About the NHL, what do you think?

Question

I am a big hockey fan and I have been one for a while so I pose these questions as a big fan of the game. It seems that hockey is hard to market in America as a professional sport, this may be caused by marketing blunders, but I do not ever remember a time when hockey was really THAT marketable to the average American. Because of this, compounded with the fact that there have been some blunders (ALL STAR on Wednesday?), I feel the NHL is rather weak, especially with the current fan base. New changes have alienated old fans without attracting new fans. So the questions I pose to you all is: Is the NHL worthy to be saved? Is it really that bad? Companies have crumbled because they relied on older customers to carry them without getting new customers, and when all of the old customers died, they were left without anyone, should the NHL try as hard to attract new fans? How much sacrifice should be made? What is a good compromise? Thanks, please refrain from straw man attacks on Bettman,

if you want to criticize bettman (I do not like him) please be specific. Also by the current fan base I mean I feel that it is shrinking and weakening as we grow weary of what is happening. Thanks.

i did not mean to star my own question. Sorry.

Answer 1

It's hard, but the NHL should probably accept it's current position. It's behind the NFL, NBA, and MLB, but still ahead of NASCAR and the MLS. That won't change for years. With the deep-seeded US tradition of the former three sports, the tradition of US hockey started only 27 years ago (the Miracle on Ice).

The NHL is not bad nor weak. The situation is that the other leagues are just so strong economically, they command most of the attention. The good news is that the NHL is growing slowly everyday and that the NFL, NBA, MLB have nowhere to go but down. It's also important to note that hockey is the third most popular sport in the world behind only Football (Soccer) and Tennis.

If the NHL is at wit's end as to how to attract new fans, then how about us already fans step in? A few grass (roots) stains never hurt anyone. :-)

As for G. Bettmann, he should fired MAINLY for not accepting ESPN's reduced offer. Who wants to watch the all-star game on channel Extreme Outdoor Forest Fishing channel anyway?!

KINGS HOCKEY RULES!!!!!

Answer 2

First and foremost the NHL MUST get off the horrible VS network or at the very least also back on ESPN. Not only do very few people have VS as opposed to ESPN but since ESPN no longer carries the NHL it also no longer carries NHL tonight. As a result all a person gets as far as national coverage is about 5 minutes on Sportscenter. NHL tonight offered indepth analysis from around the league and could allow showcasing Crosby, Ovechkin and other stars. Considering that only 30,000,000 homes have Vs and the all star game still pulled 450,000 viewers is actually a good sign. That is about 1.5 % if it were put on NETWORK TV where say 270,000,000 million people could view it then you have over 3 million viewers which isnt bad. With out TV all sports die so a new deal has to be found.

Another point I'd like to correct on TV is have a NATIONAL game of the week on NBC rather than simply these regional broadcasts. Because the current schedule only allows teams in the west to see Crosby and Ovechkin once every three years at the very least put a game on nationally on a national network.

As far as rules go I think they are going to right way, the hooking/holding garage league plumber days are over but it is also becoming a bit ticky tack in what is called. The refs are getting better at holding the whistle for incidental contact but you still have bad calls being made.
The league can be saved I just think that Bettman or whoever the next commish is needs to remember you change your marketing to fit the game not the game to fit the marketing. That was the mistake of All Star Wedesday I live in Dallas and outside of the arena you saw close to NOTHING about the all star game coming to town until the week before.

Answer 3

Hockey is the greatest sport in the world, even with a few boneheaded rule changes, so I will obviously not tell you anything other than it is worthy. But asking what needs to be done to attract new fans is a fair question.

* I think nobody will argue that ticket prices need to go down. You shouldn't have to get a second mortgage on your house just to take your family to a game! Here in L.A. (Staples center) the PARKING is FOUR TIMES what the TICKETS cost a few years ago! Now when they brought Gretzky here, I was happy to shell out more for tickets because they were increasing the quality of THE PRODUCT. But to pay that same amount of money to watch a Goalie who is not ready for the NHL let in 6 or 7 goals?

* Getting the playoffs and the all-star game on a MAJOR network is a MUST no matter what it takes.

* The sport is having MAJOR image problems. Players by and large behave much better on and off the ice than the NBA and NFL but because of the stupid media, you wouldn't know it. You throw a sucker punch or swing a stick, you're gone. FOR LIFE. It would hurt McSorley, it would hurt Bertuzzi, but it would help hockey.

