Ever since the lockout of the 2004-05 season, the popularity of the NHL had drastically decreased. Once known as one of the four major pro sports in the country, hockey was become an afterthought to the average sports fan. I can't tell you how many times I've talked about hockey over the past few years, only to hear the response of "Who cares?" or "No one likes hockey." That almost seemed tragic.
Oh, what an impact two starving teams can have on a struggling league.
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers had long since been craving the taste of the Cup. The Hawks, the team with the longest current championship drought in the NHL, have endured years of failure and futility. But, with good drafting, solid free agent signings, and a little bit of patience, Chicago is a powerhouse in the NHL (and a young one at that), and will remain one for years to come. They were the two seed in the Western Conference, but played like they were number one, knocking out the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks each in six games. In the Western Conference Finals, the Blackhawks handed a lopsided sweep to the top-seeded and hard-luck San Jose Sharks, securing a trip to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since being swept by Mario Lemeuix and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992.
The Flyers are just happy to be there. On the brink of missing the playoffs, the Flyers squeaked their way in over the rival New York Rangers, but no one expected them to advance past the heavily favored two-seed, the New Jersey Devils. But just as quickly as they entered, the Flyers entered round two. This is where they made their history, coming back from down three games to none to defeat the Boston Bruins in seven games. Now entering the conference finals against the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens, they were the favorites, and they took care of their business in five games, and were headed to the Stanley Cup, looking for their first championship since 1975. Not since the days of Eric Lindros has the Philly faithful been as excited for a team as they were for this incarnation of the "Broad Street Bullies," and their arrival to the NHL's final series.
With two historically downtrodden teams at the top of their game and currently at the top of the league in the Stanley Cup, this might just be what the doctor ordered to bring the league back to prominence.
Think about it: Would it be more compelling to see the third straight Stanley Cup Finals between the Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings. Hardly. Despite the possibility of having yet another great series between these two occur, the casual fan would have been bored by this rehashed matchup.
This 2010 final is different. It's fresh. It's different. It's emotionally-driven and it's storyline driven. It's two starving teams playing very physical hockey to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. It's the team with the longest drought versus the team who's fans make it seem they have the longest title drought.
Gary Bettman must be salivating over this matchup. The NHL Commissioner (for my money, one of the worst commissioner in the history of professional sports) has to be happy with not only the quality of the four games thus far, but also the ratings. Just two nights ago, Game Three produced the highest rating for a Stanley Cup Finals game on cable in eight years. The initial game of the series also proved historic, as it produced the best rating by any Stanley Cup game in eleven years.
It is more than apparent than the NHL is on the upswing. People are watching...watching and enjoying. Ratings are up. Revenue is increasing. Everything seems to be going well and going back to the way it once was.
These two teams are perfect. The timing of both being on the grandest stage of them all is spot on. The backdrop of each team and their respective journey to the Cup is storybook, and the actual play of the series has been nothing short of exciting.
Good enough for ya, hockey haters?
For someone that truly didn't start following the sport until four years ago - after the lockout - I'm enjoying hockey more than ever.
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