Lightning at Oilers, G60/08-09
This is Roman Hamrlik. He played a lot of hockey in Florida before heading to Edmonton in a lopsided deal. The Oilers could use a deal like that (failed first rounders for useful player) right now.
Word on the Al Gore is that Denis Grebeshkov may be ready to return much earlier than first thought and that Fernando Pisani may be a week away.
Both of these developments are good news, with a trade for some scoring up front, a right handed center for faceoffs and PK and a goalie that MacT trusts on the shopping list (not really, they apparently want a forward who can score but Deslauriers’ backup is a cardboard cutout of Bill Ranford–they’re going with Roloson, folks).
This has been such a silly year for the decision makers of this team, so expect Pouliot to be in the pressbox and Staios to track over 4 minutes on the powerplay.
That’ll fix ‘em.
Another topic – the city of Glendale has been bailing out the Coyotes for the last seven months – to the tune of around 4 million bucks.
Where is that club going to get moved to? Bankrupt owner being subsidized by the league and taxpayers.
I mean who knew that hockey wouldn’t work in Arizona? Who knew!
BlackDog – Any team that needs to be bailed out by their city doesn’t deserve to exist. Oh… wait…. Maybe they just deserve a shitty Dynasty-era unfireable coach.
BDHS: Ah, gotcha. I think if we we played “Chest Fever” in the background it would be a nice reflection of the season.
2nd period: 11-12; 6-9 EV; 5-3 ST
After 40 min, the Oilers are tied with TB at 12 EV chances apiece.
Seriously.
Icecastles – the funny thing is apparently city council or some of them are unaware of it
Yeesh.
Oh well, third period, here we go.
Big period.
Big game.
Yada yada yada.
Dennis – what’s scary is that these clowns are going to trade Theo Peckham for Mark Recchi
Guaranteed.
That’s what’s scary.
I’d be pretty upset if Peckham got dealt.
He honestly looks like he’s going to be a player.
Hey… it’s Mr. Shooting %!
COGLIANO!!!
140 bucks well spent!
YEEAAAHHH! Cue the blowout.
Funny, we were talking earlier about Cogs on that line… nose for the puck, that kid.
Wow, how calm was Cogs there? TOO calm?
Either way, before that play happened I wanted to comment that this is the best game I’ve seen from him in a while. I am becoming a big fan.
I take back everything I said about Stortini and Moreau playing with Cogliano.
All of it.
Yeah Cogs!
BDHS: We should be on the other end of such trades. Sending out the Moreaus and Staioses…..
Your “dark vision” scares me. But Cogliano scores a goal, restoring the two goal cushion. This makes me a bit more comfortable.
Nice by Cogs, how he produces with zorg and moreau ill never know
@dorito: you called it
Good jersey choice.
Key to Cogs success:
Having Stortini on his line.
Dennis – what’s scary is that these clowns are going to trade Theo Peckham for Mark Recchi
I know the names are proxies, but I don’t think the Oilers trade any young guys they see as being in the plans. It just doesn’t make sense. Remembering the Isles, they decided ahead of time which prospects to ditch in the Smyth trade. Either we wanted Nilsson and O’Marra or we didn’t, but Okposo is never in play. Jacques, Pouliot and Schremp could well be gone, but Reddox, Peckham, Brule are safe.
Also, do Stortini and Cogliano have… chemistry..?
a fire hydrant would look good playing with Moreau!
I think the exact quote was “a fire hydrant would look good compared to Moreau”. Subtle difference in wording makes all the difference in meaning.
pdo – yeah I could deal with moving Greene but they really need to hand onto Smid and Peckham – have to have some young cheap guys who can play back there
PDO said…Key to Cogs success:Having Stortini on his line.
That’s because Stortini is the new Marian Hossa.
doritogrande: new Cogs jersey? Nice. What style?
Good evening. Sweet passing play from Moreau to Stortini to Cogliano. Who said those guys couldn’t pass?
Stortini was pretty important on both goals he was on the ice for. Set a nice screen on the Souray bomb and jammed the puck at Ramo and to Cogliano for the second one (and an apple).
