Zach Whitecloud is exactly the kind of player the NHL should be building storylines around, and mostly is not.
Thursday brought the latest reminder of why fans keep losing patience with how this league runs its business.
Rogers announced Sportsnet Plus is raising prices for the third straight year, with the premium plan climbing from $42.99 a month to $44.99.
The yearly premium option jumps from $324.99 to $344.99, a $95 increase since 2024 alone.
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No new app, no expanded local coverage, nothing fans can point to and say that's where the money went.
Sportsnet holds the streaming monopoly north of the border, and monopolies rarely feel pressure to improve anything.
Buffering issues, mid game logouts, no broadcast choice, feeds running 30 to 45 seconds behind live action, the complaints pile up every season.
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Compare that to the old NHL Game Centre Live product, which offered more for a fairer price and no complaints like these.
Player access and local media keep shrinking too
Scrums are basically the only place fans see players speak now, hardly the setting for anyone to show real personality.
Guys like Whitecloud have community work and personal stories worth telling, but teams rarely build the long form content to tell them.
Local sports radio has gone dark in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Hamilton within the last five years, and beat reporters keep disappearing too.
Markets outside Toronto and Montreal are feeling that squeeze the hardest, with fewer dedicated voices covering the local team at all.
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Add rising ticket, parking and concession costs, and a night at the rink is turning into a luxury for a lot of families.
The NHL has never had more money coming in from media deals and sponsorships. Fans just keep footing a bigger bill for less.
Something in that math eventually breaks. The only question is how many more price hikes it takes to get there.
Source: The experience of being an NHL fan in Canada is slowly declining
Are you paying for Sportsnet Plus after this latest price hike?
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