USA TODAY International Edition
NHL divisions get sponsorship deals
First came the advertisements on helmets. Now comes the sponsors attached to division names in this realigned NHL season.
The league announced Tuesday the official division names for the 2021 season, and each of them are joined by a corporate sponsor for the first time.
The divisions: Scotia NHL North Division, Honda NHL West Division, Discover NHL Central Division and MassMutual NHL East Division.
According to ESPN, the selling of naming rights to its divisions is “viewed internally as a one- year- only campaign.”
As the league gets set for a Jan. 13 start to an abbreviated, 56- game regular season, it has also realigned to limit travel during the pandemic, especially as Canada closed its border. During this season, teams will only play others in the same division, often multiple times in a row.
The NHL also announced recently that it would allow advertisements on player helmets. ESPN reported 13 teams have announced those sponsors.
According to Forbes, sales for tickets, suites, sponsorships, concessions and parking account for more than 70% of total revenue usually. However, last season, the league played 15% of its regular season with fans, per Forbes, and all of its playoffs. The league is starting without fans this season. Forbes said the average team value fell 2% ( to $ 653 million) and league revenue dropped 14% ( to $ 4.4 billion) during the 2019- 20 campaign.
● The Scotia NHL North Division is comprised of the Flames, Oilers, Canadiens, Senators, Maple Leafs, Canucks and Jets.
● The Honda NHL West Division includes the Ducks, Coyotes, Avalanche, Kings, Wild, Sharks, Blues, Golden Knights.
● The Discover NHL Central Division consists of the Hurricanes, Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Stars, Red Wings, Panthers, Predators, Lightning.
● The MassMutual NHL East Division has the Bruins, Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Capitals.