the re-emergence of the nhl

kobayashi · 07-13-2005, 09:55 AM

a collective bargaining agreement has been reached and awaits ratification from both players and owners.
check out tsn's summary.

some teams will be unrecognisable come 2 months from now given a massive crop of players available via free agency and more expected to be so with the 2/3rds buyout clause and a $39m cap on spending. the crosby sweepstakes will turn a new chapter during a 'slightly' weighted lottery favoring poorly performing teams of recent years (of course, there is rampant speculation that his negotiations with a swiss team will provide him with leverage to request a trade if, say, nashville wins his rights-keyword here being speculation).

the game itself will be different to some degree as shootouts, 3 on 3 overtime, points regimes with no ties, the return of tag up offsides, no touch icing, larger nets and no red line for 2 line passes are all being considered.

additionally, the league is considering an opening best of 3 playoff round of teams 7-10 before resuming best of 7 play with the remaining 8 teams in each conference, and the schedule will be further muddled by participation in the olympics.

big changes. how far has the sport fallen in the minds of north american's? can it return and, if so, is this the way?

Hewson · 07-13-2005, 10:10 AM

Methinks the teams (certainly the NYs, Bostons, Detroits etc.) are going to have to consider lowering ticket prices or face some half or more empty buildings on many nights.

Its crazy that the NHL (at least in Boston) has the highest avg ticket price of the 4 major sports. To get fans bacvk, and kids/families out to games, they have to charge a reasonable price.
Now that they have a salary cap, they have no excuse for escalating cost to fans.
I think the 05-06 season (assuming it does happen) will be very poorly attended in a lot of markets.
Its not going to be an overnight process winning back fans.

ladywithspinninghead · 07-13-2005, 10:58 AM

Well, it`s about time!!!!

My Mario isn`t getting any younger!!

TheFly84138 · 07-13-2005, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hewson
Methinks the teams (certainly the NYs, Bostons, Detroits etc.) are going to have to consider lowering ticket prices or face some half or more empty buildings on many nights.

Its crazy that the NHL (at least in Boston) has the highest avg ticket price of the 4 major sports. To get fans bacvk, and kids/families out to games, they have to charge a reasonable price.
Now that they have a salary cap, they have no excuse for escalating cost to fans.
I think the 05-06 season (assuming it does happen) will be very poorly attended in a lot of markets.
Its not going to be an overnight process winning back fans.

Agreed. On top of that I think it's going to take some serious help from the press to get the NHL back into the hearts of American sports lovers. ESPN and most major sports outlets haven't exactly been favorable in their coverage of hockey, ie "Does anyone miss the NHL?" or "look what this hockey idiot said."

kobayashi · 07-13-2005, 11:52 AM

both espn and foxsports have provided good coverage of the CBA agreement today. CNNSi slightly less so.

all in all, they selected the right day to tentatively introduce an agreement given baseball owned last weekend and golf owns the weekend starting tommorow. holding off specifics until next week leaves a relatively calm media and allows for ratification by both sides, decisions to be made on rule changes and the super exciting crosby lottery.

number of balls in lottery and probability of winning rights to 1st selection:

Anaheim 2 4.16%
Atlanta 2 4.16%
Boston 1 2.08%
Buffalo 3 6.25%
Calgary 2 4.16%
Carolina 2 4.16%
Chicago 2 4.16%
Colorado 1 2.08%
Columbus 3 6.25%
Dallas 1 2.08%
Detroit 1 2.08%
Edmonton 2 4.16%
Florida 1 2.08%
Los Angeles 2 4.16%
Minnesota 2 4.16%
Montreal 1 2.08%
Nashville 2 4.16%
New Jersey 1 2.08%
NY Islanders 1 2.08%
NY Rangers 3 6.25%
Ottawa 1 2.08%
Philadelphia 1 2.08%
Phoenix 2 4.16%
Pittsburgh 3 6.25%
St. Louis 1 2.08%
San Jose 1 2.08%
Tampa Bay 1 2.08%
Toronto 1 2.08%
Vancouver 1 2.08%
Washington 1 2.08%

