We're just a few years removed from the big NHL strike and sports in my world are not the same. Throughout college I would stay up late for hockey games; I remember watching Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in a 5 OT game on ESPN and I don't even root for either team. Hockey was a priority then, but now it's an afterthought. With the NHL strike and the ESPN TV deal that fell through resultingin OLN and other 3rd-rate stationgs televising NHL games, hockey just is not a proiority anymore.
Accessibility is the key. After watching some of Pittsburgh and Buffalo in the outdoor game on New Year's Day it reminded me of how I used to enjoy hockey games. But with game rarely broadcast on "normal" channels and ESPN's highlights being quite limited, the lack of accessibility, even for someone with every sports channel known to man, is the reason I fail to watch hockey games. Even if the money is not what they want, the NHL would be wise to work with ESPN once again in the future to make another deal with the leader of the sports world.
While NHL apparel & merchandise has undoubtedly fallen off with the lack of overall attention to the sport in the U.S., DFN Sports site still support the NHL. Find Chicago Blackhawks apparel & merchandise, Pittsburgh Penguins apparel and more online.
Kim Cloutier
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