The NHL’s scheduling continues to amaze me. Mr. Gary Bettman has some explaining to do, because why is the schedule the way it is? You might have seen some examples of it already this year, where you’ll have like 2 games scheduled on a Friday night, then BOOM: 15 games the following night.
Tomorrow night, October 24th, the NHL is trying something new: ALL 32 teams will be in action. But that’s not all… instead of having multiple games starting at the same time as it usually would on a busy night, every single game will have its own unique, staggered time. It’s an interesting idea to say these least, but will it work? I’m not so sure. If you’re a hockey fan like I am, I’ll be ready to see this super-jammed pack Tuesday night of hockey, which includes the Canucks vs. the Predators at 6:15 pm.
Pixabay / Darkmoon_Art
So, do you want what I think the positives or the negatives are first? Let’s go with the negatives first, cause the majority of people I see talking about this night of hockey have several questions that have no real answer.
First off, what’s the actual benefit of having every team play on the same night? If you think of it from a marketing standpoint, the league would actually have LESS viewership, not more, because it’s impossible to watch every game, even with staggered starting times.
Next, sports fans might know what else is happening in the sports world on October 24th, it’s the opening night in the NBA! Yep, that’s right, there goes more viewers, because we all know that the viewership numbers in NBA are far superior, plain and simple.
I also need to mention this, but why is the last game on this wild night of hockey starting at 8 pm pacific? That’s 11 pm eastern, and if you’re a Flyers fan (they’re playing against Vegas in Vegas), you’ll need to stay up super late on a weeknight. Another rather questionable part about NHL’s scheduling choices for this night.
Pixabay / StockSnap
Ok, well it might seem like this idea is all bad, but it’s really not. The NHL is taking their go at an “NFL Red Zone” style channel. That means they’ll be switching between the games as they’re happening. If this is executed properly, it’ll be exciting as a viewer to see the best moments from each game live as it’s happening.
What do you think about the NHL’s latest interesting scheduling choice? It all goes down tomorrow night, so be ready to enjoy a full night of hockey, and Go Canucks Go!