[Carlo Colaiacovo] I hope this is a wake up call for change in the NHL. Fans are losing interest. No rivalries; lacking storylines; more buzz around t

[Boxscore]

fighting is not coming back, even in a new league, too many lawsuits and media related to concussions and CTE, etc
its done/over.

I take it you're unfamiliar with MMA, UFC, and Ice Wars International?

As long as there's money to be made - and sponsors willing to support it - there would be fighting and high amounts of physicality. There certainly would be audience for it. The hockey itself would need to be good enough though, at least AHL level.

That said, the days of outlandish violence and bench clearing brawls are long gone, and rightfully so.

 

[Folignos Helmet]

I take it you're unfamiliar with MMA, UFC, and Ice Wars International?

As long as there's money to be made - and sponsors willing to support it - there would be fighting and high amounts of physicality. There certainly would be audience for it. The hockey itself would need to be good enough though, at least AHL level.

That said, the days of outlandish violence and bench clearing brawls are long gone, and rightfully so.

Read the second half of my post

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Cant believe you guys are crying over a boring trade deadline compared to NBA , I've seen it all lmao.

Yeah I'm sure you guys would love your top 10 players in the league forcing their way out to the best team in the league to ring chase lmao

 

[Zilo44]

Cant believe you guys are crying over a boring trade deadline compared to NBA , I've seen it all lmao.

Yeah I'm sure you guys would love your top 10 players in the league forcing their way out to the best team in the league to ring chase lmao

Yeah NBA is the worst. Imagine cheering for a small franchise. Mad respect for Giannis, but outside of that geez

 

[Drytoast]

broadasting is accessible to everyone, way better than any other league. Don't have the tv channel? No problem, every game is free on radio. Radio is far more thrilling anyway, and you can always watch the 9 min highlights later.

This isn't the 1940's. (although the hockey played back then was far more entertaining)

NHL+MLS fans should be f***ing pissed about this. Instead of one price to watch both leagues on ESPN+, now we have to pay extra for AppleTV+.

YOU have to pay. I got off that wagon awhile ago.

 

[Boxscore]

Read the second half of my post

Solution: UFC on ice with sticks, puck, colorful uniforms, and an organ playing in the background.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Stop game management
Push Fantasy Hockey
Schedule more Back to Backs
Cut out the cheap shots
Let the players be interesting
Drop the # of games
Play more in conference
Try to push towards a Wed/Friday/Saturday priority league

 

[cliffclaven]

too much math


fighting is not coming back, even in a new league, too many lawsuits and media related to concussions and CTE, etc
its done/over.
NHL will be like NBA/NFL/MLB in a couple years where you will only see scrums.
I'm not an advocate either way, thats just the reality of it. fighting will only be in purpose built events like UFC, etc where the liability/risk is clearly walked into by the participants.

And that will be the death knell for the league. There’s a reason why womens hockey doesn’t draw fans.

 

[cliffclaven]

Kings/pens tonight is a perfect example of the state of the game. It’s 5-0 in the third. Pens are getting shelled, they literally look like they could give a shit. Skating around going thru the motions and getting their paycheck. 12:30 left and I might as well turn the tv off because I know NOTHING will happen from here on out. Back in the day I would watch till :00. And not line LA is Toronto, but you could hear a pin drop in the arena now. Pathetic.

 

[StammerHammer]

First off I don't care if the NHL becomes more popular or not. But an observation as to why it hasn't. I used to take non hockey fans to games and everytime there was a whistle I would have to explain what happened. It was very difficult for them to follow the game. Also I was asked several times why a rule violation I had explained last period was being ignored this period. All I could say was don't get me started about the refs. Now put them in their living room watching this by themselves and trying to figure it out.

 

[G50]

This isn't the 1940's. (although the hockey played back then was far more entertaining)


YOU have to pay. I got off that wagon awhile ago.

Better than what the NFL has - "let's pray my team even gets a tv slot every week" Biggest joke in broadcasting of the major sports. You're not even guaranteed a whole game either if it's noon.

 

[Lshap]

First off I don't care if the NHL becomes more popular or not. But an observation as to why it hasn't. I used to take non hockey fans to games and everytime there was a whistle I would have to explain what happened. It was very difficult for them to follow the game. Also I was asked several times why a rule violation I had explained last period was being ignored this period. All I could say was don't get me started about the refs. Now put them in their living room watching this by themselves and trying to figure it out.

I taught the same hockey-for-beginners course to my wife and two sons back in the day. In my experience, the minutiae of whistles and penalties didn't prevent them from easily understanding the basics. Get puck in net. Skate fast. Shoot hard. Hockey isn't complicated... at least on the surface.

Counter-intuitively, my wife became a raving fan while my sons remained pretty tepid. Once the speed, skill, and intensity hooked her, she absorbed the rules gradually and is now (almost) as well-versed as me. We're no longer together, but she still texts me her feelings about trades, teams, and players.

Based on my impressive sample size of 3, I therefore conclude that fandom depends mostly on your peer group. The challenge of popularity isn't the product, it's getting enough exposure to get hooked. I believe hockey is as entertaining as ever, but it's easy to miss with so many other things to watch and follow. My wife became a fan because I was, and it slowly became a shared activity. My kids' friends aren't sports fans so their evenings were spent doing other things. Would they have become fans if hockey was more physical, or reffed differently, had fewer teams, or had different sponsors? Did those same factors prevent my wife from becoming a fan? In both cases, the answer is no.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

And that will be the death knell for the league. There’s a reason why womens hockey doesn’t draw fans.

