Who says this isn't a hockey market?

Thought some of you folks out there may be interested in seeing what the TV ratings look like for the 24 teams in the states:

NHL Local TV Ratings

Team / Network(Telecasts) / Ratings / Compared to previous season

1. Buffalo Sabres - MSG (38); Ratings: 8.87; +3.70% ratings from last season

2. Pittsburgh Penguins - Fox Sports Pittsburgh (37); Ratings: 6.14; +22.10% ratings from last season

3. Detroit Red Wings - Fox Sports Detroit (32); Ratings: 3.7; -21.80% ratings from last season

T4. Minnesota Wild - Fox Sports North (22); Ratings: 2.22; -12.90% ratings from last season

T4. Philadelphia Flyers - Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (32); Ratings: 2.22; +1.40% ratings from last season

6. Boston Bruins - NESN (37); Ratings: 2.16; +53.20% ratings from last season

7. Denver Avalanche - Altitude (35); Ratings: 1.65; +21.30% ratings from last season

8. Columbus Blue Jackets - Fox Sports Ohio (37); Ratings: 1.43; +40.20% ratings from last season

9. St. Louis Blues - Fox Sports Midwest (25); Ratings: 1.32; -42.90% ratings from last season

10. San Jose Sharks - Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (31); Ratings: 1.25; +42.00% ratings from last season

11. Washington Capitals - Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (31); Ratings: 1.2; +140.00% ratings from last season

12. Chicago Blackhawks - Comcast SportsNet Chicago (26); Ratings: 1.07; +72.60% ratings from last season

13. New York Rangers - MSG (36); Ratings: 1.03; -3.70% ratings from last season

14. Dallas Stars - Fox Sports Southwest (32); Ratings: 0.52; +18.20% ratings from last season

15. Phoenix Coyotes - Fox Sports Arizona (22); Ratings: 0.5; +100.00% ratings from last season

16. Tampa Bay Lightning - Sun Sports (31); Ratings: 0.49; -21.00% ratings from last season

T17. Los Angeles Kings- Fox Sports West (31); Ratings: 0.38; +26.70% ratings from last season

T17. New Jersey Devils - MSG+ (31); Ratings: 0.38; +15.20% ratings from last season

19. Anaheim Ducks - Prime Ticket (17); Ratings: 0.29; +11.50% ratings from last season

20. Atlanta Thrashers - SportSouth (27); Ratings: 0.23; +21.10% ratings from last season

21. New York Islanders - MSG+ (30); Ratings: 0.17; -37.00% ratings from last season

22. Florida Panthers - Fox Sports Florida (29); Ratings: 0.15; -16.70% ratings from last season

A 1.43 for the Jackets is extremely impressive especially when you consider they are only just sniffing the playoffs for the first time in their history. This thing is only going to keep blowing up.

I am surprised to see the Panthers at the bottom of the list considering they are in contention to make the playoffs for the first time in 7 years (sound familiar?).

Of course there is still a lot of work to do but there are a lot of strong signals being sent out this year that this town can certainly be much more than college football.

-LTL