cujo · 07-13-2005, 12:46 PM

It's unfortunate that the labour dispute carried on for so long, but I think that in the next 2-3 years (yes that was an intentional dash) the NHL will reclaim its former fans... if only for the notion that the security this deal "ensures" will allow for a relatively stable future. Although, considering the constant negative publicity and complacent disregard for promoting the sport to a broader audience (on behalf of both players and owners), there will be little ground made with the casual fans and those who have even feigned interest over the years towards investing their time in watching. Thankfully, the radical changes in the format might attract new fans of the attention deficit persuasion (NASCAR!!!!!!).

I agree that ticket prices need a signifcant reduction, but I will attend a game the first chance I get regardless.

As a spectator, I must say that the lockout was infinitely more entertaining than many of the past few Stanley Cup Finals. I'm looking at you New Jersey.

u2popmofo · 07-13-2005, 01:05 PM

This is great news that it will (hopefully) finally be over.

I agree in Cujo that it probably wont take very long to at least get back to where it was (though that may not be saying much in your average US home). Some of those new rules/steps may slightly make a difference in making it "more exciting", but it isnt all that likely that it will help bring in more viewers.

Hows this for an idea: Pull teams out of cities that have no general interest in hockey and put then in cities that are traditionally hockey or at least "winter sport" cities, you'd at least have a local fan base that you didnt have to try to create. (Yes I'm biased, I want a freaking team in SLC. We're supposed to be this "Winter Sports Mecca", and we dont even have a major league hockey team. Weak.)

cujo · 07-13-2005, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by u2popmofo
Hows this for an idea: Pull teams out of cities that have no general interest in hockey and put then in cities that are traditionally hockey or at least "winter sport" cities, you'd at least have a local fan base that you didnt have to try to create.

That would make too much sense.

That's not how we do viable business. Expansion requires no economic or rational logic.

*faeces-filled grin.

yours,

Gary Bettman and Family

HeartlandGirl · 07-13-2005, 01:44 PM

It's about time.

Time to start saving up so I can go to some games. As soon as the Red Wings come to town, I'm there.

u2popmofo · 07-13-2005, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HeartlandGirl

As soon as the Red Wings come to town, I'm there.

Me too.

GibsonGirl · 07-13-2005, 02:03 PM

Is anyone else disappointed by the fact that the game itself might be changing? It seems like the changes they're considering have been made to simply encourage fancy offensive displays...which results in more people watching, which results in more money being made. Like always, money rules the day. I liked the game the way it was before, thanks.

Oh well, I'm just thankful that it's back! Now I can go back to watching current NHL games, not ones that happened 30 years ago.

HeartlandGirl · 07-13-2005, 02:56 PM

Yes, when I read about the proposed changes, I was disappointed. No-touch icing, I can understand because of the injury factor. The rest? Hmm... I love 1-0 games. No changes for me, thanks.

mofo, we'll check the schedule!

U2Fan101 · 07-13-2005, 03:15 PM

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

HOCKEY IS BACK!!!!

I have waited and waited and waited for this day. This past year sucked royally for me with no hockey. Yes! Devils for the cup!

Haha, I know I know, I'm way ahead of myself.

By the way, the NHLPA got SCREWED in this deal. Way to go owners

Chizip · 07-13-2005, 10:22 PM

i like the changes, all the clutching and grabbing was making the game almost unbearable to watch

you wach old games from Gretzky's heyday and players actually had room to make offensive moves, it will be nice to see that again

trevster2k · 07-14-2005, 06:22 AM

the NHL. Sorry Chizip, the clutching and grabbing will still be there. They have been trying to eliminate that for the past 5 years and have nothing to show for it. 3 on 3 OT, give me a break, why not turn the nets around too?

The NHLPA allowed a season to die for no reason, idiots. They hurt the game, the league and the fans. This will have long term effects of this will linger for years to come mostly negative.

