Why doesn't the NHL have stars with personality like LeBron James or Conor McGregor?

[Docgonzo]

It’s also a sport where stars have less of an impact on the outcome.

You have the two best players in basketball, you’re in the finals every year.

You have the two best players in hockey and you can still go nearly five full calendar years without winning a playoff game, which the McDrai Oilers have 100% done

The Hart trophy winner hasn’t won the Stanley cup since Joe Sakic in 2002.

Imagine that in basketball.

Since 2002 only 4 NBA MVPs trophy winners have won the championship. 2003 Tim Duncan, LeBron 2012 & 2013 and Curry in 2017. So it doesn’t happen in the NBA often either.

 

[ijuka]

Lebron personality? Not sure that really is any that different from the personality of an Ovechkin or something. The main thing about him is that he's good, and that the sport's infinitely more popular than hockey.

Conor McGregor? Okay, so hockey is a certain kind of a sport. The other players can make dirty, ratty plays on you. Slewfoot, cheap shots, head shots, flying elbows. Additionally, if you actually are a star player, you might focus on being a star player. There are face punchers in hockey, but few can actually play hockey at a high level, as well. McGregor's thing is fighting, so he can stand his ground, indeed. But if his thing was hockey instead, would he act like that?

In hockey, it's pretty dangerous to make the whole world your enemy.

 

[DingerMcSlapshot]

I find LeBron kinda boring. Great baller though. McTapper is an idiot. People tune in to watch McGregor just to see him lose and have a hissy fit. Many NHLers have loads more personality than these two.

 

[jbeck5]

Conor McGregor is a criminal, I'm not sure why we should be pining for the NHL to have more of those.

Doesn't necessarily make them bad people if they got in trouble with the law.

Plenty of NHL players have had their run ins with the law and are contributing members to their team.

Didn't Watson have issues with the law? Was he unwanted in ottawas dressing room?

Edit: im not saying we need a McGregor, I'm saying if a player has problems with the law, depending on the problems, its not necessarily much of an issue.

Like if someone got arrested 2-3 times for getting in consensual street fights, it shouldn't be a concern for a hockey team where you only get 5 mins for fighting for consensual fights.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Hockey is a traditional white man sport. That is exactly why.

 

[acor]

Honestly, who cares??? Do you really watch NHL for players interviews??? Wait, let's put it different way- do you even watch players interviews??? These people provide me enterntainment, but I don't care who they are in private, and tbh the moment they came off the ice, they stop existing to me.

It also goes the other way- when I hear that some athlete done something stupid, or even bad, and someone asks me "how could you root for someone like that!!!????", I answer- I don't give a shit, I consider them as sportspeople, not candidates for drinking buddies...

Besides, even those "exciting sport personalities" are mostly f***in boring from my point of view.... Really entertaining people don't play in organized team sports, at least not in XXI century...

 

[ijuka]

Doesn't necessarily make them bad people if they got in trouble with the law.

Plenty of NHL players have had their run ins with the law and are contributing members to their team.

Didn't Watson have issues with the law? Was he unwanted in ottawas dressing room?

What kinda argument is this? A person can be a bad person even if he's good at hockey.

 

[Cant Kick On 1 Foot]

Because I’d immediately flip the channel, avoid highlights and interviews, and likely ultimately turn me off from the NHL If there were a bunch of cocky self righteous individuals in the league like there is in the NBA. It’s the biggest reason I don’t like the NBA. I’d rather watch the WNBA, almost entirely for that reason, the players are the best in the world, yet are humbled to have a place to play and get paid.

The cockyness in the NBA is as much of a turnoff to me as the diving and flopping that goes on in soccer.

 

[Mrb1p]

I mean stars who act like stars. LeBron calls himself The King; why can't McDavid do that? I would love to see an active NHL superstar start firing on Twitter the way McGregor does. Go to a presser in a three piece suit and sunglasses and start talking shit. Spice the game up a bit, you know? Too many of these guys are scripted ChatCPT robots and I can see why it's hard for the casual fan to get invested.

What do you think? Is it just a cultural thing with hockey where everyone has to speak in tired cliches and never, ever rock the boat? Why are there so few entertaining characters in the game?

Subban was like that and everybody hated him for it.

 

[Channelcat]

The NHL actually does some characters, but they've also got a strong, almost militant union that restricts everything they do and say.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Didn't Watson have issues with the law? Was he unwanted in ottawas dressing room?

Nope teammates loved him, 9 players went to Nashville after the season ended, to play golf at his course for 4 days.

 

[ottawa]

I don’t care.

But there’s a reason nobody does it. It has to do with violence on the ice that isn’t worth the hassle.

Violence on the ice? Wtf are you talking about lol

We've seen a lot of cool cellies on the ice over the years, no one retaliated on the players for it. The most we see is the opposing team scoring and doing the same celebration back

 

[MNRube]

LeBron is basically an NHL player. He’s super boring and an upstanding individual off the court.

