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The NHL training camps are starting up this week and it got me to thinking. Does anybody besides the die hard fans really know that the start of the hockey season is just around the corner?
Most sports fans in this country will tell you that when it comes to the major sports landscape in this country the NHL comes in fourth behind the NFL, MLB, and NBA probably in that order. That's fine because not every sport can be number one with all the various activities there are out there.
Then I started to wonder why this is the case and came up with some reasons. The NFL season just began and that's no big surprise since the NHL will always begin after the season has been underway for a month or so. However they had to deal with a lockout which was plastered over the headlines over the summer. The NBA is still mired in their own lockout with no end in sight. The MLB has been all a buzz with Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander trying to win the AL Cy Young and MVP awards, the New York Mets are struggling on and off the field and the Boston Red Sox seem to be choking away a lead not only in their division but the wild card as well.
The NHL is coming off devastating news earlier in the month when a plane carrying former players crashed in Europe enroute to a game that killed all on board. Pittsburgh Penguins center and probably the torch bearer for the league Sidney Crosby has been sidelined with a concussion since the all-star break last season and his return is still up in the air. The biggest offseason move was the signing of Brad Richards by the New York Rangers.
As I said earlier the NHL is the fourth most popular professionl sport in this country and that can fluctuate at times. This season it just seems like competition is just a bit stronger which will bring more challenges to Commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL executives.
Let me know do you think I'm overreacting or is there some truth to this?
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