Hockey won't get me back as a viewer for the time being.

pax · 07-14-2005, 06:32 AM

:: imagines $10 Flyers tickets ::

Seriously, major-league hockey is simply cost-prohibitive for far too many people (to be fair, so are most professional major-league sports, with the possible exception of baseball). There's a reason that many hockey fans gave a collective

to the lockout: particularly in Canada, it's much easier and cheaper to see good hockey on a junior, collegiate, minor league, or semipro level than it is to save one's pennies for 6 months to see an NHL game. As a lot of you know, come October-April (and hopefully May-June, too!), I live and die with my backyard AHL team, where cheap seats are $12 (still not what you'd call cheap, really, but within the realm of possibility for an average family to go more than once or twice in a season). And the only reason I much cared about the lockout was because I knew if it went on indefinitely, eventually the minor leagues would suffer too.

Moral of the story: swallow your pride and greed, owners, and offer maybe something like Sunday games for cheap prices. The NHL collectively (because all parties bear part of the blame) has been screwing hockey fans over for years. Time to own up to it and make the game more democratically accessible.

LarryMullen's POPAngel · 07-14-2005, 08:11 AM

I admit I was excited when I heard this yesterday but yeah, it'll be interesting how this "new NHL" pans out and if the fans flock back.

Not sure if I'll be able to afford a Wings game, though... The last time I went was a playoff game in 1998!

ladywithspinninghead · 07-14-2005, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cujo

That would make too much sense.

That's not how we do viable business. Expansion requires no economic or rational logic.

*faeces-filled grin.

yours,

Gary Bettman and Family

zonelistener · 07-15-2005, 07:22 PM

THe Caps held their rookie camp this week in town.

THey all flew back home to the outermost reaches of Canada this afternoon...I got to meet former North Star (and Flame, I thing...or was it the Oilers?) Brian Maclellan...good to see that he still lives in Minneapolis despite his job title with the Caps. I look forward to seeing him a lot in ym area (the Hershey Bears moved affiliation from the Avs to the Caps).

CPTLCTYGOOFBALL · 07-16-2005, 06:57 AM

Finally-It seems like years since The Mighty Leafs have gotten my hopes up, only to rip my heart out.....I guess it has been years

07-13-2005, 09:55 AM	#1
kobayashi Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: the ether Posts: 5,142 Local Time: 11:30 PM	the re-emergence of the nhl a collective bargaining agreement has been reached and awaits ratification from both players and owners. check out tsn's summary. some teams will be unrecognisable come 2 months from now given a massive crop of players available via free agency and more expected to be so with the 2/3rds buyout clause and a $39m cap on spending. the crosby sweepstakes will turn a new chapter during a 'slightly' weighted lottery favoring poorly performing teams of recent years (of course, there is rampant speculation that his negotiations with a swiss team will provide him with leverage to request a trade if, say, nashville wins his rights-keyword here being speculation). the game itself will be different to some degree as shootouts, 3 on 3 overtime, points regimes with no ties, the return of tag up offsides, no touch icing, larger nets and no red line for 2 line passes are all being considered. additionally, the league is considering an opening best of 3 playoff round of teams 7-10 before resuming best of 7 play with the remaining 8 teams in each conference, and the schedule will be further muddled by participation in the olympics. big changes. how far has the sport fallen in the minds of north american's? can it return and, if so, is this the way? __________________ __________________ im the candyman. and the candyman is back.

07-13-2005, 10:10 AM	#2
Hewson Blue Crack Supplier Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Your own private Idaho Posts: 31,273 Local Time: 10:30 PM	Methinks the teams (certainly the NYs, Bostons, Detroits etc.) are going to have to consider lowering ticket prices or face some half or more empty buildings on many nights. Its crazy that the NHL (at least in Boston) has the highest avg ticket price of the 4 major sports. To get fans bacvk, and kids/families out to games, they have to charge a reasonable price. Now that they have a salary cap, they have no excuse for escalating cost to fans. I think the 05-06 season (assuming it does happen) will be very poorly attended in a lot of markets. Its not going to be an overnight process winning back fans. __________________

