Gary Bettman Faces Backlash for Poor Scheduling Before Tonight's 16-Game Frenzy

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Tom Banks
October 22, 2024 (4:22 PM)

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The Frozen Frenzy should be a big deal for the NHL, but instead the league have decided to hold it on the NBA's Opening Night, and are being called out for it.

For the past few weeks, the NHL has been competing with the NFL, WNBA and MLB Playoffs for viewership, with Gary Bettman likely disappointed to learn that the league have fallen behind the WNBA in viewership.

Unfortunately, it appears no one informed the Commissioner Gary Bettman that the NBA began on Tuesday night, as the league planned the annual Frozen Frenzy for the same night, and with two high profile games between the Knicks & Celtics and Timberwolves & Lakers, it's going to draw plenty of attention away.

Combining this with the fact that there was just one game on Monday night with a wide open schedule beyond Monday Night Football, it becomes truly baffling that Gary Bettman and the NHL weren't able to work the Frozen Frenzy schedule around this. Coming on the back of the NHL recently cancelling the Awards for a lack of fan interest, it's becoming clear that there could be an issue for the league in their scheduling and marketing department.

Last year's event was seen as a major success by the league with all 32 teams playing on one night, and while fans of the NHL will no doubt be tuning in again in 2024/25, those casual fans that the league may have been targeting could instead opt to watch the NBA's Opening Night instead.

The one thing that the NHL did fix from a season ago however was start times, as the puck will drop at a different time for all 16 games this season, whereas last year, they had several games that began at the exact same time, something that was tough to keep up with on the ESPN broadcast.

For fans of hockey, this will be an incredible night with the potential to watch all 32 teams in action, but with the NHL looking to grow their audience, it's safe to say that the criticism for Bettman time and time again is seemingly justified. Ultimately, the NHL has one of the best products in sports, but it's unfortunate that time and time again, mistakes like this continue to happen and the league fall behind due to their own actions, so hopefully they can plan a little more carefully next season.