The NHL playoffs are in the midst of their conference finals, and the last 4 teams standing are pretty compelling. Ever since the 2004-2005 season cancelled due to a lock out, the league has desperately been looking for any kind of momentum to thrust itself deeper into the pool of relevant professional sports. Let's face it: hockey is a niche audience in the United States. Sure, cities like San Jose and Columbus can tout their hockey clubs as the only professional game in town. All the Canadian teams are the biggest sports draw in their collective cities, but no one in the US really cares. There are a handful of American teams, such as the Detroit Red Wings, that have a reasonable argument for being the biggest ticket in town. Some NHL teams are more relevant than others in their hometown, but still play second-fiddle to some other sport, as is the case with the Flyers and Penguins. At the end of the day, most teams are a very distant 4th place among the local sports teams - the Dallas Stars are a great example of that.
So what is the NHL to do? They were hoping Sidney Crosby would be the cross-cultural icon Wayne Gretzky was in the 80's and 90's. But so far, the only non-hockey exposure he gets are a few lousy Reebok commercials every year. Aside from grass-roots efforts such as youth clinics and rec leagues, for the NHL and hockey as a whole to make the next step in becoming a broader household commodity, it needs a Stanley Cup Finals that provides 3 things:
1. A large television audience
2. A compelling story line
3. A reason to check back in the fall
I believe the 4 remaining teams, The New York Rangers, The Los Angeles Kings, The Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal The Canadiens, can provide just such a formula for this year's Stanley Cup Finals. Let's take a look at each of these teams, ignoring their current performance in the conference finals, and focusing on what they bring to the table should they advance to the championship round.
New York Rangers
Market: Biggest media market in the country, and that's significant for the NHL. Make no mistake about it, regardless of how you feel about the Big Apple, it's a good thing for any league to have the New York team as a championship contender. New York City is the cultural epicenter of the world, so if the Rangers make the Stanley Cup Finals, by default, many eyes will be watching.
Future Implications: The shining star through all of this has been goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who year after year, has been one of the elite goaltenders in the league. Unfortunately, he hasn't had many opportunities to play in big games outside the Olympics... until now. He's a remarkable 5-0 in playoff game sevens (2 of which came this post season), and if he can lift Lord Stanley's Cup in June, he might be able to get his foot in the door for the conversation of all-time great goaltenders.
Los Angeles Kings
Market: Second largest media market in the country - essentially New York's west coast counterpart. It's also Hollywood, so lights always shine a little brighter when LA is involved in any sport. We almost had a New York-Los Angeles Stanley Cup Finals 2 years ago, but instead the Kings had to settle for beating the armpit of the nation - New Jersey.
Story Line: As mentioned above, these guys are the cardiac kids. They were trailing a far more talented San Jose team in the first round 3 games to love, only to storm back and win 4 straight and win the series. After facing a 3-2 deficit in the second round against the Mighty Ducks, they took the next two games to win in convincing fashion. It's almost as if they're more comfortable when they're losing. If they make the finals and fall behind early, the level of interest in the series should rise.
Future Implications: If the Kings were to win the Stanley Cup, it would be their second in three years. Also keep in mind that they played in the conference finals last year, so had things gone differently, we could be talking about a Hollywood three-peat. Heads will definitely turn if there's a hockey dynasty in a town with very little hockey tradition.
Chicago Blackhawks
Market: Third largest media market in the country, and definitely a bigger hockey town than New York and LA. They're also really popular right now (as far as NHL teams go), featuring 2 on the top ten selling NHL jerseys.
Story Line: defending Stanley Cup champions, 2 titles in the last four years. A dynasty is a big deal in any sport, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the Blackhawks are on the verge of one. On the whole, they've been the best team in the league for the last two seasons, and they don't show any signs of slowing down.
Future Implications: If Chicago manages to win the Cup, they'll be heading into the following season with the biggest target on their back. However, they're talented and deep, so if any team is capable of handling the pressure, it's the Blackhawks. Those jerseys will keep selling too. The duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane could end up being the marketing tools the NHL has desperately been looking for. They have a couple things going for them that Crosby doesn't - Kane is an American, and Toews has so much charm and charisma, fans of opposing teams don't hate him.
Montreal Canadiens
Market: Canada. I know I already said America doesn't care about Canada, but the NHL needs Canada. Canadian teams make up a greater percentage of the league's teams than any other American sport. If we're talking market size, Toronto would probably be the more desirable Canadian team, but if you read further, I think you'll agree Montreal is an acceptable substitute...
Story Line: Canada has been yearning for a Stanley Cup. They have produced the best hockey talent in the world, but they don't have the sport's biggest prize (with all due respect to the Olympic gold medal, this is the country that glorifies pond hockey over school and church on their currency). A Canadian team hasn't won the Cup since 1993 when, you guessed it, Montreal won it all. On top of that, most non-hockey fans don't realize that the Canadiens are the New York Yankees of the NHL - 24 Stanley Cup titles. The early 2000's were the first decade since the 1920's that Montreal didn't win the Cup at least once. As far as provinces go, I'd imagine Canada views Quebec as the snobby relative you're hesitant to invite to your blue-collar Thanksgiving dinner. I'd also be willing to bet that if Montreal brought the Stanley Cup back to Canada, most Canadians would be willing to temporarily put those differences aside.
Future Implications: Even though Americans aren't terribly concerned about what Canada does, our national pride will not be able to overlook that Canada took our thing. When Canada and the US squared off in the 2002 and 2010 Olympic finals, Americans who would never glance at the NHL paid some level of attention to the gold medal games. Every sport needs a bad guy, and if Montreal wins the cup, I think some of the casual hockey fans might keep closer tabs on next season to see if we can bring the cup back to the US (BTW - I am generalizing about American sentiment toward Canada. I have nothing against our neighbors to the north, in fact, I think they give us many reasons to like them).
Check It Out
The Stanley Cup Finals will start up shortly after Memorial Day weekend. No matter which two teams make it, there's going to be a big audience, gripping sub-plots, and teasers for the 2014-15 season. Even with my Penguins out of it, I'm going to tune in. If you haven't given hockey a try, might I recommend you do the same? I'll admit, there's been some lack-luster finals in the past (see any New Jersey Devils championship), but if there's ever been a year that the finals will be capable of generating any kind of buzz, I think this will be the one.
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