The year 2022 marked a certain return to normalcy across the world of sport, after two years marked by cancellations and constraints linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is in this context that the NHL began its “post-pandemic” life.
A full season of 82 games was played, despite a few outbreaks of COVID-19 among teams. The Colorado Avalanche then ended the reign of the Tampa Bay Lightning by lifting the Stanley Cup.
Here are a few things that caught the eye in 2022 across the NHL.
A new dynasty?
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been the undisputed king of both pandemic-scarred campaigns, becoming only the second team in the salary cap era to win top honors twice in a row.
Jon Cooper’s squad made it to the Grand Finals again in 2022, but finally found a match in the Colorado Avalanche.
Led by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Cale Makar, the Avalanche have finally lived up to expectations that have been in place for a few seasons. Thanks to quality support players like Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001.
The Avalanche now hope to become the NHL’s new dynasty. Its core remained relatively intact, despite the departures of forward Nazem Kadri and goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper.
For its part, the Lightning remains just as dangerous and experienced. After losing in the final the last three seasons, with three different teams, Corey Perry hopes to finally lift the precious trophy for the second time in his career.
A record within reach
At the individual level, a player seems to escape the passage of time. Alex Ovechkin continues to fill the opposing nets as if he were still a dashing young striker.
Although now 37, Ovechkin needed just 31 games to reach 20 goals in a season for the 18th time in as many career Bettman league campaigns.
He has 802 goals on the clock, one more than Gordie Howe, who is second in NHL scoring history.
Ovechkin won’t break Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals until the end of the current season, but it seems increasingly inevitable that he will before he hangs up his skates for good.
Intrusive advertisements
Looking for new sources of revenue, the NHL finally gave in to temptation in 2022 and allowed teams to add a sponsor’s logo to their jerseys and helmets.
The arrival of the RBC logo on the jerseys of the Canadiens reacted to most observers, who noted that there was nothing sacred at Sainte-Flanelle.
Spectators at home were also treated to a surprise when the first matches were televised. Advertisements are now added by computer on the boards, the ice rink and the bay window above the advertisements already present in the arena. Additionally, some of the advertisements on the tapes are animated, drawing viewers’ gazes away from the puck.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently claimed that a poll conducted by the league concluded that computer ads weren’t bothering viewers. Many raised their eyebrows when they heard those words coming out of Bettman’s mouth, wondering who had participated in that poll.
A lingering absence
Internationally, the NHL has postponed its return to the Olympics.
The NHL Players’ Association had negotiated to ensure its participation in the Beijing Games in February 2022. The NHL, however, gave the players’ union a standoff, which ended up giving in again.
Fearing excessive Chinese government measures against COVID-19 in the context of the Olympics and anticipating the worst-case scenario – a star stuck in Beijing in confinement for 21 days while the NHL schedule resumes – the players finally agreed to put a cross on the event in order to resume games postponed due to outbreaks of COVID-19 earlier in the campaign.
As misfortune never comes alone, the NHL and the Players Association announced this fall that they were putting on the ice any plans for a World Cup of Hockey in February 2024.
The decision was explained by citing a “current environment” not making it profitable to host such a tournament. The current exclusion of Russia from international competitions, due to the war in Ukraine, rather explains this situation, according to several observers.
Those who hope to see Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid represent the country together on the international scene will therefore have to continue to arm themselves with patience. The NHL and the Players Association have discussed the possibility of hosting a World Cup in February 2025. Otherwise, the NHL could make a return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 by sending its players to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo , in Italy, in 2026.
