Gary Bettman and the NHL called out for bad scheduling ahead of 16-game Frozen Frenzy tonight
Every NHL team will be in action tonight during Frozen Frenzy, but many are questioning the scheduling decisions of the NHL and Commissioner Gary Bettman.
It's a hockey fan's dream tonight as all 32 NHL teams are in action in 16 games during the NHL's Frozen Frenzy. The timing of it all has left some people scratching their heads, though.
Monday night saw just one game on the schedule for the NHL as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning squared off on Amazon Prime. As pointed out by fans on social media, the NHL, which is losing ground in the ratings to the WNBA, chose to place Frozen Frenzy in direct competition with opening night of the NBA.
It's not the best look for the NHL, which doesn't compete head on with the NBA when it comes to viewers. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman recently announced the cancelation of a televised NHL Awards show due to lack of interest, and decisions like this make you wonder sometimes if the NHL might be its own worst enemy. It's also worth noting that every single game in the NHL tonight will have a different start time.
While fans will be happy with the amount of TV time hockey will get tonight, putting it up against opening night of the NBA does nothing to get new fans into the sport. This seems to be where the NHL is really struggling, and it needs to get its act together before the ratings start dropping even further. If the NHL wants hockey to survive and thrive in markets like Utah, Florida, and Nevada, more needs to be done.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 22 | 337 ANSWERS Gary Bettman and the NHL called out for bad scheduling ahead of 16-game Frozen Frenzy tonight Will you be watching the NHL's Frozen Frenzy tonight, or the opening night of the NBA? | ||
| NHL | 267 | 79.2 % |
| NBA | 16 | 4.7 % |
| Both | 11 | 3.3 % |
| Not sure | 43 | 12.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Connor McDavid | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Roman Josi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Artemi Panarin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Evan Bouchard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||