Letter

Dear NHL,

Now while I am but a University marketing student and have 0 experience running a professional league, I feel you need me to make sure you don't let another golden opportunity to get your league attention in the US slip away
*ahem*

Your 2 highest skilled/most well known/ most marketable stars reallly don't like each other. PROMOTE THE HOLY HELL OUT OF THIS. If there was ever a golden chance to drum up interest from the casual sports fan this is it. In one corner you have Sidney Crosby the clean cut Canadian who has been trained in front of a mic from a young age, and has been ordained the savior of the NHL from the age of around 2 years old. In the other corner you have Alex Ovechkin the unshaven, missing-toothed brash Russian who says whatever comes to his mind.

For years Sid has been the poster boy for the NHL and the person everyone pays to see, with Ovie being right there. But with a Tilly hat and sunglasses Oveckin in a flash became the face of the league. But now the rivalry that was based on them both being so talented has some feelings behind it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4bGh3lsDxE

So people at the NHL's marketing dept, everything is set up here for you, all you have to do is promote this properly and finally make good on a golden opportunity. ( how Lance Armstrong wasn't used in any way shape or form when Phil Kessel got testicular cancer still baffles me but that's for another time).

So here's what you do:
Make sure this game is on national TV- A game like this is an easy sell, do whatever you can to convince Versus (or try to get it on the NBC affiliate in these cities) in the US and TSN or TSN2 in Canada to air this game. Its two teams that are going to bring in the ratings based on the talent of the teams involved and the rivalry with Sid and Ovie will make it even better. Its not officially on the schedule for these stations yet but here is a chance to grow your game and get some people to catch it when its at its best, fast, hard hitting and filled with emotion. You might just get some people switching over out of curiosity who will be impressed and come back for more.

Play up the rivalry- commercials and video packages showing the different stages of this rivalry and making it look even more intense than it is will do wonders. People watch hockey for the intensity and if there seems to be a good chance of a fight or some big hits people will be tuning in just to see how far it will go.

Make this game a big deal- New York is playing Boston on NBC earlier that day here's a chance to hype this game to your largest and one of your largest markets, make it seem special
" THE THRILL ON CAPITAL HILL" just make sure people know this game is happening, it gets top billing on the website and you make sure press releases are being sent out hyping the hell out of this.

Part of the reason this needs to happen is even in the case where the rivalry doesn't produce fireworks, you still have two of the most exciting teams in the league playing and 5 of the stars your league will be built on for the next 10-15 years (Ovie, Crosby, Semin, Backstrom, Malkin). So in the case of a lack of hate you will get exciting hockey that will get people to want to tune in again.

At the end of the day its simple, great rivalries create intrigue. Federer/Nadal , Johnson/Byrd, Yankees/Sox in all these cases its not just the fans of the parties involved that pay attention, the entire sports world takes notice.

So in closing, NHL despite the fact you have dropped the ball in the past, i have faith that you will knock this one out of the park and promote a rivalry that will help the league get out of the abyss that it has created down south. So here we go Sid the Kid vs Alexander the Great, lets hand it off to Michael Buffer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RBeoPauVb0