I agree 100%. ESPN tells us both directly (e.g., Cowherd and company) and indirectly (lack of coverage on SC) that hockey sucks and "nobody" cares about it, and the country believes it. Talk about Pavlonian.
There are so many people who have never even been to a game who routinely send hilarious e-mails to people like Jim Rome and Colin Cowherd (as soon as a hockey-bashing segment is over) that say things like, "The lockout's over?" and "What is this hockey you speak of?" and "Jim, we'll be watching the All-Star Game tonight. Signed, crickets"
I know there's more to it than this, but if the national media threw the NHL a bone every once in a while the way it does the NFL and NBA, you'd probably see people's perspectives about hockey change.