Face-Off: NHL needs new blood in Stadium Series

Joshua Axelrod and C.L. Kohuss debate whether the NHL going back to a Penguins-Flyers matchup for the 2019 Stadium Series is good for the league or a tired concept.

In FanSided’s NHL Face-Off series, two writers argue two sides of a hot-button hockey issue. We’ll post both pieces, and then our NHL editor will evaluate the arguments and determine a winner.

The NHL recently revealed its logo for the 2019 Stadium Series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, and while this contest won’t bother anyone in Pennsylvania, it’s time to inject new blood into a worn concept.

As we get ready for the 2018-19 regular season, the NHL is also gearing up for its sixth annual Stadium Series, a match-up played outside in the elements away from typical hockey rinks. Because what better way to promote your game than to hang along the coattails of a Super Bowl winner and move it on to a football field?

This season, the league is going with a contest between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers (who are hosting), to be held at Lincoln Financial Field in February of 2019. Here’s the logo:

While the stadium is sure to be filled to capacity — because it’s the Pens and Flyers — is it really in the best interest of the NHL to cram a mere third of the league into these events over and over? How about some new blood?

The Background

When the Penguins and Flyers square off next year, it will be the 10th overall game in the Stadium Series dating back to 2014. That season, there were four games in the span of about five weeks, with two of those being played by the New York Rangers and, you probably guessed it, one by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In fact, this marks the already third appearance by Pittsburgh in the Stadium Series, and if you consider the NHL’s other baby, the Winter Classic, it totals to five games in these major events. You know who has played in more of these games? The Chicago Blackhawks with six, which isn’t surprising but we’ll get to that later. Philadelphia has been in four (we’re counting the not-yet-played 2019 game), along with the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.

How again is this good for the NHL? It’s not.

The Case

As fans we talk a lot about the growth of the game. How can we expand this incredible sport to reach more people and get more rear-ends in seats? For the NHL’s part, the league discusses it quite a bit too. It’s why it expanded to Nevada and why it’ll likely expand to Seattle. There have even been rumors of putting a team in Houston somewhere down the road.

But what’s the point when you’ll only end up promoting seven or eight teams on a rotating basis? You know what the Stadium Series match-up was back in 2017? Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Come. On. Was it necessary to have the New York Rangers play twice in 2014?

The Chicago Blackhawks will make another appearance in the Winter Classic this season, after being in the Winter Classic in 2017. At this point the only real guess each campaign is who’s going to play Chicago/Pittsburgh/New York/or the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But if you believe this is all just salt in regards to top market teams, take a look at this article detailing the ratings from last year’s Stadium Series contest between the Leafs and Washington Capitals. At 1.11 million viewers, it was the least-watched NHL game NBC has ever aired during prime time.

In fact, ratings have continued to plummet for years. The contest between Pens/Blackhawks in 2014 garnered 2.76 million viewers while Rangers/New Jersey Devils that same year had 2.08 million. In 2016, Blackhawks/St. Louis Blues dropped to 1.86 million while Red Wings/Colorado Avalanche dropped to 1.7 million.

The Pens/Flyers 2017 match-up saw a slight uptick at 1.92 million viewers, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that people are tuning out, which is evident considering the second Winter Classic in 2009 had 4.4 million people watching. Since 2015, which includes two games for Chicago and one each for Toronto and Detroit?

The viewership went from 4.4 million to 3.47, 2.78 and 2.56 until finally hitting bottom with 2.48 in 2018. Of course, NBC states that these are still incredible numbers and outdo anything they see for normal games, which is true and fine. But that’s just putting a nightgown on a muddied pig. The reliance on top market clubs is clearly wearing thin.

Either fans are sick of seeing Chicago and Pittsburgh every year or the format is tired. It’s likely a combination of both, though it’s hard to say some fans could ever get tired of the format when their team has either never played in the Stadium Series or Winter Classic or has been there once in 10 seasons.

We get it though: The NHL and NBC are all about ratings, and teams like Pittsburgh and the Blackhawks are darlings when it comes to primetime. It’s why Chicago routinely finds itself on NBCSN about 11 to 15 times a season, whereas a club like Florida is, well, never a primetime candidate.

But in that, we have to ask again why even expand your league? Why not simply get rid of everyone else and go back to an original six format, if those are clearly the only teams that matter in terms of profit and audience.

The problem is that the NHL gets it wrong so often but refuses to acknowledge their mistakes. Clearly ratings are dipping, even when we throw Pens and ‘Hawks into the mix, so let’s keep doing it? Let’s make sure going into the playoffs that we stick teams somewhere on the Golf channel and also have them play at the most ridiculous times.

MLB does this during the playoffs and it’s maddening. We know Yankees/Red Sox will attract great views, so it’s obvious to put them during primetime. But to schedule everyone else at literally nine or 10 in the morning simply because their market isn’t as large? Really?

How is this helping teams like the Arizona Coyotes or Carolina Hurricanes? Does the NHL know that AT&T Stadium in Dallas can and has sold at a capacity of more than 100,000 fans? And yet no mention of pitting the Dallas Stars against anyone. Oh but they gave them draft weekend. Hooray. Is it because AT&T Stadium has a retractable roof? Does that mean it wouldn’t really “count” as being outside?

We couldn’t continue the Vegas Golden Knights success as the greatest expansion team ever and oh, you know, actually give them a Stadium Series for a Year 2 matchup? They do realize that UNLV has a football stadium, right? Or do they believe the heat stays in the triple digits year ’round?

They could have added to their incredible pregame show by going Game of Thrones style with a “Winter is coming” theme, but no. The NHL once again dodges a big opportunity in favor of two clubs we’ve seen do this already.

The Takeaway

The NHL has a full slate of teams at its disposal and it’s ready to add more when the time comes. Well, maybe they shouldn’t. It’s like choosing to have another kid with the idea in mind that you’ll ignore her because you love the first-born way too much. Just don’t have the second kid, then. In fact, maybe don’t have any kids at all because that’s horrible parenting.

If the league is actually serious about growth, they’ll do something about it outside of coddling seven teams on a yearly basis. If you don’t even have the capacity to market your expansion squad which just crushed it all season long, then what are you really doing?

Not convinced? You can read Joshua Axelrod’s rebuttal here.