11/28 - Quick Links
New posts on my other blogs: Steve Yzerman comes in first at No. 19 (BTJ19), Wings defeat Flames, 5-3 (Winging It In Motown), and Wings controlling the All Star vote in the West (WIM).
Bob Duff at the Windsor Star has an interesting article about the importance of pro scouts to NHL teams especially after the implementation of the salary cap.
High above the ice, Nick Polano busied himself feverishly filling a notebook with pertinent data.
A pro scout for the Ottawa Senators, Polano, the former Wings coach, was among 14 of his brethren who populated the end seats of the Joe Louis Arena press box for Tuesday’s contest.
“When I first started as a pro scout, the first season (1985-86) after coaching in Detroit, there were only two or three of us (in the entire league),” Polano said. “Now, every team has at least two or three pro scouts.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league is considering more international NHL games, but no decisions about locations for next year have been made. In addition, the NHL may prevent its players from participating in the 2014 Olympics when the games are held in Russia.
“Our experience in London was terrific,” Bettman told Reuters on Tuesday about the NHL’s season-opening games this year between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
“There are rumors rampant that we might go to Prague or Stockholm next,” Bettman said at the Reuters Media Summit. “We’re looking at the options. …I could envision at a point in time in the future to maybe go to a dozen different cities over time. There are lots of hockey markets with tremendously avid fans throughout Europe.”
Bettman mentioned Moscow, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and various German cities among the possibilities.
James Mirtle takes a look at the instigator rule and why Bettman may not mind that the NHLPA is pushing for a change in the rule.
But I disagree with Tom when he says this is “the last thing Gary Bettman wants to see.” My guess is that, after two and a half years with a completely dysfunctional — and for all intents and purposes useless — players’ association, the commish is just fine with the fact the very first order of business for Paul Kelly and Eric Lindros is wading into this old, essentially unwinnable instigator tiff.
In the grand scheme of things, there are far more prickly subjects the union could be broaching — player safety, the definition of hockey-related revenues, marketing the stars, improving television coverage and media attention — instead of chasing down a relatively minor rule change. (The board of governors isn’t going to be all that concerned, relatively speaking, if there’s a sudden push for their employees to punch each other in the head more often.)
Damien Cox writes in a special to ESPN.com about the rise of the Original Six and lists the playoff chances for each six franchises. The Wings were given a 5 out of 5 rating or basically a lock to make the playoffs. Why? The longevity of their success and despite being in the “best” division (the only one where each team has a winning record), the Wings are number one in the West. My second favorite team, the New York Rangers (a distant second, but second nonetheless), was given a 3 out of 5 saying that things may be looking good there are still some trouble spots up ahead.
Alanah at Canucks and Beyond interviewed author Gare Joyce about his new book, Future Greats and Heartbreaks.
The Blue Seats discusses the difference between the Wings and Rangers’ use of European players and that style of play.
What this all has to do with the Rangers is this: we complain about the Jagr-ization of the power play, decrying it as European hockey when it’s not exactly that simple.
Yes, the style played in Europe differs from that in North America, but players can be molded and directed by effective coaches and management into playing the system that benefits the club. Detroit is an example of how European talent has been married to North American grit and determination to reap great success. It’s also proof that it’s possible … even in New York.
Sabres don’t sell out a game
A lot has been said about the Red Wings failing to sell out all of their home games thus far this season including their season opener and justly so. According to James Mirtle, the Wings have been the most dominant team in the NHL in terms of hockey attendance over the last 17 seasons.
Over that 17 season span, from the end of the Oilers’ dynasty in 1989-90 to last season, the Detroit Red Wings have been the NHL’s top team for attendance, averaging nearly 20,000 fans per game for nearly two decades. … Detroit’s been a ridiculous model of consistency over the past 17 seasons, so much so that any potential drop off this season would be a huge story.
Graph made by James Mirtle
The Wings aren’t the only team struggling at the gate this season. Despite the threat of their team moving away, the Nashville Predators have failed to reach the 14,000 ticket mark in their first four games to prevent a move of the team.
