Hey NHL: We Are Fans Too!!

Over the last few years, it has come to my attention that fans of the NHL here in the mountain and pacific time zones are nothing more than second class citizens. When it comes to hockey games that we can watch, we get the short end of the stick.

Most of us out here work until 5-5:30pm. By the time we get home, shower, and eat dinner, its 7 pm and there are no NHL games for us to watch, unless the teams on our local networks are playing that evening. NBC Sports Network(aka Versus) shows east coast teams 80-90% of the time, and always at 4:30PT. When they do show a west coast team, it always them playing a team back east. I am personally tired of NBC broadcasting the same east coast teams every week, at the same time, and those of us out west, can not even watch them.

When the NHL Network came along, I thought, this could be the answer. Surely they would show more west coast games/teams at 7-7:30pm PT. Unfortunately, I was led astray. The NHL Network is just as bad as NBC. Most of the games they show are east coast time games as well. Every now and then, we get thrown a bone and they give us one, but that’s a rarity. The only thing we get is cut ins to games while they are airing NHL Tonight. I guess the NHL has to make sure my east coast peeps get updated on all the scores instead of us west coast people getting to watch an actual game.

I know what the NHL suits are going to say, there are more eyeballs east of the mississippi watching the NHL than there are out west and that is the reason for the programming. Most people back east are alseep by the time we are ready to drop the puck out here. That may be true, but how do you expect to grow the game by showing the same teams and players every night to a select group of people? In case they haven’t noticed, we have some good teams and players out here as well. I bet if Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin played for the Anaheim Ducks, we might get more love out here.

My solution starts with the NHL Network. I understand that NBC is more interested in ratings and sponsorships, but the NHL Network is supposed to be about all of the NHL, not just a select few. NHL Network needs to show west coast games at least 2-3 times a week. Forget NHL Tonight, show us some games!! NBC Sports Network can then augment that schedule by having say “double header tuesday” or “double header thursday”. It would be a win for everyone. Im sure there are people back east who would like to watch some of the west coast teams play, but never have the opportunity.

Are you listening Mr. Bettman? There are 30 teams in the NHL………not 21!!


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