Interesting Read: Make or Break Season for the NHL

Ted Starky has some interesting points on the NHL and and some of the issues that could plague it's future success...

Sports Commentary

The National Hockey League is set to kick off its 90th season with a new look, a new defending champion, and some new stars in new locations.

This year will be a make-or-break season for the league, as after two seasons of trying to repair the damage from the 2004 lockout, the NHL now needs to make positive inroads into raising the sport's profile again. Record-low ratings have left the league with one year to convince NBC to extend its no-fee rights deal at the end of the season to remain on network television. After three years of mostly negative national press, the NHL urgently needs to cast itself in a more positive light to try and regain the sport's standing that was mostly lost in the work stoppage.

Of course, the league also has been plagued with some bad luck, as for three straight seasons, the league’s marquis showcase event has featured a small-market Canadian team against one from a sunbelt U.S. city, not exactly the formula for big U.S. television ratings. Big-market clubs like the Rangers and Flyers haven’t always performed up to expectations, and of the league’s marquis franchises, only Detroit has appeared in a conference final since the lockout ended. The league's partnership with Versus also took a hit when the network failed to land either an NFL or MLB package that would make it must-carry basic cable, and has left the league on a network that few of heard of and fewer will chase down to watch the league's top games.

Some of that could be changing this season, as New York and Philadelphia loaded up in the free-agent market, with stars such as Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Daniel Briere, respectively, heading to those two teams, which should help boost those sagging TV numbers. Another NHL ratings stronghold in Pittsburgh likely will keep improving as the Penguins should be even better after an improbable run into the playoffs, meaning more chances for the league to showcase Sidney Crosby deeper in the spring.

League-wide, every team is changing this year to the form-fitting Reebok Edge jerseys, which have garnered some decidedly mixed reviews from fans and critics, but likely will bring a windfall in merchandising money as fans looking to update their collection will need to purchase a pricer version of an NHL sweater, which include several new designs that should sell well.

The NHL is also in a rare position of not having to face the most daunting problems in pro sports, as the other major sports are facing serious questions about the very integrity of the game. A renegade referee put the NBA in the spotlight this summer, as the legitimacy of some of its contests were put in serious doubt thanks to one official's tie with the mafia. The NFL has one of its stars set to be sentenced in December for running a dogfighting ring, and other players also face serious legal implications in the upcoming months. And baseball has its most hallowed record in the possession of a player largely regarded as a cheat, and the appearance of rampant steroid use for both sluggers and pitchers.

In the end I think the NHL success relies on its television package and marketing scheme. Face it; Versus is a decent television channel however, it is not a top tier television channel like TSN, Rogers Sport Net, FSN, ESPN or even CBC for that matter. The NHL has to get back on the ESPN network where it will be more visible. Also, maybe the NHL needs to stop trying to sell hockey to people that will never be interested in hockey. Hockey is a regional game that is played in the north country.