re: Hockey is such an entertaining sport

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then why does it lag behind MLB, NBA, and NFL in viewership.

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I think you can point a big finger at the lockout that canceled the entire 04/05 season, and subsequently resulted in ESPN dropping coverage for the next 17 years. That put the NHL in a viewership hole that I'm not sure they ever totally climbed out of.

In the 90s, there were nationally televised games most nights of the week, and NHL 2Night was on ESPN every day. There was expansion/relocation into more US markets. Even every moderately sized city in the country seemed to have a minor league team at one point.

All that momentum for the sport died and the casuals didn't come back after the work stoppage. In just the last few years have more people appeared to get back into it.