One of the suggestions for improving hockey\'s ratings would be to start the seaosn in Sept and end it Feburary, leaving March and April for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The NHL is not going to be competing againdst the NBA and win in the rating dept, and nobdoy feels like its hockey season in May or June.
I think more people would take aninterest in hockey if the playoffs had their own stage during a time of year that feels a little more like hockey season.