NHL: On Thin Ice?

The Anaheim Ducks will play the Ottawa Senators for the right to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup, starting on Memorial Day.

It seems like the wrong time of year to decide a championship in a sport meant for the colder months. But the National Hockey League does this for the same reason the NFL puts its biggest games in the dead of winter, and why Major League Baseball has scheduled the seventh game of the World Series for November 1: to attract network TV coverage. And no pro sports league has had a more difficult time promoting its product than the NHL.


In the two years since a labor dispute shut down the season, the NHL has been trying to win back the fans with more offense, eliminating ties in the regular season, and cracking down on the rough stuff.

That worked--for awhile.

Like every other rule change benefiting the offense in the past, it was only a matter of time before the defenses caught up and brought down scoring. The unbalanced schedule, in which there is more divisional play and fewer visits from teams in the other conference, is largely a bust. And there is still the occasional cheap shot, performed by one team's designated goon on an unsuspecting player from the other team whose career (and life) suddenly hangs in the balance.

Unfortunately for the NHL, video of said cheap shot ends up being shown on network news programs and various web sites, usually as part of stories decrying the violence in hockey.

As for intentional publicity, the NHL currently has TV deals in the United States with Versus and NBC. The league seems to be happy with Versus, even if most folks think they made a mistake in leaving ESPN after the lockout. Versus must be on a tight budget because, instead of sending their own people to cover some playoff games, they picked up the feed from Canadian TV networks. And they usually do a much better job.

NBC does an excellent job with its occasional coverage, and the NHL is just plain fortunate to have them. However, they also got a taste of how they really rated with the network when the Buffalo-Ottawa game went into overtime. NBC then went to Preakness Stakes coverage, and the hockey was moved to Versus, where Ottawa scored to eliminate the Sabres.

The National Hockey League will always be popular with its fans. But if they want to be a major sport in the United States, they've got to get out of their own way.

Oh yes: Ducks in six games.