The NHL is getting its own Drive to Survive. But could it backfire?

By many metrics, the NHL has a good story to tell. Amid the Stanley Cup final in June, the NHL announced that its regular-season attendance had set a record in 2023-24, hitting 97% capacity on the year (or about 22.5m people). League revenue last season was roughly $6.2bn, also a new high. And the final between Edmonton and Florida pulled good TV numbers, especially in Canada. Arizona lost its team, but Utah immediately, excitedly adopted them. Over the summer, the salary cap went up and the unveiling of the new Fanatics jerseys went well. Even the fact that participation increased in the NHLPA’s player assistance program, which offers help with addiction and mental health issues, was good news, hinting that the stigma of admitting vulnerability is beginning to fade.

Financial growth, audience growth, salary growth, and emotional growth. Is there any kind of growth left for the NHL?

As the 2024-25 regular season begins on Friday with a game between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils in Prague, Amazon will debut Faceoff: Inside the NHL, a six-part series on Prime Video, created by Box to Box, the same production company behind the hit Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The NHL series, filmed throughout the 2023-24 season is along the same lines, a never-before-seen look at the sport’s biggest names, on and off the ice. “This generation of NHL superstars are modern day gladiators unlike anything ever seen before, with big personalities and even bigger playmakers, and we have the perfect partners to capture that energy for an unparalleled sports docuseries,” the NHL’s chief content officer, Steve Mayer, said in the spring.

Indeed, expectations are high for Faceoff. The official trailer, released in late September, has already confirmed some speculation. It features a viral…