While the Buffalo Sabres certainly aren’t struggling with ticket sales like the Wings (who no longer have a season ticket waiting list), the Sabres did fail to sell out a game this season breaking a streak of 62 sellouts (45 sellouts if you only include the regular season).
Monday is “not a traditional hockey night in Buffalo,†and the game had the “most expensive ticket-price designation.†Tickets cost $68-203, which “would limit walk-up numbers.†Also, the game was the third played in five nights and a “lack of knowledge about ticket availability†could be factors for the empty seats (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/16).
Lecavalier commits $3 million to hospital
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, hockey players really are the most down to the earth athletes in professional sports. Want an example of a hockey player making a difference? Tampa Bay star Vincent Lecavalier has committed $3 million through his charity foundation to go towards a local children’s hospital in the Tampa Bay area.
The money is going towards helping the construction of this new children’s hospital called All Children’s Hospital.
”Starting my 10th year in the NHL here in Tampa, the community has been so good to me and I wanted to do something to give back,” Lecavalier told The Canadian Press after the announcement Tuesday.
Lecavalier hosts the families of children with cancer in his VIP suite at several Lightning home games each season.
”I got to meet a lot of the kids,” said Lecavalier. ”When you meet these kids and you see what they go through, the battles they go through, I wanted to help them.”
The hospital will name half of the seventh floor the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center to thank Vinny for his generous donation.
NHL.com gets a face lift
The official website of the NHL, NHL.com, has gotten a new look just in time for the start of the season. I must say that I do think it’s an improvement particularly now that the scores for tonight’s game are shown on the top of the home page and you don’t have to switch to the scores page (it gives off a NFL.com vibe in that sense).
The one thing I would definitely change back is the frozen moment. Before it was at the very top of the page, but now it’s randomly in the middle of the home page dividing the news with the stats section.
I must say I still prefer the look of the other league’s websites, but the NHL website did improve in my eyes.
What do you guys think of the new look?
NHL wants to change schedule
It felt so good to write that headline. Apparently, the NHL Board of Governors met yesterday and had a little discussion regarding the current scheduling format, which highlights intradivision games and hates playing the other conference. It sounds like most of the teams agree that it is time to change the schedule after giving this format three years (including this season).
“I think it’s clear that there will be a change,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said after the four-hour meeting with owners. …
“After a discussion with the board I have a sense of where we need to be and where I think we need to be,” said Bettman. “I’m optimistic we will get there in December.”
In the past, we’d only hear quotes from Western Conference teams wanting to make a change. Why would Eastern Conference teams want to change when they have so little traveling to do with the current schedule (in comparison to the Western Conference teams)? Well, that attitude has apparently changed and it’s about fricking time.
“We think everybody should play everybody at least once,” said Ottawa Senators president and CEO Roy Mlakar. “Whether that’s home and away, we’ll need to see more evidence that that’s the direction the majority wants to go in. But we’re willing to change.”
Toronto wants to be able to play every Canadian team at least once in a season, which seems like a reasonable request to me. I know I miss playing teams like Toronto, NY Rangers, Montreal, and Pittsburgh every season.
Schneider fractures left ankle
Letting veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider leave for Anaheim is looking better and better now that he has fractured his left ankle during his first preseason game with the Ducks. He had an MRI taken today and it showed he suffered a “non-displaced fracture of the ankle.”
He will have to miss at least four weeks to recover from this break. He recently signed a two year contract with Anaheim (worth $11.25 million). He played with the Wings last season and his injury during the playoffs (broken wrist) was one of the key reasons why the Wings could not beat the Ducks in the Western Conference Finals.
Fortunately for Anaheim, this injury comes at the beginning of the season.
Predators sign Josh Langfield
Right wing and former Detroit Red Wings player Josh Langfield has been signed by the Nashville Predators. Langfield split his time last season between the NHL and AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. He scored 13 goals and notched 19 assists for 32 points, fourth highest on the Griffins team. Langfield signed a one year deal worth $500,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the minor-league.
