What does hockey need to offer the average American fan in order

Marketing

>>64825248
excitement

>>64825248
Cut back on the number of teams. For fucks sake Florida should never have two hockey teams. In fact the whole south needs a reduction. They care more about college sports.

More exposure

>>64825248
Its unrelatable to most people. All the other sports are very easy to play

>>64825248
bigger better more prominent local markets
I live in LA and the only thing besides billboards around LA that the kings have going for them in this regard is word of mouth

>>64825301

No-one below Mason-Dixon should have a hockey team.

more blacks, i cant take hockey seriously because there aren't enough GOAT athletes (aka blacks) playing this sport

>>64825248
>I miss the good seasons of The Simpsons.

>>64825341
It also gives the original six a better chance at making the stanley cup. Whenever they're in it, it seems more people give a shit about hockey.

>>64825350
they dont have dads to teach them how to skate

I hope it never becomes nfl popular. It would be riddled with commercials and unwatchable

more niggers

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>>64825301
>>64825341
>>64825404
stay mad faggots

>>64825314
this is true, though no one wants to admit it.

Hockey is a very expensive and skill based sport.
Not any kid can pick it up, so the interest is restricted by nature.
But any kid can throw/kick a ball around.

>>64825350
>>64825444
The amount of blacks that are actually good at the NHL level are minuscule and they tend to be overrated just because they are black.

The sport isn't so much about how high you can jump or how fast you can run. Which are the main sports blacks excel at if you're completely honest with yourself.

>>64825577

The reason it's not popular and the reason there are so few black players are pretty similar.

Ice rinks are fairly rare, and where they do exist, they're expensive. As is all the gear you need to play hockey.

Basketball? All you need is a ball and a hoop.

Football? All you need is a ball and a vacant lot.

Soccer? Basically just a ball.

If you can't play it outside during winter then it's unlikely kids will pick it up.

>>64825301
>>64825341
>how should we make the game more popular in America
>lets remove teams from American cities and not even try to grow the sport there
somehow worse than Bettman frankly

>>64825248
Nothing. It will always be regional.

Although opening the game up would help. Start by reducing the ridiculous pads goalies have and the game will he get better.

>>64825248
>Disney needs to make more Mighty Ducks movies.

>>64825404
Not that i disagree, but the original 6 is a pure MHL meme

>inb4 dur keith olbermann

Everyone has known that they are the arbitrary 6 for a long time.

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Relocate the Debbies to San Diego. We need a team to replace our chargers

>>64825702
Idk about where you live but rinks where I live are fairly common and to rent a pair of skates is cheap. Though I do live in one of the "richer" states.

To buy all of the equipment is definitely expensive though. And most hockey leagues pass the pricetag onto the parents as opposed to providing the gear like say...american football leagues do.

There is also the cultural issues. Black people culturally are encouraged to play Basketball or Football. Their communities are already swarmed with scouts/encouragement/fans from those leagues so they have no real reason to try to break into a new sport where they have basically no support or incentive.

Though I still maintain based on the evidence we do have, there is nothing that says black people would make good hockey players anyway. Usually they exit the league as "average" and are forgotten about fairly quickly.

Of course the media has to overrate them while they are still playing, its racist to say a black guy isn't that good. Because CURRENT YEAR!

>>64825755
Nigga pond hockey is THE place to play hockey during the winter.

DESU I would support a meme roller hockey league to get more sunbelt fags into hockey

>>64825766
Over-expansion is what nearly killed the NHL financially a few years back ya dingus.

>>64825248
It's inaccessible to poorfags, and people who don't live in cold areas. Ir requires very specific equipment and costs a fuckton of money.

That being said, I find it completely inaccessible. I think there is a cultural component that exists in hockey that you have to be a part of or else you're not going to get it I think this exists in NASCAR fandom too.

>>64825907
>can't even support 2 basketball teams and a football team
>lel lets put a hockey team in a city that refuses to build a stadium with the best weather in the world

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>>64825248
Just widen the goal about ten meters at each side. Players get two points if they hit the keeper head before the puck or the ball goes in. If there is a draw forget penalties and have both team captains hold the ball in their sticks avoiding it to fall to decide who takes the game. The rest of the team will do silly faces to the opposing captain to make him lose focus. Also add multiball

>>64825950
I think he meant that it is unlikely to become popular in places that you can't play outside in the winter because it doesn't freeze.

>>64826061
We have a fucking minor league team that averages 9k a game. San Diego is a hockey town who had their team stolen 8 years ago. With no more chorgers season ticket fags people will be able to go to even more games

>>64826118
Meant to say the puck or the stick

As much as everyone hates him, the league has grown under Bettman.

The niche and price aspect is why it isn't as popular amongst casual sports fans, or in less financially stable areas of the country.

It has better live attendance than the NBA as it is.

The NHL is going to stay niche for the foreseeable future but is steadily growing in revenue. It will remain that way for a long while but it isn't becoming marginalized like MLB. They will likely expand in the coming years as well.

