The 2007-08 NHL Hockey thread

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What do you think of Mark Cuban's perinneal dream of an NHL franchise in Las Vegas?
 
There has been talk of Jerry Bruckheimer trying to bring an NHL franchise to Las Vegas. That's a bad idea, in my opinion, and would be a blatant cash grab by the owners.

Here's an idea: why not expand to cities that are in so-called hockey markets, such as Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford? Seattle or Portland would be a better location than Vegas.
 
Ugh.. Las Vegas :barf:

I don't really get them putting a team in Hamilton either, it being so close to Toronto and all. I know it's likely supposed to be similar to CFL rivalries or something.. but with NHL.. I don't know. I'd love to see Winnipeg get a team back.. and go from there.

When did hockey become so farking complicated... let's go back to the original six!
 
Congrats to Ondrej Pavelec for getting his first NHL start last night.
I hope this is a good indication ... maybe now, he won't have to continually sit on the bench while in Atlanta. :up:

The Thrashers managed to win against the Lightning 6-4.
 
You an Isles fan Headache? I think I might possibly be the only human on the planet who actually liked those fisherman jerseys.

Philly-Rangers on VS tonight, I finally get to see the new Flyers. Can't wait.
 
Pascal Leclaire 5 shutouts in 9 games. Bluejackets 18 points before January. What the hell is going on?
 
Doesn't really surprise me.

Pascal Leclaire was damn good when he played in Halifax in juniors, now that he's getting used to NHL play he's getting his old confidence back.

Same thing happened with J-S Giguere.

Halifax used to be a feckin' NHL factory in the late 90's. Alex Tanguay, Ladislav Nagy (although he's dropped off since the lockout), Giguere, and now Leclaire...and I guarantee I'm missing a bunch of players. Then it stopped for about 5 years. Now we've got Jakub Voracek, who may just end up being named in the same sentence as Jagr when it comes to Czech hockey players by the time his career's over.
 
CTU2fan said:
You an Isles fan Headache? I think I might possibly be the only human on the planet who actually liked those fisherman jerseys.
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I liked em!

Off to see the Wild and Oilers tonight. Cannot wait. Haven't been to an NHL game for about two years....and haven't been to a Wild game since before the strike.
 
zoney! said:


I liked em!

Off to see the Wild and Oilers tonight. Cannot wait. Haven't been to an NHL game for about two years....and haven't been to a Wild game since before the strike.
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Awesome. I haven't seen an NHL game live since '97. I want to try to get to a Lightning game this year, hopefully.
 
Atlanta is sticking with Pavelec and Haydar !! :up: Unfortunately, Sterling got sent back to the Wolves ?? :hmm:

What ?? :rolleyes:

He plays only 10 games, most of which they made him play out of position, and then send him down after a slow start ?? :tsk:

The Atlanta team stinks right now, but Sterling is sent down? Just doesn't make any sense. :huh:
 
Canadiens1160 said:
Shutout for Huet tonight. Very nice, indeed. :up:
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Woohoo! Good for him! :applaud:
The rest of the team didn't look so hot during the first and third period though...hmmm...

Can't wait to catch tonight's Sens vs Leafs game - always a great matchup!
 
Wow, just saw Eric Lindros is going to announce his retirement. It's easy to forget the type of dominant player Eric was before various injuries killed his career. Whatever you might think of the guy, between the Quebec business and his deserved reputation of being somewhat of a dick off the ice, this guy when healthy was awesome to watch. Remember the Legion of Doom?
 
