Missing the NHL?

[mugs]

I do think that. I think that there's a lot of disagreement between the different strata of owners. Do you think Snider, Jacobs (especially him), etc. want to pay one more cent to the failing expansion teams? Shit, I'm sure Ed Snider really wants to share more revenue so he can pay for Shea Weber's contract after the offer sheet.

The increased revenue sharing money would come primarily from the top 10 teams, and although I take the Forbes numbers with a grain of salt, they have the Flyers at number 12. That kind of surprised me, but there are 7 Canadian teams and I don't doubt that the Flyers are behind Detroit, Boston and the Rangers.

Expansion is a strong possibility. I've heard, probably from no one credible but I do think there's a shred of truth, that a two team expansion is practically a done deal.

Relocation is the compromise alternative since neither the NHL or PA want to contract. Move some teams into areas where people will come watch. Then a 30 (or proposed 32) team league might work.

I wouldn't be surprised if they add two and relocate two. Seattle, Quebec City, another team in Ontario, I think I've heard Kansas City mentioned.

The Devils are one of a handful of teams that do have serious attendance problems. For as good of a team as they are, they brought in 15k a night last season, which is only 87% of that arena. Nashville and the Florida teams are outdrawing them. Being a Flyers fan has nothing to do with it. They're the 3rd team in the NYC market and I'm not confident that even two can be successful there. The Rangers average a sellout, so we'll see what happens when the Islanders move into Brooklyn. Their numbers might stay the same or go up, but one thing is for sure, consolidating two teams into NYC isn't going to help the Devils attendance.

It's not going to hurt having the Islanders closer. The Devils don't draw fans from New York. And suddenly having the Islanders closer isn't going to make any Devils fans switch sides unless the Devils suck for a long time and the Islanders go back to winning Stanley Cups.

NJ and NYI are two franchises with a lot of history and a lot of success, especially NJ. IMO, those are the two franchises that deserve better markets. That's nothing against you as a fan of NJ, it's just that there aren't enough others doing the same as you. Honest question - would you stop being a fan if NJ moved to Quebec City, or maybe a little closer, someplace in New England? It's not the Browns, where Art Modell was a greedy dick, but more of a situation where the team can put a better product on the ice.

I'd probably try to remain a fan wherever they went, but I don't know how long that would last when I lose the local connection. I don't really think it's going to happen though. The arena debt doesn't go away if the team moves, and that's really their only financial problem. There are other teams that are in worse shape than the Devils.

 

[sjwaste]

The increased revenue sharing money would come primarily from the top 10 teams, and although I take the Forbes numbers with a grain of salt, they have the Flyers at number 12. That kind of surprised me, but there are 7 Canadian teams and I don't doubt that the Flyers are behind Detroit, Boston and the Rangers.

Realistically, the Flyers are probably valued correctly. They're overselling the arena by 5% every night, which suggests they're constrained on the revenue side, since the NHL is fairly gate-driven.

I wouldn't be surprised if they add two and relocate two. Seattle, Quebec City, another team in Ontario, I think I've heard Kansas City mentioned.

If they stuck to just relocating two, wouldn't we have a better league? I love hockey, but adding 2 more teams presumably means that there will now be ~40 more players in the league worse than Andreas Nodl. That's the biggest problem I have with the NHL right now - they're willing to water down the game to make some expansion fees, which just lead to labor issues because the only expansion markets left are bad ones (unless you leave teams in the bad ones and expand into the good ones that should already have those teams).

It's not going to hurt having the Islanders closer. The Devils don't draw fans from New York. And suddenly having the Islanders closer isn't going to make any Devils fans switch sides unless the Devils suck for a long time and the Islanders go back to winning Stanley Cups.

Hopefully not, but casual fans may decide to wander over to Brooklyn instead of out to Newark, depending on where they live. Staten Island may now be a swing state. Haha.

I'd probably try to remain a fan wherever they went, but I don't know how long that would last when I lose the local connection. I don't really think it's going to happen though. The arena debt doesn't go away if the team moves, and that's really their only financial problem. There are other teams that are in worse shape than the Devils.

Yeah there are, especially when you consider hockey shape too. Personally, I think the Islanders were a better bet for relocation, but we'll see how things go in Brooklyn for them. I'd agree that once you figure out Phoenix, Dallas, Columbus and some of the other bad markets, then you can worry about filling the Prudential Center.

I just REALLY hope they don't expand.

 

[MtnMan]

Missing pro sports and the overpaid crybabies is like missing a raging case of hemorrhoids.

 

[mugs]

Missing pro sports and the overpaid crybabies is like missing a raging case of hemorrhoids.

Look at this guy, too cool for pro sports.

 

[mugs]

Realistically, the Flyers are probably valued correctly. They're overselling the arena by 5% every night, which suggests they're constrained on the revenue side, since the NHL is fairly gate-driven.



If they stuck to just relocating two, wouldn't we have a better league? I love hockey, but adding 2 more teams presumably means that there will now be ~40 more players in the league worse than Andreas Nodl. That's the biggest problem I have with the NHL right now - they're willing to water down the game to make some expansion fees, which just lead to labor issues because the only expansion markets left are bad ones (unless you leave teams in the bad ones and expand into the good ones that should already have those teams).



Hopefully not, but casual fans may decide to wander over to Brooklyn instead of out to Newark, depending on where they live. Staten Island may now be a swing state. Haha.



Yeah there are, especially when you consider hockey shape too. Personally, I think the Islanders were a better bet for relocation, but we'll see how things go in Brooklyn for them. I'd agree that once you figure out Phoenix, Dallas, Columbus and some of the other bad markets, then you can worry about filling the Prudential Center.

