Since the NHL made a monster deal with Rogers Sportsnet last summer, the chatter about hockey broadcasting has been almost non-stop. With the quality of broadcasts falling, along with the lack of Canadian representation in the playoffs, Rogers saw their playoff viewership drop by about 61%, according to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. In response, the media juggernaut released several members of their Hockey Night in Canada team, most notably George Stroumboulopoulos, Damien Cox, PJ Stock and Glenn Healy.

In America, the NHL has an exclusivity deal with NBC that is very similar to the Rogers deal in Canada, in that they both have exclusive rights to national broadcasts, and that they both experienced low years in ratings.

So what gives? Is hockey losing its luster all over North America?

I don’t think that’s the case at all. In fact, I think that hockey is the most entertaining it’s been in years.
The main problem for hockey in the States is and always will be exposure. I’m not so sure this problem exists in Canada. Canadians don’t need to be introduced to hockey, really; it’s a national staple. However, the American coverage of hockey has the NFL to compete with in the regular season and the NBA Playoffs to compete with during the Stanley Cup playoffs. With the NFL only being played on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, the NHL needs to learn to capitalize on exposure during the regular season in order to retain more viewers into the playoffs.

So begins our main point of discussion: NBC’s national broadcast schedule for the upcoming season.

Before I get too far into it, I think the schedule NBC has constructed makes a ton of sense. Of course the Chicago Blackhawks have the highest total appearances. It would be almost irresponsible if they didn’t. The Hawks are the most marketable team in the league, and NBC would be silly not to cash in on that. Hell, even the “Wednesday Night Rivalry” gimmick seems pretty decent this year, with mostly marquee match-ups every week.

As an American, my one question is this: when is the American player going to become as important to promoting a national broadcast as an American team?

The obvious answer, to me anyway, is never. Franchises will always have a larger pull than individual players. But does that mean it shouldn’t even be attempted?

Let me explain. Looking at the games that will be televised nationally on NBC and NBC Sports Network, two snubs stand out to me. First, the Toronto Maple Leafs only appear on NBC once when they take on the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic. Also, the Calgary Flames will not appear on the NBC family of networks.

Why did I pick those two teams? For starters, the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews should be worthy of more than one national appearance due to his status as the most recent number one pick. If that’s not enough marketability, how about the fact that he’s an American from a non-traditional hockey market? Along the same lines, Johnny Gaudreau of the Flames is one of the most exciting players in the league. Oh, and he’s also an American from a non-traditional hockey market. Both these players have incredible marketability, but it seems as though NBC can’t get over the fact that they play for Canadian franchises. Yes, Canadian franchises historically have drawn smaller American audiences (which NBC used to explain the low viewership of last year’s Winter Classic game between Boston and Montreal), but why is the next step to just avoid these players entirely?

Maybe one winning recipe would involve buoying teams like Toronto and Calgary with games against higher rated opponents. For example, Gaudreau played his college hockey in Boston, and the Bruins have always gotten high national ratings. “Boston College alum and World Cup talent Johhny Gadreau leads the Flames into Boston to take on the Bruins.” Is that really too hard? You can do the same thing for Toronto: “Arizona native Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs play host to the Chicago Blackhawks.” This season would have been the perfect time to pull off this paradigm shift, as the season will begin just after the World Cup of Hockey concludes. Maybe Gaudreau absolutely tears it up with the young stars team, and they go on to win the tournament. That would be a shame for NBC, who will not show Gaudreau and his Flames play over the course of the season.

And I know it seems somewhat silly to demand a change of schedule over just a few players, but with the state of hockey viewership the way it is, maybe it’s worth a shot to change some things around. And you really don’t need to focus on just American players to make this work. Instead of 21 Blackhawks games, maybe get PK Subban and the Predators (still doesn’t sound right, I know) on national TV more than twice. Instead of watching the New York Rangers slide even further away from the Stanley Cup, maybe air Connor McDavid and the retooled Oilers, who currently will not air on NBC once during the 2016-17 campaign. Instead of making the Boston Bruins the highlight of every “rivalry,” maybe air the Dallas Stars more than a handful of times next year. I mean, they only led the league in total offense last year.

Sure, maybe it’s just sour grapes, but it’s becoming somewhat annoying to watch the hockey world implode as the poor ratings come in. And make no mistake, when the ratings come in next summer, the result will be about the same, and NBC has only themselves to blame.

Follow Ian on Twitter @BoisvertIan