Four games into the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, and there is only one question to ask: “Are you not entertained?!” 2 games apiece for the finalists—and it’s been back and forth all the way. In fact, Game 4 on June 12 was the perfect representation of why this year’s Finals have been the best in years.

And yet, the viewership numbers have left the people perplexed. With such high-quality hockey being played, people should have turned up in greater numbers. Well, the Amerant Bank Arena ain’t facing any problems in those regards. They are selling out their stands, and they even had Taylor Swift come watch them play. Yes, you absolutely read that right!

SportsCenter’s tweet on June 13 showed a little clip of American pop singer and songwriter Taylor Swift enjoying the Panthers-Oilers game with her boyfriend, NFL superstar Travis Kelce. Well, it was more of an exhilarating experience as she got to see what the Stanley Cup Finals are all about. SportsCenter’s caption read, “TAYLOR SWIFT IS FEELING THE HEAT OF OVERTIME HOCKEY 🗣️,” as she was seen tapping her chest. Hey, we can’t blame her after how the game ended.

With 19 seconds left, the Panthers equalized through Sam Reinhart to send the game into overtime, the third time in the series. And this was after the Panthers had a 1st period 3-0 lead but saw the Oilers fight back. The Pacific Division team didn’t just make it 3-3 but took the lead in the 3rd period through Jake Walman. And then Leon Draisaitl, doing Leon Draisaitl stuff, deflected the puck off Niko Mikkola to send it through Sergei Bobrovsky’s legs to win it in overtime. The entire series has been entertaining, and Miss Swift couldn’t have chosen a better game.

But that still doesn’t change the underwhelming viewership numbers we are seeing. Braylon Breeze, who brings us the TV ratings from the NHL, shared the following tweet on June 13: “It’s been an incredible series through four games, yet viewership still trails TNT’s 2023 Cup Final between Florida and Vegas — a vastly more lopsided series. Frustrating that more people aren’t seeing this very high level of hockey.”

Another tweet of his had the viewership figures for the first three games of the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals (SCF): “Stanley Cup Final viewership (combined): Game 1: 6.9M Game 2: 7.3M Game 3: 6.0M.” He compared this year’s numbers with the 2024 SCF: “This year’s average through 3 games (6.73M) slightly trails last year’s (6.80M), with the ABC to TNT switch in the U.S. dragging numbers down, while Canadian viewership is up year-over-year.”

Well, the TV ratings bleeding has been on the US side, with the Frozen Four co-host sharing figures over the past few weeks to show how US ratings have been markedly underwhelming. Like his tweet on June 6, which shared the numbers: “RATINGS: Game 1 of Panthers–Oilers averaged 2.418M viewers across TNT and truTV — down 22% from last year on ABC (3.115M) and 12% from TNT’s 2023 SCF (FLA–VGK, 2.753M).”

A similar drop was reported on June 11 by Breeze: “Stanley Cup Final Viewership (TNT/truTV) Game 2 (Friday): 2.5 million viewers▪️Down 30% year-over-year, but actually up 2% from FLA–VGK Game 2 in 2023 on TNT. Game 3 (Monday): 2.3 million viewers▪️Down 31% year-over-year and 14% from FLA–VGK Game 3 in 2023 on TNT.”

While it’s puzzling for many, we can actually trace why this is happening. And it involves hockey tradition.

Why has the US viewership taken a hit in the 2025 Stanley Cup postseason?

It’s not just the 2025 SCF taking the hit. The Eastern Conference Finals between the Panthers and the Hurricanes was the least-watched non-COVID-era ECF since at least the Versus coverage era of 2005-11. The trend started right from the beginning of the playoffs. And it may have something to do with the actual NHL powerhouse franchises not making it to the postseason.

In the 2025 playoffs, we didn’t see the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers, the 2009 Stanley Cup winners Pittsburgh Penguins, or the 2008 champions Detroit Red Wings. Neither were there the Chicago Blackhawks, who are going through a desperate low. These teams drew the most US viewership. Without them, the fans just didn’t turn up to see the Panthers and the Oilers battle it out, no matter how exciting it had been.

And that’s not all. Not having ABC as the broadcasting channel for the playoffs has really pushed down any possibility of the viewership going up. Experimenting with TNT and truTV hasn’t worked. And even ESPN pulled the plug. Yep, the sports juggernaut that unmistakably covers the Stanley Cup playoffs year after year has not taken up the responsibility of covering the SCF.

Florida is a rising team in terms of hockey market and fan base. But they alone cannot compensate for the viewership that historically present NHL franchises like the Bruins, Rangers, Penguins, and Red Wings bring. We are talking about NHL royalty. But mind you, that doesn’t mean the quality has taken a hit. The 2025 playoffs have been a roller-coaster ride of thrill, skill, and top-class hockey.