The NHL is lacking in many areas, but none more so than its marketing and promotional efforts. The one thing that irks me the most is the opening day of the season. It’s always incredibly underwhelming, especially compared to other major leagues.

The one time they did a great job was kicking off the 2023-24 season, also known as Connor Bedard’s first game in the league. You probably remember the push they gave Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks as they got set to take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In what would have been a relatively uneventful game later in the year, the league turned that occasion into a national event. After all the success, the NHL went back to that the next season when 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini made his debut, right? Of course not. They won’t do it this season either, despite having a layup in New York to see Matthew Schaefer play his first NHL game.

Instead, it’ll be the Rangers taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins in what would’ve been a great game ten years ago. Now, it’s just a battle between two teams that could be in contention for Gavin McKenna’s rights. There’s the storyline of Mike Sullivan taking on his former team, but who cares?

The Florida Panthers deservedly play on night one, but their opponent doesn’t make sense in the Blackhawks. Is the storyline that Spencer Knight makes his return to Sunrise, or did the NHL forget Chicago doesn’t have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews anymore? It’s more than likely they want the Panthers to have an easy win to celebrate on their banner-lifting night. Fair enough, I suppose.

Los Angeles and Colorado to close the night is a good matchup, but again, what’s the purpose? How about a rematch of Colorado and Dallas instead of two non-divisional teams?

I forgot to mention that this all starts on a Tuesday.

Despite my complaining, I do have a solution to the problem.

If the NHL waited a few more days, it could dominate the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, much like the NFL owns American Thanksgiving. Viewership is never a problem in Canada, which is why the NHL is unlikely to pursue it. However, mixing American teams is easily done, creating superb matchups with legitimate storylines.

Imagine this…

It’s Friday night and he season begins rightfully with the Panthers raising their banner. Instead of an irrelevant game against Chicago, they play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Battle of Florida. You can complete the doubleheader with the Edmonton Oilers taking on the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place. You have the potential for two electric contests that could get heated quickly.

Saturday features a much busier slate, headlined by Toronto vs. Ottawa, Winnipeg vs. Minnesota, and includes an Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby matchup.

On Sunday, let’s see Los Angeles take on an ambitious Anaheim team, Celebrini and Bedard go head-to-head, and then the Battle of New York, which is what we should be seeing this year. The TV headliner that day needs to be Boston versus Montreal.

Monday won’t be as exciting, but the league should have Vancouver and Seattle to build up that rivalry. Heck, why not get Colorado and Dallas going at it again, in what was a fantastic first-round series last postseason?

Of course, the idea isn’t perfect with time zones and all that, but the idea would excite many fans. You’ve got all eight Canadian teams playing, you’ve mixed in big U.S. markets, and you’ve added value by showcasing your young stars, including Celebrini, Bedard and Schaefer.

The NHL designed the four divisions to foster rivalries. Well, how about we see that on a weekend? You have easy storylines to build off in almost every matchup, and that’s what gets fans engaged. Nothing is exciting about watching Chicago lose heavily to Florida or a coach returning to face his former team. Give the people entertaining stories, and they will come.

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