Buddy works his ass off, fights for the puck, is strong as an ox..
Like I said, he’s got some things to like in his game.
If only we could could put Penner’s hands in his body….
Another topic – the city of Glendale has been bailing out the Coyotes for the last seven months – to the tune of around 4 million bucks.
And the City of Edmonton subsidizes the Oilers rent at Rexall in the tune of $2.5-3.5M on an annual basis.
Surely, even Katz must be embarrassed by that gesture. He’s probably thinking, “Don’t use your teeth”
That hit may have hurt Cogliano. And now Nilsson. I’ll keep an eye out for those two to be back on the ice.
Way to throw a knee Roberts, you dirty piece of shit.
Scott – yeah we’ve talked about this before
The smart move is moving the middle of the road guys, the guys no longer in the plans.
The dummy move is moving any young cheap guys who can play or any top prospects. And I include Motin and the young Finn in there too. Also Stortini, Brodziak, Smid, Reddox.
Lowe and Tambellini are out of the firing line if this club doesn’t make it and they must realize this club isn’t the 06 club right. Right?
If they don’t then I could see them doing something really stupid.
Showerhead: Oilers White. Just picked it up today, and it hasn’t left my shoulders since.
And the City of Edmonton subsidizes the Oilers rent at Rexall in the tune of $2.5-3.5M on an annual basis.
Indeed. The Glendale lease is farcical. The money the Coyotes are getting is basically acknowledging that.
Nice pass Ethan. 20 feet behind Zorg. That’s hard to do.
pjo – the Coyotes were already heavily subsidized by the city of Glendale.
This is on top of that. They don’t pay a dime in rent anymore.
And they are being carried by their fellow franchises. On top of revenue sharing it seems the league is helping to pay their bills.
How long is that going to last do you think?
Reddox is a warrior.
Ginger got what he deserved for that earlier dive.
Maybe Pouliot can get some playing time next game.
That’s going to leave a mark on Reddox.
Kevin Quinn: And that goal scored at 2:20 of the third period, and if that sounds familiar, it’s because Eric Cole scored at 2:20 of the first period.
Knighttown Shut the fuck up Rainman. That’d the worst stat of all time.
13′s feeling his oats tonight.
If he’s anything like Pat, keep women away from him tonight.
Lowe and Tambellini are out of the firing line if this club doesn’t make it and they must realize this club isn’t the 06 club right. Right?
I’m pretty confident that they do realize it. Plus, Lowe has been very conservative with moving parts in the past. Even in ’06 they only moved things they didn’t have in their plans long term: Rita, Reasoner, Salmelainen, Cross, picks. So even if it is ’06 we’re talking about moving Pouliot, Moreau, Schremp and Strudwick. Tambellini is a bit of an unknown but he seems pretty conservative to me as well. I mean, how long did it take to move Garon?
Moreau has an assist and has yet to see the penalty box.
Commission a statue or re-name a street?
Another topic – the city of Glendale has been bailing out the Coyotes for the last seven months – to the tune of around 4 million bucks.
Doesn’t the City of Glendale get the Coyotes’ parking money, too? I wish I could find where Odin Mercer posted on it — either on Mirtle’s blog or his own — but Scott is right, that lease is farcical.
I hope you’re right Scott.
Hbomb – retire his number??
Oh, and Minny gets a loser point out of LA. Fuckers.
Seriously, Gary Roberts face needs to be scheduled for a meeting with Sheldon Souray’s fist. Cheap piece of garbage.
Some things NEVER change.
//Moreau has an assist and has yet to see the penalty box.
Commission a statue or re-name a street?//
Well I was wrong tonite about Moreau, but don’t forget, even a blind dog gets a bone.
Hbomb – retire his number??
I’d be all for hanging his jersey from the rafters permanently.
With Moreau still in it, of course.
HBomb said…Moreau has an assist and has yet to see the penalty box. Commission a statue or re-name a street?
I vote jersey retirement. The sooner the better.
HBomb:
Badda bing, badda boom.
I don’t disagree with you BlackDog. I’m all in favour of folding/re-locating the weak sisters of the NHL. Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, Florida.
