The amount of viewers was never the goal for the NHL. They will never draw to the likes of the other majors sports just because its not as marketable. The MLB and NBA are the easiest to market due to the exposure of the athletes. The lack of helmets, the 1 on 1 face time, and of course, the apparel the athletes wear play a big part in that. What the NHL does have going for it is an unusually high percentage of their viewers/demographics being highly affluent. So it's more of a quality over quantity type thing. With that being said. It's also wild to see how far the NHL lags behind in general revenue and salaries of the other big players. There was a time when all the leagues were roughly on par. Now Mcdavid at 12.5 is a bench player in the NBA and a quarter of what the superstars make.
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