Where are the preseason hockey broadcasts? I want them. So do you. The lack of such points up one of the NHL's biggest challenges: competing for audience with other major sports that have more give-a-hoot going for them, whether from viewers, advertisers or networks.
The Dallas Stars have been doing their part to help correct that imbalance – and not just because the on-ice product is gripping, but because the in-arena experience has exploded outward.
...[A]nimation of "Let's Get Loud" and in-game Twitter updates are being replaced by playful trash-talking at celebrities [and] jokes about imaginary girlfriends in an attempt to attract more attention and interest in the sport from non-hockey fans.