The NHL Thread

[mkkid]

I know this is a bit of a naughty one, but where does everyone watch live games? Now that only Premier Sports show live NHL here in UK I'm missing out.

NHL Gamecenter is only 31 pounds,it brilliant live game streaming and full games highlight of every game.

 

[ripley]

NHL Gamecenter is only 31 pounds,it brilliant live game streaming and full games highlight of every game.

This season (or half season, i should say) $49.00 CAD for NHL Center Ice Package (with your North American satellite TV provider). Every game live on satellite TV. Even though i promised myself i was done with NHL after this lockout, i buckled and am now able to watch every Bruins game as they reclaim their Cup after lending it to the Kings for a year.

 

[LSUY]

This season (or half season, i should say) $49.00 CAD for NHL Center Ice Package (with your North American satellite TV provider). Every game live on satellite TV. Even though i promised myself i was done with NHL after this lockout, i buckled and am now able to watch every Bruins game as they reclaim their Cup after lending it to the Kings for a year.

I think you'll find that the cup is coming home to Pittsburgh.

 

[mkkid]

I think your both wrong,Its the Rangers year.Nash is going to make a difference

 

[ripley]

Pittsburgh will be strong...Rangers will be strong but I think they both share a common weakness. They both lack depth due to the fact that they have several top end players (Crosby + Malkin) (Nash + Gaborik) that eat up a lot of their salary cap.
It'll be a weird year as the season is short and any team that goes on a tear can win it all.

 

[Lufti]

Pittsburgh will be strong...Rangers will be strong but I think they both share a common weakness. They both lack depth due to the fact that they have several top end players (Crosby + Malkin) (Nash + Gaborik) that eat up a lot of their salary cap.
It'll be a weird year as the season is short and any team that goes on a tear can win it all.

I think as we can see, teams with a lot of players who played in Europe or wherever during the lockout have benefited and got off to a good start. I'm bemused at what's happened to the Capitals though. Haven't won a game yet?!

On a side note, I'd love to see who you guys support and why just out of interest (if you're living in the UK) given that most fans in Canada and the U.S. support their local teams (I presume). As I obviously don't live in North America I support the Canucks. Purely and simply because I liked their logo and started watching them haha This was about 2006 though so don't call me a glory hunter or whatever And yeah, feel free to leave some hate, no one likes the Canucks! Though I hear this seasons most hated team might just be the Pens!

 

[PhillySpurs]

I think as we can see, teams with a lot of players who played in Europe or wherever during the lockout have benefited and got off to a good start. I'm bemused at what's happened to the Capitals though. Haven't won a game yet?!

On a side note, I'd love to see who you guys support and why just out of interest (if you're living in the UK) given that most fans in Canada and the U.S. support their local teams (I presume). As I obviously don't live in North America I support the Canucks. Purely and simply because I liked their logo and started watching them haha This was about 2006 though so don't call me a glory hunter or whatever And yeah, feel free to leave some hate, no one likes the Canucks! Though I hear this seasons most hated team might just be the Pens!

I am a Philadelphia Flyers fan. I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and have been a fan since birth. And I do not hate the Canucks. I love the Sedin twins and I loved watching Pavel Bure play when I was younger. I love their sweaters and logo are one of my favorites (other than my Orange and Black).

 

[michaelden]

I think as we can see, teams with a lot of players who played in Europe or wherever during the lockout have benefited and got off to a good start. I'm bemused at what's happened to the Capitals though. Haven't won a game yet?!

On a side note, I'd love to see who you guys support and why just out of interest (if you're living in the UK) given that most fans in Canada and the U.S. support their local teams (I presume). As I obviously don't live in North America I support the Canucks. Purely and simply because I liked their logo and started watching them haha This was about 2006 though so don't call me a glory hunter or whatever And yeah, feel free to leave some hate, no one likes the Canucks! Though I hear this seasons most hated team might just be the Pens!

lost 4-1 to my Sharks

still this strike ruined NHL for me. feel ambivalent now

 

[ripley]

Hockey can be a terrific sport, but the NHL is a shit-fest of epic proportions. Every 7 years they basically erode the sport by having these long stoppages. And every time they think that its okay because all of the fans come flocking back. But they only come flocking back in the cities that have large youth hockey set-up, like Boston, Minnesota and the Canadian teams. But these fans that come flocking back are getting older and the kids don't give a shit about the NHL outside of these few regions because its a sport few can play (and you best be rich if you want to play as I see it put people in massive debt here) and its a league that stops every few years.

