Heated Rivalry and Off Campus have introduced new fans to hockey. But as the NHL tries to capitalize on that interest, some women are questioning whether the league respects them.
The NHL’s “Hot for Hockey” campaign featured seven romance-inspired audio stories, each lasting 30 to 90 seconds, starring players including Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged the popularity of hockey romance during a September news conference.
“The data is overwhelming in terms of new fans that we acquired last year who were first introduced to hockey either through Off Campus or Heated Rivalry,” Bettman said. “Since it seems to be a cultural phenomenon, we figured why not get on board.”
Five days after its launch, all seven episodes had been removed from Spotify.
The NHL said the campaign was always intended as a one-week promotion tied to the season’s opening games. However, Sports Business Journal reported that an earlier statement said the stories would be released throughout the season.
The NHL did not respond to a request for comment. The NHL Players’ Association declined to comment.
Shayna Goldman, a hockey writer and analyst, said the campaign showed the league had failed to understand an audience that hockey romance had helped attract.
“It feels like a massive missed opportunity for the NHL because there are women who want to watch hockey,” Goldman said in an interview.
Goldman said Heated Rivalry and Off Campus brought new audiences to the sport, including women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. She said the NHL should have built on that interest instead of assuming women needed romance-themed content to become fans.
“Maybe it’s Heated Rivalry. Maybe it is the fact that they think a player is hot, and guess what? There’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “But it’s the severe generalization that it is the only thing women like about sports that is so frustrating and so wrong.”
Goldman said the league should offer women the same respect and merchandise options as other fans.
“We don’t need crumbs,” she said. “We just need actual respect that we love this game, understand this game, and care about it just as much as the next person.”
For some fans, the issue extends beyond marketing to the league’s handling of player conduct.
On September 9, the Edmonton Oilers signed Alex Formenton to a one-year, US$850,000 contract. Formenton was one of five former Canadian world junior players acquitted in 2025 of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident after a 2018 Hockey Canada gala.
Longtime Oilers fan Mary Loewen, known as “Mama Stanley,” launched an online petition opposing the signing. The petition collected more than 19,000 signatures within days.
Loewen acknowledged Formenton’s acquittal but said the signing conflicted with her values as a fan and a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence.
“I started the petition because I wanted the organization to hear how this decision affected people like me,” she said. .
Loewen said her connection to the Oilers was deeply personal. She had supported the team since 1984 and shared a dream of seeing another Stanley Cup victory with her son, Ryan. Since his death, she has carried his ashes in a necklace to games.
“This was never just hockey to me,” she said.
Loewen said she respects the court’s verdict but believes fans can still question an organization’s decisions.
“A court determines criminal guilt,” she said. “As a fan and a survivor, I still have to decide whether an organization’s choices reflect my values.”
The NHL conducted its own investigation into the 2018 incident. In a September 2025 statement, the league described the events as “deeply troubling and unacceptable” and said the players’ conduct fell short of its standards.
The issue resurfaced when Carter Hart, another of the five acquitted players, returned to the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights. Hart started all six games of Vegas’ 2026 Stanley Cup Final against Carolina.
Goldman said the players’ return raised further questions about accountability.
“It should be a privilege to play hockey at the highest level,” she said. “These players haven’t earned it.”
Goldman said the NHL needs to address those concerns if it wants to build trust with women fans. She called for more women to help shape the league’s decisions about marketing and inclusion.
Loewen said she wants a league-wide sexual misconduct policy, education about consent and respect, and greater involvement from survivors and independent experts. She said a public relations campaign would not change her decision to stop supporting the Oilers.
“Those changes matter whether I ever return or not,” she said. “My focus now is on helping build a culture where survivors are heard and people are treated with dignity.”
Goldman said the NHL must learn what women want from hockey instead of making assumptions about their interests.
The league has found an audience among women, she said. Now it needs to show those fans that it respects them.
