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NHL players approved of the use of their name and likeness in a new marketing effort inspired by popular hockey-themed romance novels, according to a league spokesperson.
With its “Hot for Hockey” campaign, the NHL is enlisting hockey romance authors to turn real-life league news into short audio stories told in the style of the genre. The 30-to-90 second pieces don’t describe any actual romance between players, but they lean into evocative language and dramatic production elements, like soft-piano backing music. Seven installments featuring six players—Connor McDavid, Trevor Zegras, Sebastian Aho, Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, and Mika Zibanejad—have already been released on Spotify.
“Since joining the Golden Knights, Jack Eichel has given Vegas a lot to love. He helped bring the city its first taste of the [Stanley] Cup in 2023, but Vegas is thirsty for more,” begins a “Hot for Hockey” story titled Jack of Hearts with Jack Eichel. It continues: “Can Jack give the city yet another reason to fall even further for him? Don’t bet against it. When you’ve got the jack of hearts, the odds are always in your favor. Tune into the NHL all season long for more hockey love.”
The initiative, reportedly a season-long effort, has garnered widespread attention since its Tuesday launch, coinciding with the opening day of the 2026–27 NHL season.
The reaction largely falls into two buckets: general confusion (“I’m sorry who the hell asked for this,” read one X/Twitter post that has more than 200,000 views), and concern for players’ privacy and safety. (A 2023 attempt by the Kraken to court hockey romance readers resulted in the wife of center Alex Wennberg accusing fans of sexual harassment.)
Many social media users also questioned whether featured players agreed to participate in the “Hot for Hockey” campaign prior to its release. On Thursday, a league spokesperson told Front Office Sports that they had.
“This was a small way to give a playful nod to something that’s clearly going on in the cultural zeitgeist—among many different marketing activations,” the spokesperson said. “We were very proud to partner with real hockey authors, illustrators, and voice actors in the space and we’re grateful the players were willing to have a little fun with it too and approve their creative.”
The NHL Players Association (NHLPA) declined a FOS request to confirm this or comment on the campaign. The NHLPA negotiates the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, which states that the league must obtain players’ consent before using their names and likenesses in promotional initiatives.
Representatives for McDavid, Aho, Connor, and Zibanejad did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while a representative for Eichel and Zegras declined to comment.
Spotify doesn’t disclose audiobook listenership, but the “Hot for Hockey” series is currently averaging 2.4 stars on the platform. When asked about the effort at XFinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Wednesday night after a Flyers-Penguins matchup, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated the league will push forward despite mixed reviews.
“We have a number of marketing campaigns that we’re going to be using directed at various audiences,” Bettman said. “But I will tell you 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 … so since it seems to be a cultural phenomenon, we figured why not get on board.”
