2023-24 NHL Thread

[cabber24]

... Like, I don't care how old Bettman is, the youngest and most engaged Gen-Z'er couldn't come up with marketing that turned Connor McDavid or Mike Trout into interesting people.
...

He really is one of the most boring greatest players of all time. Even Crosby is more interesting.

I can't remember where I watched it but he gave a tour of his house and he was so painfully awkward and even his house was so bland and empty. It was a tough watch.

[Zee]

So I actually tried to throw on the Sens/Wings game from Sweden that's currently happening - it's regionally blacked out so you have to be in the Sens region to watch.  The NHL just knows how to take loss after loss.

[Highlander]

So I actually tried to throw on the Sens/Wings game from Sweden that's currently happening - it's regionally blacked out so you have to be in the Sens region to watch.  The NHL just knows how to take loss after loss.

Ya my move to BC is a double edge sword hockey wise.  Games starting at 4PM is great, however so many games blacked out even when Van not playing just doesn't make sense especially as the sports packages are not cheap..

[IJustLurkHere]

Connor McDavid is never going to be Mr. Personality.  He might be fun behind closed doors but in front of the media McDavid is someone who sucks.  I think you can get that kind of marketing from the Hughes brothers, Tkachuk, etc. and the league needs to do a better job of promoting that. 

...

And that's the real thing. The NHL used to sell teams. The Habs, the Oilers, Penguins. Even if your team sucked, they were fun to watch. Then they decided that, for their financial stability, it was important that all teams were as tightly bunched together talent wise as possible. Now every team is fielding mediocre players for at least 30 minutes a night. What's the big marquee matchup you'd tell a casual fan to watch right now? Vegas vs. Boston? What's the sport's last champion in a big, hockey crazy market? Probably the Blackhawks which is going on 8 years now. The league can't on the one hand be like "It's crucial for the future of the sport that Carolina and Ottawa are on even terms with Toronto and New York" and then turn around and wonder where the fans are at when that's exactly what they get. 

...

If you're after a clash of the best teams, then yeah, Vegas vs Boston is a pretty good place to start.

Way back in Moneyball, the thing that let the Oakland A's be an innovative team by acting on strategies that had been around since the 70s was the insight that selling on star power was one dimensional. If you want to sell your product, you have to win. If the Oilers suck, then Connor McDavid won't save you. If you win, then your 3rd line grinders get big contracts at Free Agency and the fans are actually sad to see them go.

Expansion doesn't prevent marketing the sport (it should enhance the capability... they have expanded the market). The NHL just aren't really interested in doing it.

[Nik]

To be clear, I'm not blaming expansion. I'm blaming the cap.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what the distinction is between selling star players vs. winning unless there's a mechanism in place like the cap where having star players makes it harder for a team to win. The best teams of all time were star driven.

[princedpw]

So I actually tried to throw on the Sens/Wings game from Sweden that's currently happening - it's regionally blacked out so you have to be in the Sens region to watch.  The NHL just knows how to take loss after loss.

Since the NHL ESPN contract started my streaming access to games has been so much worse than it was before. The new streaming option in the US just doesn't give me very many Leafs games. It is like ESPN paid the NHL to not broadcast tons of games to their fans.  This seems so bad for NHL fans and conversely, for the NHL. What kind of league makes it so hard to see their games legally?

[Arn]

So I actually tried to throw on the Sens/Wings game from Sweden that's currently happening - it's regionally blacked out so you have to be in the Sens region to watch.  The NHL just knows how to take loss after loss.

Since the NHL ESPN contract started my streaming access to games has been so much worse than it was before. The new streaming option in the US just doesn't give me very many Leafs games. It is like ESPN paid the NHL to not broadcast tons of games to their fans.  This seems so bad for NHL fans and conversely, for the NHL. What kind of league makes it so hard to see their games legally?

In the UK we have the NHL TV app. It's really well priced.

But the NHL also has a deal with Viaplay TV channel. Any game they show is blacked out for 48 hours. They generally show 2 games per day.

They also have virtually no subscribers and are trying to quit the UK market.

So if you want to watch all games you actually need 2 subscriptions.

Or an illegal iptv that costs less for a year than the above subscriptions do for a month.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

Hockey is and always will be a niche sport.  Lean into it.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/sportsnet/status/1725923854223028695
Eep

[herman]

https://twitter.com/puckreportnhl/status/1726327012607045999
0.o

[L K]

Remember that short lived "who's really the best" narrative.

[Zee]

Remember that short lived "who's really the best" narrative.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/grittynhl/status/1726419866410725723
This is unhinged

[cabber24]

https://twitter.com/sportsnet/status/1725923854223028695
Eep

Accusation details are out and he was allegedly hands on with his wife. Terrible news for everyone involved. For me, I really enjoyed his game in his prime, he was so strong/tough/nasty but his legacy in hindsight is completely tarnished. Apparently that anger was more than just compete.

[herman]

https://twitter.com/DuaneS39/status/1726994011519701183
https://twitter.com/alyssalerae/status/1727001648013475985
This is the most correct take

Edit:
https://twitter.com/soIoucity/status/1727012640181063778
This is getting good