Today, the NHL is barely a top 10 most popular sports league or organization in America. The NFL, college football, MLB, NBA, men’s college basketball, and UFC are more popular. The NHL falls somewhere in a tier alongside NASCAR, golf, and the WNBA.

Yet every few years, Americans are reminded how much they enjoy watching the sport. They were reminded last year during the inaugural 4 Nations Face Off. Interest in Team USA defeating Canada for gold on Sunday was significant.

Of course, there is likely an inherent interest in Team USA that professional hockey teams in America cannot replicate. However, overall interest in the NHL should be higher than it is. And the league now has a chance to capitalize on the momentum following the U.S. hockey team’s run.

Admittedly, hockey faces structural disadvantages compared to other sports. It is not as accessible in schools as football, baseball, or basketball. There are far fewer ice rinks than open fields, gyms, or parks where kids can throw a football or shoot a basketball. On average, hockey is expensive to play at the youth level.

Professional hockey likely has a ceiling in America. But the floor should not be this low.

Jack Hughes of Team United States celebrates after their gold-medal win during the Men's Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

We can debate the reasons for the NHL’s decline in recent decades, from lockouts to distribution issues on television. Still, the league’s lack of star power has hurt it most. Individual stardom is particularly important in 2026, when there is an abundance of viewing options.

Star power can elevate even a niche sport into the mainstream. Consider Caitlin Clark in the WNBA, Tiger Woods in golf, and Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey in the UFC. The NHL has not had a figure of that level of crossover since Wayne Gretzky retired in 1999.

That does not mean there have not been great or even all-time players since then. There is a difference between greatness and superstardom. Take Patrick Mahomes and Nikola Jokić. They are almost inarguably the best players in the NFL and NBA, respectively, and have been for the past six years. Mahomes is a superstar. Jokić is a generational player who hardly moves the needle.

Hockey fans might argue that Connor McDavid is the equivalent of Mahomes, Jokić, or even Shohei Ohtani on the ice. Yet McDavid has probably never led the rundown on a national sports talk show.

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