A week of major moves Young fans are not watching television and leagues need to figure out how to appeal to them on different platforms

Three announcements out of the National Hockey League and associated affiliates have been made this week.

The most noteworthy was the resigning of Steve Stamkos with the Tampa Bay Lightning for a reported eight years and an average $8.5 million per year.  That deal keeps Stamkos in the fold but now what happens to the Bolts’ ability to sign restricted free agents after the cap hit reaches the books?

Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn. Next year, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat all are in line for some raise given their contributions to the success of the Lightning these last few years.

Steven Stamkos – file photo by Lewis Bleiman

Stamkos signing with the Bolts also crushed any idea that New York Rangers fans had of the star moving his show to Broadway.  But honestly, until the Rangers rid themselves of the cap-heavy Rick Nash, the likes Stamkos are not going to be icing in New York any time soon.

The only place the Lightning can recapture some cap space is in the trading of goalie Ben Bishop with nearly $6 million annual salary.

The second move on Wednesday was the trading of PK Subban from the Montreal Canadiens to the Nashville Predators for the Preds’ Shea Weber.

Subban was in France when word reached him that he had been traded.  His reaction on Yahoo Sports was that he was pleased to be going to a team that wanted him.

The relationship between the Habs and the star defenseman had soured over the season with Subban being benched during the latter half of the season; a season that fell apart after a brilliant start.

Montreal head coach Michel Therrien had referred to Subban’s play as “selfish” late in the season and that really was the end of the line for Subban in the staid Habs’ lineup.

PK Subban – file photo by Lewis Bleiman

Listen, while I was a Montreal Canadien, there’s nothing but fantastic times for me,” Subban told Nashville media outlets. “I have to say that out of all the fanbases in the National Hockey League, the Montreal Canadiens’ fans and community and the province of Quebec has probably embraced me more than any other player has felt in any other city. It’s give and take. I’ve done a lot of things in that community and they’ve supported me since the day that I was drafted. So I’ve always felt wanted by the fans and the community there. On the business side of things, the Montreal Canadiens paid me a lot of money two years ago to do what I do for a living. At the end of the day I just wanted to come in and do my job. But obviously right now I’m going to a team that wants me and the Montreal Canadiens felt that they had to take it down a different path.”

The third event this week was the shuffling of staff Rogers Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada.

After just two years in the host’s seat, George Stroumboulopoulos is out and Ron MacLean is back.  But this was in part, a financially-driven decision with ratings sliding for the premier hockey program in Canada.  But this past season none of the Canadian entries in the NHL made the post season and the slide just continued.

“George is an extremely versatile and creative broadcaster and we value the contributions he made to Hockey Night in Canada.  We look forward to seeing what his next great project will be,” Scott Moore, President of Sportsnet & NHL Properties, Rogers said in a conference call.  “We are continually evaluating and evolving our broadcasts to deliver the best experience for fans.”

Additional staff terminated by Rogers included analyst Glenn Healy, P.J. Stock, Billy Jaffe, Corey Hirsch, Chantel Desjardins, Leah Hextall (who signed with ESPN), and Damien Cox.

The ratings for Hockey in Night Canada have been sliding since Rogers signed the 12-year, $5.2 billion deal with the NHL.  Younger fans are not watching television and even fewer are tuning into hockey or any sport for that matter.

Will the MacLean rehire invigorate the broadcast?

“Ron is a tremendous host and bringing him back to the show along with David Amber I think will resonate with those fans,” Moore said in the conference call.

Healy’s brand of commentary and opinion was not enough to get fans sitting in front of the TV but Moore sees another path to reversing the slide in viewership.

“What attracts audiences, young and old, is winning,” Moore said.

Recapturing fans may be difficult as Rogers has also decided to scale back its regional pregame shows across Canada.

Freelancers and contractors were also part of the purge this week from Rogers leaving fewer staffers to do more jobs.  But in a financially-strapped situation, the cuts were almost inevitable which does not make them less painful but should be a harbinger and lesson for all of the major sports.