In individual sports or even team sports like NBA its easier to make it about athletes. More team oriented sports such as NHL and MLB have much bigger uphill battles since single athletes don't have as much of impact. MLB ratings were up during steroid era as individuals chased record books.
I can't disagree with this. It is much easier to have one super-dominant player in football and basketball than in baseball and hockey. That is what gets the headlines (unless, say, a massive line brawl happens. That gets people talking about the sport in a big way.) During MLB's steroid era, anybody with half a brain knew what was happening, but the media did a great job keeping it under wraps. It helped that the two guys chasing the record were, while not very charismatic, quite likeable. This kept the attention off the fact that one looked like a bipedal horse swinging a telephone pole and the other had the acne of a teenager despite being (allegedly) 29 years old. The next guy to break the single-season home run record wasn't so lucky.
I do agree, even if challenging, both leagues have to allow its athletes individual personalities to shine especially in today's social media world. Even if some behaviors may be deemed disrespectful by old/conservative standards.
How quickly we forget the last NHL player to make a splash on social media. If I were an agent, I would instruct all of my players to stay off of it. Yes, social media can be a great way to reach fans. It can also be a great way to torpedo your future, and not just as a professional athlete.
As you said sports are part of entrainment business.
That is correct. The problem is that the entertainment landscape is rapidly changing and the entire sports industry, not just the NHL, is losing money. I'm too lazy to link to it, but there was a thread on here about the sports industry's Gen Z problem.
Some worry individuality is detrimental to team cohesion. PK was often scolded in Montreal for showing too much of personality and making it about himself rather than the team. Hope that mentality changes.
I'd place the blame for this on the shoulders of the sportswriters more than anybody else, as they often tell the fans what to think (see above with McGwire and Sosa vs. Bonds.) I wouldn't mind seeing much of the current crop of writers having to join us peons in anonymity.