The long, sad decline of the NHL playoffs into summer

So I’m home after a long day at work, swigging a sample of Sauvignon Blanc (South African variety off the western Cape, which may or may not affect this post; hey boss: does this count as drinking on work time? I’ve already put in 12 hours today) and I figure, forget trying to educate myself with some serious reading; I need a brain break.
So yours truly, Blogovich, tunes in to the Stanley Cup playoff game.

And I find myself hoping for the Philadelphia Flyers to get back into this current series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which the Flyers trail 2-0 (and 2-1 in the game) at this writing (8:44 p.m., Eastern time in North America).

Why is that? Well, to re-generate some interest. Because for yet another year, as the Stanley Cup playoffs progress, interest wanes — particularly in Canada with all the Canadian teams (but not players) long since having been eliminated. TV ratings on Cup playoff games from this past weekend reflect that. Auto racing crept two entries into the Canadian top 10 ratings where a few weeks ago 9 of 10 top-rated sports TV entries were NHL hockey.

By the way, we are currently running a poll here at www.therecord.com and those following the Cup playoffs are leading those following (one assumes Canada) in the world hockey championships 60-40 in percentage terms.

But really, this waning interest in the Stanley Cup playoffs has little to do with nationalism — one of the unholy trinity of politics (same basic animal) and religion which I so abhor.

As journalism colleague Mark Spector of CanWest newspapers opined on the eve of this year’s playoffs, only in the NHL does interest wane the closer one gets to the championship series.

That results from the fact, unfortunately, that hockey is an ice sport and it’s springing towards summer now.

But non-competitive series don’t help. The Flyers could yet come back tonight and in this series — only a fool declares a series over when it’s 2-0 but the trailing team has yet to play a home game.

But in the NHL West, the Detroit Red Wings — who will beat either eastern club handily in the Stanley Cup final (Pittsburgh, the 2000s version of the Edmonton Oilers, just aren’t quite there yet and will fall as the Oilers at first did to the veteran Islanders) — are up 3-0 on a plucky but tired and banged up Dallas Stars team.

So that one’s over.

And so will interest be over during the coming Cup final between Detroit and Pittsburgh. Oh, we’ll watch, all right, investing three hours of time each night though likely using the TV as one would a radio, only truly tuning in for the highlights of the goals as they happen.

It’s too bad, really. But what can one do with an ice sport that ends its championship season in the heat of June?

Ideas, anyone? Other than cutting the schedule back to 70 games and thus starting the playoffs sooner, I’m not sure I see a solution.

We can only hope. Contributions from those at FireBettman.com always welcome.