A native of Fridley, Minn., Langfeld has registered 32 points (9g-23a) in 141 career NHL games over five seasons (2001-04, 2005-07) with Ottawa, San Jose, Boston and Detroit. He was originally Ottawa’s third choice, 66th overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft and his four-year (1997-2001) college career at the University of Michigan included a national championship (1998).
Good luck to a former Wolverine and Red Wings player. He wasn’t going to crack the Wings’ roster, but maybe he’ll have a better shot in Nashville.
Is ESPN in the NHL’s future?
Thanks to a link from Paul @ Kukla’s Korner, the SportsBusiness Journal is reporting that the NHL approached ESPN about showing NHL games on ESPN2 as early as the 2008-2009 season.
Multiple sources described the conversations as preliminary. The two started talking the week of July 16 when the NHL approached ESPN about NBC’s nine-game regular-season schedule, plus the playoffs. NBC holds the rights to air the coming season as part of a revenue-sharing agreement, and the network holds a one-year option for the 2008-09 season.
It’s not certain that NBC would exercise that option, given the sport’s tepid ratings on the network. Regular-season ratings on NBC averaged a 0.9 during the 2006-07 season and a 1.0 during the 2007-08 season over nine telecasts.
Now I could totally be reading the excerpt above wrong, but would the NHL and ESPN only happen if NBC drops their option with the league? Is there any way that Versus can drop the NHL and have TV deals with ESPN and NBC?
A return to ESPN could boost the league’s profile on the network’s news shows. According to an ESPN study of its 1 a.m. “SportsCenter†program, the show featured 29 fewer minutes of NHL coverage in March 2007 than in March 2004, the last year ESPN aired NHL games. That amounts to a 28 percent decline in hockey’s allotment of airtime, ESPN ombudsman Le Anne
Schreiber wrote in May.The move would mark a change at Versus, as well, which is open to giving up its cable exclusivity if it can tap into ESPN’s marketing prowess. Over the past two years, Versus executives have complained privately that ESPN ignored their network. They are hoping for a situation that mirrors the NBA, where ESPN and TNT push viewers to each network’s games.
I am all for the ESPN showing some games as soon as possible. Unfortunately, ESPN is perceived as the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” by most people. I know that a lot of sports fans realize that the ESPN is not the sports leader it once was (I mean the spelling bee? Seriously.), but I think the lack of hockey on SportsCenter is hurting the NHL’s perception in the US and getting some games including playoff games on ESPN2 is a step in the right direction.
One KK member left this comment: “Anybody can say what they want, but Vs didn’t have Melrose. Advantage: Versus.” That was funny. I can’t stand Barry Melrose.
A look at season ticket waiting lists
As a sport management and communication studies double major, I’ve noticed myself taking a greater interest in sport business articles. As a result, you’re going to find me writing about these articles more frequently and they won’t always be NHL business stories, but I’ll try to connect them to NHL business if a connection exists.
This is a lengthy post about the Detroit sports’ teams and their waiting lists as well as a look at every single NHL team’s ticket sales.
Anyways, I was reading a post at the AOL FanHouse about the length of the waiting list for the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL). The team has over 60,000 names on the waiting list.
According to Eagles president Joe Banner, the waiting list now contains more than 60,000 names and, last year, a grand total of 15 of them were given the opportunity to buy tickets. Fifteen!
“We don’t know what it will be this year,” Banner said. “It could be 20. It could be 12. We don’t know yet. But it’s like nobody is not renewing their tickets. For the people who already have season tickets, the renewal rate is 99.9-something percent. That’s the situation.”
Michael at the FanHouse made this observation:
At 15 a year, it’ll take 4,000 years to get through 60,000 names. So with demand far outstripping supply for tickets, why don’t the Eagles raise ticket prices? Fans often complain that it’s too expensive to get to a game, but isn’t something that is too scarce to meet customer demand the very definition of an underpriced product?
