It is no surprise the television ratings in Canada during the 2016 NHL playoffs were down. With no Canadian teams entered it was obvious the numbers would be low. However, in the United States they had 16 teams in the postseason for the first time ever, yet their ratings were well below the past few seasons.

Despite having one of the league’s best players involved, viewership for the Stanley Cup Finals was down 29% from last year and 23% from 2014. That is a massive drop, and the NHL needs to address the reality that fewer people are watching games on cable TV.

Many people have ditched their cable carrier and are watching their favourite shows online. Currently the NHL only offers streaming on NHL Centre Ice, but it blacks out local games, thus essentially telling fans they can’t watch their favourite team.

The TV landscape is changing quickly, and the league and carriers need to adapt with the same speed if they want to avoid losing fans. Streaming is one issue, but the other is the excitement of the game.

The NHL is not as exciting as it used to be. We have fewer scoring chances, fewer goals, fewer hits and less emotion. These attributes have been replaced with more replay delays, more goals called off, more blocked shots and too many sit-back, conservative defensive structures.

This spring I watched less NHL playoff hockey than I have in the past 15 years. I found myself channel surfing much more, and often I ended up watching longer stretches of basketball games than I did hockey.

I find there are long stretches in today’s game where nothing of substance happens. Do you feel the same?

Other diehard hockey fans have said the same thing. There is way too much focus on the 200-foot game or being an all-around player. They have become terms I loathe, because most of us don’t even pickup these attributes when watching. If you watch a game on TV, the camera angles are locked in on the puck. You can’t tell what a player is doing away from the puck, so how can you truly appreciate his 200-foot game? You can’t, but many repeat it daily.

Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smyth because he supposedly did so many things well. I don’t discount what he did, but isn’t scoring and not allowing goals the most important things in hockey?

Crosby had 6-13-19 in 24 games, but he didn’t score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals. He was also outscored by the opposition at EV and finished -2. He played 398 EV minutes, and he and Phil Kessel played the exact same amount of PP time.

Kessel played 340 minutes at EV and finished with 10-12-22 and was +5. He had 11 PPP to Crosby’s 9 and he outscored Crosby at EV 11-10. For me, scoring goals matters, and Kessel had ten to Crosby’s six. Kessel also out shot Crosby 98-69. He had more scoring chances.

According to Frank Seravelli the voting was extremely close. Crosby had nine first place votes and five 2nd place votes. Kessel had seven first place votes and eight 2nd place votes. Seravelli had the point totals 63-60 in favour of Crosby. Maybe it isn’t much of an issue for people, which is fine, and I’m sure Crosby’s reputation got him some votes, but I do wonder if some hockey people and fans are subconsciously leaning towards the “200-foot game” theory over actual skill and finish?

Only two players have won the Conn Smyth being a minus player. Crsoby this year and Jonathan Toews was -1 in 2010 when he tallied 29 points. Toews had 26 points in the first three rounds of the postseason that year. He was incredible offensively at least.

I’m concerned with the excitement of hockey. The game is faster, no doubt, but I do not find it more exciting than previous generations. Fewer chances, fewer goals and fewer lead changes is not good for the game.

I don’t believe there is a simple solution. Coaches spend a lot of time on video and they are teaching players to be in the exact right spot to help limit a scoring chance. I don’t see how the league could restrict video sessions, but it would be great if coaches spent an equal amount of time in video on scoring as they do defending, but so far that doesn’t happen.

Former NHL player and assistant coach Tim Hunter is one of the few coaches in the WHL who promotes an attacking game. His Moose Jaw Warriors attack, similar to Brandon, Lethbridge, Regina and some others.

“I think there needs to be more incentive so coaches coach creativity. Everyone is too worried about systems,” Hunter said yesterday on my show. God bless him. It’s not like he doesn’t teach his players to play in the defensive zone, but he coaches them to push the pace and exchange chances.

I wonder if Auston Matthews and Tyson Jost would have played in the WHL if their rights weren’t owned by Everett? If you are an offensive-minded player why would you want to play there? Kevin Constantine’s coaching style in Everett is terrible for hockey. During games he actually yells out plays/defensive formations. He does not promote offence and it is no surprise they only had two 20-goal scorers and only one player with more than 50 points (Remi Laurencelle had 58).

Is it beneficial to the game to neuter your players offensive creativity, just so you can be sound defensively? No chance. You can be sound defensively while still promoting offence, but many coaches rely too heavily on defensive tactics, and it is killing the game.

The good news is, I believe many are finally starting to realize conservative, heavy system-oriented coaching is not good for the game. We are seeing more focus on skill development by independent coaches/teachers, but until owners and GMs of NHL and CHL teams willing to recognize that offensive chances and creativity sells the game, I believe viewership will continue to drop.

I’m not suggesting we have high scoring games, but why is a 4-3 game suddenly a bad thing? Too often we see 2-1 games that do not involve great goaltending. Today’s goalies are better, due to the increase in goalie coaching, but also because of the butterfly position. Goalies rarely get beat on the ice from outside anymore, because their pads cover the entire net.

In the coming weeks we will discuss some changes that can help open up the game. Hockey is the fastest game, and it should have more scoring chances. The new goalie fitting chart will help increase scoring a bit, but it won’t change how the game is played. It won’t increase scoring chances.

Do you find hockey less exciting? Are you okay with low scoring chances and even lower scoring games?

It looks like you can cross Tyson Barrie’s name off your wish list for right-handed D-men.

It makes sense the Avalanche would want to keep him. They can’t keep losing young, skilled players (Paul Stastny, Ryan O’Reilly) and expect to improve. Barrie is a rare commodity. A right-shooting defender who can move the puck effectively and produce offense at a high rate.

 

There are few certainties in life – we can always count on the sun coming up in the morning, Edmonton winters being dreadful, and the Oilers missing the playoffs. As such, we present the annual OilersNation Draft Party! It’s time to honour the the anniversary of drafting our beloved Connor, celebrate the rewards of another failed season, and raise some money for charity.

Here’s what you need to know…

The party is happening at the Pint Downtown on Friday, June 24th. The goal is to raise as much money as possible for the Red Cross and their efforts to bring normalcy back to Fort McMurray, and have a little bit of fun while we’re at it. For $30 you get a Draft Party t-shirt, a $10 Pint GC, a $10 Oodle Noodle GC, a draft party collectors cup, and a chance for prizes and eternal glory.

All proceeds from tickets sold will be donated directly to the Red Cross so bring your friends, get involved, and help us support a community in need. Tickets are still available here.

One day, the Oilers will be a good hockey team and we’ll all be able to laugh about this. Until then, we party.

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