NHL Can't Get Out of Its Own Way

With all of the positivity, why can't the NHL get out of its own way when it comes to marketing the game and league?

Feb 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings executive Luc Robitaille with commissioner Gary Bettman during the first period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The NHL has made some excellent progress in many ways recently. This past Hockey Hall of Fame class featured three women for the first time ever, a huge step in acknowledging the countless women who helped build the game. The league and the NHL Players Association agreed to and ratified a new Collective Bargaining Agreement well over a year before the current one ends. The league's revenue is reaching record highs year after year, while more organizations' values surpass the $1 billion mark.

With all of the positivity, why can't the NHL get out of its own way when it comes to marketing the game and league? Out of the four major North American sports, five if you count soccer and the MLS, the NHL's ability to connect with its audience is severely lacking.

The NHL Draft was the perfect example. This year's draft was decentralized, with all 32 teams scattered to the wind as some of the top prospects gathered in Los Angeles. One reason for this change was that the owners and general managers wanted it. They claimed it provided them with a better environment to focus and fewer distractions.

It was awful. The production was choppy. Instead of first-round picks getting to meet the players behind the team that made their dreams come true, they aired conversations with elongated pauses as technical difficulties and slow internet connections halted any pace to the event. It was collectively panned for being boring, slow, and difficult to watch.

Despite very loud and valid feedback, the NHL is doing the same thing next year. Once again, GMs will be in separate cities and the average fan and viewer will have to suffer through the slog of another decentralized draft.

The NHL will argue that the viewership figures are in their favor, and they have an argument. According to the Sports Business Journal, the 2025 draft was the second-most watched in the last 10 years. And sure, it was an increase in viewership from the 2024 draft, but it was still considerably less than the best performing draft in recent memory.

The 2025 NHL Draft drew an average audience of 534,000 during the primetime hours of the event between 7 and 11:30pm. Again, that was an increase over 2024, but the 2023 NHL Draft drew an average audience of 681,000 during the same time slot.

If the goal is to expand their audience reach, the decentralized draft is not the way to go. That lack of awareness echoes throughout the league's decisions and operations, and the NHL can't stop getting in its own way despite all the recent progress.

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