>>64826250
the MLB has the most attendance by a fucking landslide how are they marginalized

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>>64825248
a trackable puck

>>64826179
>San Diego is a hockey town

Yeah sure, I used to go to those games and unless they played another CA team(whose fans would fill and takeover the place) nobody went. I used to be able to sit wherever I wanted.

>>64826358
I think in percentage of available seats filled.

Baseball can seat double what furpuck and apehoop can, but most non-meme stadiums barely sit half full.

>>64826715
How are they less popular simply because they have bigger stadiums?

>>64826623
tfw no more Cozy long beach ice dogs, Fresno Falcons games. I think the team collapsed the last time because teams had to pay for player housing in the ECHL and rent in San Diego was more expensive than Bakersfield and shit
>>64826715
the stadiums are not always packed because there are 80 games a year so people have more choice in picking which specific game they want to go see

I don't know about anyone else but ice skating is fucking hard

>>64825907
>>64826179
>>64826825
san diego sucks penis, fag lmfao @ ur life and soon to be NFL-less irrelevant beaner shithole

>>64826799
I'm not saying that they are "less popular" (i'm a different amerifat), i'm explaining why it can appear that it isn't as popular.

>>64826862
>concussion ball
>relevant
I am glad my taxes are not getting fucked so a billionaire can have a playground they use 10 times a year. My Aztec football will never leave me

>>64826906
Yeah, because universities have never gotten rid of athletics before.

>>64827285
what I am saying is they will never bitch and threats to relocate to LA

It doesn't need to become as popular, nor does it aspire to be. It does fine on its own.

>>64827398
Then whys it going bankrupt?

>>64825248
More scoring. It's fun to watch your team score. Make the goals larger so it's harder for the goaltender to block the puck and the game would be great.

Let me watch it with my over the air antenna instead of needing cable.

Get rid of the skating part

>>64825404
more people would care about the Flyers in the cup somehow than most of the 6 to be honest

>>64827934
is this a pasta ? Please let this be a pasta

>>64825248
Another Wayne Gretzsky

>>64825248
Paint the puck like a hamburger. I'd buy season tickets.

in order to be more popular it needs to cost less for kids to play.

>>64825248
more commercials senpai

>>64825248
Nothing. I like it niche. It's perfect the way it is

>>64825248

The first thing it needs to do is not cost a fuckton of money to play if you don't live somewhere where it snows for 4 months out of the year. Thankfully, that will never happen, so Upper-Class White Northerner Puck will never become a respected sport in America.

What if they made the puck look like a boob?

Nothing. Poor niggers and spics can't afford the sport. Simple as that.

>>64825248
Scores that aren't Divegrass tier
More college teams
More junior teams

>>64825463
>Couldn't stop Chicago from building a dynasty
>Still upset that Jewel is superior to Pubix hair

>>64832089
>chicago
>dynasty

I guess 70% is an A+ in american now?

Don't be so white trash. More culturally bankrupt than blacks.

>>64832115
Depends on if you have rich parents to send you to a good school or you're a poorfag who has to go to the crap we call public school.

>>64826362
I have a tv made in the 21st century so this isn't an issue for me.

>>64832308
I actually found it to be an issue my first game or two because it moves quickly. But now it's only hard to follow when it's in the air. Still lose it for a split second or two and need a quick scan but that is mostly when guys are piling upon each other.

>>64832120
>don't be so white trash
>turnleft and obesitycollide are the two biggest sports in the south

>>64826002
This, they had their chance in the mid to late 90's. NHL was almost as popular as basketball and had a growing casual fan base. The NHL spent all the added loot on expansion, in turn watering down their own product instead of using the new money to market the game to more people. They could have secured more TV games, advertising, made an effort to unify the minor league teams in the smaller markets and building rinks and buying youth equipment to make the next generation interested. They took the easy road.

>>64832415
The problem started the moment the Devils won the cup by trapping. The current "parity" is just a function of how much luck is required to score a goal right now. If the league fixed the rules so that more talented players could exploit the weaknesses of less talented players it would be more successful.

>>64825248
Less trap playing

>>64832474
Watch more tsn. Goals are sick already

Accesability. It is really expensive to play in the south

>>64832576
Yay, 1 goal real goal per game, maybe 3 flukey goals that bounce off a skate, a stick and a player's ass before going in. There's point in watching games right now unless you cheer for Washington or Dallas.

Did nobody play roller hockey when they were kids? Y'all niggas be deprived. Ain't got to pay for more than a stick, puck, and skates and most kids already had skates

>>64832474
I actually think that the minor league is the best place to start they need to take the more popular AHL teams and merge it with the popular ECHL teams and make one league, with one team affiliate per NHL team. They should market it as NHL minor league. Only about half of the teams in both leagues have good followings. Baseball had the same issues for a long time until they stepped in. The teams in those two leagues that are popular are actually very profitable compared to the bottom half.

