Key To Success: Reasons Behind NHL's Record-Setting Year

With the passing of this year’s NHL season, many are already missing hockey at its finest.

In fact, this year more people are missing it than ever before.

It was a record-setting year for the National Hockey League, not only did the business sales and events skyrocket, but the TV ratings also bloomed in a country where hockey usually takes a backseat to baseball and football.

And maybe it still does, however, its numbers this year shed light on healthy growth of the hockey audience in the area.

So how did a sport just a few years past a full-season lockout flourish at such a rapid pace? 

One of the answer’s is simple—the Winter Classic.

Ever since it was introduced three years back, the Winter Classic has been a must-see game for any hockey fan.

Bringing hockey back to where it originated captivates people, especially those who can relate and reminisce about hockey at it purest form.

Anyone who has ever stepped foot on a pond or an outdoor rink knows the feeling you get when the crisp winter air whips at your face—it’s a feeling not easily put into words.

Over the first two years it generated 3.7 and 4.5 million views respectably.

The Wings-Hawks game was the highest televised hockey game in over 33 years.

And even though this year’s Winter Classic at Fenway’s overnight ratings were down about 10% from the Wings-Hawks affair from last year, they still made over $8 million in ticket sales, and $3 million in advertisements for NBC.

Another factor in the NHL’s strong growth curve is Television Company Versus.

During the playoffs, they had numerous records broken for games watched on cable television, including game three and four of the Stanley Cup Finals which averaged 3.369 million viewers per game, up five percent from last years numbers.

Headlines read: "Olympic hockey, playoffs making the NHL cool again ... This year the NHL hit the popularity jackpot ... The NHL is the hottest it's been since the pre-lockout days." -- Associated Press

The Olympics also aided the hockey-buzz nationwide, ending with a Canada—United States final, was pure “gold” for the sport.

It delivered in so many ways with USA’s road to the finals.

They endured a few close affairs, but also handed out a beating, it had it all.

It was capped off by a late tying goal to take the finals into over-time, what more could you ask for?

Across the board numbers were up, sales sky-rocketed, ratings blew up, and attendance equaled and is rumored to have surpassed that of basketball, yet the answer to the NHL’s success is not anything the NHL did, and they know it.

"Our fans once again demonstrated their insatiable appetite for NHL hockey, which they consumed in unprecedented numbers across all of our platforms. These milestones spotlight the power of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and its importance to hockey fans around the world.”

NHL COO John Collins said of the NHL’s strong numbers.

The answer is the choice of the fan-base to further engage itself. The fans are the ones to be credited with such success, making the decision to become more involved and show their support for the greatest game on earth.

Without them, the sport can do anything it wants to no avail.

So thanks, hockey fans, for a memorable season—You can bet “History Was Made.”

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