Emma: NHL Can Score By Restoring, Renewing Original Six Rivalries
By Chris Emma--
(CBS) For a league that's often stunningly oblivious to the most obvious marketing methods, seemingly struggling with its own identity, the NHL has all but forgotten one of its most enticing products.
Frankly, by comparison to its peers, the NHL is a marketing disaster, jamming our throats with Stadium Series games in cookie-cutter stadiums in hopes of a boost. Sure, the NHL won't ever be "The Shield" or America's pastime by any means, but it can at least show comfort just being itself.
When the Blackhawks laced the skates to battle the Red Wings in "Hockeytown" and later took the ice at the Bruins' Boston Garden, it just felt right. These battles bring back memories for fans young and old. These are among hockey's greatest traditional teams, meeting far too rarely.
Before commissioner Gary Bettman and his league locate the next listless Stadium Series venue -- seriously, these have jumped the shark -- how about an idea? The NHL should showcase one of its greatest traditions, The Original Six.
Long before there was a Winter Classic or Wayne Gretzky's 92-goal season or even the debut of Jaromir Jagr, there were six original teams. The Bruins, Black Hawks, Red Wings, Canadiens, Rangers and Maple Leafs made up a great era for the NHL. The six have combined to win 62 Stanley Cup championships, with 24 of those coming from Montreal.
Speaking purely to the 2016 climate of the NHL, these six franchises and fan bases represent hockey's most marketable products. These are big cities, passionate fans and huge television ratings with each meeting.
The NHL is missing a major opportunity by not putting its grand tradition on a proper platform more often. It must bring the Original Six back together in some form.
One solution would be creating the Heritage Division, placing the Original Six together in a format that would allow these teams to play each other five times per season. That'd be 25 such matchups for each team, making for a must-watch product.
Logistics are certainly a concern, though the NHL endured realignment as recently as 2013, moving the Red Wings and Blue Jackets east. Even Bettman could make this work. For the sake of continuity, the league can expand the Heritage Division to seven or eight teams by adding two traditional teams within geographic sensibilities. The Senators, Flyers, Islanders or Penguins would all seem to make sense.
Even if Bettman doesn't feel the need to realign once again, the NHL can prioritize these games with marquee matchups -- and more often. The Blackhawks and Red Wings must play more than twice a year. With all due respect to the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL can scrap a Blackhawks trip to the desert and bring fans an Original Six matchup.
Make it a regularity to have these franchises play four or five times per season, eliminating the schedule oddities that create a lull in the regular season.
As presently constructed, the Blackhawks' biggest rival is the St. Louis Blues, but the hatred lacks the authenticity built between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. The Central Division has many flaws to its build, most notably the lack of Detroit.
Meanwhile, the NHL continuously promotes "Rivalry Night" on its NBC Sports Network, its flagship enterprise, while failing to reveal its greatest set of six rivals as one cohesive unit.
The Original Six can be reunited and hockey would see its heritage revived. Wouldn't that be something special?
Chris Emma covers the Chicago sports scene and more for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.