MsMofoGone said:

Careful !! Careful ... who you feel isn't an issue. :hmm:
There's talk going on at this very moment how our young prospect, Pavelec, might get sent back down to The Wolves team, so he can get 'ice time' instead of just sitting on the bench for Atlanta. If that happens, Brathwaite WILL be called up to Atlanta to back-up Hedberg and eventually Freddy will play. :D


I don't believe so ... Atlanta is on the verge of possibly taking more Wolves players IF they cannot get themselves on a consistent win record. That's all that's being discussed is how to dismantle the Wolves team for their (Atlanta's) benefit. Which again, is very bad for us here in Chicago. :tsk:


If I am so-ooo out of touch with reality ... then why are there SEVERAL Wolves playing on The Thrashers team ?? According to you and others here, there should NOT be a single, solitary Wolves player ... absolutely no one from their team to compete in the NHL. Although, there is ... and they're NOT there to 'look pretty' ... they're there because they were GOOD ENOUGH to make the team. :up:

By you and everyone else here saying that The Wolves couldn't compete in the NHL ... I'm taking that as you're thinking the ENTIRE team. But, I am talking about SEVERAL of The Wolves players (NOT the WHOLE team) !! :yes:



Actually, that title went to Atlanta BEFORE they made a coaching change. Now, The Thrashers (with all those Wolves players on their team) seem to be somewhat better improving. Heck, they managed to beat The Blackhawks, and that was a major improvement right there. :D
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wow. there's so much wrong with what you said, i won't bother.

yeah, i know that's lazy but i really don't feel the need to convert your opinion here. you don't understand what i'm saying. or any of us.
 
LarryMullen's_POPAngel said:
Good thing hockey arenas aren't exactly known for their retractable roofs.
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Speaking of roofs, or lack thereof, here are the vintage jerseys that Pittsburgh and Buffalo will be donning on New Year's Day when they face-off at Ralph Wilson Satdium.

I kind of like the Penguins old colours.

bufwinter.jpg


pitwinter.jpg



ETA:nevermind. Images don't show.
 
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DaveC said:
Wild vs. Oilers?

:yuck:
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Great game! 5-2 Wild!

And, I feel kinda bad for forgetting that I did see an NHL game last year....one that two posters in this thread blew off because there was no free beer! :down:


;)


They were GREAT seats at a great arena, provided by a great interferencer! :D
 
LarryMullen's_POPAngel said:
Good thing hockey arenas aren't exactly known for their retractable roofs.
Click to expand...

The "igloo" (Pittsburgh) was originally (may still be) a retractable roof. The original, I believe. And it was not inveted by an Interferencer. :D
 
zonelistener said:
Is this opinion or fact? and if it is fact, prove it.
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BonoManiac said:
Yeah, perhaps I should have been more clear. My statements are both really, but they stem from an article I read recently (which I tried to Google unsuccessfully).
Click to expand...


There's been more than one article on this subject and here's another one in today's Globe and Mail. Things have really turned around for Canadian franchises since the dollar started it's ascent (concurrent with the U.S. greenback's descent).


http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071107.wsptloonie7/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home



Lucky loonie has its downside

ALLAN MAKI AND ERIC DUHATSCHEK


From Thursday's Globe and Mail
November 7, 2007 at 9:11 PM EST


When Brian Burke was the president and general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, he would grab the morning newspaper and check on how the Canadian dollar was doing against the U.S. buck. The lone exception was Sunday, when he went to church and appealed to the highest possible authority.

"You'd be at mass with your kids and you're not supposed to pray for stuff like this, but you'd pray for the Canadian dollar to improve," Burke recalled. "It dominated our thoughts. I remember talking to other team presidents about it. 'What are we going to do?' Now, you look at the Canadian teams and the dollar is so strong, the buildings are all full, it's just a totally different picture."

The Canadian dollar was at its unpredictable best yesterday, soaring to $1.10 against the U.S. currency, then settling at $1.07. It's a level that continues to affect everything on the country's sporting landscape, from skiing to golf to the six Canadian-based NHL clubs that are now padding the league's revenue and driving its salary cap.

But too much of anything good can be a problem, and the NHL appears on the brink of a significant dilemma. The rise of the Canadian dollar, which can be partially attributed to the slump of the U.S. dollar, is bound to put several small-market U.S. clubs in a bind.

