The NHL failed in Arizona, but it’s succeeding in America

THE PURSUIT of the Stanley Cup, the most cherished trophy on ice, is in full swing. The first round of the National Hockey League playoffs, a 16-team, two-month sprint, is just about done. But before the games could begin in late April the NHL had to take care of a messy bit of business. It announced the relocation of its Phoenix-based franchise, the Coyotes, after nearly three decades of sweat in the Arizona desert. For a league that has long wanted to expand its presence in America, losing a foothold in one of the country’s fastest-growing regions is a serious blow.

For years the NHL has ranked a distant fourth in North American sports leagues, behind the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) in viewership and revenue. And holding on to that fourth spot will not be easy. Major League Soccer (MLS) is catching up, thanks in part to the buzz generated by Lionel Messi’s highlight-reel efforts for Inter Miami.

Moreover, hockey has always suffered from being the least accessible of America’s big sports. Equipment is expensive, and children going through growth spurts frequently need new gear. Sticks, once cheap slabs of wood, now cost $100-plus and are made of carbon fibre and kevlar. Arenas are few and far between, making ice time scarce and pricey. In much of the country only private schools have student teams. More than 10m Americans play soccer; about 2m play hockey. Without more people involved in the game, how can professional hockey ever truly flourish in America?

And yet it seems to be doing just that. NHL revenue (the money made by all 32 teams combined, encompassing broadcast deals, tickets, merchandise and sponsorship) is on track to top $6bn this year. That may be only fourth among North America’s big leagues but, testament to the sheer heft of America and its appetite for sports, it is still fifth globally. Only the Premier League in England breaks into the top tier. One of the NHL’s enduring advantages over MLS is that it is unquestionably the world’s best hockey league, whereas MLS is a middling entity, attracting star players only when past their prime.

Hockey enthusiasts may bemoan the NHL’s failure to keep up with the financial prowess of the NFL and the NBA. But they could just as easily point to the struggles of baseball, “America’s pastime”. Whereas MLB’s revenues have risen by about 50% over the past decade, the NHL’s have nearly doubled. American sports often experiment with rule tweaks. A spate of fairly radical changes by MLB over the past two years with the aim of speeding up games, such as the introduction of a pitch clock, speak to a deeper angst about the sport’s appeal. The NHL, by contrast, has not made any big changes since 2015, when it brought in three-on-three overtime—a wildly entertaining way to settle tied games.

The NHL’s players have also acquired a much more American flavour. According to QuantHockey, a data website, Canadians remain the biggest contingent, accounting for 42% of those in the league this season, ahead of Americans, who make up 28%. Yet that is a remarkable shift: in 1980, 82% of players were Canadian and just 12% American. When the best players clash in a much-anticipated “4 Nations Face-Off” next February (which will also include Sweden and Finland), the Americans may well be the favourites to topple their hockey-loving neighbours.

And hockey is gaining more cultural cachet. The “Pat McAfee Show”, a hugely popular daily talk show hosted by a former American footballer, launched a regular segment this year called “Hockey Is Awesome”, in which the host extols both graceful goals and, yes, fights. A brawl at the start of a recent match that involved all ten skaters earned particular plaudits.

As for the Coyotes’ move from Arizona, it was a long time coming. The team’s travails had less to do with hockey’s struggles in the Sun Belt than with the idiosyncrasies of a mismanaged franchise, which was reduced to playing in a small college rink for its last couple of years. The NHL could have easily relocated the team to a hockey-mad city in Canada with no big-league presence. Instead, in a clear attempt to extend the sport’s reach in America, it opted for Salt Lake City.

Within a couple of days of the announcement, 20,000 fans had put down deposits for season tickets—more than the total number of seats in the local arena. Those lucky enough to attend games next season in Utah will see a young, promising roster that will probably include one rookie, Josh Doan, who was born and raised near Phoenix. In fact he is one of eight Arizona-born players active in the NHL, proof that though the professional team has left the state, the sport has put down roots in the desert. Hockey may not be America’s sport. But it is American.■