from Benjamin Rains at Nasdaq.com,

This week, with hockey's biggest stars set to take to the ice this weekend in Tampa Bay during the Honda HMC NHL All-Star Game, we dive into the business of the NHL as the sport's popularity in the U.S. begins to waver.

Hockey might be the most expensive sport to play in the U.S., giving it the biggest barrier to entry. This has hurt the NHL's popularity as it loses fans every year. But it's not all bad for the biggest hockey league in the world.

The NHL just kicked off the first year of a jersey deal with Adidas ADDYY . What's more, the league's new expansion franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, have dominated in their first season in the brand new T-Mobile Arena TMUS .

The NHL's salary cap is also on the rise and team valuations are up-with four franchises valued at $1 billion or more. On top of that, NBC CMCSA spends billions to broadcast the league. Canadian broadcast giant Rogers Communications' RCI national TV rights deal nearly doubles its U.S. counterpart's on a yearly basis. And the NHL also recently secured a contract with Disney's DIS streaming firm BAMTech.

Still, despite the NHL's substantial TV deals, both local and national TV ratings sunk in the U.S. last season as the sport slips further behind its peers in terms of popularity.

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