Actually the WNBA doesn't draw fans either lol , what a stupid thing to write.

And also the NHL doesn't draw fans either so maybe talk about how NHL hockey is not watched instead of womans hockey lol , fighting has been prominant in the league since its inception and its always been the least popular sport out of the big 4 so explain to me that lol.

You really think making the league more violent will help them compete with other sports? lol that's funny

 

[joelef]

That seems like a very simple and fantastic idea actually. The man needs some hype commercials to wow people

They don’t even do ads with him during hockey broadcast for Christ sakes

 

[stranger]

Get rid of the cap.

Nah..as a Jets fan, I'd officially be done with hockey. Baseball sucks because of no cap. Imagine if the NFL had no cap. There'd be a half dozen teams with all of the stars. The cap is what makes the NFL great.

 

[Jyrki]

To me, the gambling ads and tie-ins killed the viewing experience for good. While unaffordability spirals out of control and our institutions rot, I don't want to sit there for two hours hearing about how I could get lucky by betting on the team that's 5-2 on Tuesdays, or seeing famous athletes collecting a lifetime's worth of median wages to tell the plebs to go broke in gambling apps.

 

[NYRfan85]

Nah..as a Jets fan, I'd officially be done with hockey. Baseball sucks because of no cap. Imagine if the NFL had no cap. There'd be a half dozen teams with all of the stars. The cap is what makes the NFL great.

Agreed on the cap. No way the NHL gets rid of it, because their precious parity would be thrown out the window. I also don't need the Rangers to revert back to the dark ages of the late 90s/early 00s and their freewheeling spending.

To me, the gambling ads and tie-ins killed the viewing experience for good. While unaffordability spirals out of control and our institutions rot, I don't want to sit there for two hours hearing about how I could get lucky by betting on the team that's 5-2 on Tuesdays, or seeing famous athletes collecting a lifetime's worth of median wages to tell the plebs to go broke in gambling apps.

Facts. I am so sick of all of the gambling ads, commercials, sponsorships, etc. There are WAY too many of them and it's annoying as heck.

 

[TheSituation]

This 'GAME MANAGEMENT" shit also has to stop.

- Rangers up 3-0 tonight, Kreider gets a stick chopped out of his hand, breaks, ref is right there, no call.
- Missed offsides on Seattle, clear as day, a ranger has to take a defensive penalty to stop a goal against, and that leads to a PP goal.
- puck goes into the stands, after clearly hitting a seattle stick, penalty against the rangers.
- Seattle makes it close, and all of a sudden, the game is called evenly again.

Its so blatantly obvious the refs are told to 'keep it close', and its this kind of shit that turns off fans

Casual fans don't care about this and this is hardly what prevents die hards from watching.

 

[Voight]

too much math


fighting is not coming back, even in a new league, too many lawsuits and media related to concussions and CTE, etc
its done/over.
NHL will be like NBA/NFL/MLB in a couple years where you will only see scrums.
I'm not an advocate either way, thats just the reality of it. fighting will only be in purpose built events like UFC, etc where the liability/risk is clearly walked into by the participants.

Those lawsuits happened because players claimed nobody told them they would get concussion or CTE. Its widely known now that physical sports and fighting can cause it.

 

[Sharkbomb]

Who cares about viewership, there is still plenty of room on the jerseys for ads, that's where where you recoup your losses.
~Someone in the NHL probably

 

[Beezers Mask]

This 1000%.

If other sports are popular because of the personalities of players then that is just another reason I love hockey.

I don't care how popular hockey is.

I don't want it to turn into shitty reality TV.

I am happy if it stays a niche sport because most people are morons with bad taste.

McDavid being the best player in the world and me not knowing (or caring) shit all about him off the ice is ideal.

NHL is a great product with all the best players in the world. That's all i need.

That being said, a better streaming service would be great.

Wish I could like this twice.

 

[joelef]

Who cares about viewership, there is still plenty of room on the jerseys for ads, that's where where you recoup your losses.
~Someone in the NHL probably

This the nhl is full of short sided people it’s amazing . It like the whole league are run by people who buy into “ get rich quick “ scams. FTX must run the league

 

[joelef]

I heard there’s more kids registered in basketball than hockey in Toronto for the first time ever. That’s just Toronto mind you but still it’s a sign.

The raptors should’ve lit a fire under the a0s of the nhl

 

[Beezers Mask]

There's only one man who can save the NHL on ESPN... Gary Thorne. C'mon ESPN, kidnap him, bribe him, do whatever you need to do to make this happen, go get him back!

Another thing I was thinking about that has been ruining broadcasts is analytics. It's ruining baseball (among other things), and it shows up a lot in the NHL now. I can't stand analytics, and all of the nonsensical stats that mean nothing. And the commentators and PBP guys need to stop going off on tangents so much, and just call the damn game.

When it comes to Gary Thorne you can’t go home again. Nothing will recreate that magic from the early 2000’s.

Analytics are hurting sport in a way. Analytics should be used to verify what you see on the ice and vice versa. Analytics have made everything a bit forced and not in the flow of the game in MLB and NHL

 

[quackquackquack]

Was going to create a thread on the forum for this but remembered this thread....

I have NOT watched the amount of NHL hockey this year that I normally do. I would say my viewership is down 70%. The 2 main reasons are the the Ducks are really bad (even though I'm still tuning in to see the young players) and I'm a big NBA fan and have enjoyed the storylines in the NBA this year.

I'm not going as far as saying this NHL season sucks but does anyone else feel like their own viewership is down?