As a Bruins fan is certainly stinks I might have to get something like Sling if they make the finals since its on a cable only station this year (TNT) As a OTA (over the air) user I listen to most games on radio and catch every chance they been on ABC this year which was a few times. I think the NHL should not put a championship series on Cable only since no other major sport does this. I realize they did this in the 80s and early 90s but it was different times back then when Hockey wasnt that popular like it is now.

They've been headed in this direction in recent years with more Stanley Cup Finals games on cable. The last time the Finals were on only cable was in 1994.

It would bettter if they were on ESPN. They could air them on the local ABC affiliates.

You can sign up a free two week trial with YouTubeTV, Hulu and probably some other streaming services to get TNT.

As a Bruins fan is certainly stinks I might have to get something like Sling if they make the finals since its on a cable only station this year (TNT)

Finals should definitely be on broadcast TV. On the flip side though, at least you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Just asking, but is hockey really that popular outside of Canada and the Northeastern and Upper Midwest United States? I know that NHL failed in Atlanta I think twice. I know Nashville and Dallas has teams, but supposedly the Arizona franchise wants to move somewhere else. Los Angeles has a huge population probably of a lot of transplanted people.

I have tried to watch it in the past, to me it’s soccer on ice.

Hockey will always be the fourth most popular major sport in most parts of the country, but it still is growing in the South. Nashville, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Florida have been around for a long time. There are many transplants.

Atlanta failed primarily because their second ownership group after Ted Turner founded them never wanted to own the team. They could make more money from concerts than the 41 home dates.

Hockey could work in Atlanta again with the right ownership group. They would also need a new arena in Cobb County like the Braves have now.

Arizona has a vote on a new arena coming in the next few weeks. If they get a new arena in 2026, it wouldn't surprise me to see Auston Matthews playing for them at some point. He was raised in the state.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tempe_Arena

The NHL is afraid to go up against the NBA.

Apparently, the Leafs/Panthers Game 3 which was supposed to be on Saturday was moved to Sunday because the NBA's Miami Heat are playing. So, it looks like to make up for that the NHL moved the Golden Knights/Oilers Game 2 which was supposed to be on Friday to Saturday.
A big story is that a lot of Oilers fans have travelled to Vegas.

Why did Atlanta fail the first time?

In the US the finals are actually airing on 3 networks (all under the same corporate umbrella, of course). TNT, TBS, and truTV. If you watch the NCAA basketball tournament that combination will look familiar to you.

50/50 sure, as long as the NHL Stanley Cup & the NBA Finals don’t compete with each other

Atlanta moved the first time because of financial woes. They had low attendance and an out-of-date arena without luxury suites. They were sold to an ownership group from Calgary for $16 million, which was the highest ever paid for a NHL franchise at the time.

I noticed on YouTube TV I had the option to watch on TNT, TBS or truTV. I guess they are using the same broadcasting team.

The cool thing with the NCAA Tournament was the multiview option.