They only compound their dubious financial situation by pulling this crap when they have so many teams falling apart....including storied franchises. Too many teams and too little talent and way too many teams in places that shouldn't have them. Think about this....NBC paid 2 billion for 10 years of this league (and then got fucked by the owners). NBC just paid 250 million for 3 years of the EPL. And mind you, if you listen to anybody in Europe or American, they will say that nobody watches soccer. The EPL is worth nearly 1/2 as much as the NHL, and it's a foreign league that they cannot dictate anything to. They can't ask for times to be changed or games to moved and they have to play games in the morning (the worst ad revenue block for TV) in a sport that doesn't have breaks for commercials (they dictate commercial breaks to the NHL). They have no control over the EPL, unlike the NHL and gave out 1/2 the value for 3 years. The next contract will be worth more.

So the NHL is dying. Nobody realizes it yet. Europe will eventually have a league that will be better and could see the Canadian teams defecting to join it.

And don't forget, while not racist, their business model is based around working class white families. That is a diminishing group with whites in general heading towards being less than half the US population by 2050 at the latest and those types of jobs going out of hockey regions. Latinos and blacks have no historical association with the sport and thus gravitate towards others. It's why the Mexican Football League is much more popular than the NHL in the US. There's something they don't report very often. In fact, if you lump all the leagues together, soccer (the sport nobody loves) is more popular than anything but football and baseball (and it will surpass baseball in my lifetime) This is just going to get worse and the owners only shoot themselves in the feet constantly. And they do fuck all in grass roots work. They just sit on their ass and expect people to keep coming. When it falls apart they will react and it will be too late.

Although i don't disagree with a lot of your points, your overall tone is a bit alarmist.
The NHL will generate record revenues again soon and will always be popular in its niche markets.
I think it will start to take fans away from some other sports...maybe NBA or MLB.
The expansion to the sunbelt areas pre-dates Gary Bettman as the owners (as a group) thought that they could attract the pensioners and former Northeners who had moved to sunnier climes (Snowbirds) as fans.
Some worked...others have had hard times.
I think we'll see during the lifespan of this CBA which teams get relocated or contracted.
We may see some new teams in Quebec, Southern Ontario, and NW USA (Portland, Seattle).

Cost of playing hockey is prohibitive to a lot of parents and soccer has become the sport of choice for parents who want their child involved in an activity without a huge startup cost.
But...with teams like LA Kings, TB Lightning, Colorado Rockies, Carolina Hurricane etc the sport enjoys good figures for kids wanting to get involved in hockey at a young age in a non-traditional hockey market.

The colour thing has a funny side as the Atlanta Flames tried to entice more spectators by trading for afro North American players (Evander Kane, Dustin Byfuglien etc.).
Then the team got relocated to Winnipeg...

Overall, hockey has always been #4 in the top 4 North American Sports.
In some areas of the US it trails NASCAR, golf, bowling, dwarf tossing etc.
Despite the damage done to the sport by misguided owners and Commissioner it has succeeded and will continue to do so as long as they don't price the tickets out of reach of the common fan (which may well happen).

 

[cwy21]

Hockey will always be popular (eg sold out arenas) in the Canadian cities, Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York (especially the Rangers), Boston, and Washington. I just named half the league. Its certainly very strong in other cities too (St. Louis springs to mind). Now for the NHL, the question is how much can they get in TV money. They'll make the ticket money no problem.

 

[HappySpur]

I am being a bit alarmist. Sorry for that. Part of that is immense anger. My family is Boston Bruins crazy and they were very hurt by the lockout (I could empathize and think how horrifying it would be for me if Spurs weren't playing) and I so I do have an axe to grind.

I will say this.....I think your reference to Atlanta is very significant. Remember that is the second time that Atlanta has lost a franchise. The flames moved to Calgary in the 80's I think. There are too many franchises below the Mason Dixon line. And there should be exactly two......which are San Jose and Los Angeles. They play hockey in Phoenix...in a dessert. That is unnatural. And it's hard to build a brand in a place where kids don't know the game. Hockey is religion in Boston (much more so than the Red Sox as most people assume), but a team like Carolina doesn't have that kind of passion behind it. They are trading on novelty and those northerners that are living in the Triangle due to its tech industry. So teams that don't have that passion need a team doing well to keep the place filled. Toronto has sucked for a long time, yet there will never be an issue with filling an arena. Toronto is even more Hockey obsessed than Boston.

