I Hate the NHL

By Dave Wiley: SPM OH Writer
Posted Thursday, April 10, 2008

As the NHL playoffs swing into full gear, another year goes by where I hate the NHL. Let me clarify. I don’t hate hockey, as a matter of fact I am an advocate of the sport on all levels. I cover the Lake Erie Monsters on a regular basis. I’m passionate about the games. I was never a big Colorado Avalanche fan until I followed the likes of Tyler Weiman, David Jones, T.J. Hensick and others as they went to Colorado from the Monsters and back down again. It gave me newfound respect for the club. At one point in the season, the announcers even referred to the Colorado Avalanche as the Colorado Monsters, because the parent was so decimated by injuries that all the players I’d been watching all year were there.

I love hockey. I love watching the National Hockey League. I just hate the NHL for what they’ve done to the average fan. A few years ago, when the strike was on and the NHL floundering, they signed an agreement to air most Hockey games on what was, at the time, the Outdoor Life Network, or OLN. Now, it’s called Versus. Many cable providers, including mine, do not have Versus in the basic package, nor is it one level up in the Bronze type packaging. National Hockey Night on ESPN was something I looked forward to, and they got rid of that particular contract. That means someone like me, who would watch Hockey all the time, can only watch locally broadcast Fox network games of the Columbus Blue Jackets or the Saturday or Sunday games on primetime TV. That would probably be ok, at least for the regular season. Now it’s playoff time. Round one started Wednesday. Four games are in the books. I did not see one. NOT ONE!! I would have watched all four, if it were possible. I saw zero. If this year plays out the same as last year, some of the Stanley Cup Finals games will be on prime time. Big Deal.

By then you’ve missed the side plots, the hitting, the fights. You have no idea who’s hurt, who’s on fire, what goalie is hot. Sure you can read about it, or watch Berry Melrose on ESPN, but nothing, NOTHING is the same as seeing it for yourself. Also, they do not air all seven potential finals games on prime time, only a couple. So you get to see game three after not seeing games one and two. Again, all the nuances of a seven game series were not things the average Joe was able to witness up to the game you actually get to watch. That is not acceptable.

Could I afford to upgrade to Versus? YES. Will I? NO!! It is a matter of principle for me. You want to build a fan base, you have to show at LEAST the playoffs on network television. All major sports do that. Well all of them but the NHL.

Will I ever eventually just stop watching hockey? I doubt it. Until things change though, playoff time in the NHL will continue to PISS ME OFF ROYALLY for the next X number of years. Me, a hockey fanatic. I can’t even imagine what it’s doing to the average or fair weather fan. I hope it doesn’t lead to the death of the NHL, as it really is the coolest game on earth.