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Ovechkin and Crosby are STILL most selling jerseys

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I think it’s fair to say that NHL has an issue promoting the “new” faces of the league.

Year in and year out, Sid and Ovie continue to be the most popular players and they are still the true face of the league. The two household names casual and non hockey fans know.

Shockingly, Connor McDavid is not even top 5 in jersey sales. I get Edmonton might not be the most popular team, but how in the world NHL does nothing to promote the best player of this generation ?

Frankly, it seems to me Jack Hughes is becoming the new face of the league - his jerseys sell well, he’s appearing in a lot of ads and he’s got somewhat promotable personality.

www.nhltraderumor.com

Highest selling NHL jersey for the 2022-2023 season

Alex Ovechkin is the top selling NHL jersey for the 2022-23 NHL season. The Boston Bruins were the top selling team jersey.
www.nhltraderumor.com www.nhltraderumor.com
Click to read more...
 
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I don't think the NHL has had "issues" promoting the new faces of the NHL, unless you mean "they let McDavid go to Edmonton" as a sort of "issue".

I think the marketability just comes down to the fact that Crosby vs Ovi was a major thing in sports when both first entered the league. With combining the lockout ending with Crosby and Ovi coming to the NHL in 2005, I think that created a ton of hype that got a lot of new fans into the sport. Today? Who's watching hockey today that hasn't been watching for a while?

I think McDavid being in a niche Canadian market hurts, but I think the bigger thing is that the NHL just isn't attracting new fans like they did before to buy into the next generation of players.
 
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Ovie’s very physical style of play was generating a lot of love and a lot of hate plus he is Russian so it was also a little bit about Russia vs Canada
 
Anecdotally, people in the US don't even know who Connor McDavid is despite him being the best player in the league for a long time now. While Ovechkin and Crosby are household names.

They've done a horrible job of promoting him. And it's not about him being in Edmonton - Gretzky's the most famous hockey name on the planet and was even before he went to LA.
 
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It really is about McDavid playing in Edmonton. That’s not a slight on the city, but come on, we know it’s true.

If McDavid were drafted to the Rangers or Bruins he’d be the runaway #1 in jersey sales. There just aren’t many Americans who want an Edmonton Oilers jersey regardless of what name is on it. This was the whole reason that the Gretzky trade was such a huge deal for the sport.
 
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I mean wasn't Matthews #1 last year if I remember right? Couldn't it be that Crosby and Ovi are getting older and people are trying to get their merch now while they still have a chance to be relevant with it?

I seriously doubt the narrative that no one knows who McDavid is or Matthews or whoever
 
HockeyVirus said:
I mean wasn't Matthews #1 last year if I remember right? Couldn't it be that Crosby and Ovi are getting older and people are trying to get their merch now while they still have a chance to be relevant with it?

I seriously doubt the narrative that no one knows who McDavid is or Matthews or whoever
Click to expand...
Just looked it up, last year's top 5 was

1. Matthews
2. Crosby
3. McDavid
4. Fleury
5. Lundqvist

Ovechkin got a bump probably due to the goal record chase talk. Not sure why McDavid fell off though.
 
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Luigi Lemieux said:
Anecdotally, people in the US don't even know who Connor McDavid is despite him being the best player in the league for a long time now. While Ovechkin and Crosby are household names.

They've done a horrible job of promoting him. And it's not about him being in Edmonton - Gretzky's the most famous hockey name on the planet and was even before he went to LA.
Click to expand...

I know who Connor McDavid is and I live in the U.S.
 
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Luigi Lemieux said:
Just looked it up, last year's top 5 was

1. Matthews
2. Crosby
3. McDavid
4. Fleury
5. Lundqvist

Ovechkin got a bump probably due to the goal record chase talk. Not sure why McDavid fell off though.
Click to expand...
It was 5 years ago.
Last year Ovechkin was #1 too.
www.espn.com

Ovi's outfits, Bruins gear lead way for NHL sales

Capitals star Alex Ovechkin had the top-selling NHL jersey in 2022-23, followed by Sidney Crosby and David Pastrnak, while the Bruins moved the most team jerseys.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
This was the second straight season that Ovechkin led the NHL in jersey sales.
Click to expand...
 
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Luigi Lemieux said:
Anecdotally, people in the US don't even know who Connor McDavid is despite him being the best player in the league for a long time now. While Ovechkin and Crosby are household names.

They've done a horrible job of promoting him. And it's not about him being in Edmonton - Gretzky's the most famous hockey name on the planet and was even before he went to LA.
Click to expand...
Are you sure it's the NHL not promoting him and not him being unpromotable?


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18634513_web1_190923-KCN-M-mcdavid-2.jpg
 
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It's not so much that people who know hockey don't know who McDavid is (they know of him just fine), but that most hockey fans aren't Edmonton Oilers fans.

It's a very small market, and their fan base doesn't really extend beyond Alberta. There are teams whose fan base has tendrils all over North America. Edmonton doesn't really do that. The vast majority of NHL fans would say that McDavid is the best player in the game. They just don't want his jersey. They aren't fans of his team.
 
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I know people well point to Ovi not winning the actual cup for awhile, but still, winning the cup and having actual team success helps boost the marketability and sales. The Kane and Toews /blackhawks media push that made so many annoyed was because of winning and sales going along with it.

If McDavid had cup wins I don't think it would be this way
 
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ClydeLee said:
I know people well point to Ovi not winning the actual cup for awhile, but still, winning the cup and having actual team success helps boost the marketability and sales. The Kane and Toews /blackhawks media push that made so many annoyed was because of winning and sales going along with it.

If McDavid had cup wins I don't think it would be this way
Click to expand...
Yup.

Oilers win the Cup, ESPN and Sportscenter roll out the red carpet for Connor, hes does the night show tour, gets some TV commercials

I dont watch the NBA but I watch the finals and maybe some of the conf finals if its a good matchup. Jokic is a stud, knew his name and game but I didnt watch him play until this years Finals. Now I know all about Jokic.

Is what it is. Niche sport. I like it that way. Wish ticket prices were reflective of that though.
 
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