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State of the Game
The NHL has probably gone through more changes in the last fifteen years then their entire history. After hitting the pinnacle in 1994 with the New York Rangers winning the Stanley Cup it has been all down hill. Two lockouts in ten years (1994-95) and (2004-05) plus the quality of the game (Scoring, Play Making) going south. But there is actually hope on the horizon because both the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) and new Rules changes have been very positive and should help long term. Not too many leagues in the world would actually cancel a complete season in order to get what they want.
Having said all that, there are some new problems unfolding for the NHL. Unfortunately with all this CBA and Rules talk for the last fifteen years this league forgot what has made them successful in the past, its own “Sense of History.” You don’t go to a hockey game to watch Cheerleaders or listen to Rap Music you went for a slice of history like Baseball. By the late eighties this league had certain identifying markers; Original Six Arenas, Dynasty Teams, Superstar Players and a Season that ended in May. All of this is gone. If Hockey (NHL) doesn’t want to go the way of Tennis or Boxing it better get a grip on its own history.
Four Major Pillars:
1) Superstar Players
2) Dynasty Teams
3) Historic (Retro) Stadium
4) Fan & Media Friendly Season
If your league doesn’t have at least one of these Pillars especially the first three then maybe there no longer Major League. For a league that was (4 for 4) up until the nineties it appears to be (0 for 4) at this time, but that might change, hopefully!
Superstar Players
Every league has players but not every league has the Super Player or Superstar. I believe strongly that it is the Superstar player who people come out to see and which all other players are measured by. Superstars are the players who help the league write its own history. Can you imagine MLB without Babe Ruth; he is probably the most famous baseball player who ever lived. The NHL has had its share of Superstars in the past (Richard, Howe, Orr, Gretzky) but has had a hard time producing them recently because lack of offense which is the main ingredient of the Superstar. But this league probably has its first superstar in the making since Eric Lindros was suppose to be the next one after Mario Lemieux in the early nineties. Sidney Crosby is showing he has the skill and pizzazz to be the first NHL Superstar in a long time. It will be very difficult for any player born outside North America becoming a NHL Superstar.
Dynasty Teams
I think it’s more important to have one team winning championships on a regular basis then having a different team winning every year because it breads animosity, jealousy, admiration and comparisons to past dynasties. Want to be remembered win more than one title. One of the last Dynasties to happen in pro sports was the Chicago Bulls. Even though I’m just a casual Basketball fan I couldn’t get enough of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone: having your Superstar on a Dynasty team. The last legitimate NHL Dynasty team was the Edmonton Oilers starring Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr. Having another Dynasty team any time in the future seems highly unlikely in today’s NHL.
Historic (Retro) Stadium
Nothing reflects more of a sense of history than the Stadium teams plays in. Try thinking of MLB without Wrigley Field and Fenway Park or NHL without Maple Leaf Gardens or Montreal Forum, oh that’s right the last two are gone. NBA and NFL didn’t really have or felt the need to promote their old Stadiums so when they got torn down it never really hurt them. If you remember the early nineties the experts were predicting that Baseball was going the way of the Dodo Bird. Then all of a sudden this Retro Baseball Park emerged out of Bowels of Baltimore called Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 6, 1992. It fundamentally saved Baseball and created the Blue Print for the rest of MLB teams to follow. Lucky them!
Well, unfortunately you can’t say the same thing about the NHL. I don’t know where they were or what Ivory Tower they were up but they definitely missed the boat on this very important issue pertaining to their sport. By the early nineties four out of six original arenas were still standing and functioning. But like all old sports buildings there has to be a time when they’re replaced. How things happened below:
Chicago Stadium – (Built: 1929 / Demolished: 1995). It was replaced by the United Center in 1994. This building had great character and was the loudest arena in the NHL. Blackhawk fans would always help in singing the National Anthem to dizzying heights and a fog horn under the visitor’s bench that would go off when the Blackhawk’s scored, it was Fantastic!
Boston Gardens – (Built: 1928 / Demolished: 1998). It was replaced by TD Banknorth Center in 1995 which has been a hard sell for Bruins fans and even harder for traditional hockey fans. If your team was playing in the old Gardens you paid attention but now in the new arena nobody cares.
Montreal Forum – (Built: 1924 / Retired: 1996). Replaced by the Bell Centre in 1996. This was probably the best of the Original Six Arenas not just because the Canadiens won 24 Stanley Cups and Morenz, Richard, Beliveau and Lafleur played their but by its Character and Style. It had white and red seats and a place for standing room only that will never be forgotten. Almost felt like going to Church.
Maple Leaf Gardens – (Built: 1931 / Retired: 1999). It was replaced by the Air Canada Centre in 1999. This Sandstone Building was located on Carlton and Church Street and was probably the most recognized Original Six Arena. It had a unique seating design which made it completely identifiable on T.V. It’s hard to believe this once proud franchise with all its history would end up playing in a Basketball Arena today. A perfect example of what has gone wrong with the NHL. Do you think the Yankees would have done that!
Fine, rip the old buildings down but put a “Retro Arena” in its place. If new NHL Franchises want to build “Modern Arenas” so be it, but having Original Six teams playing in Glass, Concrete and Aluminum Siding buildings was a huge mistake. They got no Soul and Character and that is exactly what the NHL was built on. There should have been something from the League Head Offices to start building Retro Arenas which would include materials like Granite, Sandstone, Limestone, Marble, Brick and Mortar somewhere back in the mid nineties when all of these new arenas were being built but I guess they were to busy clanging wine glasses to pay any attention.
