Yardbarker
x
NHL nightmare: No Canadian teams in the NHL playoff hunt
If the NHL season ended today, no Canadian team would make the postseason. Francois Lacasse/Getty Images

NHL nightmare: No Canadian teams in the NHL playoff hunt

It’s a topic that comes up occasionally at this point in the hockey season, although it hasn’t come to fruition since 1970. But it was mentioned again with a tweet early Friday morning to Columbus Blue Jackets beat writer Aaron Portzline:

In fact, if the NHL playoffs started today, not a single Canadian team would be playing.

Portzline’s answer to the question was simple and to-the-point: “Bad.”

It has to be a worry for a league with the bulk of its audience residing north of the states. Even with some strong, niche fan bases spread throughout North America, hockey’s biggest audiences are over the Canadian border.

This isn’t an issue that only pops up around playoff time either. At the current moment, for example, the Florida Panthers — who have a, shall we say, smaller fan base — are in first place in the Atlantic Division while the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t even in a Wild Card spot. These teams didn’t get there without warning — they got there by playing subpar hockey and not winning games.

So, just how bad does it get?      

The absence of Canadian teams in the playoff race hits a couple different areas. Chris Zelkovich of Yahoo!Sports Canada painted the bleak picture of broadcast ratings back on Jan. 20, in which the teams in the Canadian markets have been “killing” Rogers Sportsnet:

As of this week, it is highly conceivable that not one Canadian-based team will make the playoffs. It's too early to count out anyone from post-season play, but things certainly aren't looking good. 
That means things could get pretty bleak for Rogers in the second year of its 12-year, $5.2 billion gamble on the NHL. With no Canadian teams in the playoffs, ratings will tank. 
And if you don't believe that, just look at what happened last season. When Canadian teams were still playing, games involving those teams averaged more than 3 million viewers. Once the last Canadian team was eliminated, ratings dropped and ended up 20 per cent lower than the previous season. 
With no Canadian team to generate interest, those numbers could drop again.

Of course, if the ratings are hurting, then all business connected to the sport take a hit too. CBC News explained:

Fewer games also mean fewer pints poured at bars across the country. 
Toby Lyle, who owns several pubs in Montreal, said business has dropped considerably on game nights since the team started slumping. 
"Moving forward, I'm much more nervous about April, May, June," said Lyle.  
"When the Habs are in the playoffs, it's huge. You turn people away no matter what day of the week it is."

Not to mention that the Canadian dollar is down. USA Today explained earlier this week:

As if having struggling hockey teams isn't bad enough in a country crazy about the sport, the Canadian economy is in rough shape. 
The Canadian dollar, which was worth 71 cents in the U.S. on Tuesday, is trading at its lowest levels since 2003. Since 2011, the Canadian dollar has lost more than 33 percent of its value against U.S. currency. 
That hurts the league, its franchises and players on each of the 30 teams.

Yes, it’s a lot of doom and gloom, especially when taking into consideration reports that ratings for some NHL functions this season are doing well.

Take this year’s NHL All-Star Game. The midseason festivities garnered a lot of attention thanks to the new three-on-three tournament format and the whirlwind saga of John Scott. Even with the  Sunday matinee game relegated to NBC’s sister station, NBCSN, a premium channel that doesn’t cast as wide of a net, the game saw an increase in viewership. Sportsvideo.org called it the “most-watched and highest-rated  All-Star Game in the network’s history.”

That all sounds very promising for the NHL. But it goes to wonder how much of that dips when P.K. Subban and other representatives of Canadian teams aren’t on the ice. Or what kind of a hit the league’s ratings are going to take without Canadians to at least feature in Wednesday Night Rivalry.

No, the playoffs don’t actually start today, and the standings could totally be turned on their head. The Canucks could leapfrog into a Wild Card spot if they make the right adjustments at the trade deadline. And who knows, maybe the Habs or the Sens break out of their perpetual funks to gain a little ground in the Eastern Conference.

At this moment in time though, it really does look “bad.” There aren’t too many other ways to put it.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.