The 2025 Stanley Cup NHL Playoffs are serving up drama, star power, and unforgettable moments. The clock’s ticking down with a nail-biting Game 1 between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, with the Oilers staging a wild comeback only for the Kings to snatch a dramatic last-minute victory. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche were locked in a thrilling overtime battle that felt more like a conference final than a first-round matchup. And let’s not forget Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s goal-scoring king, delivering an overtime dagger for the Washington Capitals against a scrappy Montreal Canadiens squad. But in a sports world obsessed with media deals, NHL viewership is tanking. So, what’s the catch?

According to reports, U.S. playoff game viewership is down a staggering 27% from 2024, averaging just 718,000 viewers through Monday. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a league banking on its postseason to drive revenue and fan engagement. Then there’s the repetitive scheduling, especially for the Kings-Oilers series. As Braylon Breeze tweeted on his X handle today, noted, “With the repetitiveness of the Oilers–Kings series comes the repetitive windows — second straight year with this oddball TBS lone window at 10:00 pm ET for Game 2. Viewership didn’t fare well for it last year — just 272K, the second least-watched playoff game under this deal.” Late-night slots on secondary channels aren’t doing the NHL any favors.

Part of the issue might be scheduling chaos. Take the Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game, delayed and hogging the spotlight on major networks like ESPN. With the Sunshine State’s streak of sending a team to the Stanley Cup Final for five straight years, the “Battle for Florida” is a media darling. But that left Minnesota Wild fans fuming as their team’s clash with the Vegas Golden Knights got shuffled to a late 11:15 p.m. ET start, bouncing from ESPN2 to ESPN’s main channel only after the Panthers-Lightning game wrapped. Adding to the mess, the “Battle of Ontario” between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs went to overtime, with the Leafs’ 3-2 victory pushing their series lead to 2-0. High-profile games like these are stealing the spotlight, leaving other matchups in the dust.

Canada’s playoff presence—five teams this year, up from four in 2024—might also be a factor. While U.S. ratings are down, Canada’s tuning in. Game 1 between the Canadiens and Capitals pulled 1.68 million viewers on TVA Sports. But with the NHL’s U.S. media deals dwarfing Canadian ones, the league can’t afford to ignore the American audience.

The NHL’s got the on-ice product right—heart-stopping games and larger-than-life stars. But if scheduling conflicts and lopsided coverage keep pushing fans away, those empty seats in the TV audience could spell trouble for the league’s bottom line. Can the NHL find a way to balance its broadcast priorities before the viewership slide becomes a full-on crisis? Let’s look at the regular season viewership numbers.

NHL Playoffs regular season viewership numbers

The 2024-25 NHL regular season revealed significant shifts in local viewership across U.S. markets, with several teams experiencing sharp declines and others seeing notable gains. The most dramatic drop occurred in Chicago, where the Blackhawks saw a 78% decline in viewership after moving to the new Chicago Sports Network, co-owned with the Bulls and White Sox. The lack of a distribution deal with Comcast resulted in a loss of over 40,000 homes per game, severely impacting the team’s local audience.

In New York, the Rangers, who missed the playoffs after leading the league last season, saw a 49% drop in ratings on MSG Networks, falling behind even the Knicks in local viewership. Other significant declines included the Penguins (-38% on SportsNet Pittsburgh), Lightning (-29% on FanDuel Sports Network Sun), and Islanders (-28% on MSG Networks), reflecting challenges in maintaining audience engagement amid varying team performances.

Conversely, some teams bucked the downward trend with impressive viewership gains. The Anaheim Ducks led the league with a 75% increase, driven by a strategic shift from FanDuel Sports Network SoCal to a mix of over-the-air broadcasts on KCOP (65 games) and streaming on Victory+ (13 games). This move added approximately 5,800 homes per game in Los Angeles, despite the team missing the playoffs. The San Jose Sharks, despite finishing with the league’s fewest points, saw a 42% viewership increase, fueled by interest in top draft pick Macklin Celebrini.

In Washington, the Capitals benefited from Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record and a strong Eastern Conference performance, boosting local ratings by 41% on Monumental Sports Network. The Colorado Avalanche also saw a 40% jump in Denver after securing a Comcast distribution deal in February, which increased their average viewership from 21,800 to 35,300 homes per game.

These trends highlight the critical role of distribution deals and broadcast strategies in shaping NHL viewership. While teams like the Blackhawks suffered from limited accessibility, others, like the Ducks and Avalanche, capitalized on broader reach through over-the-air and cable partnerships. As the NHL heads into the playoffs, these viewership dynamics may influence how teams and networks strategize for future seasons.