Battle Of New York In NHL Will Be Played Outside In New Jersey?

Hockey fans constantly make jokes about the NHL and how they continually botch easy marketing opportunities. The league's television blackout rules, especially for fans that are paying for every available premium service that the NHL has to offer in the Capital District of New York, are comical.

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Now the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman has gone over the top with his latest head-scratching decision. According to a report by friend of The Drive with Charlie & Dan, Andrew Gross of newsday.com, the New York Rangers will battle the New York Islanders in New Jersey this season. That's correct, in New Jersey.

Andrew Gross reported that an NHL source revealed that the Islanders will host the Rangers and the New Jersey Devils will host the Philadelphia Flyers at MetLife Stadium in February. Now, the Devils hosting the Flyers at MetLife makes sense but the Islanders and the Rangers does not. New York has two new stadiums, that have both hosted NHL outdoor games. MetLife is not a neutral site, like Lake Tahoe was in February of 2021. So, there is no reason for a double-header. This is a bad decision.

Over 50,000 packed Yankee Stadium in 2014 to see the Rangers and the Islanders face off. That is a game that should be played in New York for the fans. Gary Bettman is just making New York hockey fans travel the extra distance, so the NHL can easily have a double-header without it being a neutral site. Islander fans will be less-than-thrilled that this will be considered a home game. Will the game sell-out, probably. Who loses? New York hockey fans but they are used to it. Under Bettman, that is standard operating procedure in the NHL.