Hockey has lost a bunch of cultural significance in the last 25 years. Was watching the OG Law and Order episodes starting in '90, was surprised at how many hockey references there were.
Culture has shifted to Basketball. Football will always be king in America, but the NBA has established itself as the far and away number two. Was reading that a player in the NBA will be eligible for a 80M AAV contract in ~4 years. At that point one player in the NBA will make the salary floor of a whole NHL roster of 22/23 players.