For NHL, Game 7 with Connor McDavid is the biggest TV opportunity in years

The Athletic has live coverage of the Oilers vs. Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final

I came across a fascinating piece of sports publishing history last week. It touted the sexiness of the National Hockey League and the unappealing nature of the National Basketball Association. The cover for the June 20, 1994, issue of Sports Illustrated:

This was when minor-league baseball player Michael Jordan was plying his trade in Birmingham instead of with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and the NHL had a riveting postseason that concluded with the Curse of the Rangers being lifted after 54 years. The NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets struggled for viewership until Game 7 and suffered a huge lost audience for Game 5 — the day of the O.J. Simpson Ford Bronco chase.

Of course, the SI cover was a big oversell, a vibes play more than anything else. As Sports Media Watch noted, Game 7 of the Knicks-Rockets NBA Finals drew a 17.9 U.S. rating on NBC while Game 7 of the Rangers’ Stanley Cup Final win over the Vancouver Canucks drew a 5.2 cable rating on ESPN nationally. That minor-league baseball player also returned to the NBA a year later, and you know what happened next.

Thirty years to the month following that cover the NHL finds itself in a fascinating position — an opportunity to significantly change its viewership landscape for one night. Monday’s Game 7 between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers is one of those rare moments where casual fans who don’t often (or ever) watch hockey might tune in given the circumstances: Connor McDavid, the sport’s best player, has a chance to win his first Stanley Cup under remarkable conditions. His Oilers lost the first three games of the series only to roar back and tie things at three games apiece.

Only one NHL team in history has won the Stanley Cup Final after losing the first three games — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. Furthermore, no Canadian team has won a Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. These are easy storylines a sports fan can relate to, especially those who are not regular hockey watchers. One columnist at The Athletic argued that the Panthers losing would be the worst in NHL history. There’s an easy corollary to suggest an Edmonton win would be the greatest comeback in NHL history — and on the shortlist for the greatest comebacks in major team sports. There have been 17 Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Final in NHL history; none have been like this in any of our…