I think the league has to make a decision. I think it needs to recognize that it is not a national sport. The attempt to be a national sport has led to extravagant expansion that had diluted the talent pool. It's been so opulent, this expansion, that they have diluted the pool despite the fact that at the same time that they got access to awesome pool of players that the Soviets had. Plus this also happened at a time that they began heavy recruitment in the western European countries too. So they had all of this new and great talent from a continent at their disposal and still they expanded to the point that it can't keep up with teams.

If they recognize that they are a regional sport, they can stabilize the league. Collapse a few teams (the league should be around 24, but even 28 would make a difference) and relocate a few more back to Quebec City, Hamilton, perhaps a second Toronto team (they have the market for it but studies point to Canada being only able to handle two more franchises). So if Tampa, Florida, Nashville, Columbus (a football town, not a hockey town), Phoenix and Dallas are shut down and the Islanders move to Quebec and Carolina moves to Toronto or Hamilton and Anaheim can be moved if needed, then you have a league of 24 in healthy areas with enough population to keep the TV revenue coming in. And you add 18 lines to these 24 teams, meaning the talent level is back to the 80's level.

 

[ripley]

Hockey will always be popular (eg sold out arenas) in the Canadian cities, Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York (especially the Rangers), Boston, and Washington. I just named half the league. Its certainly very strong in other cities too (St. Louis springs to mind). Now for the NHL, the question is how much can they get in TV money. They'll make the ticket money no problem.

St. Louis has had problems recently...but may be on the rebound due to better results and playoff appearances.
TV Deal: NBC renewed for 10 years for $2 billion USD.
This puts a lot more righteous coin in the pockets of owners.
Plus the new CBA raises the amount of revenue that owners get.
TV revenue is under control, player cost certainty is under control, more revenue sharing is ratified in new CBA.
All is looking good...so now it is up to the owners and players to play smart and make nice with the fans, businesses and employees that have suffered from the work stoppages.

 

[ripley]

I am being a bit alarmist. Sorry for that. Part of that is immense anger. My family is Boston Bruins crazy and they were very hurt by the lockout (I could empathize and think how horrifying it would be for me if Spurs weren't playing) and I so I do have an axe to grind.

I will say this.....I think your reference to Atlanta is very significant. Remember that is the second time that Atlanta has lost a franchise. The flames moved to Calgary in the 80's I think. There are too many franchises below the Mason Dixon line. And there should be exactly two......which are San Jose and Los Angeles. They play hockey in Phoenix...in a dessert. That is unnatural. And it's hard to build a brand in a place where kids don't know the game. Hockey is religion in Boston (much more so than the Red Sox as most people assume), but a team like Carolina doesn't have that kind of passion behind it. They are trading on novelty and those northerners that are living in the Triangle due to its tech industry. So teams that don't have that passion need a team doing well to keep the place filled. Toronto has sucked for a long time, yet there will never be an issue with filling an arena. Toronto is even more Hockey obsessed than Boston.

I think the league has to make a decision. I think it needs to recognize that it is not a national sport. The attempt to be a national sport has led to extravagant expansion that had diluted the talent pool. It's been so opulent, this expansion, that they have diluted the pool despite the fact that at the same time that they got access to awesome pool of players that the Soviets had. Plus this also happened at a time that they began heavy recruitment in the western European countries too. So they have all of this great talent for continent and still then expand to the point that it can't keep up with teams.

If they recognize that they are a regional sport, they can stabilize the league. Collapse a few teams (the league should be around 24, but even 28 would make a difference) and relocate a few more back to Quebec City, Hamilton, perhaps a second Toronto team (they have the market for it but studies point to Canada being only able to handle two more franchises). So if Tampa, Florida, Nashville, Columbus (a football town, not a hockey town), Phoenix and Dallas are shut down and the Islanders move to Quebec and Carolina moves to Toronto or Hamilton and Anaheim can be moved if needed, then you have a league of 24 in healthy areas with enough population to keep the TV revenue coming in. And you add 18 lines to these 24 teams, meaning the talent level is back to the 80's level.

Agreed.
Atlanta did become the Calgary Flames.
Colorado had a team before: The Rockies
Cleveland had the Barons
a forget which team relocated to New Jersey to become the Devils
Oakland had a team: Oakland Seals which all wore white skates
Hartford had the Whalers which moved to Carolina (I believe).
Details are kinda hazy with my random access memory.

Team movement in hockey is a given.
Bettman is a stubborn Commissioner though.
It will take a lot to contract teams.
He will never admit that the NHL is a regional sport.
He came from the NBA and his personal mandate (IMO) is to overtake the NBA in popularity.

I bet i know most of your family if they post on HF Boards: http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15
I'm a Bruins fan since the early 60's and lived in Montreal almost all my life...
figure that one out.