* The rules need a little tinkering, not wholesale changes. Get rid of the ridiculous extra point for getting to overtime, either give 3 for a regulation win or just keep won/loss percentage. Curve the blue lines so that the part by the boards is the same distance to the goal as the center, that will open the game up some. Give the penalized team the option to have a penalty shot taken against it's goalie instead of serving 2 minutes, that will add some strategy and second-guessing.

* And let's all take some responsibility of our own here. I have dragged dates kicking and screaming to hockey games, they were surprised by how much they like it and how much better it is in person. I hear the same stories from everyone. It takes players AND fans to market the sport, not just a Commissioner.

Answer 4

Sure, when you ban war, boxing, football, violence in movies, some reality shows that purposely show violence, all news, and the list goes on! This topic is getting so sick. Really, I mean, what is the percentage of people that watch a hockey game compared to other types of violent shows? It's probably not that high and if you compare it to many of the video games that are out what's worse? The game has been changed and continues to be changed from what it once was and that was an interesting sport to something that just barely resembles what it used to be. The other thing is how do you ban emotions because that is what a lot of it is based on as well. The only people that really get hurt are the two players involved and that should be their choice as part of the game. What about this new boxing that is the fad that allows just about anything and everything? That's entertainment? That's okay for kids to view along with some adults that don't understand that it is supposed to be entertainment? Get real! Enough changing and talk has been done about the game of hockey so just leave it alone for a while and let people adjust to what has happened and seriously, if someone does not like fighting in hockey there are plenty other sports to watch or other shows so don't go trying to be some kind of saviour of the universe and changing something you have no idea of what it is about.

Answer 5

i think the best move the NHL can do is to make the league smaller to 24 teams and bring at lest 2 teams to Canada. in the 80's teams where scoring over 300 goals and some over 400 a single season, and at that time the NHL was bigger then the NBA, then yes Gary Bettman came in and new teams arrived yes 2 where before Bettman or 3, anyways the league got to big to fast and the talent spread out to much and then you seen the scoring drop dramatically. in the 80's you had and avg. of 10 players scoring 50 goals a season to your later 90's with maybe 2 with 50 goals to a few season's without a 50 goals scorer. teams that are in the small market like Florida, Carolina, Anaheim, Columbus, Nashville, Phoenix, San Jose these teams can compete yes but for maybe 2, 3 tops years then will lose all there players cause they have spent all there money to try and buy a Stanley cup. they need to get some good TV contract with people that know there hockey not like the FOX sports did in its first few years with an ex NFL commentator it just doesn't work and we need to really explain the rules of the game and show them the history this game has and really push it to the next level cause if they can just understand this beautiful game then they will come but we need to move some teams from where they are and make this happen.


GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 6

I've always chastised the NHL for their blunders, and don't support some of them either.

However, they are doing what any sport in it's position SHOULD be doing. They are trying to gain new markets to earn more money, something that is easier to do in a country that has a stronger economy than another. And they did the right thing by establishing a cap limit for player salaries. Look at baseball, it is way out of control.

I don't think that the rule changes should be enforced as strongly as they are when it comes to obstruction calls, boarding, checking, and even cross-checking. Limiting the size of goalie pads was a great idea, but the trapezoid should go. I also support the meaninglessness of the red line.

I'll be surprised if the league still has 30 teams eight years from now. I can see a day when the Canucks, Habs, and Leafs are the only Canadian franchises still in existence.

Yes, they are turning off traditional fans in order to attract new ones. While a sensible approach in and of itself, the way the league is carrying it out though, leaves much to be desired.

Answer 7

Okay, I'll bash Gary "The Stumpy Idiot" Bettman. The guy's trying to market the NHL the way the NBA is doing it. His first mistake because it's a totally different demographics. Whether you like my next sentence or not, the NBA is marketed towards black youths in general. The NHL is obviously for people who live in places with snow, and those places are usually predominantly white. Also, like the NBA, the officials let the star players get away with bloody murder. Look at Crosby. The kid cries whenever he gets lovetap and that's a powerplay. If he delivers a cross-check, the refs seem to look the other way. The same thing happens to players on the court like Shaq, and Stockton and Malone back then. Don't believe me? Pay close attention to how those guys play. I dare you to prove me wrong.

