Guest Column: The NHL

On the eve of Game 2 of what should be Gary Bettman's wet dream--Sid the Kid versus the Mighty Red Wings machine--I still have yet to hear one person in passing talking about the Stanley Cup Finals. A guest post, written by my dear friend Nicholas, that originally appeared here at the beginning of the season, could help provide some insight into the sport's problems:

Do NHL players need these?

I read this week that the NHL was thinking about calling penalties on players who slide in front of a shooting puck. The league is looking for ways to increase scoring and thus, they believe, popularity. They tried this a few years ago by changing some rules and the sizes of goalie pads. They believe that the reason people don’t watch the NHL is because there just isn’t enough scoring. Maybe, they should look at the world’s most popular sport. Soccer games often end in 0 – 0 ties and the fans still are howling and cheering when it all ends. Scoring is not the problem, but here are some…

It’s not how many times a hockey team scores that makes it exciting, it’s how they do it. We want to see skating, speed and passing. These guys are on skates but it really doesn’t matter because of how much they stand around. The philosophy of hockey teams is to set up in a semi circle and pass it around until someone gets an open shot. They shoot, miss and then the other team sets up in their semi-circle. Who wants to watch that? Not many, so we turn to college and high school hockey games where the rinks are bigger or the players are smaller so they rely on skating and passing. The biggest ratings during the Winter Olympics are for the hockey games. It’s partially because it’s country against country, but more so because they use a bigger rink which results in more fast-breaks and speed.

Another problem is that the NHL has forced hockey down the throats of people who don’t care. They seem to say, “If we start a hockey team in Phoenix, they’ll come out and watch.” Sure, people are going to come out to the games, but how many homes in Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Anaheim and San Jose are tuning in? Not many. Those places have no history with hockey and never will. The youth will never rally to hockey because indoor ice is too expensive to rent and all their buddies are playing football or basketball. It also doesn’t help when you start an expansion team called the Mighty Ducks, Sharks, Thrashers or The Wild. Whoever is naming these teams is stuck in the neon days of the 90’s. The logos are gaudy and the uniforms hurt the eyes. It may seem like a small issue, but how many people want to hear these words come out of their mouth? “Want to go watch the Mighty Ducks play tonight?”

Also, try shaking things up by not having any commercials during the game. TV timeouts should not be a part of hockey. Soccer doesn’t have them and thrives. Advertise, within the game and between periods for jacked up rates. It’s something to think about.

Finally, the NHL is trying to keep pace with football, basketball and baseball. They want to be in their club and eat from the same table. It’s not going to happen so stop trying to play their game. Embrace the fact that you’re a niche sport. Get a cult following going and start to grow. Stop trying to play the same game as the NFL or MLB. Draw viewers through these novel approaches so I can watch more than just high school hockey games.