Major NHL event gets canceled leaving fans and analysts speechless

The NHL awards will no longer be televised, as Gary Bettman and the NHL believe that a lack of interest from fans has caused the league to have to end this.

It seems like the NHL is going to make a huge change in how it stages one of its marquee events. After doing things a certain way for numerous years, it would finally seem the league recognizes it needs to do things a different way. Its award show has been criticized by the fans and the inside people over the years; this season perhaps solves those complaints.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on 'Saturday's Headlines,' some big movement will happen with the NHL awards presentation. Instead of holding the traditional show that fans have grown accustomed to, the league might do away with it altogether, moving in a completely different direction. That would mean the end of the awards show format that has been in place for many, many years.

The biggest complaint about the event over the years has been just how predictable it has been. The NHL hands out many of the major awards, such as the Art Ross Trophy, Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, and Conn Smythe Trophy, with much of who will win already pre-determined. Fans know who is going to take home the hardware, with a lot of the mystery taken away from the event. Displeasure has also been voiced regarding some of the celebrities brought in, many of whom are less than star power to viewers.

Besides that, fans, in recent times, have also demanded more significant changes, such as renaming the Lady Byng Trophy after Johnny Gaudreau following his death in a biking accident. Certainly, wider conversations about relevance and how to connect with a fanbase would have set off the league's decision to consider the revamp. But it's really all about the fans: keeping them engaged with and updating a more organic, timely feel for the awards themselves.

Eliminating the awards show helps clean up the crowded end-of-season schedule. You would think that with so much packed into such a small window, trimming at least one might give the players and fans a bit of breathing room for a smooth end to the season.

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