His second mistake (while nothing like what the NBA is doing) is having totally wierd and boring schedules, like, as you mentioned, the All-Star game on a Wednesday in January instead of the previous first (?) weekend of February. I really don't see the logic in that. Also, he doesn't listen to what the fans want in this category. Too many teams are playing each other too often. I remember back before early December where the Leafs played the Bruins 8 times in 6 weeks. By game number six, that just got boring, the broadcasters were bored and it looked like the players were as well.

Answer 8

To list all of the mistakes made by the NHL in the last decade would require a severely long essay. In short, all the leagues current problems essentially stem from one major blunder.

To begin the '90's the league WAS hot. Pittsburgh won back to back before NY/NJ won four in less than ten years. Sprinkle in three Cups from Detroit and three in Denver/Dallas and you've got the formula for a successful pro sports league right? Well I guess not. Even with multiple championships in nearly every major US market minus Los Angeles, the league is caught in the trolley tracks and there's a Bryan Marchment knee heading straight for it.

So what went wrong? The league was hardly lacking superstar talent, so what could have slowed it down? Obesity.

Greedy owners, eager to capitalize on America's new fancy with this fast paced game jumped on the expansion money train. Instead of slowly incubating their new, big market friends, the league decided to cook the chickens before they were more than chicks. From 1991 to 2000 the NHL added 9 new teams, collecting many millions in expansion fees in the process. That's an expansion of almost 50% in nine years. Assuming a team carries 25 players on their roster, the league increased from 525 players to 750. That means that currently, there are 225 players playing in the league that wouldn't be playing 15 years ago. In order to fill the 9 new teams, the original 21 had to give up nearly 11 players PER TEAM. Essentially, half of your team's roster is now minor league players, and quite frankly, the talent pool is not nearly that deep. Bettman's biggest mistake was that he assumed the league could survive with one star per team, a la the NBA. The reality is, surrounding superstars with minor leaguers who can't skate well (the single most important aspect of the game) will lead the under-skilled to "clutch and grab" in order to keep up. The rest in history.

The matter of failed marketing schemes is irrelevant. If the game is good, people will want to watch, no matter what kind of sauce you're putting on it. If you think of all the horrible publicity Baseball and Football have gotten recently you realize marketing the game really just means providing them with something they want to watch, not figuring out how to get Crosby and Ovechkin into the same TV ad. In that respect, the NHL has failed miserably. In the last two years it has instituted DOZENS of new rule changes/interpretations which have failed to attract any new fans while alienating their original and loyal base at the same time.

For those loyal fans, it's despicable that markets with some of the leagues greatest young stars and most exciting teams continue to draw record low attendance and TV ratings. Even worse, many of these true fans have been told they can only see these great stars once in five years.

I was hoping that some good would come from the lockout (NHL disbands?) but alas Gary Bettman still has a job.

Answer 9

The NHL was a "family sport" passed from generation to generation. It was loved because of the passion,intensity and rivalries! In my opinion the second they added the instigator and the 2 ref system ruined the sport. The game policed itself and created bitter rivalries. When was hockey crazy in America? Always until bettman arrived!
1994 the the NHL was all over ESPN, Letterman,Leno, Award shows (espy's) the sport was on fire. Go watch Rangers devils Game 7, yeah there was clutching and grabbing but it was awsome and entertaining. What do you remeber as big stories in hockey? Colorado vs Detroit, was that bad for the sport? The fans and I loved it. ESPN picked up colorodo detroit games it was not supposed to have!!!! Becuase of the Rivalry.
The Islanders Devils game last night drew less than 10,000 fans? This WAS A RIVALRY! BTW not one roughing penalty. The NY rangers game in NY had 700 viewers on TV!!!This all falls on the owners and Bettman. I feel like I am watching the NBA most of the time and am saddened that my kids will never enjoy the greatest sport the way it was for 90 years.

Answer 10

The economics of the game are crazy. You cant put any more teams in Canada because they couldnt afford it in the mid 90's, let alone now! Expansion has hurt the NHL, but not by the number of teams, but by the location. 2 teams in freakin Florida?! Im willing to bet that there's NEVER been a game of shinny played in the sunshine state! People like sports that they relate to.....no local has ever played hockey outside in Texas, or Florida. But once again, with word coming out that the cap will be $48 mill next year, you can only put it in big cities that might be able to bring in enough fans to be able to pay for the team...not cities that probably love hockey because its part of the winter culture.