There's Something Missing Here

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly seems like a smart guy. He's well-spoken and seems very well versed in the happenings in hockey. He's risen to a place of prominence within the NHL where people listen when he speaks, and he usually has something important to say when he does speak. I've never seen him get caught in a discussion where he's had to backtrack or back-pedal in any way, so let's give credit where credit is due and say that Bill Daly comes prepared when he holds a press conference or conference call. The chat he did today with NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika, though, seems like he missed a pretty big opportunity when it comes to "growing the game".

The man who is second in command behind NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sat down with Cotsonika to discuss the growth of the game, and he was fairly candid on a lot of topics. For example, Daly doesn't see the league expanding in the forseeable future (sorry, Quebec and Houston). He discussed having NHL teams play international games in more locations such as Russia and Mexico. And he chats about the Olympics once more as the NHL players are preparing themselves for more Olympic hockey action.

My only question: where is the chatter about a professional women's hockey league?

Now, to be fair to Mr. Daly, perhaps Mr. Cotsonika never had that as one of his questions. Mr. Daly may have simply responded to the questions asked by Mr. Cotsonika, but there's one line that stood out for me when Mr. Daly answered the questions that really could have set the stage for the entire discussion about growth: "The equation is, 'Is the addition of the franchise good for the League? Does it help grow the League?'"

While Mr. Daly was referring to the 32 NHL teams in that line regarding possible future expansion, there could be the possibility of adding as many as six more teams to the NHL's umbrella of business by mentioning a professional women's league once more. Further to that, this would hit the target dead-center when it comes to growing the game as we've seen the international opportunities for women in hockey grow by leaps and bounds over the last decade as more and more countries begin to develop national women's team programs.

Both the PWHPA and NWHL have been promoting their numbers in terms of viewership through streaming during the pandemic, and the figures seem encouraging despite not seeing the raw data on those numbers. But in an Olympic year where we've seen the women's final at the US Open outdraw the men's final, where we've seen huge numbers come back for Olympic soccer in Canada, and where it truly seems like women are setting the bar at international competitions for viewership, this "growing the game" conversation between Daly and Cotsonika seemed like it missed a very large section of the human population demographic.

I know that Bill Daly is responsible for talking about the NHL because that's the business for whom he works. I'm not saying he shouldn't be talking about growing the game internationally when it comes to NHL interests, but let's be honest when we say that a lot of hockey fans can name a men's player from Slovenia but none can name a player from Russia.

If the NHL truly wants a stake in the international revenue game by attracting more fans and more eyeballs, it needs to grasp the concept that 50% of the population is women and a large chunk of current hockey fans do, in fact, like watching women's hockey. If the NHL is going to grow the game internationally, it needs to start talking about a professional women's hockey league that has the NHL's backing more often and with more sincerity than "we'll look at this when all other options are exhausted".

Men's hockey and, specifically, doesn't really need a ton of help in promoting itself because everyone knows it exists. The NHL can play games in all sorts of countries, but there are all sorts of economic and systemic reasons why the NHL isn't more popular globally. Sending the LA Kings an the Vancouver Canucks to Uzbekistan to play a handful of meaningless games does very little to help the NHL's brand in that country.

However, if you had two NHL-supported women's teams accompany NHL teams to places like Sweden or France, the turnout for those games could be the fuse that lights the fire under the women's programs in those countries. This is why I can't understand why the NHL isn't talking about the women's game when they talk about growing the game - it would be such an easy way for them to appeal to so many more people internationally than just showing up with the NHL shield and proclaiming "we're here!"

I don't claim to be smarter than Bill Daly in any respect, but it just seems like the NHL is missing the open-net goals that are there for the taking when it comes to growing NHL business in all facets overseas.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!