The NHL lockout in 2004 killed the rise of the NHL and took it off the nation's leading sports network, ESPN. That was a dagger to a sport that was one of the fastest-growing sports in the 90s and had some of the best players of all-time still lacing up the skates. The lockout turned off many fans because a whole season was lost and fans found other interests.
Coming back from the lockout would be a long journey back to respectability. The NHL was mocked, laughed at, and the butt of many jokes by ESPN and was forced to accept a TV deal with the Outdoor Life Network, which was known more for its hunting and fishing s
hows than anything remotely close to mainstream sports. Well, 4 years later, with a new name (Versus), an HD channel, and expanded programming (college football, UFC, college basketball, "The Sports Soup"), the network is now looking like a respectable sports network. The NHL helped the channel improve and eventually forced VS to create an HD channel, which greatly helps the NHL's popularity on TV, because HD helps no sport more than hockey.The problem is, 1/3 of the nation does not get VS. It is a Comcast-owned network that can't be found on many cable packages. Compared to ESPN, VS is nothing. That said, while ESPN's quality of programming is decreasing - from more New England Sports coverage to laughing at players during interviews - VS's is improving. The NHL coverage is solid. It is generally unbiased (except for playing the same teams over and over again) analyst-wise (there are exceptions) and it is improving with every broadcast.
With the improving broadcast is an improving product. The days of the trap and boring 1-0 games are gone. Instead, exciting young superstars have emerged and promoted the game to a whole new level. There are intense rivalries developing and the constrasts between superstars creates a great balance: Sidney Crosby is a clean-cut, says all the right things, a leader while Alex Ovechkin looks like a caveman, can barely speak proper english, and is not afraid to speak his mind. Luckily, the two players happen to play on two teams that have had tons of postseason play against one another and in which there is a distinct rivalry between the two teams and, more importanty, the two cities. Hockey fans saw this coming a mile away when the two players began playing their rookie year; they finished 1-2 in Calder Trophy voting with Ovechkin beating out Crosby, who was everyone's lock pick to win the award. Caps fans feel that Ovechkin was disrespected by the media and the NHL early on and is just now getting the coverage and praise that he deserves. It is a gold mine for the NHL and creates one of the best rivalries in sports.
And the rest of the nation is taking notice. Not only has each game been a top story on ESPN, the ratings on VS are skyrocketing. They are still less than the NBA, but when you consider than hockey is still very much regional (certain cities love it, others don't know it exists) in the United States and a huge chunk of the viewing population does not get VS, the ratings are great. The best part is that they are improving and are now at pre-lockout, ESPN days. It is great exposure for the game and the fact that each and every game has been down to the wire makes it even better.
Still, as good as the games have been and as good of coverage as Versus has done, the NHL would be better served to find a way back on ESPN in the coming years. The only thing that would change that would be if VS found its way into every cable TV set in the United States. Then, I would think the NHL would be better served to stay on it because of the coverage that VS gives and the fact that NHL is the premier broadcast on the station. ESPN gives the NHL more national exposure and would be played in many more homes than VS. Also, ESPN would be able to play commercials for the NHL, create a nightly highlight/wrapup show, hire more NHL analysts (Barry Melrose and Matthew Barnaby are great, but it's just TWO guys!), but more importantly it would stop the endless stream of unproffesionalism from the Sportscenter personalities who have laughed at or mocked the NHL the last four years. Oh, and ESPN has 2 HD broadcast channels, and, like I've said, HD hockey is the best HD sport around - and it isn't even a contest.
That may only be a pipedream, but right now, the reality is that the NHL's popularity is continualy rising and should be passed pre-lockout days in the next 1-2 years. The main reason for it? Cities such as Washington, D.C., and Chicago finally fielding exciting, competitive teams. They are two top-ten markets that could not draw well for years. That has changed and both cities should be able to draw well for the next decade. Add in the fact that some small-market, struggling teams could move to cities like Hartford, Winnipeg, Kansas City, or Las Vegas (all of which could and will support a team to the point where 16-17,000 are coming a night), and you've got a league that is becoming more and more popular nation-wide. It helps that the NBA's product is decreasing - the officiating is a joke (worse than the NHL), there is little to no parity, and many players are accused of being prima donnas and playing lazy. The NHL already draws better than the NBA (helped by Canada's constant sell-outs), so it's just a matter of translating that onto the television. This year's NHL playoffs has been one of the best in recent memory; there have been countless great games and all but 2 series so far have been fantastic. And so far, people are beginning to tune in, whether it's because the product is better, they want to see the superstars, or they are bandwagon fans, it doesn't matter. More viewers is more hockey fans, and more hockey fans means more parents getting their children into hockey, which means more youth teams, which means more rinks, which means more generations of hockey families.
And that is ALWAYS good for the NHL.
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