NHL: Dead or Alive??

by user I EM I ChAz

Well this has been running through my mind forever, is the NHL dead or alive. According too the all star weekend it is dead. The event had the worst ratings ever for there all star game racking a pathetic 100,000 viewers. My opinion on this is yes it's starting to die,and the games and events for this sport have been pathetic. I play hockey my self at a young age and im afraid that the nhl might die out before i have a chance to enter. Another reason why i think the NHL is dying is becasue of advertisment and poor marketing skills. I have not seen too many NHL commericals lately and the ones i do see just really are not funny, good, or a good fan getter. They need to real in more viewers and cut down ticket prices if this sport wants to survive. Another reason is that some games have no action, by this i mean there is not alot of true great players. If they pull in more young prodigys like Ovenchkin and Crosby this sport could grow. But i dont want to see people turning the puck over evrey single time they get the biscut, it gets boring. My last reason is that theres not enough games shown unless you have center ice you can't get a single game usally. That bugs me when i want to watch a Red Wings game and I'm in philly, it's not going to happen. If the NHL wants to keep progressing forward then it needs to improve all the aspects i just mentioned. Even tough i think is dying..... i hope it lives.

BigPPupMajor Leaguer

1069 days ago

Score 2

The NHL is attempting to rebrand itself. It is doing this by using slow controled growth, building the small markets, and showcasing the young talents Ovenchkin, Crosby and Simmen. These are all good ideas, but it does take time, whichi s something we are not used to as Americans. Next year when the new deal with RBK kicks in that will pump tons of new cash into the league for advertising. The NHL has put a lot of responsibility for buiding the league on the teams, and it has made for an interesting product as a result

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False ProphetAll-Star

1069 days ago

Score 3

The league has essentally hit the reset button on themselves. They are building their popularity, and will kick in once their young kids get to become household names.

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BigPPupMajor Leaguer

1069 days ago

Score 1

Very well said FP. Ill be the first to admit I never liked hockey as recently as a year ago. Then I got tickets to a Caps game at the begining of this season, saw what htey were doing, watched the young kids, saw the efforts teams were making and I was hooked

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

1069 days ago

Score 0

The NHL is like cricket in Britain. It is not the mainstream event. Everyone has a passing interest in it though, but if it wasn't there, they'd moan about it.

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BigPPupMajor Leaguer

1069 days ago

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Calling it the cricket of Britain may be giving the NHL too much credit. People dont appreciate the NHL because they have never really seen it

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

1068 days ago

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Most people don't see cricket on TV over here. Stupidly, the ECB sold the rights to Sky, so most people in the country can only watch highlights of England playing and that's it. The County Championship, essentially the feed for the England team, has about 100 people at the stadium watching it! Compared to 15,000 or so when England play. The NHL is in better shape than the County Championship, believe me!

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ChristofMVP

1069 days ago

Score 2

All-star weekend? Dude, the game was played on a Wednesday night, on a cable station that is not available to many. The game itself i still alive, though as a Flyers fan, it is hard for me to say that. The problem wiht the NHL is marketing. A bunch of cavemen could do a better markteting job then the clowns in the charge of the NHL are doing right now. That is the problem. The game itself is still alive & well.

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Dev's AdvocateSoccer Kid

1068 days ago

Score 0

Yea...pretty lame this year, especially being shoved in the middle of the week. Additionally, I don't even think there was a big NFL game goin down that weekend...so it confounds me why in the world the even would be shoved on a weeknight with little TV coverage. It's like the NHL was trying to shoot themselves in the foot. Honestly, the advertisements for the event were so poor, I had to read up on it on espn.com later that week.

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I EM I ChAz

1069 days ago

Score 0

of look at the ratings for all and most of the games its really sad

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BigPPupMajor Leaguer

1069 days ago

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Again that comes to poor marketing mostly putting the games on the Versus network. Many people do not know how to find that chanel or they just dont get it. I know for me I never watch it. Id be interested to see how the ratings are for hockey on the local chanels. For instance Comcast Washington shows all the Caps games in HDTV and thats teh best way to see hockey on TV and they do well

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Dev's AdvocateSoccer Kid

1068 days ago

Score 0

I have to say, and I've been to many sold-out arenas over the country, even say in Chicago, where they're dealing with a struggling team (albeit one of the original 6), that attendance at games is not horrible. The main issue is the lack of major network syndication. For instance, recently on ESPN, they were replaying classic bowling championships from the 1970s and 80s. Now, I love bowling myself, but I would find it hard to fathom that if they had a contract with ESPN that the NHL wouldn't even beat out classic bowling, or in some cases curling (the lesser of the two Canadian sports) for airplay... Additionally, as some of you've said, you have to rely on the local cable carrier for hockey games, and when they do cover games they usually pertain to the local team(s) only with little to no coverage of games in other parts of the country(ies).

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Ber1

1068 days ago

Score 0

The so called All Star Game is the worst way to market the NHL. The so called game is an exhibition of pickup hockey with a bunch of buddies skating around avoiding contact with each other. Nobody wants to get or create an injury, so they parade around and pretend to really care about the game, hence the ridiculous final score. For die hard fans, the real game of hockey can be very exciting, but you only really appreciate the game if you attend one. Even at the lower levels of AHL, the game is fast paced and the hunger of the players is evident to get to the next level of competition at the NHL.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

1068 days ago

Score 0

The All-Star Game is too dangerous to be held in the season, since it creates injuries. It should be gotten rid of since nobody really cares about it. I would move the season back a month too, and then persuade the IIHF to move the World Championship to about two weeks after the NHL Playoffs. That way, the best play in competitions that matter, and starting a month earlier than basketball will give it a chance to gain some viewers (and possibly get them hooked). Also, the World Championship will then actually have the best players in it. I can't see why the likes of ESPN doesn't have a contract to show a game or two, e.g. on a Saturday afternoon (which I understand is a quiet time in US Sports), or maybe one night a week. That can't be asking too much.

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False ProphetAll-Star

1068 days ago

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ESPN severed their ties with the league during the lockout. They won't be able to try again until the league's current contract expires

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1059 days ago

Score 0

Hockey just doesn't translate well onto a TV screen. The best way to appreciate the speed and intensity of the sport is to actually play it! Watching a game in person is alright, but you'll never get a true appreciation for the skill of the players until you take a shot at it yourself. The NHL should be promoting the heck out of grassroots hockey in the non-traditional markets to get the kids hooked.

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