Women Love the NHL, but the NHL Doesn’t Love Us
Graphic by Téa Sklar
Out of the four major men’s sports leagues (the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL), the National Hockey League (NHL), has seen some of the lowest viewership by sports fans, sitting at about 795K views per game. Compared to other major leagues like the National Football League (NFL) which averaged 18.7 million viewers per game during this regular season, a 10% increase from last season, the numbers seem amateur.
However, with the rise in popularity for the 2025 HBO original Heated Rivalry, adapted from Rachel Reid’s 2019 romance novel, the NHL saw a significant spike in viewership. Many of those new fans and viewers being women. After the show's release, NHL ticket sales would increase by 24% and viewership by about 20%. And after the boost from Heated Rivalry came the 2026 winter Olympics. Newfound hockey fans eager to support their favorite players and even the casual watcher would be exposed to hockey on a grand international level.
But this is where the joy seems to come to an abrupt halt. Following the men’s USA hockey team's historic Olympic gold win after a 46 year drought, the last gold medal being won during the 1980 winter Olympics against the Soviet Union in Lake Placid in the iconic "Miracle on Ice” and the women’s team exciting gold win just days before, the men’s team quickly tainted their historic win. Soon after being awarded their goal medals, videos began to surface of FBI director Kash Patel in the locker room celebrating with the team by awkwardly slamming back beers and acting as if he were part of the gold medal effort. Then came the video of the phone call with current U.S President Donald Trump. It was on this call that the president made the obnoxious joke that he “had to” invite the women’s team to White House or else he “would get impeached”, followed by wild laughter and excitement from the men's players.
In the hours and days that followed, criticism grew louder and louder, calling out the men’s team for laughing at a joke that came at the expense of the tremendous efforts of the women’s team, despite the women winning gold only 8 years prior, much sooner than the men had accomplished. Heavy criticism would especially fall on Jack and Quinn Hughes as their mother, Ellen Hughes, is a former hockey player herself as well as a development coach for the USA women’s team that aided in their Olympic win. Many recognized that they had joyfully laughed in the face of their own mother’s efforts and accomplishments. The false “golden boy” image came crashing down for many of the women that adored and supported these players and their teams.
The more the men opened their mouths and talked through their broken teeth, the deeper the ditch they dug themselves into. The New Jersey Devils center and golden goal scorer Jack Hughes, would double down by stating in an interview that "everything is so political, we're athletes" and that “people are so negative about things”...only to then be photographed at the White House in a Trump 45-47 hat alongside White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after attending the mind numbing and confusing State of the Union Address, the most political things one could participate in. As the days went on, half baked statements of “we have so much respect for the women’s team” and “we were in the cafeteria at 3:30 a.m. in the morning with them [the women’s team]”were slowly released from a select few players, bland SNL and Tonight Show appearances were made all in an attempt at a PR speed run. Yet, hardly ever acknowledging their actions, which were called 'distasteful' by captain of the Seattle Torrent and USA women’s hockey team Hilary Knight, let alone issuing a genuine apology to the women’s team. It was soon left to the women’s team to begin clearing up the mess made by the men’s team, issuing tiring statements instead of being able to fully enjoy their gold medal win.
Even after this situation gained major traction and outrage, this belittling of women in the world of sports is nothing new. Despite “You Can Play” campaign efforts alongside other social activism campaigns by the NHL designed to encourage all kinds of people that they too can play hockey, their efforts have fallen unbelievably flat. The employment and support of known abusers and controversial figures like Carter Hart and Evander Kane, team donations to the Trump campaigns, players such as Florida Panthers Matthew Tkachuk and his brother Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk going on their mediocre podcast stating specifically that there is “nothing worse when girls call a player by their nickname” and an overall very conservative and toxic “boys club” mentality have all severely hindered any progressive pushes. While the NHL continues to try and profit off of underrepresented demographics through the success of shows like Heated Rivalry and the rise of female fans, they continue to completely miss the mark. Through minimal efforts that do nothing but emphasize how they truly perceive women within the sports industry. Once again, women are left to suffer the consequences and patch up the messes of childish men.