Recently in my Foxsports.com column I wrote about how important it is for the National Hockey League’s efforts to regain its visibility in the American sports market for its most marketable players – Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby – to elevate their play in this year’s post-season.
In the article (“NHL Needs Ovechkin, Crosby to Shine In Playoffs”), I wrote that the two have been considered this hockey generation’s versions of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, two of the greatest stars in league history who helped the NHL reached its highest level of popularity in its history.
I suggested that the NHL is hoping those two can raise their post-season performances the way their predecessors did as it could only help the league improve its sagging popularity in the United States.
Unfortunately, judging by many of the comments in response to that column, the point was missed, as several readers believed the article was trying to draw a direct comparison between Crosby and Ovechkin with Gretzky and Lemieux, which wasn’t the intent.
Let me repeat the point: Crosby and Ovechkin are the NHL’s biggest, most marketable stars and the league is hoping its two current young superstars will generate more interest in its product amongst American sports fans.
If there is a direct comparison to be made, its that Ovechkin and
Crosby are every bit as important to the NHL as Gretzky and Lemieux were in their heyday.
It’s not about suggesting “Sid the Kid” and “Alexander the Gr8t” are as great or greater than “The Great One” or “Super Mario”.
That is for history to decide once Ovechkin and Crosby have retired, which hopefully won't be for a long time.
Spector.
Crosby and Ovechkin might be the new ice messiahs but I don't see a television deal that will get them in front of enough faces for it to make a difference.
1) Having marketable stars is VERY important, however you also need a game that's marketable to the average folks.
2) The game has definitely improved since the last Bettman lockout, but there was so much damage with that work stoppage that its going to take a long time to get back even the modest amount of interest here in the states.
3) Another factor is that many of the biggest markets here haven't had the best teams. The pinnacle of fan interest/ratings occurred when the Kings then Rangers went to the Finals
As someone old enough to remember when conventional wisdom (from everywhere but Edmonton) was "Gretzky is too small to play in the NHL, and his 110 points scored in the WHA are nice, but he'll never repeat that in the REAL hockey league," I think it's safe to say Gretzky wasn't recognized as "Gretzky" for his first couple of seasons.
We live in a very different era 30 years since Gretzky was a rookie. (Good grief, has it been that long?) Now the hype machine starts early and runs flat-out, hard and fast. Legends don't emerge and mature. They're delivered to us pre-packaged, with expectations pre-set, like the price point of an IPO launched at its potential valuation as opposed to what the true worth is today.
Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin (let's include him in the mix) have the POTENTIAL to rank (eventually) among the greats. Their talent is certainly there. Time, performance and championships will dictate whether they rise of fall to the standard.
The appeal of that trio is not only their spirited play, but that we are on the ground floor of their greatness. Watching someone scale the mountain is always more interesting than witnessing them command the peak or conclude their descent.
Those players have an opportunity to transcend the sport, to reach out and attract the non-hockey fan (like Gretzky and Lemieux did before them, like Tiger Woods does for golf today). Arguably, they might be considered MORE important to the NHL than Gretzky and Lemieux in their heyday, given the media challenge and the greater financial stakes involved. (Take THAT, nitpickers!)
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on April 11th at 10:20 AM.
Live in the Philadelphia suburbs,100 miles from NYC. Tuned into Versus @ 7pm Sunday night to watch Rangers vs. Devils. Instead, I was treated a Professional Bull Riders Tour event with a scroll on the bottom of the screen reading " due to programming restrictions, we are unable to broadcast tonight's Devils-Rangers game,,,,,So much for raising the leagues profile in U.S....The deal with Versus is a joke, they'd have been better off on ESPN even for less money..
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
