The Rebirth of Hockey?

by Pat Hunley

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Earlier in the Stanley Cup finals, one of my friends noted on Facebook that the MLB draft was getting more coverage on ESPN than the Stanley Cup finals. Such has been the reality for hockey fans for several years now. A combination of the lockout in 2005 and the lack of excitement and scoring led to the downfall of the league's popularity. Why else do you think the NHL gave its games to the network formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network (now Versus)?

But a plethora of factors have started to rid the NHL of its unexciting label. For the first season following the lockout, the league insituted major rule changes aimed at increasing offense and scoring. The most notable changes include the legalization of the two-line pass, the reduction in size of goalie gear, and restricting the area where the goalie can handle the puck behind his own goal.

Arguably, more important, however, has been the emergence of several young superstars. Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin has energized the entire DC area to the point where the Caps are second only to the Redskins in popularity in the region. The duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has led the Penguins to two straight Stanley Cup finals. And Eric Staal has made hockey relevant in Carolina.

All of those factors combined for a perfect storm of sorts to make the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs the most exciting in recent memory. Three of the four Conference Semifinals series went seven games, and the other was decided in an incredible 7-5 Game 6 between Chicago and Vancouver where the Blackhawks scored four goals in the third period. We saw Crosby and Ovechkin face off for seven games, and we're seeing the young Penguins again attempt to dispatch the experienced, decorated Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals. Except, fittingly, this year it's going to take a decisive Game 7 to decide everything. To end these playoffs any other way would be an injustice.

But even though Pittsburgh's made it this far, it's tough to tell if the Penguins are up to the task of giving the Red Wings a run for their money in Joe Louis Arena. The home team has won every game so far, and the Penguins have only mustered 2 goals in 3 games on the road, including a 5-0 drubbing in Game 5, the most recent contest on the Red Wings' ice. They barely got out of Mellon Arena with a victory in Game 6; Marc-Andre Fleury stonewalled MVP finalist Pavel Datsyuk on a breakaway, and defenseman Rob Scuderi made three saves of his own in front of the net when Fleury was out of position during a scrum in front of the net.

If Pittsburgh is going to give Detroit a run for their money, they're going to need Crosby and Malkin to step up; thus far they've been shut down for the most part by forward Henrik Zetterberg and future Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. Fleury and third line skaters Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy stepped up to lead the Penguins in Game 6, but Crosby's and Malkin's lines need to step up to give Pittsburgh some offensive production from their best players.

Regardless of how these playoffs end, hockey's future looks very promising. Fans are steadily trickling back, and there are several young superstar players that will be around even in 2020. Hockey doesn't have the drug or dullness issues of baseball, the rookie salary issues in football (the Penguins have built on the production of Crosby and Fleury, two former No. 1 overall picks, and Malkin, the No. 2 pick after Ovechkin in 2004), or the issue, at least in my view, in the NBA where there's so much offense it's tough to pay attention the entire game (I'm sure Kufere disagrees with this); every goal and possession in the offensive zone is significant in hockey.

No offense to Versus, but the NHL's next move should be to get its games on major television networks. NBC currently broadcasts most of the Stanley Cup Finals and one Sunday game per week, but the rest of the games are carried by local networks or Versus, which isn't provided in most basic cable packages. With the recent surge in popularity, maybe the NHL can reach an agreement with ESPN to broadcast some games.

Maybe that would finally catapult the NHL ahead of the MLB draft in ESPN's eyes.

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Pat attended journalism camp with Kufere and Eric last summer and offered to help them cover Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, having watched most of the playoffs because of loyalty to the Penguins. He'll be doing a running diary tonight during the game, one which will likely be biased towards Pittsburgh.