 

[HappySpur]

Agreed.
Atlanta did become the Calgary Flames.
Colorado had a team before: The Rockies
Cleveland had the Barons
a forget which team relocated to New Jersey to become the Devils
Oakland had a team: Oakland Seals which all wore white skates
Hartford had the Whalers which moved to Carolina (I believe).
Details are kinda hazy with my random access memory.

Team movement in hockey is a given.
Bettman is a stubborn Commissioner though.
It will take a lot to contract teams.
He will never admit that the NHL is a regional sport.
He came from the NBA and his personal mandate (IMO) is to overtake the NBA in popularity.

I bet i know most of your family if they post on HF Boards: http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15
I'm a Bruins fan since the early 60's and lived in Montreal almost all my life...
figure that one out.

That's hilarious. I like the Habs rather than the Bruins. We're misplaced My nephew might post, but the other 5 wouldn't be forum people.

Bet game I've ever been too was the Toronto-Montreal pre-season game after the last lockout.

 

[Lufti]

lost 4-1 to my Sharks

still this strike ruined NHL for me. feel ambivalent now

Son of a

Haha, I know, I stayed up to watch it!

In fairness I don't feel too bad because we played well. We hit the frame 5 times but our powerplay is a shadow of what it used to be. We scored 0 out of 7 whereas I think you pesky Sharks scored 2 out of 5? We had more shots but nothing to show for it, Niemi is a good goalie! But in fairness to us, our second line is weakened by the losses of Kesler and Booth and barely any of our players played during the lockout so we're still warming up!

For you guys though, Marleau, Thornton and Pavelski have been unbelievable, your first line is great! You could be a real contender this season if you can manage to keep it up! But then again, this season will be hard to predict given the crazy schedule, can't wait to see it unfold!

 

[PhillySpurs]

Agreed.
Atlanta did become the Calgary Flames.
Colorado had a team before: The Rockies
Cleveland had the Barons
a forget which team relocated to New Jersey to become the Devils
Oakland had a team: Oakland Seals which all wore white skates
Hartford had the Whalers which moved to Carolina (I believe).
Details are kinda hazy with my random access memory.

Team movement in hockey is a given.
Bettman is a stubborn Commissioner though.
It will take a lot to contract teams.
He will never admit that the NHL is a regional sport.
He came from the NBA and his personal mandate (IMO) is to overtake the NBA in popularity.

I bet i know most of your family if they post on HF Boards: http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15
I'm a Bruins fan since the early 60's and lived in Montreal almost all my life...
figure that one out.

Yeah, Bettman has been pushing hockey into cities/states that have almost zero interest in hockey. The only "southern" teams that has any real kind of dedicated following are the Stars and Hurricanes. Tampa and Florida's fan base only arrive when they are close to making the playoffs. Phoenix basically has to give out tickets. Hockey is definitely regional, and Bettman is always catering to those small market southern teams. It's those big time organizations (Rangers, Flyers, Leafs, Bruins, Habs, etc...) that carry hockey. As long as those teams are successful, the NHL is successful.

As for me, my love for the game has not wavered because of the lockout. It would be a whole different story, if the lockout would have taken the entire season away. However, since they came back, I'm good. Just wish my Flyers were playing better.

 

[michaelden]

Son of a

Haha, I know, I stayed up to watch it!

In fairness I don't feel too bad because we played well. We hit the frame 5 times but our powerplay is a shadow of what it used to be. We scored 0 out of 7 whereas I think you pesky Sharks scored 2 out of 5? We had more shots but nothing to show for it, Niemi is a good goalie! But in fairness to us, our second line is weakened by the losses of Kesler and Booth and barely any of our players played during the lockout so we're still warming up!

For you guys though, Marleau, Thornton and Pavelski have been unbelievable, your first line is great! You could be a real contender this season if you can manage to keep it up! But then again, this season will be hard to predict given the crazy schedule, can't wait to see it unfold!

a goopd mate of mine is a Cannuk and I missed the opportunity to wind him up. tbf your team is good, I liked the Sedin twins. Were v.good last season

 

[sweyid]

Since I get up at 5.15 and go to work at 7.45 I figured I could catch the second and third periods of late games. Pretty good start to a grim morning, curled up in the sofa with a cup of coffee watching hockey before work.

Too bad I can't catch any Canadiens or Flames games.

 

[ripley]

Trade Deadline Day.

 

[mkkid]

Rangers sucessful, no Stanley cup since 94.
There the spurs of the NHL.