5 Steps the NHL Must Take to Return to the National Spotlight

The NHL is far removed from the focus of American national attention. The lockout of several years ago didn't start this removal, rather it was the culmination of it. A lack of major interest across the country, excluding small pockets around particular popular franchises, led to insufficient revenue streams and a financial system that could not be supported. That financial system was fixed with the installation of the NHL salary cap, which although imperfect, provided some basis of restraint and a level playing field.

However, the league's gamble to move to OLN, now Versus, has never paid dividends. While the channel has grown and has an increasing distribution, it still reaches a fraction of the homes that a major cable channel such as ESPN can reach. NHL games on NBC air sparingly, and receive little promotion.

How can the NHL find a way to climb back into the sports mainstream and return to its spot as one of the "big 4" American sports? (Although, considering what fans actually watch, the landscape currently consists of the "big 5" - NFL, NASCAR, MLB, NBA and the UFC. So the NHL should be looking to return to the fold of the "big 6", an environment that is worlds apart from the one that existed when they last enjoyed a prominent position in the American sports kingdom). Here are the key steps to the NHL's revival.

1. Hand the Keys Over to Alexander Ovechkin - The full force of the NHL's promotional powers, however miniscule that force may be, needs to be centered on the Capitals leading man. The league tried to focus more on Sydney Crosby, however he doesn't have the flamboyancy, charisma or style of play that makes fans love him like Ovechkin does.

Have you seen the Capitals play at home in the Verizon Center anytime recently? After moving to the D.C. suburbs less than a decade ago, I decried the fact that I was in a region where nobody cared about hockey. Now the Capitals have some of the most crazed fans of any team in the country, and it's all thanks to Ovechkin. Although I now have to fend off a mass of drunken, would be brawlers every time I take in a Rangers game in D.C., as both my girlfriend and my father can attest to, I can still appreciate the transformative power that Ovechkin has had on the entire city.

If he can do it to a hockey black hole like Washington D.C., he can do it to the rest of the country as well.

2. Expand the Winter Classic - The NHL somehow stumbled upon an idea that actually worked, and it was the annual outdoor game dubbed the Winter Classic. The league has already spoken of expanding it to two games per season, which would be a good move. While you don't want it to lose its unique appeal, you do want to exploit the most captivating platform you have for all it's worth.

Opening weekend should be host to two or three outdoor games, New Year's Day should retain the official Winter Classic and there should be another game or two squeezed in before the season ends. To keep it fresh, a team can't host a game more than once every two years and each team can only play in an outdoor game once per season. Increased ratings would lead to more time on the major network channels and increased exposure for every other game.

3. Count Shootout Goals - The NHL made the jump to the shootout, and it's been well received, with many fans not rooting for a late goal but rather rooting for the shootout when teams are tied nearing the end of regulation. But all statistics are rendered meaningless in the shootout, which adds a self-imposed lack of legitimacy to the entire ordeal. If counting every goal is excessive, than the player with the game winner (the one goal that shows up in the game's final score) then should at least have his goal counted towards his points for the season. Scoring on a shootout is a skill, it has an effect of the game and it shouldn't be counted as such.

4. Add More Statistics - Fans love stats, as has been proven out with the success of blabbering Sportscenter anchors and the rise of the fantasy sports world. So how about giving them something they can debate over and obsess about. Goals and assists are great, and the plus/minus is a classic indicator of quality play, but there has to be more than that.

The NHL has tried expanding into the wide world of statistics, albeit with a looping swing and a miss as with most of their other forays towards improving the game (ODvP: Other Division Points, or how many points you tally in games played with opponents outside of your division. Really? That's what you came up with? A stat that you have to explain the explanation of to even understand and then still don't care about? Wow.)

We can do better than that. There could be SPS, or Shots Per Shift; PMP60 or Penalty Minutes per 60 Minutes of ice time; SS:WS or Slap Shot to Wrist Shot ratio; GTP or Goals Scored To Penalties Taken, BS or Blocked Shots as an official defensive stat, RT32 or Remaining Teeth out of 32 and many, many more.

5. Rename the Trophies...Except One - Even those few of us who count ourselves as hockey fans can't easily recall which award is which between the Norris, the Hart, the Calder and all of the other assorted hockey trophies. (For the record, Norris is for the best defensemen, Hart is for league MVP and Calder is for top rookie). This makes things quite confusing and can be easily solved by just adding a few words into common language when discussing the awards: "the players in the running for the MVP and the Hart Trophy are", or "league MVP and Hart Trophy winner is".

This way you can keep your historic names, and the fans will actually know what you're talking about. As for the Stanley Cup, well, that can't be changed. If you don't know what that is, you don't deserve to, and you certainly don't deserve to drink beer from it in celebration.