07-13-2005, 11:52 AM	#5
kobayashi Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: the ether Posts: 5,142 Local Time: 11:30 PM	both espn and foxsports have provided good coverage of the CBA agreement today. CNNSi slightly less so. all in all, they selected the right day to tentatively introduce an agreement given baseball owned last weekend and golf owns the weekend starting tommorow. holding off specifics until next week leaves a relatively calm media and allows for ratification by both sides, decisions to be made on rule changes and the super exciting crosby lottery. number of balls in lottery and probability of winning rights to 1st selection: Anaheim 2 4.16% Atlanta 2 4.16% Boston 1 2.08% Buffalo 3 6.25% Calgary 2 4.16% Carolina 2 4.16% Chicago 2 4.16% Colorado 1 2.08% Columbus 3 6.25% Dallas 1 2.08% Detroit 1 2.08% Edmonton 2 4.16% Florida 1 2.08% Los Angeles 2 4.16% Minnesota 2 4.16% Montreal 1 2.08% Nashville 2 4.16% New Jersey 1 2.08% NY Islanders 1 2.08% NY Rangers 3 6.25% Ottawa 1 2.08% Philadelphia 1 2.08% Phoenix 2 4.16% Pittsburgh 3 6.25% St. Louis 1 2.08% San Jose 1 2.08% Tampa Bay 1 2.08% Toronto 1 2.08% Vancouver 1 2.08% Washington 1 2.08% __________________ im the candyman. and the candyman is back.

07-14-2005, 06:32 AM	#16
pax ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ewen's new American home Posts: 11,412 Local Time: 11:30 PM	:: imagines $10 Flyers tickets :: Seriously, major-league hockey is simply cost-prohibitive for far too many people (to be fair, so are most professional major-league sports, with the possible exception of baseball). There's a reason that many hockey fans gave a collective to the lockout: particularly in Canada, it's much easier and cheaper to see good hockey on a junior, collegiate, minor league, or semipro level than it is to save one's pennies for 6 months to see an NHL game. As a lot of you know, come October-April (and hopefully May-June, too!), I live and die with my backyard AHL team, where cheap seats are $12 (still not what you'd call cheap, really, but within the realm of possibility for an average family to go more than once or twice in a season). And the only reason I much cared about the lockout was because I knew if it went on indefinitely, eventually the minor leagues would suffer too. Moral of the story: swallow your pride and greed, owners, and offer maybe something like Sunday games for cheap prices. The NHL collectively (because all parties bear part of the blame) has been screwing hockey fans over for years. Time to own up to it and make the game more democratically accessible. __________________ and you hunger for the time time to heal, desire, time Join Amnesty.

07-16-2005, 06:57 AM	#20
CPTLCTYGOOFBALL War Child Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 537 Local Time: 10:30 PM	Finally-It seems like years since The Mighty Leafs have gotten my hopes up, only to rip my heart out.....I guess it has been years __________________

07-13-2005, 10:58 AM	#3
ladywithspinninghead Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,635 Local Time: 11:30 PM	Well, it`s about time!!!! My Mario isn`t getting any younger!!

07-13-2005, 12:46 PM	#6
cujo Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Province Posts: 5,820 Local Time: 09:30 PM	It's unfortunate that the labour dispute carried on for so long, but I think that in the next 2-3 years (yes that was an intentional dash) the NHL will reclaim its former fans... if only for the notion that the security this deal "ensures" will allow for a relatively stable future. Although, considering the constant negative publicity and complacent disregard for promoting the sport to a broader audience (on behalf of both players and owners), there will be little ground made with the casual fans and those who have even feigned interest over the years towards investing their time in watching. Thankfully, the radical changes in the format might attract new fans of the attention deficit persuasion (NASCAR!!!!!!). I agree that ticket prices need a signifcant reduction, but I will attend a game the first chance I get regardless. As a spectator, I must say that the lockout was infinitely more entertaining than many of the past few Stanley Cup Finals. I'm looking at you New Jersey.

