Can The NHL Capitalize On America's Newfound Interest In Hockey?

Today, the NHL is barely a top 10 most popular sports league or organization in America. The NFL, college football, MLB, NBA, men’s college basketball, and UFC are more popular. The NHL falls somewhere in a tier alongside NASCAR, golf, and the WNBA.

Yet every few years, Americans are reminded how much they enjoy watching the sport. They were reminded last year during the inaugural 4 Nations Face Off. Interest in Team USA defeating Canada for gold on Sunday was significant.

Of course, there is likely an inherent interest in Team USA that professional hockey teams in America cannot replicate. However, overall interest in the NHL should be higher than it is. And the league now has a chance to capitalize on the momentum following the U.S. hockey team’s run.

Admittedly, hockey faces structural disadvantages compared to other sports. It is not as accessible in schools as football, baseball, or basketball. There are far fewer ice rinks than open fields, gyms, or parks where kids can throw a football or shoot a basketball. On average, hockey is expensive to play at the youth level.

Professional hockey likely has a ceiling in America. But the floor should not be this low.

Jack Hughes of Team United States celebrates after their gold-medal win during the Men's Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

We can debate the reasons for the NHL’s decline in recent decades, from lockouts to distribution issues on television. Still, the league’s lack of star power has hurt it most. Individual stardom is particularly important in 2026, when there is an abundance of viewing options.

Star power can elevate even a niche sport into the mainstream. Consider Caitlin Clark in the WNBA, Tiger Woods in golf, and Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey in the UFC. The NHL has not had a figure of that level of crossover since Wayne Gretzky retired in 1999.

That does not mean there have not been great or even all-time players since then. There is a difference between greatness and superstardom. Take Patrick Mahomes and Nikola Jokić. They are almost inarguably the best players in the NFL and NBA, respectively, and have been for the past six years. Mahomes is a superstar. Jokić is a generational player who hardly moves the needle.

Hockey fans might argue that Connor McDavid is the equivalent of Mahomes, Jokić, or even Shohei Ohtani on the ice. Yet McDavid has probably never led the rundown on a national sports talk show.

The lack of coverage from ESPN and major podcasts is part of the problem. Pundits helped build the legend of Clark, LeBron James, Mahomes, and others. Much of the mainstreaming of athletes now occurs through debates over the greatest of all time or cultural flashpoints. That formula has not translated to the NHL. There is no active chase to eclipse Gretzky, and hockey does not fit neatly into the black-and-white dynamic that enthralls the race idolators on television.

Still, there are options, even if the talk shows are not helpful.

Jack Hughes is just 24-years-old and is already a national hero after scoring a winning goal in sudden-death overtime to give Team USA its first gold medal in hockey since 1980. The photo of him celebrating the victory without his front teeth is already iconic.

The Hughes family is also intriguing. Jack’s brothers Luke and Quinn also play in the NHL. ESPN named Quinn the seventh-best player in the NHL ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Casual fans also enjoyed Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s miraculous save during the Olympics. He is a bit of a hoot:

Then there is Connor Bedard, who is still just 20-years-old. The Hockey News declared him "The Future of Hockey" in 2018 when he was 13. He now stars for the Blackhawks in the major market of Chicago.

It is a matter of marketing and promotion. The opportunity is here.

The game of hockey is more exciting than baseball. NHL players do not project the same sense of entitlement or disregard for fans that often surrounds the players in the NBA. In many ways, hockey delivers the pace, energy, action, and passion that Americans gravitate toward.

The NHL league office should see the interest from the past week and understand the opportunity its sport has and the fandom it can tap into.

If not, the sport will likely drift back into national obscurity until the next time Team USA takes the ice.