The NFL is in its offseason, baseball is just getting started, the NBA regular season is as boring as always, so what's worth watching in the world of sports right now?
Despite the challenges of a COVID influenced season, the NHL is putting out a top-tier product for its viewers that could, and should, get anyone behind it... unless you're watching the Buffalo Sabres. But there have been some challenges to everything they've done and how they plan to make it all work. Let's take a quick look at a few things that have worked for the NHL and what they should move away from as soon as the world returns the normal.
First things first: I am a Washington Capitals fan, so we can get the obvious biases out of the way. I will never think Sidney Crosby is a better player than Alex Ovechkin, and I have an irrational disdain for the Penguins as a result of this. Also, Tom Wilson is a certified man rocket that is the furthest thing from a dirty player and you won't convince me otherwise.
Ok, now that that's handled:
What has worked
1. The Return of Rivalries: If you are reading about the NHL season for the first time here then you should know that teams have been put into 4 division (North, South, East and West). The North is comprised on all the Candian teams while the other three divisions are a breakup of the teams based in the US. They are only allowed to play intra-division teams during the regular season, which means teams play each other about 8 times apiece before getting to the playoffs. So what does this mean?
Good ol' fashioned hate makes a comeback.
When you see the same people again and again and again and you're both trying to beat the piss out of each other, natural rivalries and hate are going to form. And ohhhhhh man is it sweet. Last night (4/11), the Capitals and Bruins had a player on both teams drop their gloves and throw hands within the first 4 seconds of the game. THE FIRST FOUR SECONDS! I mean, talk about fireworks to start your night off. I know the media at large and the league are trying to discourage fighting, and I think that random fights should be avoided. Nobody wants to see someone from the Florida Panthers throw down with some rando from the Vancouver Canucks. Where's the fun in that? Give me teams like Montreal and Ottawa and let their guys go at it and you've got my attention.
Not all fights are worth the NHL's time. Rivalry fights are worth EVERYONE's time.
2. Tight division races: This alone should interest the NHL in keeping the schedule format the way that it is. I know it's good marketing to have superstars play in every region for exposure purposes, but I find it even better when a league has tight races that bring your interest in to see who can take each of the 4 crowns. Not only that, but it seems like the teams fighting for the top are all legitimately good. The cream has risen to the top and other than the obscure Buffalo's and Anaheim's that are a flaming pile of hot garbage, each game brings a certain level of curiosity with it.
Why should the NHL go back to the way it was before? The NBA is the same way and their regular season seems almost meaningless. Sure, the talent disparity between superstar and average Joe is much larger on the court than it is on ice, but the NHL should be doing everything within its power to increase the relevancy of its regular season, especially to capture more casual viewers.
What they need to fix
1. I've only got one for this truthfully because I'm running short on time for the deadline I set for myself, but it's also the only one I need.
Man is it hard to learn about teams outside of my local division. I had to do a lot of research to find out what I could about the teams outside of the East Division. From multiple podcasts, to statistics that I will add in later posts, to finding highlights anywhere I can, it's not an easy task. Those who want to know about the National Hockey League will sure put in the effort, but for a league that has yet to crack the top 3 in American popularity, I assumed they would have done more to reach out to their audience and to grow a bigger one. Silly me, Gary Bettman is still in charge.
The biggest news to come out of the league this year is that the NHL is returning to ESPN for the first time in what feels like forever. That was only a flash in the pan that I'm sure most have let slip from their memory now. Come on guys, do more! Pay what you need to in order to get networks to push more Connor McDavid highlights, let me see more of Nathan MacKinnion, do some shady behind the scenes work to Jack Eichel out of Buffalo so his career can be relevant again!
There's so much more that the league could be doing to make life easier on its casual viewers that would only draw them in deeper to the league. I started paying more attention to hockey in college thanks to floormates and a former roommate of mine, and I'm much happier for it. But if the league had been doing a better job of attracting people like me sooner they would be in a much better position because their product is awesome!
I'll have more to say on this later, but for now, the most important thing to take away from this is that the NHL season has been awesome so far, and that can be personified by how unclear it is who is going to take home the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.... go Caps!
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