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As already mentioned neither team has the hometown fan base of the many more established NHL teams, nor the bandwagon fan element either. It's hard to not be rooting for the Panthers as the last team to qualify for the playoffs with the minimal points required and as the team with zero respect from the "experts".
The above is only part of the reason. The other part is finding it not worth the effort to figure out how to watch it when you don’t have access to the channel it is on. Those two reasons together are why it’s down so much.
As already mentioned neither team has the hometown fan base of the many more established NHL teams, nor the bandwagon fan element either. It's hard to not be rooting for the Panthers as the last team to qualify for the playoffs with the minimal points required and as the team with zero respect from the "experts".
i'm a tad surprised. When Vegas was in the finals back in.. '18(?) against the Caps.. They brought a goodly amount of viewership in.. I'm sure having Ovechkin competing in the finals for the first time didn't hurt, either..
Though.. I thought more people were watching with Vegas in the finals, especially during their home games, because.. Well.. Because of the show they put on before the team took the ice. I would think that the storyline of an expansion team perhaps winning a championship their first year was probably also a big draw and being here some 5 years later.. That 'new' has been knocked off.
Also.. The games being on TNT vs NBCSN.. One would THINK that would lead to an increase of viewers. I'd think TNT has far more widespread availability than NBCSN did.
i'm a tad surprised. When Vegas was in the finals back in.. '18(?) against the Caps.. They brought a goodly amount of viewership in.. I'm sure having Ovechkin competing in the finals for the first time didn't hurt, either..
Though.. I thought more people were watching with Vegas in the finals, especially during their home games, because.. Well.. Because of the show they put on before the team took the ice. I would think that the storyline of an expansion team perhaps winning a championship their first year was probably also a big draw and being here some 5 years later.. That 'new' has been knocked off.
Also.. The games being on TNT vs NBCSN.. One would THINK that would lead to an increase of viewers. I'd think TNT has far more widespread availability than NBCSN did.
Pretty much that. Ovi in his first Finals ever, and there was hype surrounding Vegas as it was still a new team. Not to mention, Fleury vs Ovi was a matchup many wanted to see. It was great for the hockey world all around. Fleury is loved in Canada, and across the league (generally) and Ovi, well, he's Ovi.
People in Vegas are still tuning in to watch the games. It's just outside of the immediate Vegas/South Florida markets, no one really gives a hoot aside from diehard fans of the sport. And quite frankly, it seems like Vegas and Panthers crowds are mostly there for the spectacles rather than the games themselves.
I'm watching the games, but only because I love the sport that much. I honestly don't care who wins out of these two though. I just want it to be competitive.
Pretty much that. Ovi in his first Finals ever, and there was hype surrounding Vegas as it was still a new team. Not to mention, Fleury vs Ovi was a matchup many wanted to see. It was great for the hockey world all around. Fleury is loved in Canada, and across the league (generally) and Ovi, well, he's Ovi.
People in Vegas are still tuning in to watch the games. It's just outside of the immediate Vegas/South Florida markets, no one really gives a hoot aside from diehard fans of the sport. And quite frankly, it seems like Vegas and Panthers crowds are mostly there for the spectacles rather than the games themselves.
I'm watching the games, but only because I love the sport that much. I honestly don't care who wins out of these two though. I just want it to be competitive.
I haven't sat through an entire game.. Being a Caps fan.. Kinda knocked my interest down a bit this year with them missing the playoffs.
But I have been keeping up and logging some time with most games. And.. The fighting. Sheez.. That's been a bit excessive this year.
Vegas.. When I was out there, I thought about getting tickets to a game.. Holy crapola are those some expensive tickets. This wasn't playoffs, either.. Regular season game. I think it was $150 for the nosebleeds.
I haven't sat through an entire game.. Being a Caps fan.. Kinda knocked my interest down a bit this year with them missing the playoffs.
But I have been keeping up and logging some time with most games. And.. The fighting. Sheez.. That's been a bit excessive this year.
Vegas.. When I was out there, I thought about getting tickets to a game.. Holy crapola are those some expensive tickets. This wasn't playoffs, either.. Regular season game. I think it was $150 for the nosebleeds.
Yeah I was bummed out that neither NJ nor the Rangers made it. The current playoff format kind of ruins excitement a bit too.
As for the fighting, I think it might be attributed to the general lack of enforcers in today's game, leading to a bunch of little scraps between virtually all players. Imagine if Reaves were still in Vegas. Tkachuk wouldn't be running around the way he does.
And finally, yeah those ticket prices in Vegas. Again, I think people are mostly going to those games for "the show" rather than to actually watch hockey. I may be wrong, but judging by those ridiculous pre-game events, I'm inclined to believe this.
It doesn't help that June is a month that people want to spend outdoors, not indoors watching hockey. Quite frankly, I think the NHL has made its season too long. ...
Try living in Canada. The hockey season lasts from September (NHL pre-season games) through to June (NHL playoffs)--the length of a school year. In between, there are World Junior Championships around Christmas and New Year's, IIHF Men's and Women's Championships in the spring, and a lot of minor-league stuff that may be minor league, but still takes up a lot of sports reporting and television time. And every single NHL game is televised and broadcast here. Every. Single. One.
Yeah, hockey is basically rammed down our throats for ten months of the year. As a result, this is the time of year when "hockey fatigue" sets in here in Canada, especially if no Canadian NHL hockey team has survived thus far. Canadians aren't much interested in hockey any more this year, due to it being June (as you noted), but also because there are no Canadian teams contending for the Stanley Cup. Plus, the Blue Jays could be contenders in MLB, and the CFL has started its season.
As an American sports commentator noted (paraphrased), "No Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup Finals equals no Canadian viewers." And with that, the NHL has lost an entire country's worth of viewers. That may help explain the lack of viewership.
Having all of the Finals on cable really isn't a winning strategy.
I thought the same thing, but the viewership numbers tell a different story. This series is drawing 2.75 million viewers on TNT, the 2nd highest for a cable-only series. That really isn't bad, but it could be better with some national TV coverage.
Vegas operates at 104% of capacity, best in the NHL. People here have really taken to the Golden Knights and about 90% of their attendance is locals.
I went to Game 2 where the VGK won 7-2, and T-Mobile Arena was a madhouse. It's pretty amazing at how popular this team has become in a relatively short amount of time. Even their practices are packed. The other day people were lining up at 4:00 in the morning!
Wow... Disgusting game so far lol... Not even through the 2nd, 6-1. This is exactly what I did not want to see anymore of during this Finals, after the first two games. Panthers making it clear that they simply do not belong in the Finals after barely scraping into the playoffs. And it's not just the score. Vegas is running circles around the Panthers, forcing them to stay on the ice for 2 min shifts as they watch Eichel dance around their zone.
Anyway... What's that song the Vegas fans are singing? Almost sounds like soccer/football chants.
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