07-13-2005, 01:05 PM	#7
u2popmofo Blue Meth Addict Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Utah Posts: 37,188 Local Time: 10:30 PM	This is great news that it will (hopefully) finally be over. I agree in Cujo that it probably wont take very long to at least get back to where it was (though that may not be saying much in your average US home). Some of those new rules/steps may slightly make a difference in making it "more exciting", but it isnt all that likely that it will help bring in more viewers. Hows this for an idea: Pull teams out of cities that have no general interest in hockey and put then in cities that are traditionally hockey or at least "winter sport" cities, you'd at least have a local fan base that you didnt have to try to create. (Yes I'm biased, I want a freaking team in SLC. We're supposed to be this "Winter Sports Mecca", and we dont even have a major league hockey team. Weak.)

07-13-2005, 01:44 PM	#9
HeartlandGirl Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Phoenix Posts: 7,033 Local Time: 08:30 PM	It's about time. Time to start saving up so I can go to some games. As soon as the Red Wings come to town, I'm there.

07-13-2005, 02:03 PM	#11
GibsonGirl ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,270 Local Time: 11:30 PM	Is anyone else disappointed by the fact that the game itself might be changing? It seems like the changes they're considering have been made to simply encourage fancy offensive displays...which results in more people watching, which results in more money being made. Like always, money rules the day. I liked the game the way it was before, thanks. Oh well, I'm just thankful that it's back! Now I can go back to watching current NHL games, not ones that happened 30 years ago.

07-13-2005, 02:56 PM	#12
HeartlandGirl Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Phoenix Posts: 7,033 Local Time: 08:30 PM	Yes, when I read about the proposed changes, I was disappointed. No-touch icing, I can understand because of the injury factor. The rest? Hmm... I love 1-0 games. No changes for me, thanks. mofo, we'll check the schedule!

07-13-2005, 03:15 PM	#13
U2Fan101 Refugee Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 1,196 Local Time: 09:30 PM	WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! HOCKEY IS BACK!!!! I have waited and waited and waited for this day. This past year sucked royally for me with no hockey. Yes! Devils for the cup! Haha, I know I know, I'm way ahead of myself. By the way, the NHLPA got SCREWED in this deal. Way to go owners

07-13-2005, 10:22 PM	#14
Chizip Blue Crack Addict Join Date: May 2001 Location: gone Posts: 17,907 Local Time: 09:30 PM	i like the changes, all the clutching and grabbing was making the game almost unbearable to watch you wach old games from Gretzky's heyday and players actually had room to make offensive moves, it will be nice to see that again

07-14-2005, 06:22 AM	#15
trevster2k Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 4,330 Local Time: 12:00 AM	the NHL. Sorry Chizip, the clutching and grabbing will still be there. They have been trying to eliminate that for the past 5 years and have nothing to show for it. 3 on 3 OT, give me a break, why not turn the nets around too? The NHLPA allowed a season to die for no reason, idiots. They hurt the game, the league and the fans. This will have long term effects of this will linger for years to come mostly negative. Hockey won't get me back as a viewer for the time being.

07-14-2005, 08:11 AM	#17
LarryMullen's POPAngel Blue Crack Distributor Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'll be up with the sun, I'm not coming down... Posts: 53,698 Local Time: 10:30 PM	I admit I was excited when I heard this yesterday but yeah, it'll be interesting how this "new NHL" pans out and if the fans flock back. Not sure if I'll be able to afford a Wings game, though... The last time I went was a playoff game in 1998!

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07-15-2005, 07:22 PM	#19
zonelistener ONE love, blood, life Join Date: May 2001 Location: six convenient metro locations Posts: 14,747 Local Time: 10:30 PM	THe Caps held their rookie camp this week in town. THey all flew back home to the outermost reaches of Canada this afternoon...I got to meet former North Star (and Flame, I thing...or was it the Oilers?) Brian Maclellan...good to see that he still lives in Minneapolis despite his job title with the Caps. I look forward to seeing him a lot in ym area (the Hershey Bears moved affiliation from the Avs to the Caps).