There was a volcanic like eruption from the hockey media during the Winter Games in Vancouver, suggesting in no uncertain terms, that the superb hockey that was on display in February, would bring all kinds of new found fans to the game, and boost the National Hockey League’s product. It was suggested by many of these same media types, that the NHL would be ignorant not to agree to have its athletes participate in the next Winter Games, in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. There was an automatic assumption made, that exciting hockey at the Olympics, leads to packed houses at NHL games.
As it turns out, the hockey media were completely wrong. The NHL had asserted that the previous Winter Games in Nagano, Salt Lake City, and Turin, had done nothing to boost National Hockey League attendance or revenues. The league also expressed concern, and correctly so, that many of the players who participate in the Winter Games, are exhausted by the time the Stanley Cup playoffs begin, and some may return with injuries that can affect their play. The NHL owners make their largest profit margins, as a result of home playoff dates,as the player salaries have been completely paid by the end of the regular season.
With the outstanding hockey from the Winter Games still fresh in everyone’s mind, I thought I would check on recent attendance figures for the National Hockey League. With playoff positions at stake, the Atlanta Thrashers had really picked up their play lately, and are still in the thick of the fight, for a post-season spot. On Tuesday night, Atlanta hosted the Boston Bruins at the Phillips Arena. Unfortunately for the Thrashers, they lost the game 4-0, and the reported attendance was around 14,000. Most teams in the NHL and the NBA give away complimentary tickets in varying numbers, so probably one or two thousand , maybe more, were of this type. Considering that Atlanta is a legitimate playoff contender, and that the Bruins are the team they have to leapfrog to gain a playoff spot, it’s obvious that there was no spillover from the Vancouver Olympic games, to the box office at the Phillips Arena, especially with a playoff spot on the line.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are not likely to make the playoffs, but they still have some of the most exciting players in the game, with Steven Stamkos,along with veteran stars Vincent Lecavalier,and Martin St.Louis. They were the hosting the Carolina Hurricanes, who are similar to the Lightning, as mathematically alive in the playoff chase, and they are also recent Stanley Cup winners. Even with all of that and the fresh memories of the Team Canada-Teams USA Olympic finale, there was a reported crowd of just over 13,000, although a friend of mine in attendance at the St.Pete Times Forum, suggested that the actual attendance was probably closer to 8000. In spite of the small crowd, the Lightning won the game in overtime 3-2. Even in New Jersey, with one of the most consistently solid hockey products, the Devils only drew 14,000 to the Prudential Center in Newark, to see them double up the score on Columbus, 6-3.
There is no arguing the fact that the men’s hockey on display at the Winter Games was as good as it gets. At the same time, there is no arguing that the media hype, about its impact on consumers spending their discretionary dollars on hockey as a result of the Olympics, is also nothing more than hype and hockey cheerleading. In this particular debate, the National Hockey league won by a landslide. Olympic hockey is great to watch, but means next to nothing in terms of ticket sales for NHL franchises.