So I think the reason the majority of professional players are considered "boring" is because of the lack of promotion for the NHL itself. The amount of star-power in the NBA and the NFL is that high purely because of the amount of promotion and attention it's given. As far as the media tie-in is concerned, I think most of the players realize that the NHL isn't as publicized as the other major leagues, so any attention from social media is likely to be negative vice positive. Sports media also has a great way of altering what and how a player said something, just to turn it into a headline, and NHL players realize this as well. You see this daily in the other major sports. There are probably an inifine number of ways the league could make it's players more "marketable" and "exciting", but at the end of the day; does it even matter? The answer has always, and will always be no.