While the NHL is sure to welcome any and all new or returning fans, they're not out implicitly begging for them. As much as the league would love to get more coverage from mainstream media outlets, they understand that they hold little control over such matters.However, the league had to smile a bit Monday, when a well-known sports columnist (one who didn't ever hide his changed feelings about hockey) made it clear he was back on the bandwagon.
It's been a long time since popular ESPN writer Bill Simmons had a ton of good things to say about the NHL. He has said in the past that he wasn't going to watch the league because, in large part, of the sad state of affairs with his childhood team (Boston). In 2007, he mocked the league and commissioner Gary Bettman in a running diary of the draft. Sometimes it can be fun to look back.
Chicago GM Dale Tallon is "proud" to introduce tiny Patrick Kane as his No. 1 pick. This kid looks like an altar boy. I'm not kidding -- he actually looks like an altar boy. I hope his tremendous upside potential involves puberty. More importantly, what the hell happened to the NHL? As if things weren't already bad enough, the league's No. 1 overall pick is an undersized American who looks like the third singer in a boy band? Can we start sending them FEMA money or something?Obviously, the league is in a bit of a surge, one that Simmons couldn't have seen coming. This is especially true when he wasn't bothering to give the NHL the time of day during this surge.
Thanks to a solid season from the Bruins and a riveting playoff series against Carolina, Simmons has found time to praise the league for the first time in years.
I really like hockey again. A boom of superskilled players helped, but not as much as the NHL's reembracing its chippy DNA. Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke admitted as much to me when we shared a panel at MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference recently. All he wants from any game, he said, is for his fans to see a few goals, a donnybrook or two and, hopefully, a win.Sure, he's a bandwagon jumper of the highest order, but Simmons is also one of the most well-known pieces of the ESPN.com machine. Getting him in the NHL's corner is only going to help as the league continues to gain steam.
I wanted to hug him.
Burke always knew casual fans would return only for wide-open hockey and physical play. (I can vouch for this; I've never been to a game in which the excitement level didn't quadruple as soon as things got testy.) A few savvy rules changes opened up the ice, unleashing riveting talents -- Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, among others -- who resonate more than they would have 20 years ago, thanks to YouTube. As for the physicality, little has changed other than the league's deciding that maybe it's not so bad. Fighting majors are up 11% from last season. It's true.
Of course, now that his beloved Bruins are on the golf course, maybe Simmons is back to not paying attention.
If you look at how the league is covered by national outlets, there's no question they're getting a bigger piece of the ESPN pie virtually every day. No longer are they an afterthought on SportsCenter or struggling to get video on the front of ESPN.com. Argue until you're blue in the face about whether or not this is a sign of ESPN wanting to get games on their air once again, or whether this would be a good thing in the end. But the more attention ESPN and other mainstream outlets give the NHL, the better chance the league has of continuing to grow instead of hitting a glass ceiling.
