Are the Pittsburgh Penguins the savior for Hockey?

 

There is no question that Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was as good as it gets in Hockey. For a sport that has been fighting to survive against Football, Basketball and Baseball Game 7 may be the game that changes the face of Hockey. Hockey is a sport that had to air most of it's playoff games on the VS. Network not exactly a cable giant. But when the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled the stunning upset in Detroit a large portion of the viewing audience on Friday Night was tuned into NBC's coverage.

Nielson numbers showed NBC was the runaway winner on Friday Night in Primetime as they scored a 3.0 market share which translates to 7.5 million viewers. This was huge for a league that didn't have a major network want to carry there games during their last contract deal.

Was it the fact that this Stanley Cup was a rematch of last year between Pittsburgh and Detroit? Was it that with today's current economic times that the teams in the finals were two hard working Blue Collar towns and people who were struggling could relate to? Or was it the Pittsburgh Penguins?

Well being from Pittsburgh I may be a little bias but hear me out. What's not to like about this young team. First they come from no where last year to get to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to a superior veteran team. In 2009 they hit rock bottom in February as they appeared in trouble as they might not even make the playoffs. They fired their coach and went on a run that got them the #4 seed in the Playoffs.

They had to win a Game 7 on the road in Washington to advance to the Conference Finals then Swept the Conference Finals only to be faced with another Game 7 on the road in Detroit. They got the job done and this young team of Crosby, Malkin, Stahl and Fluery had the makings of a Dynasty in Pittsburgh if management  can keep this team together. With a new arena being built ( Penguins play in the oldest building in the NHL) money should not be a problem and this team should be kept together. Sidney Crosby can be to Hockey what Michael Jordan was to Basketball.

Congrats to The Pittsburgh Penguins you are the new face of Hockey and just may be the shot in the arm this sport so badly needed.