Well, the NHL is nothing more than a business. If there weren't fans to reach that appealed to advertisers in addition to attendance, it would be on the same tier as less popular sports. I disagree about smaller rinks and camera angles, the closer you get the more extreme the angles unless you have multiple cameras and switching which is weird for hockey.
This format is fine, you can't please everyone. There will always be bubble teams that people could play woulda coulda with.