I just needed a platform to vent re: the Oilers propoganda over the recent years.
***
Another game and the lengthy streak of failing to convert on an odd man rush continues. Seriously, when was the last time these guys converted on an odd man rush?
***
Re: Daryl Katz – where is this guy? Aside from the initial press conference, he’s just disappeared. He must really value privacy.
Stempniak’d?
Well, to quote “No Country for Old Men”, that was a goat fuck right there.
Here we go again.
Way to take one for the team Cap’n.
GlenX with the Most Exciting Play in Hockey to seal a CBJ loss.
Who the crap is Cory Murphy?
Cole hurt.
Moreau has negative hands.
Sigh.
the lightning announcers blow balls
PunjabiOil said… Seriously, when was the last time these guys converted on an odd man rush?
Well, they converted into a goal against.
Cole gets injured touching up to negate an icing call, yet Moreau gets up fine after crashing into the post.
Which one of you assholes did something to make God decide to smite ALL OILER FANS?????
Its never easy. Damnit!
pjo – Tampa, New Jersey (seriously), Columbus, LA
On an unrelated note, the Edmonton rush are selling tickets for friday’s game at $1.00.
It’s quite sad, actually.
You know, the hockey gods are giving this sad sack team every chance to put this game away.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Ethan Moreau is me on a breakaway. Brutal.
If Cole is hurt you realize that Stortini is now the 2nd line RW.
He’s like Joe Biden, a heartbeat from the presidency.
Columbus
They’ve supported the BJ’s pretty well, I think.
If the Oilers make the playoffs, I’m all for them making it as well. Their fans deserve it.
Plus, it would help Howson make Kevin Lowe look like an HF Clown.
Are you talking about contraction BD? If so, are you talking from a “good for the league” perspective or a “good for the fans” perspective?
As for that Cole play, Don Cherry knows what he’s showing on Saturday night.
At least our PP looks better tonight?
Anyone else’s sphincter just pucker?
Phil – It’s tragic, but I’m not sure which one is the sad sack team.
Oooooh, Roli, that was balls-out.
Can we just decline any more penalty’s?
PDO: I still think the PP looks like shit. Lines up with the results too.
It’s looked terrible since Visnovsky went down. Coincidence?
He’s like Joe Biden, a heartbeat from the presidency.
Or, more aptly put, the lack thereof.
Hey Moreau’s on the fourth line!
… double shifting.
Does Theo Peckham have father issues?
…or double clutching.
The only logic behind double-shifting Moreau is increasing the probability of a trip to LTIR.
Peckham on the ice in the last two minutes… someone must be hurting a bit.
What the fuck? Recchi holds his stick, then punches him, and Peckham gets a penalty? Holy bullshit call.
I want to see that man up full-time with the Oilers next year for that exact purpose.
It’s hard to not like #49.
Horcoff can’t hit an empty net to save his life.
Uh..
Isn’t that supposed to be a goal when you’re interfered with on an empty net?
FUC OFF YOU FUCKERS DONT FUCKING SCORE!!!!!!
The most exciting play in hockey.
Ok, how the fuck is there no hooking penalty there on St. Louis?
Souray with his second ices it. Put this one beside the Islander game on January 5th – a win, but NOTHING to be proud of.
Sorry, got a bit excited there. Good job, Souray.
(sitting back down sheepishly)
Naw I know a guy who lives in Columbus – support is paperthin.
Scott – I’d love to see a 20 team league. 24 tops. Thirty teams is too many.
Some of these teams have been around forever – NJ, LA and they still don’t draw that well. People in the US don’t care about hockey for the most part.
That’s fine. Its just silly to put teams in a bunch of places where people don’t care.
Fans of Carolina and Anaheim say ‘well the NHL subsidized Edmonton and Ottawa’ and that is true but of course the difference is in Tampa there are 25000 fans. Total. I lived there. Its silly.
First star, both on the game and on my back.
I’ll repeat, well spent 140 bucks.
Refs needed to call a goal on the Horcoff chance, that was a mugging.
