OLN televised 58 regular-season games this year, but only once did they have a game involving one of the two Stanley Cup Finalists.

OLN already looking
at next season
By Chuck Gormley | NHL.com correspondent
June 13, 2006

Now that NBC has taken the torch from OLN for the climax of the Stanley Cup Final, it's time to rewind and take a look at how the station formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network fared in its first season of hockey coverage.

Considering everything from its set to its broadcast talent was thrown together in a matter of weeks, OLN survived a slow start, picked up some steam in the spring and was downright entertaining throughout the playoffs, especially in the first two games of the Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers.

The strong coverage was tempered by weak ratings despite riveting comebacks and hard-hitting action throughout the playoffs.

"We are putting tremendous amount of resources into it," OLN President Gavin Harvey said last week. "What you've seen this season is the sport is dynamic and as hot as it's been. That's one of the most important things and now we just have to do our part."

Harvey outlined four ways the NHL on OLN can increase its viewership for next season, which completes a two-year, $135 million agreement between the league and its broadcast partner.

Improve awareness -- There are still plenty of casual hockey fans who either can't get or can't find OLN on their cable televisions. OLN increased its availability from 63 million homes at the start of the season to 70 million homes by season's end. That's still 20 million homes fewer than ESPN, but at least the network is moving in the right direction.

Chuck Gormley covers the Philadelphia Flyers for the South Jersey Courier-Post. His Eastern Conference notebook appears each Tuesday during the season on NHL.com. Related Links: Western Conference notebook East Notes, June 6, 2006 East Notes, May 30, 2006 East Notes, May 23, 2006 East Notes, May 16, 2006 East Notes, May 9, 2006 Complete East Notes Archive

Harvey is also hoping that a name change -- from OLN to Versus -- will further underscore the shift from a fishing and hunting channel to a sports channel. He's counting on the NHL to help change that perception.

"The network is much more of a household name, or at least it's on their radar," he said.

Better matchups -- OLN televised 58 regular-season games this year, but only once did they have a game involving one of the two Stanley Cup Finalists.

In fact, the top four teams in the Eastern Conference standings (Ottawa, Carolina, New Jersey, Buffalo) were on OLN a combined five times in the regular season, while the bottom four (Islanders, Boston, Washington, Pittsburgh) made 25 total appearances.

"Going into the first season (of the new NHL), it was impossible to predict what teams were going to emerge and what were going to be the great matchups," Harvey said. "We have a lot more knowledge now and our schedule will be refined."

In other words, NHL fans will see more of the Hurricanes, Sabres, Oilers and Mighty Ducks than they will the Bruins and Islanders. Still, OLN won't shy away from marketing the NHL's best players, even if Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby happened to be play for bottom feeders this season.

Showcasing the stars -- As a group, hockey players are wonderful to deal with from a media perspective, but often defer attention to their teammates. Still, the League and its broadcast partner would like to market the NHL's star players.

That's why you'll see more interviews with Joe Thornton, Jaromir Jagr, Crosby and Ovechkin next season. The NHL is in need of more Jeremy Roenicks. They need to find charismatic players who can carry the NHL the way Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan carried the NBA in the 1980s.

In other words, the NHL has to become sexier, especially to the American sports fan accustomed to Terrell Owens and Nicolette Sheridan.

"I'm not talking about trying to create any sort of Hollywood experience out of these players, but they're athletes and their names should be known," Harvey said.

Harvey thinks having the NHL All-Star Game on OLN next year will help highlight some of those personalities.

Improving the product -- If OLN (or Versus) is going to pull viewers away from FOX, ESPN and ESPN2, it will need to branch out to include sports beyond ice hockey, bull riding and fly fishing. Harvey said the network will continue its attempt to land at least a piece of another major pro sport or add college sports to its resume.

"We'll be opportunistic about anything out there, whether it's a niche or mainstream," Harvey said.

Until then, OLN is hoping a name change and a little innovation will turn one of the best spectator sports into one of the best television experiences for the average sports fan.

"We've seen the arenas filled, the level of competition is as good as anything in sports and now we have a year under our belts," Harvey said. "That's why we're optimistic the viewers will start to come in greater numbers."

Rod Brind'Amour is one of Carolina's "Fantastic Five" veterans that haven't one the Stanley Cup.

New life for 'old' 'Canes -- Between them, Glen Wesley, Rod Brind'Amour, Bret Hedican, Doug Weight and Ray Whitney have combined for 78 NHL seasons and no Stanley Cups.

So it should come as no surprise that Carolina's "Fantastic Five" is beating a "Win now" mantra to their younger teammates.

"It doesn't matter whether you're 21 or 31," said Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes' 35-year-old captain. "You may never get another chance. We all know how hard it is to get here."

Brind'Amour is in his 17th NHL season and entered Monday night's Game 4 in Edmonton having played in 1,324 games, including regular season and playoffs. But in two Final appearances, one with the Flyers in 1997 and another with the 'Canes in 2002, Brind'Amour enjoyed just one win.

Wesley, 37, has been in the league for 18 seasons and has played in 1,311 regular season games. As a budding defenseman with the Bruins, Wesley got to the Final twice, but lost both times to the Edmonton Oilers. Like Brind'Amour, he returned in 2002 and was booted out by the Red Wings in five games.

Hedican, 35, reached the Holy Grail with the Vancouver Canucks in 1994, but was denied entrance by the New York Rangers and was part of the 2002 'Canes who were bounced by Detroit.

Weight, 35, and Whitney, 34, are playing in their first-ever Stanley Cup Final after a combined 29 seasons in the NHL.

"When you've been around a while, you realize how tough it is to get here and how tough it is to get back," Whitney said. "Back in the '80s, everyone expected the Oilers to be in it every year. But with the new economics, anybody can compete, anybody can move up to challenge for a championship. You've got to enjoy the opportunity, seize the opportunity and understand how valuable it is."

New look on Long Island -- Call them the Retro Islanders. By hiring GM Neil Smith and head coach Ted Nolan last week, the Islanders reached back into the 1990s to find their future. Smith has been a television commentator in recent years, but is best known for being the architect of the Stanley Cup champion 1994 New York Rangers.

"To go full circle and end up back here is very emotional for me," said Smith, who was drafted by the Isles in 1974. "I was here for those years, and those guys were my heroes even at that age. It was because of the Islanders that I was able to make a championship team (with the Rangers). The Islanders showed me what it takes to win, what to expect out of yourself and what to expect out of your players."

Nolan, 47, hasn't coached an NHL game since winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the Buffalo Sabres in 1997. In fact, Nolan spent eight years coaching his son's youth team before finally getting a job in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Nolan said those eight years were the best years of his life, but couldn't hide his enthusiasm over returning to the NHL.

"I would have run down here for the opportunity," he said. "I'm really excited about coaching again in the NHL and being part of this organization. Sometimes if you miss something you pretend you don't. I just tried to close it off and pretend it wasn't there any more. But down deep I missed it."

The Isles also reached back into the 1980s by hiring Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine as a senior adviser to owner Charles Wang.