McGregor is a buffoon but I think NHL could use a villain like that.

We’re lucky not to have garbage human beings like LeBron James

You’re going to have to elaborate here. James is a tool and not particularly likable, but a garbage human being? That’s a strong take that should be backed up

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Since 2002 only 4 NBA MVPs trophy winners have won the championship. 2003 Tim Duncan, LeBron 2012 & 2013 and Curry in 2017. So it doesn’t happen in the NBA often either.

This is false. Giannis, durant, kobe

 

[BruinLVGA]

Thank God for minor blessings like this.

 

[Golden_Jet]

This is false. Giannis, durant, kobe

How many NBA players have won MVP and championship in the same season? Joel Embiid looking to join exclusive list

Joel Embiid has singlehandedly carried the Philadelphia 76ers to comfortable victories throughout the season, eventually leading them to the playoffs.

firstsportz.com

 

[Gabe Kupari]

Because it's not an individual sport. Its a team sport. There are guys with personality in the league, they just aren't really the stars.

 

[HolyGhost]

I mean stars who act like stars. LeBron calls himself The King; why can't McDavid do that? I would love to see an active NHL superstar start firing on Twitter the way McGregor dond nes. Go to a presser in a three piece suit and sunglasses and start talking shit. Spice the game up a bit, you know? Too many of these guys are scripted ChatCPT robots and I can see why it's hard for the casual fan to get invested.

What do you think? Is it just a cultural thing with hockey where everyone has to speak in tired cliches and never, ever rock the boat? Why are there so few entertaining characters in the game?

a good case can be made that they are both assholes in different ways and only want money and nothing else

 

[Bowski]

So you want a guy that shows up to work with a purse...

If it gets the same results this guy does, why not?

 

[BigEezyE22]

If it gets the same results this guy does, why not?

What results did looking ridiculous get?

 

[Norwegianoiler]

Imagine being the most entertaining virtuoso of your field, but those watching are still left disappointedly pining for what you say about what you do. It's as if you'd be disappointed in the most interesting orator or comedian, because they weren't good enough at hockey. Watch hockey for the competition and athleticism, seek something else to satisfy the rest, I say.

The same goes for the constant complaints about NHL marketing. If you are interested and get to watch, isn't that enough? Who cares how many watch it on TV, or how many would rather watch something else?

 

[Bondurant]

I don't need personality. I need to be able to watch a league that isn't buried on cable.

 

[94 Oil Drops]

The NHL has a few. Zegras, E. Kane, Ovechkin, and Kucherov have pretty sizable personalities if you ask me.

 

[ZDH]

Lol LeBron James "personality."

I for one am cool with McDavid not acting like a pompous douche and dropping bizarre takes on current events.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Conor McGregor? Okay, so hockey is a certain kind of a sport. The other players can make dirty, ratty plays on you. Slewfoot, cheap shots, head shots, flying elbows. Additionally, if you actually are a star player, you might focus on being a star player. There are face punchers in hockey, but few can actually play hockey at a high level, as well. McGregor's thing is fighting, so he can stand his ground, indeed. But if his thing was hockey instead, would he act like that?

The biggest difference in reality is that combat sports are all about PROMOTION PROMOTION PROMOTION. Sure if you got two great fighters, the fight promotes itself, but you know what promotes it even more? When the fighters are trash-talking and saying things in the public about one another. Suddenly, that builds up your brand, and then when you can back it up, it builds your brand even more. Muhammad Ali was a famous trash talker who would say all sorts of things before fights.

For someone like MacGregor, it's a mixture of both who he is, and a marketing strategy which draws more attention and thus raises the demands that he is able to extract, and has contributed to making him fabulously wealthy.

In leagues like the NHL, NBA, EPL, etc. your value is going to be primarily extracted from how well you contribute to winning. If you are being a distraction disproportionate to your impact on winning, teams don't want you anymore.

For instance, despite being ++ defensive player, the Memphis Grizzlies told Dillon Brooks after the season that under no circumstances will they be bringing him back, because all of his feuds and trash-talk were garnering too much negative attention. If he were a Boxer or MMA Fighter, all that stuff would promote his brand and raise hype for his fights, either to see if he could back it up or get his ass kicked. If he gets his ass kicked, well, that's basically the end of him getting attention, but if he can back it up and win, he will keep doing it and keep gaining attention. That's basically MacGregor's career.

Someone like Draymond Green has been a bit of a mix of that, insofar as he trash talks a lot, does a lot of things to garner attention in a not always positive way, but he has massively contributed to winning and been a vital cog to the Warriors dynasty. So he's been able to get away with it. At the same time, he doesn't make a higher salary because of it, he gets paid based on how much he contributes to winning, not the expected PPV subscriptions for his events. When he punches a teammate, it becomes a debate on to what extent he is "worth it", but if the Warriors feel he still contributes to competing for championships, they keep him around for that and just deal with the other stuff.