This unfortunate miscue is really going to hurt the NHL long term because it would have kept them connected to their own history which they need like Baseball (MLB) and separate them from the Cheerleaders, Rap Music and College Hoopla of Football (NFL) and Basketball (NBA). They are going to pay dearly for this error unless somebody with integrity and money decides to build a new Replica Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens or Boston Gardens like the way the new Yankees Stadium is being constructed. And enough with selling arena names to Corporations, this is not Capitalism. I don’t remember any fan asking for their arena (which they will be eventually paying for regardless of where the money comes from) being named after a Business which they might not like or use.
Fan Friendly Schedule & Season
This pillar may not seem as important as the first three but when you compare other leagues in North America to the NHL you will see the difference. Probably the best season in Pro Sports has to be the NFL because it’s short and sweet. Their season goes from August to January or February depending on a one or two week break before the Super Bowl. Their regular season is a nice compact symmetrical four months (September to December) with August being training camp and January/February the playoff Month and that is how it has been for decades.
Everybody knows January is Super Bowl month do people know June is Stanley Cup month. Why would the NHL want to have its Championship in the same month as the NBA, who do you think gets more publicity. You can’t blame the NBA they’ve been there since day one. The NHL moved into June for the first time somewhere back in the mid nineties because a 9 month season just wasn’t enough. The NHL Championship (Stanley Cup) has been held in April, May and now June maybe they should pick a month like the NBA, NFL or MLB and keep it there, preferably a month not being used by another Leagues Championship.
NFL tickets and products are always in demand because there are only 16 regular season games and a few playoff games. How does a League with the fewest games & shortest season make the most money, could it be “Low Supply” creates a “High Demand” for their Brand? This is what you learn in Business School. If you look at the NHL regular and post season you will notice it has the longest season from beginning to end compared to the NFL, MLB and NBA and yet makes the least amount of money. Could there be a relationship between Revenue and length of season. Read the Chart below (includes pre and post season):
NHL – September to June – 10 Month Season (4th in overall league revenues)
NBA – October to June – 9 Month Season (3rd in overall league revenues)
MLB – March to October – 8 Month Season (2nd in overall league revenues)
NFL – August to January – 6 Month Season (1st in overall league revenues)
Maybe the NHL should go back to the way it was twenty years ago when it had a 9 Month schedule (September to May). That would mean training camp in September which it is now and a six month regular season October to March (last three months at the end of every year and the first three months of the New Year) very symmetrical and clean. Playoffs would be April and May including draft and trophy show. That would leave three complete months for players to recuperate from their grueling season. Please, no more back to back games it’s not fair for fans to pay big money to see burned out players plus a more balanced schedule would be much appreciated. In order for this to happen the regular season would probably have to be changed back to a 72 game schedule from 82 games, which sounds reasonable. Unfortunately the tall foreheads who run the NHL Clubs might think that the loss of 10 regular season games and shorter season would be a loss in Revenue but if you look at the Chart above less might actually mean more.
Other Issues
The NHL should try a little harder in getting rid of grey areas in their sport and make things more black and white because this is what keeps chipping away at their credibility. Having eliminated Ties and the Ties Column from the Standings Chart they have added this OT/Shootout Losses Column which actually makes less sense then the Ties Column. Two points for a win and zero points for a loss, what is the problem? Isn’t that the way it should be. Who came up with one point for an overtime loss or one point for a shootout loss? If you lose you should get no points. If this is the way it’s going to be, let’s go back to ties and get rid of the shootout. Have you ever tried to explain this OT/Shootout Losses column to a non hockey fan, very painful! Maybe if the NHL tries to do what has to be done their critics will stop putting kick me signs on their back.
Uniforms
One strong aspect of the NHL has to be their uniforms. I wish the NHL Brass would have taken more of an interest in protecting historical Jerseys and Logos and encouraging all new franchises to use more of a traditional uniform. This is not to say a “Modern Uniform” can’t be as attractive as a “Traditional Uniform” but how much of a Tampa Bay, New Jersey, Carolina and Anaheim can this league take without diluting their history.
I don’t think there is another league in the world that has more identifiable jerseys then hockey. If you look at the Original Six Jerseys which are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawk’s, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers they are the epitome of style and character. A few years back the Boston Bruins tried to modernize their Jersey and came up with a 1970s Leafs inspired disaster. Please, go back to your old Bruins jersey.
I also believe this White Jersey on the Road and Dark Jersey at Home has got to go. There was nothing better then seeing the Visiting team in their dark colors, especially teams like the Bruins (Old Jersey) coming to pound on your Team. How can you dislike the opponent when there coming to your Barn with their Whites on? It’s the Good Cop Bad Cop syndrome. You’re “Good Cop” wearing your Whites at home and you’re “Bad Cop” wearing your Darks on the road. What epitomizes hockey more then that?
Last but not least are these new uniforms that the NHL will unveil at the All-Star Game. I hope these uniforms don’t take away from the independent style that each team has now. Remember the Chicago Blackhawk’s uniform doesn’t only have a different Logo and Colors but a different Style from a Montreal Canadiens. Hopefully these new Jerseys will eventually replace all Third Jerseys and there just showcasing them for a while, then go back to their “Historical Uniforms.”
IMPROVING THE NHL
POTIFICATING ON THE STATE OF THE GAME
Last Updated: Jan 20, 2007
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