I truly believe that was a near sighted move by the league. ESPN didn't want them at the price point coming off a lockout. They should have brokered a deal with ESPN after the lockout even if it was a small one and then went to these other channels like OLN and NBC. Over time they could have been where they are now much earlier.
It's crazy that Sydney crobsy and Alex Ovechkin had little to no prescent on ESPN. Now you have stephen A speaking about McDavid and he's in Edmonton.
