The National Hockey League (NHL) has had three strikes/lockouts in the past two decades, two of the three being within the past eight years. Indeed, the 2004-2005 lockout "lost" an entire season of hockey. For a sport that has less than stellar TV ratings to begin with, such a shutdown could have been catastrophic to the league. However, the return of hockey in 2005-2006, along with the revised CBA and structured parity in the league really assisted the NHL in not only keeping its fan base, but in growing it as well.
Unfortunately, the 2012-2013 lockout came just when hockey had reached a pinnacle in my opinion - West coast dominance with San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles all participating in deep playoff runs in the past 6 years, with Anaheim and Los Angeles winning the prized Stanley Cup in 2006-2007 and 2011-2012, respectively. Further, East coast teams such as Boston, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia regained dominance. Many thought the ill-timed lockout would end tragically, with the loss of another season and, worse, the loss of its prized fan base.
However, the NHL appeared to actually take this to heart in the scheduling of games post lockout, and some great hockey was instilled around the league, as most teams remained in the playoff hunt well into the final weeks of the shortened season. This led to the return of intense hockey, and the rebirth of contested rivalries between Chicago-Detroit, Toronto-Montreal, Boston-Pittsburgh, New York-New York, Los Angeles-Anaheim, etc. Hockey games were telecast on local cable stations, practically every day from the beginning of the shortened season to the final day. This allowed core hockey fans and those "on the fence" to enjoy the fast-paced action and get enthusiastic about the upcoming playoff rounds.
The NHL was poised to really attract and solidify its fan base. And then, the playoffs came, and what did the NHL do ... it allowed NBC to dictate who would see what games and when, denying many "blue collar" hockey fans the ability to watch their team play hockey. In addition, losing local stations means that local telecasters do not call the game. Telecasting most games on NBCSN (NBC Sports Network - formerly VersusTV) requires extra costs for most cable TV subscribers or satellite TV viewers. In addition, the scheduling of the games has been atrocious.
Let's take the current schedule for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference finals. The Western Conference Final is between the Los Angeles Kings (the defending champs) and the Chicago Blackhawks (the best team, arguably in the NHL this season).
Game 1 is Saturday - In Chicago
Game 2 is Sunday - In Chicago
Game 3 is Tuesday - In LA
Game 4 Thursday - In LA
Game 5 Saturday (If necessary) - In Chicago
Game 6 Monday - (If necessary) - In LA
Game 7, if necessary, at 9pm EST on Wednesday, June 12th.- In Chicago
Eastern Conference between Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins:
Game 1 is Saturday - In Pittsburgh
Game 2 is Monday - In Pittsburgh
Game 3 is Wed - In Boston
Game 4 is Fri - In Boston
Game 5 is Sun - (if necessary) In Pittsburgh
Game 6 is Tue - (if necessary) In Boston
Game 7 is Wed - (if necessary) in Pittsburgh - also at 9pm EST
So, the West gets "screwed" on the initial back-to-back, and the East gets "screwed" if a game 7 is necessary, as its final game 7 would be a back-to-back game following game 6. This means the teams have to travel with less than 24 hours between games 6 and 7, which could make game 7 that much more crucial in light of the likely jet lag (even if in the same time zone).
What's interesting to me, however, and what I believe is a "crying shame" for true hockey fans, is that both Game 7's are to be held at the same time ... which means the loss of some of the loyal NHL fan base because some will watch the Western Game 7 while others will watch the Eastern Game 7 ... why not have the games run consecutively rather than concurrently???
The NHL always seems to put its worst foot forward at inopportune times. These playoffs have been stellar, with several overtime games, several very tight games, with one goal as the difference, and many Game 7's already. Both West coast and East coast teams, original 6 teams, and a few expansion teams were in these playoffs. The anticipated jump in its fan base was high ... and then the NHL trips on its own feet with scheduling.
A shame ...
Those are my thoughts ... what are yours?
Abe
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