Some more ratings info:

http://puckthemedia.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/hockey-helps-nbc/

NBC

NBC Sports’ coverage of the deciding Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, with 8.3 million viewers overall, was the most-watched NHL telecast in 36 years. Game 6 peaked at a 6.2/11 from 11-11:20 p.m. ET when Kane scored the game-winner and the Blackhawks celebrated their victory.

NBC’s average viewership of 6.1 million for its four Stanley Cup Final games this year marks the best network television Stanley Cup average in 13 years, up 9 percent versus last year

Versus

VERSUS’ coverage of the first two rounds of 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched first two rounds on cable on record with an average of 775,000 viewers for the 54 telecasts (Stanley Cup Playoff cable viewership became available by Nielsen for the 1994 playoffs)

I honestly thought the Olympics would have made the NHL more popular in pop culture than it has.

For the NHL fans, the ratings don't tell the whole story. For the NHL to get more mainstream, it needs help from ESPN. ESPN needs to show more highlights as well as broadcast more games.

Until that happens, the NHL is still going to be perceived as a "minor" league relative to rest of the Big 4 (MLB, NFL, NBA).

It would be nice to see more hockey coverage on ESPN but it won't happen. Versus has been fantastic the past couple of years for the NHL.

The_Crosby_Show;501353 wrote:It would be nice to see more hockey coverage on ESPN but it won't happen. Versus has been fantastic the past couple of years for the NHL.

Sounds like a perfect comment from a "niche" fan.

Even if the NHL went back to ESPN (It's a big IF", it won't get hardly any coverage. Considering during winter, all ESPN shows is the NBA and NCAA.

Also, with the NHL on NBC, it won't ha to compete with the NBA for getting air time with the NBA on sunday afternoons, something that would create a problem if the NHL went back to ESPN.