I just REALLY hope they don't expand.

Yeah I don't really want to see expansion. The only good thing that would come out of it is the number of teams would be divisible by 4.

 

[AMDZen]

Yell yea bitches. CBA tentatively agreed upon, season to start either Jan 15 for a 50 game season or Jan 19 for a 48 game season.

 

[xSauronx]

Yell yea bitches. CBA tentatively agreed upon, season to start either Jan 15 for a 50 game season or Jan 19 for a 48 game season.

im going to boycott watching, attending and product if they make it happen. maybe itll be a deal that they will agree to hold for a while, at least...and then next year wont have to suck.

 

[AMDZen]

im going to boycott watching, attending and product if they make it happen. maybe itll be a deal that they will agree to hold for a while, at least...and then next year wont have to suck.

I'll boycott spending any money of any kind on the NHL, I already have even though I wanted a new Avs beanie and a few other things like shirts and stuff. However I will be watching the first few games the Avs play like a young kid watching pr0n for the first time. I might even rub one out on Landeskog's first goal or something

 

[iRONic]

im going to boycott watching, attending and product if they make it happen. maybe itll be a deal that they will agree to hold for a while, at least...and then next year wont have to suck.

You're gonna miss all the awesome that is Joe Corvo.

 

[KMFJD]

im going to boycott watching, attending and product if they make it happen. maybe itll be a deal that they will agree to hold for a while, at least...and then next year wont have to suck.

That's gotta suck considering that your team should be pretty damn good this year....

 

[Nemesis13]

gamecenter is 49.99 this year

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

too much. 25 bucks and I woulda considered it.

 

[dirtboy]

Got tickets to the King's home opener!

 

[KeithTalent]

Excited for Saturday. I sure hope we can trade Luongo and get some depth up the middle.

KT

 

[KMFJD]

Excited for Saturday. I sure hope we can trade Luongo and get some depth up the middle.

KT

I just can't see anyone willing to pick up that contract, even the Leafs

 

[KeithTalent]

I just can't see anyone willing to pick up that contract, even the Leafs

I'm hoping they will with Nonis in charge now since he was the guy that went all out for him in Vancouver.

KT

 

[Gintaras]

I care, I am so missing hockey right now. I am going to try and catch some KHL games.

KHL - is a pleasure to watch...

NHL - Ice Hockey mixed with boxing...

KHL - finesse Hockey...too bad, that most Ice Hockey fans in US actually never heard of...
KHL - Ice Hockey, when players play with sticks a puck instead boxing and punhching their faces...

 

[Uppsala9496]

KHL - is a pleasure to watch...

NHL - Ice Hockey mixed with boxing...

KHL - finesse Hockey...too bad, that most Ice Hockey fans in US actually never heard of...
KHL - Ice Hockey, when players play with sticks a puck instead boxing and punhching their faces...

Wow you are clueless. 0.44 fights per nhl game. Yep that sure is a lot of boxing.

 

[n7]

Fighting is a highly unnecessary relic in the NHL. If the players want to keep it in the game, i'm just fine with it.

But really, it's silly.

Fact is, there's a lot of physicality in the NHL that doesn't really need to be in the game for it to be good.
It allows for less skilled players to compete with highly skilled players essentially.

 

[sjwaste]

Fighting is a highly unnecessary relic in the NHL. If the players want to keep it in the game, i'm just fine with it.

But really, it's silly.

Fact is, there's a lot of physicality in the NHL that doesn't really need to be in the game for it to be good.
It allows for less skilled players to compete with highly skilled players essentially.

It adds another dimension. North American hockey will always be more physical. The rink is smaller than the rest of the world, the players are bigger, faster, stronger, and they run into each other. If fighting went away, some other type of physicality would replace it. The "enforcer" role is largely gone from the league, so now the grinders fight. If hockey evolves to the point where fighting just doesn't happen, I'm ok with that, but forcing a rule change isn't going to do anything for you. It's not going to stop guys from crosschecking Sidney Crosby in the back of the head because they don't like his chirping. It will, however, remove barriers to doing so, because currently someone else can come cave your face in if you try that. I think removing fighting will just lead to more cheap shots and more injuries.

If you want the ice capades, the Swedish Elite League is always looking for fans. European hockey in general is just... softer. Lots of space, in some leagues very little checking. That's fine if you like that, but it's not North American hockey.

 

[sjwaste]

PS. Fuck you, NHL. Fuck you hard. You were right, I'd come running back the second hockey returned.

 

[sjwaste]

KHL - is a pleasure to watch...

NHL - Ice Hockey mixed with boxing...

KHL - finesse Hockey...too bad, that most Ice Hockey fans in US actually never heard of...
KHL - Ice Hockey, when players play with sticks a puck instead boxing and punhching their faces...

Yeah, the KHL is a pleasure to watch. 3 of your top 5 scorers are on a plane back to the NHL right now. Come on, dude, I think the AHL might be a more exciting league to watch. The KHL falls somewhere between Canadian Juniors and the LNAH.

 

[Nemesis13]

Yea im excited for puck drop, but still bitter that im not going to get to see the flyers play in Nashville this year.

 

[AMDZen]

Couldn't have happened at a better time, after football season has ended for me due to RahimGate, this weekend I still have something to watch. We need to sign Radar ASAP!

 

[hclarkjr]

Couldn't have happened at a better time, after football season has ended for me due to RahimGate, this weekend I still have something to watch. We need to sign Radar ASAP!

Well - I'm off to the game now to tailgate a while and enjoy the weather. Got my layers on so hot as hell, gotta get the hell outside.



Go Broncos!!!!!! how did that work out for you???