals cause they saw some black people commit crimes a few times.

[@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

[@ezehogan]

You really want to talk about a decline? Go back to say, 1991, ‘92, ‘93 etc. The NHL was on fire and Sports Illustrated predicted it would overtake the NBA. The 1994 lockout, throttling down on goal scoring, and terrible business decisions led to a drastic decline by the turn of the millennium. Anything happening now is just a decline from the decline.

[@FoundPonds]

Watching this video today is so relevant after they are demonetizing channels like yours due to copyright of their clips! Channels like this and many others are facing the same problem and you guys help market the game more so than the friggin NHL is!

[@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

[@goblue85]

Every sport is moving to have ads on their teams’ uniforms. MLB and the NBA have ads on their jerseys and I don’t think it’ll be too long before MLB has ads on the caps and helmets as well.

[@joshpadraig]

Have you watched any league outside North America in the past 40 years? Corporatism sucks, but pick your battles sheesh.

[@Legoface660]

I think the reason it's irrelevant is because of how hard it is to play. Compared to other sports like Soccer, Baseball, and Football, you need way more equipment to play and you also need to find ice. For all the other sports I mentioned, you can just play them in your backyard or at the park. That's why Soccer is so big around the world. I also don't think it helps that there's only one main league for a whole sport. In soccer, there are atleast 5 big leagues you can watch.

[@banzaaiiiii]

Learning to skate will take a few hours and tries and some fails. Getting good at hockey is another thing

[@Legoface660]

@@banzaaiiiii I'm already good at hockey. I'm trying to become as good at soccer because I'm on my school team

[@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!

[@83reggieT]

I used to go to games i haven't been there in years. My brother and couple friends thar eent stopper too. For us we liked the fighting as much as the scoring. My all time favorite was Bob Probert now that they got rid of enforcers and made it about young fast skaters I lost interest. If i wanted to strictly see people ice skate beautifully I'd go watch figure skating. The 80s 90s and 2000s will always be my favorite eras.

[@TransitShorts]

I big reason why they lean heavily on those Tuesday/Thursday game slots is because many NHL teams share arenas with the NBA which conversely has a heavy leaning towards Monday/Wednesday games which makes it easier for arena conversions between the two sports.

[@fantasticvoyage262]

I noticed that too. And you can't have NBA and NHL teams playing at home on the same night.

[@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

[@kod8933]

"No Player personality" is a stupid fall back position by corporate to distract from their awful TV/Licensing/Broadcast. Also what, you want players to act like children in front of the cameras? No hockey fan cares about player personality. Did they win or lose, thats all. And more so, was I even able to watch it.

[@ArtursFilipovs-ie9tz]

The problem is the leagues real fun personalites like ovechkin , kucherov get slamed by the NHL for their antics and they dont get as much coverage from media etc as they should

[@Kaspisify]

The blackouts will fucking kill this league.

[@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.

[@v4v819]

Justified stealing... I love it! Bet it's not just the NHL you steal from... I'd love to see your illegal downloading collection of music and movies... I'm sure you have a reasonable explanation on why you steal those too...

[@josephtanner3929]

African American culture in basketball and football is a huge part aswell

[@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

[@NASCARnCLEfan]

I'm not really a hockey fan but I do watch the Stanley Cup Finals because I LOVE playoff hockey. I would say it's the Marketing of it's stars I know at least 10 players from each league. But hockey I can only think of 2. I know more retired players than current players. I don't even know who Conner McDavid is and that's a problem. You have to Market your best players as much as you can to grow the game and reach more people. It doesn't help that more people have NBC than they do ESPN or TNT. I'm a big racing fan and NASCAR has the same issue. Casual people couldn't name 5 drivers and that's an issue when we're trying the regrow the sport. Need for Marketable players and athletes. I also just moved to Northern Wisconsin and every parent I talk to complains about the cost of having hockey children. The equipment costs are insane. And I thought growing up baseball was expensive.

[@EdmontonRails]

*This is what the NHL gets for devoting 30 years of focus, care and investment to american cities.* Outside of a few places like Minnesota, there are virtually 0 hockey fans. Sure, people are fans of the team in their city but if that team didn't exist they wouldn't know what hockey is. The NHL playoffs are still carried by Canadian viewers, even when Canadian teams are knocked out because Canadians are fans of the sport, while americans are mere fans of their city. Outside of rich retirement cities full of people with too much time and money, american teams struggle to fill their arena when they aren't cup contenders. It's hard to say how long the NHL's luck will last if they continue throwing real fans under the bus for fleeting attention and the illusion of relevancy in cities that had never seen ice before the NHL arrived.

