Ottawa is a hockey city. That's not up for debate. The Senators have one of the most devoted fanbases in the league, a city that grew up with the original Senators, and a culture where playoff fever turns Bank Street into a sea of red and black. So when National Post columnist Chris Selley writes that the NHL essentially tells fans "don't watch hockey" through its own policies and decisions, it lands differently here.
Selley's column, sharp as ever, dissects how the league's own choices — broadcast deals that bury games on expensive streaming tiers, blackout restrictions that punish local fans, and scheduling decisions that seem designed for TV executives rather than the people actually paying to care — amount to a quiet institutional message: the NHL doesn't particularly need you to watch.
Ottawa Fans Have Lived This
For Ottawa Senators fans, this isn't a abstract media-criticism argument. It's lived experience. For years, games have been split across broadcast partners in ways that require a confusing mix of subscriptions to catch a full season. Cord-cutters — a massive and growing demographic — have faced real friction just trying to watch their team play on a Tuesday night.
The Ottawa market is also uniquely squeezed. As a mid-sized Canadian market, the Senators don't always get the marquee timeslots or the national broadcast treatment that Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver receive. Local fans who want full access to every game often find themselves paying more and jumping through more hoops than fans in so-called "major markets."
The Bigger Picture for Canadian Hockey Markets
Canada is the NHL's most loyal territory. Canadian teams routinely lead the league in attendance and local ratings. Ottawa, despite its market size, has shown time and again — from the 2017 playoff run that nearly ended in a Cup final appearance to the current rebuild energy around Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle — that this city shows up for hockey.
That loyalty shouldn't be taken for granted. Younger fans, especially those in their teens and twenties, have infinite entertainment options. If watching Senators hockey means navigating a labyrinth of apps, paywalls, and blackout windows, some of them simply won't bother. And once a generation of fans doesn't grow up watching the game, no amount of marketing brings them back.
What Would Actually Help
Selley's column is essentially a call for the NHL to make its product easy to access. Straightforward ask. A single streaming home for every game, reasonably priced, without blackout restrictions for fans in the team's own market — that's the baseline expectation modern sports leagues should be meeting.
The Senators' on-ice product right now is genuinely exciting. The rebuild has delivered, the roster is young and fast, and there's legitimate reason to believe this team is on the cusp of something. The last thing the league should want is to throw up unnecessary barriers between Ottawa fans and their team.
If the NHL is serious about growing its next generation of fans, it needs to stop acting like viewership is a privilege it grants reluctantly. Ottawa hockey fans are ready to watch. The league just has to let them.
Source: National Post / Chris Selley
