TBH, I don’t think it would be such a bad marketing ploy for the NHL to become the “adult” sports league.
This is a league that built its image for generations on fighting, blood, missing teeth, broken bones. Most of that stuff is gone and not coming back, which is fine, except that it was what drew a lot of fans into the game for the first time. While we might not be able to safely replace bench-clearings and enforcers and flying open-ice hits, there is still that opportunity to portray the NHL as a league with a sharper edge than the NFL or NBA.
IMO the execution would need to be more than hot mics. Those would be an important component, but you’d also need PBP that trends more toward Jack Edwards than Doc Emrick; color analysts closer to Mike Milbury than Eddie Olczyk; and an expectation that the language involved will be PG-13 rather than G rated. Yes, this does mean the league would get a dumber image. That’s fine. We live in a world full of dumb people.
Intermission dressing room access is also important. Fans want to see what the players are processing emotionally. People care whether a team is smashing sticks or just sitting there stoically. Hearing the refs sort out penalties, same thing. People want to be on the inside of those dialogues. There’s no reason not to do that, other than making it network-TV-friendly.
At the end of the day, it’s an entertainment industry. As far as the in-arena experience and the network-TV experience are concerned, that means an atmosphere where all members of a family household can enjoy the product without anything inappropriate happening. But for the very large and very valuable demographic of adults that’s watching from home without kids in the room, it’s downright silly that no league has managed to develop an adult-targeted product.