Edmonton-Florida Stanley Cup Final Is An American Nightmare For NHL
We're about to find out if the NHL can successfully market its best player (Connor McDavid) during its biggest event (the Stanley Cup Final) to an American audience. Because McDavid is about the only draw that the Edmonton Oilers vs. the Florida Panthers Final has for hockey fans in the United States.
Sure, there are some Florida Panthers fans who started watching hockey when Florida got good a few years ago. Before I get emails from those tens of fans, just understand that the television ratings don't lie. Florida Panthers playoff games do not do well in the ratings, at least they don't unless they're facing the New York Rangers (or the Boston Bruins, for that matter).
See, the NHL really wanted the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final. It's no secret that New York draws better than every other team in the league when it comes to television. There are other teams that draw well, too, but Florida isn't one of them. Plus, they have only one American player on their playoff roster (to be fair, though, it's their best player, Matthew Tkachuk).
The NHL should do everything it can to market Matthew Tkachuk, the only American on the Panthers' playoff roster, as the face of the franchise during the Stanley Cup Final.
(Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
That brings us to Edmonton. There are not a lot of Oilers fans in the United States. Canadian viewers don't count towards the television ratings that the league needs to sell its product to American networks. Thus, the NHL has a disaster on its hands in the form of two teams that people just aren't going to be interested in watching.
Unless, of course, the league can convince casual hockey fans to watch Connor McDavid, easily the best hockey player of this generation (possibly ever, based on talent). It's McDavid's first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in his nine seasons in the NHL. This was just the second time his Oilers even reached the Western Conference Final.
Major League Baseball is often criticized for not marketing its biggest stars and best players properly. The NHL has a golden opportunity to put McDavid front-and-center, and use Tkachuk as an American rival to the Canadian superstar.
Can they pull it off and get the United States audience to watch? That's what we're going to find out.
The Stanley Cup Final matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers is a problem for the NHL, but so is the schedule.
The NHL had a great opportunity to capitalize on the NBA having a huge gap between its conference finals and the NBA Finals.
The Dallas Mavericks eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves last Thursday. The NBA Finals don't start until this Thursday. The NHL had a chance to keep its momentum going and start the Stanley Cup Final before the NBA got going and generate some buzz.
But they aren't doing that. Instead, the NHL is taking nearly a week off just like the NBA. Except, the NHL had two six-game conference finals, where the NBA had a sweep and a five-game series. The Stanley Cup Final doesn't begin until Saturday.
Not only that, but with the days off in-between, Game 7 of the NHL's final series wouldn't happen until June 24! The latest possible date for the NBA Finals to end is June 23. There's an argument to be made that both seasons are far too long, but that's for another day.
The NHL has to market Connor McDavid as must-see TV during the Stanley Cup Final, which features the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers.
(Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
Plus, because the NBA got its schedule out first, the NHL had to work around it. Instead of getting the best spots during the week, the NHL is starting its final series on a Saturday night in June. It's pretty fair to wonder if people have better things to do on a summer Saturday night than watch the Stanley Cup Final.
They also have Game 4 scheduled for a Saturday night and Game 6 scheduled for a Friday night. Add it all up and the NHL figures to have a lower-rated Stanley Cup Final than its Eastern Conference Final. Is that me being biased as a bitter New York Rangers fan? Somewhat.
But the point holds. People care about the New York Rangers and love them or hate them, they tune in to watch. Good luck getting Americans to watch the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers.