NHL has to be nervous about TV ratings for the 2018 Playoffs on both sides of border

[Cotton]

When was the last time the jets went deep in the playoffs? Never? Imagine if they win the cup, and add in the fanbase losing the team for close to 20 years. The story writes itself.

I don't get the Canucks comparison at all. Winnipeg is a small, often overshdowed market that does not offend many people.

The Canucks had most of Canada cheering against them, so would Winnipeg, so would any of the teams as I explained earlier in the thread with the “If it isn’t us, then definitely not them” mentality Canadian hockey fans have.

The whole “Canada’s team”, bring the Cup back home knowmatter who wins it, is media driven malarkey and the kind of thing casual fans buy into.

 

[yukoner88]

Who says Winnipeg wouldn't draw fans south of the border? Winnipeg is a well known name down there

 

[PenguinSpeed]

Pens vs Kings Stanley Cup Final, are you kidding me?

One of the top 3 most popular teams in the entire league vs the 2nd biggest City and market in the US

5 Stanley Cups in the last 9 years between the 2, 2 time defending Champion vs Los Angeles?

Penguin team looking for 3 peat. Kings team to cement themselves as new generation powerhouse with 3 Cups?

Ratings would be jacked through the roof for this matchup if this was the finals

 

[Caps8112]

This thread usually happens if there are not enough og 6 / Canadian teams projected to make it. Personally root for all the og 6 teams and most Canadian teams to miss every year along with the penguin (for obvious reasons).

 

[204hockey]

The Canucks had most of Canada cheering against them, so would Winnipeg, so would any of the teams as I explained earlier in the thread with the “If it isn’t us, then definitely not them” mentality Canadian hockey fans have.

The whole “Canada’s team”, bring the Cup back home knowmatter who wins it, is media driven malarkey and the kind of thing casual fans buy into.

where do u get most of canada was cheering against vancouver? everyone i know in wpg was rooting for them.. every bar and sports place was packed for the games with ppl cheering on the canucks. maybe its because half that roster played in tha ahl manitoba moose team for few years before all being called up. but i think your implying ppl on here speak for most of canada.....

 

[LeafsNation75]

where do u get most of canada was cheering against vancouver? everyone i know in wpg was rooting for them.. every bar and sports place was packed for the games with ppl cheering on the canucks. maybe its because half that roster played in tha ahl manitoba moose team for few years before all being called up. but i think your implying ppl on here speak for most of canada.....

This was 1 year later in 2012 when the Kings defeated the Canucks in Game 1 of their first round series, however it showed the sentiment towards the Canucks from fans not in BC was still negative towards them.

 

[snag]

I'm sure they'll be thrilled if its Vegas vs. whoever

Well I won't watch. Consider it my "the candidates suck so I am not voting vote" in regards to the Bettmanized draft system where every other team must build depth and the Knights were gifted (re: bought) it.

 

[snag]

where do u get most of canada was cheering against vancouver? everyone i know in wpg was rooting for them.. every bar and sports place was packed for the games with ppl cheering on the canucks. maybe its because half that roster played in tha ahl manitoba moose team for few years before all being called up. but i think your implying ppl on here speak for most of canada.....

The only people I know who rooted for them around here were old farts who probably were around when the BNA Act was signed and felt some sense of patriotic pride/duty and fair weather band wagons fans just looking to party but otherwise don't have a damn clue and really didn't give a shit about hockey.

Rooting for "Canada"?? WTF.....this ain't the Olympics.

 

[McGarnagle]

Aside from British Columbia and Quebec, pretty sure everyone else in the US and Canada was rooting against the Canucks in 2011. One of the most unlikeable teams to ever reach a final.

 

[204hockey]

This was 1 year later in 2012 when the Kings defeated the Canucks in Game 1 of their first round series, however it showed the sentiment towards the Canucks from fans not in BC was still negative towards them.

that doesnt prove anything really.. like i said every where i went in wpg ppl were cheering for them

 

[204hockey]

The only people I know who rooted for them around here were old farts who probably were around when the BNA Act was signed and felt some sense of patriotic pride/duty and fair weather band wagons fans just looking to party but otherwise don't have a damn clue and really didn't give a **** about hockey.

Rooting for "Canada"?? WTF.....this ain't the Olympics.

edit nm read your post wrong..

maybe here it was diff

 

[snag]

Aside from British Columbia and Quebec, pretty sure everyone else in the US and Canada was rooting against the Canucks in 2011. One of the most unlikeable teams to ever reach a final.

 

[LeafsNation75]

that doesnt prove anything really.. like i said every where i went in wpg ppl were cheering for them

Since you only signed up on HF in September 2017 I can tell you on here the Canucks were virtually hated by every other fan base with the exception of Montreal.

 

[LeafsNation75]

The Canucks had most of Canada cheering against them, so would Winnipeg, so would any of the teams as I explained earlier in the thread with the “If it isn’t us, then definitely not them” mentality Canadian hockey fans have.

The whole “Canada’s team”, bring the Cup back home knowmatter who wins it, is media driven malarkey and the kind of thing casual fans buy into.

If anyone has a reason to hate the Jets it would be those annoying chants their fans make towards certain players or booing a specific player from each team for no good reason.

