Game Seven of the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals is tonight in Detroit. The Red Wings have home ice as they try to capture back-to-back Stanley Cups. And yes, for those of you wondering, the game is on NBC, not Versus. You don't have to go looking through every channel on your system to find it. If you know what your local NBC affiliate is, you're set for tonight.
The league finds itself in a position they aren't used to this evening. They have the spotlight. There is no NBA Finals game to go up against (by the way, why didn't they change their schedule so they wouldn't go head to head with The Association?). Either the Red Wings - an Original Six team with some of the best players around whose names you cannot pronounce - will win, or the Penguins and the NHL's version of Lebron James (because he hasn't won anything yet) - Sidney Crosby - will skate around the ice at Joe Louis Arena with Lord Stanley's Goblet.
Tonight is a win-win situation for the NHL. The Red Wings have a following in other cities besides Detroit and Sid The Kid - in just a few short years - has become one of the faces of the league, if not the sole face.
It's what the NHL does after tonight that will determine whether or not they can make a comeback in this country (remember, they still rule in Canada) or fade away once again - as they have done numerous times over the last fifteen years.
A good way to start would be by parting ways with Commissioner Gary Bettman, who has been in the job for sixteen years now.
I know some people will disagree with this. But, exactly what has he done do make the league more popular in the U.S.? You can tell me about the attendance and ratings in Canada all you want, but the league isn't called the Canadian Hockey League. It's the NHL, and it needs to be successful in this country if it ever hopes to return to the level of popularity they enjoyed a couple of decades ago.
Honestly, can anyone tell me what Bettman has done to improve the league? Sure, NHL fans will say The Winter Classic has been a huge success, and I won't deny that. But the buzz it creates every January fades immediately after the game ends. It's actually the story of the league's history, if you really think about it.
Every time the NHL seems to be on the verge of something big it manages to shoot itself in the foot. The league had a tremendous opportunity when the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. They were more than just a New York team. They were a national team. Instead of trying to ride the success of one of their flagship franchises, the league and Bettman decided it would be a good idea to lock the players out. A lockout which lasted for more than a couple of months. By the time it came back - in early 1995 - many fans (who also were burned by the baseball strike and cancellation of the World Series the previous fall) - stayed away, disgusted with the whole situation.
It was a move the league has never recovered from.
Under Bettman's leadership, the NHL has turned into a second and maybe even a third tier sport. Teams like Ottawa and Buffalo suffered through financial problems and almost didn't survive. The same story goes for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had to be rescued by one of the league's greats - Mario Lemieux, and his business partners. The financial problems continue today. Just do a Google search and you'll find out how dire the situation is with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Bettman also spearheaded the lockout which wiped out an entire season. His goals might have been admirable - as the league needed to streamline operating costs. But losing an entire season? Fans discovered there were other things they could do with their time. The league hasn't recovered, even though Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are doing their best to carry it. The league hasn't recovered, despite new rules designed to rid itself of ties that make most fans sick.
But, of all the things Bettman has done, nothing was as bad as leaving ESPN. The Worldwide Leader wanted to retain the television rights, but not at the cost the NHL was demanding. Instead of working out a compromise, the NHL decided to take its product to Versus. You know - what used to be OLN (Outdoor Life Network for those of you that don't know).
Sure, the league also struck a deal with NBC to get back on over the air television, but it has never been promoted correctly. Unless you look it up you don't know which Stanley Cup Finals games are on NBC or Versus. When the league was on FOX and ESPN/ABC, you knew when the games were, and what channel they were on. That isn't the case now.
Some will say ratings are up. Of course they are. There was nowhere to go but up. Even so, the numbers are awful.
Take the case of what happened on Tuesday night. The NBA Finals were on ABC and drew 9.8 million viewers. The Stanley Cup Finals were on NBC and drew 3.9 million viewers. That's more than a 2-1 margin. And the NBA's numbers were down from a year ago, to boot!
When the league hired Bettman sixteen years ago, it was thought that he would turn the NHL into a mini-NBA because of his background as an NBA executive. That simply hasn't happened.
It's time for new leadership for this league. Someone who knows how to get a product out there and in front of people. David Stern took over the NBA in the early 1980's, when drug use was a major problem and Finals games were carried on a tape delay basis by CBS. He took that product, and combined with the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird rivalry (along with some guy named Jordan), made it a major sport once again.
I'm not saying the NHL should try to get Stern away from the NBA. He would never abandon the empire he has built. But, the league's owners need to find someone like Stern. Someone who knows how to market. Someone who can get the games back on ESPN (the contract with Versus isn't up for a couple of years). Someone who has a track record of running businesses and having success with those businesses. Not someone who will run the league into the ground.
I like Gary Bettman. I've had the opportunity to speak to him on a few occasions. He has only good intentions with everything he does. But, his run as commissioner has been anything but successful. It's time for new blood.
Some of you probably think I hate the NHL. Nothing could be further from the truth. I grew up rooting for the Rangers. I took pride in winning the Stanley Cup fifteen years ago. I still watch the game today, even if it looks nothing like the league I grew up watching. The league has stars that have the ability to keep it going. But it needs new leadership.
When women's college basketball is deemed more popular than the NHL, it's time for change.
Without change, the league will remain as unpopular as it is right now, and may not survive the next ten years.
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