Some of these kids (Peckham, Reddox) are showing some things as this season winds down and Zack Stortini is bona fide.
We’ll take it.
I love Horc but jeez.
Stortini really should have been the third star. He’s the new Johan Franzen.
Well, they do juuuuusssst enough to beat one of the worst teams in hockey, on their home ice, while in a dogfight for a playoff spot.
That’s my Oilers!
thats embarassing, i mean, its the lightning… barely hang on for the W
LT – isn’t Peckham a beaut?
And its hard not to like Reddox and Stortini.
Big game players playing big minutes in a big game.
BDHS: The league NEVER subsidized the Canadian teams to the extent they’re subsidizing the US teams.
What did the Oilers benefit under the CAP? Maybe a couple million bucks a year? What did Phoenix get from the league last year?
Souray with his second ices it. Put this one beside the Islander game on January 5th – a win, but NOTHING to be proud of.
except… you know… winning. I know that it wasn’t a great performance, but they managed to hold the lead in the third, which is great. Stortini played really well which is great news too. Cole with a good game as well by my eye. There are some things to like going into Thursday.
It was ugly, but two points is two points.
Well the thing about Peckham is that he has a nice range of skills. He’s tough, has a brain, is mobile.
I like him a lot.
But I do think he could be gone this week.
Clap. Clap.
Columbus loses today. The Oilers are 1 point back wiht a game in hand..
Thursday’s game is vital.
Hemsky magic?
Hbomb – preaching to the choir here.
My point is simple really. There should be teams in places where there is interest. Teams where they need to give away thousands of tickets just to get a half full arena? What is the point? Nobody cares.
Phoenix got 15 million in revenue sharing last year, iirc. Plus they have a sweetheart arena deal. Plus not a very high payroll.
And the city is still chipping in for them.
And they lost what, 30 million last season? With all of this help.
I don’t get it.
LT – oh I hope you’re wrong, man. DO I ever hope you’re wrong.
http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=3079
Thursday is a ridiculously big game. Win it in regulation and things are starting to look real good.
LT: 78 is gone. 22 as well. I could see 67 going, but that wouldn’t make much sense. 88 is done, and I wouldn’t be shocked if they moved someone like Chorney.
… but they’d beyond stupid to move 49.
Scott – I’d love to see a 20 team league. 24 tops. Thirty teams is too many.
But who is this for? I still don’t really know who you think would benefit from a smaller league. If no one benefits, why contract?
As for the Lightning, sure they’re not a good team, but they’ve had 37 games that they’ve won or lost by one. It’s not like the margin of victory in the NHL is consistently huge. The Oilers aren’t a great team themselves so a regulation win in which they lead almost wire to wire should be a pretty satisfying result.
I’ve never understood the NHL. There is a history of American cities who like hockey (San Diego, Houston, Portland, Seattle in the west, plus Vegas) but the league always finds itself drawn to the biggest wad of moolah.
Kinda slutty, really.
Blackdog – Agreed. And it dilutes the talent pool too much as well. Maybe if the Russian Super League were to fold it would be different, but imagine the skill level in a 20-team league….
In other news, how come so many of these US commentators feel they need to growl and shout the play-by-play as if it were professional wrestling?
If Bruce has a gun to your head right now, say “purple monkey dishwasher”
I love this blog.
Who benefits?
Well, the fans, first of all.
Get rid of six teams or ten teams. The hockey would be a whole lot better. Guys would get bumped down the ladder. Fourth liners would be in the AHL. Ethan Moreau would be just hanging onto a job, instead of playing on the third line.
What is the benefit of having teams in a whole bunch of places where people don’t care about the sport? Hockey has been in Florida for over ten years now and people still don’t care.
There is not going to be a TV contract in the US. Its been 42 years since the first expansion to try and get that contract. Ain’t going to happen.
Get rid of six teams. Move two more to markets where people actually care about hockey.
Make the season seventy games. Owners will take a hit at the gate but they will make it up by not having to funnel all of this money to prop up losing ventures.
Players will be healthier with a shorter season. Less teams means less bad players. Hockey will be better.