>>64825248
a television contract with ESPN

>>64825248

BIG


BLACK
PUCKS

>>64825248
It can't and won't, stop trying. Base, basket, and foot ball all have the advantage of virtually no equipment costs. All you need is the ball, and in baseballs case a bat, and some sort of field or hell for 90% of Americans your front or back yard and your good to go. This allows virtually all kids to be able to grow up playing it and all schools to offer it for gym and recess. This make these sports relateable for the average how that hockey will never be able to achieve. For. Hockey you need the puck, stick, ice skates and most importantly for 90% of America a specially designed and designated place to play.

>>64825248
More negroes. Americans love watching negroes

>>64826362
dont watch where the puck is, watch for where the puck is going to be

Better TV contracts.

>>64825314
I agree, as a Californian, I know we have 2 major teams, but I've never ice skated in my life. The only thing I can relate to is wanting to see crackers get fucked up.

>>64832698
>>64832732
Cable is dying. They need to get ahead of the curve. Kill their proprietary streaming and get on a mainstream service next to stuff that brings people in. Let people choose their camera angles and audio options instead of a one size fits all options. There's nothing I hate more than those stupid camera angle changes that exist to justify some TV guy's salary.

>>64832800
I would be interested to see how a season would do on hulu or Netflix.

>>64832739
3 actually. 2 southern, 1 northern.

>>64832832
It's a big state.

>>64832838
For Americans

>>64832800
I like this, but you can't ignore the TV audience yet.

The fact that MLS is on ESPN but NHL isn't is disgusting.

>>64825950
There is a roller hockey league

>>64832865
They are still locked into their NBC deal until 2021 so they can't just jump ship. They also still need someone to do the production. The tricky part would be convincing the existing cable partners to go along with it. The NHL is so fucking greedy that they would refuse to take a loss to gain a strategic advantage. It doesn't help that the richest franchise is owned by telecoms and the Canada national TV deal isn't evenly split between all 30 teams.

>>64832800
Yeah cable is dying, nobody watches ESPN anymore. Cable took a hit when the housing market crashed, presumably because people had no money, no place to live or moved back in with parents. Cable is bigger than ever now, especially with prices down a bit. I hear nobody gets cable for the NFL ticket......topkek

Gambling appeal. NFL is huge because people bet on it. Hockey has a long tradition of games ending in 0-0 ties.

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>>64833253
>Long tradition of 0-0 ties
What? Like 15 years ago?

>>64832936
You post like as though NBC is holding the NHL back.

That might be true, but NBC has done more for the NHL than ESPN ever did back when they had the rights.

>>64833292
Yes. Not being relevant now is directly related to not being relevant 15 years ago.

>>64833292
Oilers-Coyotes went overtime 0-0 the other day. If it weren't for 3 on 3 it would have been a double shutout settled in the shootout

>>64833381
Theres been maybe 5-6 games that have gone scoreless into overtime out of the 100s played so far this year. People bitching about not enough scoring are the ones that aren't a fan of the sport anyway and higher goal totals would do very little in terms of helping popularity. It probably help if people can watch a game on primetime NBC or something instead of needing cable package deluxe 4900 to have nbcsn.

>>64825248
move teams away from the south and to places like Milwaukee and Seattle

>>64833474
The fact Wisconsin doesn't have a nhl team I always found odd. I read something about Chicago having some sort of rights to Wi but idk if that's true

>>64825294
Oh, so it should go to commercial after every offsides and penalty.

>>64833557
NHL rights are always suspect. Vancouver was blocked a team in the first expansion because Toronto claimed they had rights to all of English Canada.

I think a team would do really well in Milwaukee

>>64833736
NHL has always had a fucked up business sense. Like in the 60s they didn't want to put the games on TV because that would generate more money and therefore they'd have to pay the players more.

>>64833795
Milwaukee and Seattle both make sense, either of those cities would be better for expansion than Vegas

>>64825248

How about stop trying to appeal to the average American and appreciate Herkey as the regional delight that it is? Fuck "growing the game." I don't see how more money and popularity involved somehow improves the sport.

-t.
Anon living in San Diego

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>>64834013
>I don't understand why a corporation would want more money and popularity

You do realize the NHL doesn't operate simply to promote "da spirit of da game" right?

>>64834052

Uh, no shit. Do you think the OP is an NHL executive?

Hockey fans shouldn't care about the popularity of the game, as long as they enjoy it themselves. The best thing that could happen for the sport would be if the NHL went bankrupt.

>>64834085
How so?

>>64834094

At the very least, a more modest professional system(s) would give you cheaper admission prices. A more popular game means higher prices. Hopefully you'd also see teams in smaller, but more devout markets. Potentially, the US and Canada end up developing separate leagues*. They would both have fewer resources than the NHL, and would be unable to dominate the global game, so you'd see lots more legitimate international competition like there is in Soccer or Rugby.

Best-case-Ontario involves independent clubs replacing franchises.

*some people might interject that an independent Canadian league could never exist, and maybe that's true, but this is underestimating just how insignificant of a profile hockey would have in most of the US if the NHL collapsed. A good comparison would be how the Swiss league is stronger than the German league despite Switzerland being a market 1/10th the size of Germany.