from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

Quick, scan back through your memory bank: When did the NHL last have all of this? You know, such popularity, such mainstream appeal and such relevance.

An enduring playoff series like the one just contested by Los Angeles and Chicago will help do that for you, as will the upcoming megamarket Stanley Cup final between the Kings and New York Rangers. A memorable spring seems to have put the little hockey league that could on the verge of something more.

The sight of Charles Barkley wearing a Patrick Kane sweater and high-fiving other fans in Chicago, Robert DeNiro waving a white rally towel at Madison Square Garden or a good portion of Hollywood populating the lower bowl at the Staples Center for the Kings, not the Lakers, provide snapshots for what seems to be an underlying trend.

The NHL has already generated record revenues this season and is expecting to draw sizeable television numbers for the first championship in pro sports to include the two largest American cities since the 1981 World Series. There aren’t precise metrics for it, but what the league has really been creating is buzz.

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