Andrew Li's Blog

Being an avid Hockey fan for over 10 years, I found it appropriate I should blog at least once on something interesting that’s related to both marketing and the NHL.

Last week, one of the most horrific plays I’ve ever witnessed took place in a game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. 6 foot 9 inches Zdeno Chara, captain of the Boston Bruins, crushed the 6 foot 2 Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty when he body checked him into the corner of the glass box that lies between the two team benches. Pacioretty suffered a severe concussion and fractured vertebrae in the incident as many across the hockey world called for a large suspension against the NHL’s biggest player.

Despite the horrific injuries sustained by Pacioretty, Chara was not suspended by the league as the play was deemed a “hockey play.” I completely agreed with this decision as Chara had done nothing unusual but rather it happened at a dangerous part of the rink. One party that was upset about this was the Canadian airline company, Air Canada. Immediately following the no suspension announcement, Air Canada issued a letter to the NHL threatening to pull all sponsorship if the NHL did not act accordingly in punishing hits to the head.

Eventhough the play was deemed a “hockey play”, Air Canada wanted no association of their brand with the controversial issues revolving around the NHL. This is similar to cases where Sponsors have dropped athletes due to controversial issues that went public, whether illegal or legal. The first cases that come to mind are when Michael Phelps lost sponsors to being photographed smoking out of a bong and when Tiger Woods’ marital scandal was reported. These cases all involve sports sponsors protecting their brands trying to disassociate from negative issues.