“Heated Rivalry” Vs. The NHL
After nearly a decade, Stranger Things finally broadcast its finale this week. My husband and I were reminiscing on when it began nearly a decade ago, I recalled the only reason I even picked up the show was because I saw he posted a photo on FaceBook of a character eating Eggo Waffles under a tree in a pink dress and a proclamation that it was one of the most exciting Netflix releases in recent memory. I honestly barely remember any of the plot from the last few seasons, but I always remember the Eggo Waffles, so much so that I had to google if that was an actual paid placement in season 1 and was shocked to discover that it was completely organic. They did later form an official partnership after the roaring success of the unplanned placement.
Similarly, I had the pleasure of attending a Brand Innovators summit in 2024 where a member of the Pepsi brand team disclosed that while the hit song “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae had not been an official partnership, they were certainly enjoying the free press and had done some quick work to activate on the engagement online.
Marketers, brand managers, and PR specialists can work our entire careers to manufacture a transcendent campaign of zeitgeist-capturing content, or we can be so lucky as to have one entirely gifted to us and all we have to do is act on it.
So. Let’s talk about the NHL and Heated Rivalry.
In Case You’ve Been Living Under a Rock
If you’ve been taking an internet hiatus during the holidays or if you have somehow completely missed the train on HBO and Crave’s hit TV show Heated Rivalry, here is the gist. The show, based on the book of the same name by Rachel Reid, focuses on Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two rookie hockey players who, shortly after becoming signed and being publicly pitted against each other as enemies, discover that the passion ostensibly fueling their competition is surprisingly romantic and begin a decade-long situationship, hiding their affection for each other while publicly fueling their… heated rivalry. The story almost seems to be inspired by the real-life rivalry of Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and DC Capitals Alexander Ovechkin, but with a cheeky “what if they kissed, actually” wink. Yes, it starts off very smutty, but the story is ultimately tender and sweet and sentimental.
Despite being the ideal target for the show as both a queer woman who frequents online communities like BookTok and a loyal fan to the Tampa Bay Lightning, I had completely missed the marketing until there were already two episodes out. Within a week, I was completely consumed by the fandom. Every corner of the internet I turned to was ablaze with gifs of the main characters kissing. For a period of time, the fifth episode of the show was tied with the famous episode of Breaking Bad, Ozymandius, for a perfect rating on IMDB. Even regular hockey podcasts shifted their focus to earnestly review the show, starting off critiquing how real or not the hockey was until they all ultimately fell for the plot and gave tearful reactions to the finale.
My two niche interests had finally merged: sappy “will they/won’t they” love stories, and muscly men with no teeth smacking around a hockey puck.
For the uninitiated and the purposes of this blog post I will just be clear— this is a gay love story. Hollander and Rozanov aren’t even the only gay characters in the show, they’re not even the only gay hockey players in it. That’s part of the allure; this is a sport that has not historically had “out” players, and it currently is the focus of one of the largest shows on streaming. So why has the league and the teams that comprise it been mostly silent about the golden opportunity they were just gifted?
Queer History and the National Hockey League
The NHL’s relationship with LGBTQ+ and Pride causes has been uneven and often reactive, shaped by a mix of grassroots advocacy, team-level initiatives, and league-wide caution. For years, most visible support came from individual franchises rather than the league itself—teams hosting Pride Nights, partnering with local LGBTQ+ organizations, and occasionally using Pride-themed jerseys or tape. These efforts helped normalize LGBTQ+ inclusion within certain markets, but they also highlighted a broader tension: hockey’s traditional culture versus a growing expectation that major sports leagues take clear public stances on social inclusion.
That tension became more visible in recent seasons, when debates around Pride symbolism, player participation, and league policies drew national attention. Rather than fully embracing Pride initiatives as a core brand value, the NHL has often opted for risk management, emphasizing inclusivity in statements while limiting league-mandated visual expressions that could spark backlash. This approach has drawn criticism from advocates who see it as prioritizing controversy avoidance over leadership, especially when compared to leagues like the NBA or WNBA that more consistently align their branding with LGBTQ+ support. At the same time, the NHL continues to promote initiatives like Hockey Is For Everyone, signaling that it wants to retain the language of inclusion even if execution varies.
At time of writing this, there are no current or former openly gay hockey players in the NHL. Yes, there are some technicalities with some people maybe in some of the affiliate or minor leagues, but I choose not to speculate about their private lives.
