Allow me, for a moment to jump on the bandwagon. I never want to come across as someone who jumps on the coattails of a national story for easy content. Truthfully, it isn’t fair to the person who originally covered the topic. However, Puck Daddy questioned why ratings are down for this year’s Cup finals despite the inclusion of Los Angeles and the New York/New Jersey markets.

Greg Wyshynski cited columns by Adrian Dater and Steve Lepore which each make their own argument for why the NHL’s TV ratings seem to linger in the neighborhood of average reality shows. Lepore’s column is in response to Dater’s. While Lepore doesn’t find much to agree with Dater on, I feel like they’re both on the right track.

Whether you think Dater’s player-driven or Lepore’s league-driven marketing is the right course of action, the answer at the end of the day is that the NHL needs to find a way to bring more spotlight to those playing in each game.

Dater’s argument is basically that the players in the NHL aren’t outlandish enough to draw consistent attention to themselves. According to Dater, operating on the team-first attitude has eliminated the potential for explosive personalities. Dater also points to the general lack of star power in this series as a major reason for lack of interest.

As a counterpoint, Lepore argues that the onus is on the league to promote their players over the game itself. More specifically, the NHL should promote their players without the need of marketing polarizing personalities. I have to say I completely agree. Continue reading →