 

[powerstuck]

Meh, NBA is a top heavy league. If by some miracle the Atlanta Hawks ever battled the Utah Jazz in the finals, it would lose drastic viewer ratings. ESPN's TV deal with the NBA looks awful now considering what NBC is paying the NHL and only getting at most 2-3 times the viewership.

Thing is I haven't seen ESPN complain they overpaid for their NBA contract. And if you listen to NHL (Gary Bettman) they expect to get a similar deal for the next US TV contract. Of course networks would like to pay less and leagues want as much as they can get. But as it stands now, NBA's contract can be justified but I doubt an NHL's contract similar to NBA could be. Take a look at ratings for not only previous playoffs but also full seasons. Networks cannot make 95% of their revenues on 64 playoff games. NHL ratings, mind a few exceptions aren't that extraordinaire.

Literally nobody cares about the bruins outside of Boston. They are not the Red Sox or patriots.

What ?

You're funny.

First it was Family Guy re-runs, now ping pong?

Clearly the league should just fold. That way we can all avoid the humiliation of losing to the World Invitational Underwater BB Stacking Championship on the Ocho.

There is nothing funny. NHL ratings are nothing to be amazed at. Even in Canada despite there being playoff races and good battles (Leafs vs Lightning) no hockey even broke the top 30 charts (and number 30 was at 600k viewers).

Last years Stanley Cup (and it was a good match-up including one very popular team) averaged 4.7 million viewers out of 300+ million market... compare it to NBA's finals with an average of 11.3 million viewers...that's not great, not good at all if you ask me.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Outside of guaranteeing a spot for certain players or teams, you get what you get.

Maybe they should do that though. All O6/Canadian teams for sure. That's 11. Philly has to be in there. That's 12. Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin. That's 14. That's already 9 eastern teams, but it's a small price to pay. The Buffalo market seems to always be at the top of the ratings no matter what teams are in the Final, so the Sabres get in. That's 15. One spot left, so let Nashville and Tampa fight for it, since they're both now the hot hockey markets.

 

[JianYang]

The Canucks had most of Canada cheering against them, so would Winnipeg, so would any of the teams as I explained earlier in the thread with the “If it isn’t us, then definitely not them” mentality Canadian hockey fans have.

The whole “Canada’s team”, bring the Cup back home knowmatter who wins it, is media driven malarkey and the kind of thing casual fans buy into.

We can agree on the last paragraph. Like I said before, it's the storyline that is most important in terms of people getting behind the team.

Remember the 04 flames and 06 oilers? People generally were not cheering against them. They were playing the cinderella role, and people generally love underdogs.

Now, the jets aren't exactly underdogs, but they would be a feel good story for reasons I mentioned earlier.

 

[204hockey]

If anyone has a reason to hate the Jets it would be those annoying chants their fans make towards certain players or booing a specific player from each team for no good reason.

lol just because your arena is a funeral dont get all mad at fans having fun.. and the boos shld be taken as a compliment as its usually against the best player. did the laines better chant hurt your feelings?

 

[joe dirte]

I think something like Florida-Colorado would be worse. Jets will draw the entire city, plus lots of casual Canadian fans (yes, less than other Canadian teams but hockey isn't big in some US cities).

Colorado is actually a pretty good hockey market.

 

[Canadian Finn]

If anyone has a reason to hate the Jets it would be those annoying chants their fans make towards certain players or booing a specific player from each team for no good reason.

That is the only thing I have against the Jets.

But it wasn't the Jets doing the stupid chant, it was the stupid Jets fans.

Now most on here admitted the chant was stupid and childish....but not all. Some Jets fans justified it.

But we have some stupid fans as well (ok, maybe more than "some")

 

[joe dirte]

lol just because your arena is a funeral dont get all mad at fans having fun.. and the boos shld be taken as a compliment as its usually against the best player. did the laines better chant hurt your feelings?

lol. by the way you talk you'd think it was the leafs that couldn't support their team and lost it and not the other way around.

 

[stuffradio]

Uh no Toronto is Vancouver 2.0. Winnipeg as a team and fanbase is actually likeable. You don't have their fans in every thread trying to **** on something ala you.

No, the fans are just as bad. I had a Jets fan trash talk me in a Canucks thread because I was sad I couldn't watch Boeser score goals anymore when he was injured. How is this a likeable fanbase?

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Who says Winnipeg wouldn't draw fans south of the border? Winnipeg is a well known name down there

Half of the writing staff on the Simpsons from the first 8 seasons were Canadian. That show had so many glorious shots at Canada.

 

[jj cale]

The jets will draw pretty well nation wide aside from Quebec I suppose, Canadian fans want a Canadian team going deep into the playoffs, a Stanley cup run would really drive up the numbers.

You would be surprised at how well the ratings would be with them doing well.

 

[killer1980]

Like everyone else in Canada except for the regional interest, once the Leafs are gone the interest in Canada disappears. It has been on a downward slide for, hmmm how long has Rogers had the hockey contract, oh ya, since 2014. Neither the NHL or Rogers has done anything to increase hockey's appeal on either side of the border other than hire aging and balding executives that clearly are out of touch with today's media. I love the Leafs and was at every game of the 1967 Final in Montreal and Toronto but both the league and TV network have done their best to ruin that relationship.