The Green Bay packers currently have 74,500 fans on the waiting list.
It’s figures like those above that remind you of how dominant the NFL is here in the United States.
NHL is looking pretty good
So yesterday, I made a draft post in WordPress and planned on completing it tonight. I come online to finish it off and I find that IwoCPO @ Abel to Yzerman has already discussed the very thing I had planned on bringing up.
Does Little Gary have any clue about the opportunity dropped in his lap? The other “big three†sports are all mired in controversy and the NHL, if marketed, could come out smelling like a pretty little rose. A rose perched on the sill of your kitchen. Yes, surrounded by empty beer bottles and crusted mac and cheese bowls, but a rose nonetheless.
Baseball’s lead story: the dirtbag that is Barry Bonds. Football: the absolute dirtbag that is Michael Vick. Basketball: a gambling controversy that’s going to spread to every corner of that league of thugs.
Compared to other leagues, the NHL could be looking pretty good in terms of public relations. No, I’m not talking about TV ratings or contracts, etc. because the NHL is obviously lacking in those departments. But the NHL is the one big league that is not deeply involved in a scandal and they should use this to their advantage in promoting the league.
NBA = Referee Scandal
I’m going to try to quickly explain what has gone down so far: A veteran NBA referee, Tim Donaghy, made calls to affect the point spread on certain games that he and his associates had money on the table. These bets included thousands of dollars and were placed on games over the last two seasons. Some of his associates are apparently in organized crime and other arrests are expected in the future. The FBI is investigating the matter and the NBA is doing all they can to assist the investigation.
No referee, umpire, linesmen or other in-game official has ever been arrested or indicted for game- or match-fixing in the history of the four major sports. …
Gambling long has been a problem in sports, and leagues have made a point of educating players of the potential pitfalls. The NBA, for example, discusses gambling at rookie orientation, even bringing in former mobster Michael Franceze to speak.
Matt @ Detroit Bad Boys wrote about the scandal from the viewpoint of a Detroit Pistons’ fan. It’s safe to say that referee Donaghy was not a fan of Pistons’ forward Rasheed Wallace.
MLB = Steroid Scandal
While the steroid scandal is no longer at the height it once was at with the MLB, it still is a hot topic with Barry Bonds closing in on the home run record currently held by legend Hank Aarons. Bonds is two home runs away from tying the league record of 755 runs. The federal grand jury is investigating Bonds in the BALCO mess and could be indicted within the next six months. Back in March, two San Francisco Chronicle reporters had their book, Game of Shadows, released to the world and they made a very convincing case that Bonds has used steroids. Personally, it makes me sick that he’s going to break Aaron’s record.
NFL = Discipline Problems
Over the past couple of seasons, the NFL has had a lot of problems with their players getting arrested. The league decided to implement a disciplinary system (ex. commissioner Goodell suspended Tennessee Titans’ cornerback for an entire season). Things got worse when Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Michael Vick was indicted for being a participant in a dogfighting ring with fights being held on his property. Dogs that lost fights were brutally killed whether by drowning, electrocution, shot, or hung. Agents took 70 dogs from the property.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was served a summons to appear in federal court to face charges over competitive dogfighting and brutally killing pit bulls, court documents said.
Vick, who faces up to six years in prison if convicted, was handed the summons Thursday by a U.S. Marshals Service official in the courthouse in Richmond, Va. He and three associates must appear in Richmond next Thursday for bond hearings and arraignments on charges contained in a detailed, 18-page indictment handed up Tuesday.
I certainly would not want to be the Falcons right about now. Not only do they have a PR mess, but Joey Harrington (former Lions’ QB) is their backup. But that’s another story in of itself.
Back to the NHL…
So as you can see, the NHL is doing pretty good right about now in terms of discipline and steroids. I believe the NHL should be promoting its players as good citizens and players. Hockey fans know that hockey players are some of the nicest athletes around and the NHL should use that to their advantage at a time when the other three leagues are struggling.