This does highlight an important distinction to make–much like the NFL and the NBA, each team within the NHL is responsible for its own branding and marketing, the league they play in does not have a ton of say or oversight in how they activate on their own brands (I mean, they do, but not in the way we are discussing in this post). My tenure in esports actually had me work alongside two NHL teams; my team Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) was owned by Madison Square Garden where I interacted frequently with the marketing team for the Rangers, and the next team I worked for was owned by the same family as the Florida Panthers, a fact that did not go over well when I revealed that I was a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, but I’m happy to report the marketing and brand team were kind and welcoming nonetheless. While both teams certainly had to fit within the parameters set by the NHL, both worked autonomously within their own brand. In fact, the Florida Panthers were actually the first NHL team to host a Pride night in 2013.
Despite over a decade of Pride night in Hockey, the practice of wearing rainbow jerseys and tape on players sticks has not always been popular, not just amongst fans, but players too. In 2023 the NHL banned cause-related warm-up gear such as Pride and military appreciation jerseys because several players had refused to wear them the year prior and had created, in the League’s view, “unwelcome distractions.” Of those who had refused to participate, two notable groups stood out: players who were Christian, and players who were Russian.
The International Politics of Inclusion
One of the driving forces for Rozanov’s character to stay in the closet is his home country of Russia. The homophobia he experiences from his direct family is a reflection of the broader national law. While it is not strictly illegal to be gay in Russia, it is illegal to get married, have gender-affirming care, and most importantly, it is illegal for individuals to promote homosexuality. Russian players account for 6-7% of the league, amounting to an average of 50-70 players per season and making them the third or fourth largest demographic by nationality year over year. For those players, the perceived risk is not worth the show of solidarity, though the NHL and commissioner Bill Daly vehemently claim that the belief there is any risk to anyone’s safety holds no water.
Domestically, the NHL must also contend with a North American political climate in which queer visibility—particularly in sports—has become a cultural battleground. Resistance to Pride nights, rainbow warm-up jerseys, and inclusive marketing has demonstrated that backlash is not confined to “elsewhere.” Promoting Heated Rivalry would require the league to take a more assertive stance than it typically does, one that risks alienating portions of its fanbase while offering limited institutional protection to those most affected by that stance. The result is a familiar pattern: symbolic support without narrative ownership.
The rollback of support for inclusive causes, or rather the vilification of DEI, is not concentrated to the world of sports. Major corporations such as Target quickly and publicly abandoned their own commitments to Pride once the new administration took control in Washington, ostensibly to be in better graces with political leadership. Ironically, this has led to one of their worst financial years in recent memory. While Target may be one of the most notable examples of a company that rolled back DEI causes and faced consequences, they are far from the only company to jump on the bandwagon.
Another important caveat is that both the show and the majority of NHL players are Canadian. While it is true that Canada boasts a 79% approval rating for same-sex marriage, it also only chouses 7 of the 32 NHL teams; the other 25 are based in the US.
Professional Sports and the “F” Word
In 2023, international pop sensation Taylor Swift revealed she was in a relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce. I had never heard of him (I prefer my athletes on the rocks) but I suddenly knew quite a bit about him thanks to the sleuthing of the Swiftie community. By the following year, the NFL reported a 24% jump in 18- to 24-year-old women tuning in to watch Mr. Kelce’s team play in the Super Bowl. The NFL had already been trying to expand it’s fem fanbase, but the impact of the public relationship between Taylor and the future Mr. Swift as she watched him excitedly at games could not be overstated, and the NFL took the opportunity to lean in.
Similar to the Swifties, the fanbase of Heated Rivalry is predominantly made up of women. Another thing they have in common? Just how passionate they are. Since Heated Rivalry debuted on HBO it has consistently been in the top 2 of the top 10 most popular shows on the streaming service and is the second biggest driver of first-time viewers since its release. Multiple recording artists have seen massive surges in streams for their music after being featured on the show. Even Team Canada had to briefly acknowledge the show’s popularity when they announced the names of the players competing on the Olympic national team and the majority of top comments were about the Team Canada fleece jacket Shane Hollander wears on the show. Heated Rivalry even got several cheeky references during CNN’s coverage of the New Years Eve ball drop in Times Square.
Just as the NFL likely did not expect their golden goose to come in the form of an international pop star, it is reasonable to assume the NHL wasn’t expecting a gay love story to be the Trojan horse into female fandom, and much like the reputation of Taylor Swift before it, this horse comes with Greeks inside.
While I personally identify as part of the Queer community and certainly can make moral and ethical arguments as to why it is important to publicly advocate for underrepresented groups like women and LBGTQ+ folks, especially in male-dominated spaces, everyone can agree that an expansion in viewership is simply good for business.
Will the promise of a new, passionate fanbase be enough to get the NHL and its teams to jump on the Heated Rivalry bandwagon? I would be surprised if it does, but let’s just say that… stranger things have happened.