ESPN NHL

How did the some of the league's big voices assess the NHL's first year back? We found out the answers in our NHL Roundtable. Here is a transcript of Chapter 3: Face of the Game.

Scott Burnside (Moderator): In other sports, I think there's the sense that the players are the face of the game, and whether it's in football, Peyton Manning, or whether it's Dwyane Wade recently in the NBA Finals, Albert Pujols in Major League Baseball. I think there's a feeling that the NHL needs to be that way. So, let me ask you this, whether you believe that's true, do the players have to have sort of a marquee value, do we need to have players who are a so-called "face of the game." And, if it's important, are we headed in the right direction? Are you happy with the way the league markets or presents its players in terms of that marquee value?

Ted Saskin: I certainly think we're heading in the right direction in a couple ways. One, with the increased emphasis on offense. It gives the star players really a better opportunity to shine. We are cognizant of the fact that this remains a team sport. So, hockey players very much think about the team and don't necessarily want to be showboats or anything like that. And, that's not to say anything bad about some of the other sports. But I think it's inevitable that rivalries emerge whether it's Ovechkin/Crosby, different stories, you can see the story lines developing. And, I think, I have a lot of confidence that the skilled players are now in an environment where they are really able to showcase their tremendous skills and they are going to have a lot better opportunity to promote them, and everything I've seen from the league's side and certainly from the players' side is a willingness to do so, a desire to do so, because it's good for everybody. It's good for the fans, it's good for the business, it's the right thing to do.

Burnside: Mike?

Mike Gartner: Well, I think we're going in the right direction, but I think we need to do a better job of it. I think that our greatest assets are our players, as people, but I also think as star athletes. I also think that we [need to] continue to move in that direction. I think we need to showcase them, I think we need to use them in promotion. I think we need to do a better job, and I like the direction that we're headed in. But I think we need to continue to move in that direction.

Burnside: Brendan, I know it sort of runs contrary to what you've been taught since you were five years old, that it's about the team not the individual.

Brendan Morrison: I mean, ultimately it's about the team. I think the one difference between hockey and a lot of other pro sports, football, basketball, baseball, a lot of times in those sports, it's easy to focus on a matchup of a certain guy going head to head with another guy. And that's, a lot of times, they're focused from a marketing standpoint. This is a battle that's going to be going on all night and they are going to be challenging each other one-on-one. Whereas in hockey, you are going to be matching up against you know, a defensive pair or a certain line all night, but you won't have that one-on-one interaction all the time like you will in other sports. But, with that being said, it's definitely important to promote and market the so-called marquee guys. And, you know, I think our game was in great hands if you look at the young players right now in the league. There's a handful of guys that we can really be proud of and look forward to carrying the game into the future.

Bill Daly: I agree with Mike, I think it's something we need to do a better job with. It's something I think that we are seeing increased emphasis this year. We'll continue to receive increased emphasis both at the club level and the league level going forward. But I also think that there is a happy medium in this sport. It doesn't have to be all about stars or around three or four stars that you are going to build a marketing platform. It's more about the game and the players who play it. So I think there is, in terms of a marketing philosophy, making the game bigger, the players need to be incorporated more. I think that's happening, but it doesn't need to go to some of the lengths that some of the other sports have.