[@Pol-xu4on]

Absolute facts. And honestly the best analysis I've read here. Americans just don't take to the game well. And this is true about established hockey cities like Detroit and Boston. I don't think they ever will. And a lot of the new bandwagon fanbases from Vegas and the south will die out quickly if their city teams don't succeed in the league.

[@warmike]

And that's a good thing. A strong "support your local team" culture is healthy and prevents a handful of regular favorites from stealing the spotlight from everyone else.

[@warmike]

​​@@Pol-xu4onpeople supporting their local teams are the exact opposite of "bandwagon fans" (also known as "glory hounds"), who are "fans" of the team that's at the top at the moment and regularly change it.

[@Retrogamer5679]

Another thing. I’m a fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Watching on television. I can view the season opener, the game after the all star break, and playoff games (if I’m lucky), on services like Hulu which gives you games based on your selected teams. The NHL doesn’t do that.

[@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.

[@Cyber_Cowboy]

The sport I follow the most is the NBA. But I'm either 100% and obsessive or I don't watch a single game all year. I followed the NBA for 5 years straight but due to my personal circumstance and my team's circumstance I didn't watch a single game all season. I said all that because I noticed even though I made zero effort to follow the NBA and NHL this year. I am still aware of what's going on in the NBA. It's not just because Google knows I like basketball. so it shows me I get most of my updates from friends family and co-workers I hear them discussing it. Or the mainstream media is talking about the NBA and it comes across my radar. But I have heard almost nothing about the NHL. A casual fan like me it seems like the last best player to be a household name was Wayne Gretzky. It would be like the average person hearing about Michael Jordan 25 years ago and never hearing about the best player for 25 years never hearing about LeBron James or any top 10 player over 25 years

[@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.

[@0SlowOperator0]

A huge issue is that hockey os WAY too expensive for the average family. With how expensive everything had gotten just the past few years. Kids arent gonna take interest in a sport they know theyre never gonna be able to play competatively. Soccer is cheap and easily accesible. I dont think people realize how much soccer is gonna take over considering evetone thst moves to the US or Canada comes from a soccer centric Country.

[@fantasticvoyage262]

Yet MLS salaries are nowhere near the NHL.

[@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!

[@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.

[@bjdon99]

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

[@joshpadraig]

Dang close man!😁

[@dwayneharms8336]

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

[@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

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

9:11 market teams more than star players?

[@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.

[@TimFrith24]

On March 12, 2025, CBS Sports will acquire the remaining 3 years of a current 7-year contract to hold the 1st half of the NHL’s media rights as well as media rights to the Thanksgiving Showdown, 2027 Stanley Cup Finals, and the 2027 NHL Awards from ESPN, ABC, and TNT Sports following the conclusion of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, so beginning in the 2025-26 NHL season and running through the 2027-28 NHL season, CBS Sports Network will hold rights to at least 75 exclusive national games per season, including exclusive rights to opening night games, the NHL Awards, and the NHL Entry Draft, TNT will retain rights up to 62 exclusive national games per season, the Heritage Classic, and the Winter Classic, NHL Network will continue to nationally televise select regular season games as well as select games in the 1st 2 rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs not broadcast by either CBS Sports Network or TNT, CBS will hold rights to the Thanksgiving Showdown, 28 late-season regional games on Saturday afternoons per season, and the Stadium Series, CBS Sports will hold rights to the All-Star weekend, with the All-Star Skills Competition airing on CBS Sports Network and the All-Star Game airing on CBS, CBS and CBS Sports Network will share in coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs with TNT and TBS, holding rights to “half” of the games in the 1st 2 rounds and one of the conference finals per season (CBS/CBS Sports Network will have the first choice of which conference final series to air; the remaining half will air on TNT and TBS), CBS will hold exclusive rights to the Stanley Cup Finals annually through 2028, Nickelodeon will hold rights to youth-oriented alternate broadcasts of select NHL games produced by CBS Sports, Paramount+ will hold over-the-air streaming rights to all of CBS Sports’ NHL telecasts as well as on-demand versions, TruTV will continue to simulcast, alternate broadcast, and overflow TNT Sports’ NHL coverage, and Max will retain over-the-air streaming rights to all of TNT Sports’ NHL telecasts as well as on-demand versions.

[@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.

[@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.

[@TheAxeGrinder]

This is what happens when you get desperate. Focusing on chasing revenue from questionable sources (no one wants gambling ads), shooting themselves in the foot over trying to get new fans (the Pride jersey fiasco), and putting the focus on an aging player whose connections to real-life situations make it hard to root for them (Ovechkin) over bonafide generational talents that are in their prime (McDavid). I remember when Sports Illustrated had pegged the NHL being more popular than the NBA way back in 1994. Now look at it.

[@kapitanleutnantschneider2076]

I haven't watched a NHL game since 2012. Sad to see nothing has changed.