The Atlanta Thrashers, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes and Florida Panthers will soon feel the strain of a robust Canadian hockey economy, which is generating money for the NHL and increasing its hockey-related revenue. In turn, that could raise the NHL's salary cap. The high end of the cap, $50.3-million (all currency U.S. unless otherwise noted), isn't the issue. It's the low end, which is $34.3-million and could go up. For this season, the Predators and Washington Capitals had to spend upward of $4-million to $6-million just to reach the cap minimum.

Now, there are questions surrounding the revenue-sharing aspects of the NHL's collective labour agreement.

According to published reports, the bottom-ranked clubs that receive revenue sharing "must generate a year-to-year growth rate in excess of the league average revenue growth rate." With the financial success of the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers, the NHL's weakest clubs may not be able to better the league average in revenue growth, and that would mean a deduction in the money they'd get from their partners.

In other words, the weak clubs would be weakened a little more, which wasn't supposed to happen in the new NHL. Of all the loopholes the league tried to close with its new collective agreement, this one was left unsecured.

"It's possible," Cal Nichols, the head of the Edmonton Oilers' Investors Group, said when asked whether small-market U.S. clubs could be damaged. "I can say that as our revenues grow, so increases what we pay into revenue sharing. I'm not going to say everything's wonderful [in Edmonton] until we find out what we have to pay. We don't know yet."

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said clubs can qualify for a varying amount of compensation annually — it was $13-million in the first postlockout season and $10-million last year — to help defray the disparity in revenue relating to market size.

While Daly outlined the details of revenue sharing, he acknowledged the increase in the value of the Canadian dollar had created a situation worth tracking.

"This phenomenon is a new issue," Daly said. "If it became a persistent, league-wide issue over a considerable period of time, it may be something we have to look at addressing in some way."

Since all NHL contracts are paid in U.S. dollars, players on Canadian-based teams are taking a hit. To counter that, some are now putting money into Canadian-dollar investment deals and real estate. At least one prominent player agent said he has yet to hear any complaints from his Canadian-based clients. "Every time you look at it that way, you've got to look at it the other way," J.P. Barry of Creative Artists Agency said. "Even for a [Dany] Heatley, the rising cap has helped them get these large, long-term deals. Without the rising cap, would Heatley or Jason Spezza [both of the Ottawa Senators] have been able to do these deals?"

To be fair, there are American-born athletes playing in Canada who do cartwheels every time they're told our dollar has jumped another notch. CFL imports are paid in Canadian money, which means they can now take it home with a built-in bonus.

"That's going to make me not retire," said Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Milt Stegall, who may hang up his helmet once the CFL playoffs are done. "Because I want to recoup some of that money I lost in the late 1990s [when the Canadian dollar was valued at 63 cents U.S.]. For Canadians, it's not a big deal. For Americans, it is a big deal."

For Canadian sports officials, the pluck of the loonie is welcome.

Dale Robarts, the vice-president of finance for Alpine Canada, said the cost of doing ski business in Europe has been noticeably offset. "We used to spend $1.64 [Canadian] per euro. Today, it was about $1.42 [Canadian]," Robarts said, "so the difference is a substantial benefit for us."

It's the same for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, said Dave Lafleur, its chief financial officer. "Our expenses are about $4-million [Canadian], so a swing of 10 cents is $400,000," he said. "That's pretty impactful."

As for Tennis Canada, the Rogers Cup professional tournaments offer U.S. prize money, a combined $3.78-million for last year's men's and women's events. With a 10-cent increase in the loonie, Tennis Canada gets to do some good with its windfall.

"Our mission at Tennis Canada," media and communications director Michael Cvitkovic said, "is that the profits from the two pro tournaments go directly back into the development of the sport in Canada."

From his new vantage point as the general manager of the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, Burke is happy to no longer monitor and pray for a healthy Canadian dollar.

"We were worried at one point about the survival of the Canadian teams," Burke said. "Now, they're really all in great shape. Good for the Canadian teams. They suffered through enough lean years. If they're basking in the sun for a couple of months or a year, good for them."

With reports from James Christie and David Naylor
Click to expand...
 
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