Isn’t that the idea? Keeping teams in Atlanta, Florida, Nashville, Tampa, Phoenix – who does that benefit? The fifty thousand fans in those markets total who actually care about hockey?
There were more fans in Winnipeg or Quebec or Minnesota, for any one of those franchises then for all of those five combined. Guaranteed. But they pulled the teams out of all of those cities and would have done the same to Edmonton or Ottawa or Calgary if it had come down to it.
To put them in places like Phoenix.
Jordan Eberle with 5 points in his last two games on a quickly tanking Regina Pats team.
And I think they should give Stortini a shot with Gagner and Nilsson, btw. He has grit and a stick to it ive ness that those guys could really benefit from.
Look at how he has jump started Cogliano.
Purple monkey dishwasher.
A good night to all. And remember two points is two points. We’ll take em.
But why they have Cogliano playing with those two guys is so beyond me. Seriously. Play Brodziak between them and give Cogliano the real cherry time with Potulny and someone else with skill. Some PP time too. Its silly.
I’m not kidding when I say this, but if you’re going to keep him at center and not bring in Walz, then Reddox-Cogliano-Pisani is the line. Reddox was good again tonight…
Hemsky is currently dating a 40ish MILF.
Cogliano is working his ass off attempting to date her daughter.
There’s rabbit in them there genes.
Also, do Stortini and Cogliano have… chemistry..?
Italians often do. Add Pisani and they’ll be in control of concessions by the first intermission.
Patrick Eaves
Drafted 29th 2003
Career: 222 41 43 84
This year: 54 2 6 8
Marc Pouliot
Drafted 22nd 2003
Career: 132 13 23 36
This year: 54 7 10 17
Looks like two guys that could use a change of scenery.
For existing fans, I can see how fewer teams would translate into better hockey. That said, I’m not sure that means more exciting hockey since when you get the mix of good and bad players guys like Hemsky can make their crazy rushes with more frequent success and fans are generally entertained by those.
The league though sees itself as a business. They’re trying to find growth by keeping teams in big markets. So keeping teams in Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Atlanta is important. Huge markets, and not just for a national TV contract. With L.A. you even have California contributing NHL players at this stage with more on the way. I’d say that the sport has definitely grown big time in California, especially relative to a state without a team, like say, Kentucky. Like LT mentioned, a lot of the expansion choices were mostly to do with greed for who would pay the most fees, but from a business perspective that made sense for a long time (until they had to do revenue sharing). With some of the smaller markets I could see contraction moving, but I think the real move, in terms of growing the league, is finding six of the smaller less successful markets and moving them to Europe. Logistics are a concern, but I think it’s important to get over soon (before the NBA). Contraction doesn’t make sense for business. If you’re selling these teams for big bucks, investors need to know that they aren’t going to zero.
Black Dog said…
Who benefits?
Not Horcoff.
For sure he wouldn’t be a first line centre in a 20 team league.
pjo – Tampa, New Jersey (seriously), Columbus, LA
Not Columbus. They’ve done about all they can for a team that’s not been close the playoffs for seven years.
Naw I know a guy who lives in Columbus – support is paperthin.
It’s not what it was four or five years ago, that’s for sure. Tickets are so easy to get now — great seats for dirt cheap, even on a weekend. But a playoff trip would change that I think. It’s an amazing arena too, one of my favorites.
Thursday is a ridiculously big game. Win it in regulation and things are starting to look real good.
Oilers need four points in their next two games, period. They can’t lose these two.
Staios talking to Gene on Sportsnet – "Cogs has a real advantage playing with Ethan now, he's been playing with him for awhile and I think that type of veteran stabilty and presence really helps him (Cogs) out"
Pretty funny, so Cogs has been dragging Moreau down.
I hope Staios & Moreau get dealt to the same team next year so they can continue to discuss their man crushes on each other.
At least Steady Steve gave me something to laugh about before going to sleep.
Just check how many games the Oilers have outchanced the opp since 71 went down.
I have no idea how much we’re gonna give up in order to try and get into the playoffs. I’d say 22 will stick because they’d like a big guy who Might be able to play – not 33 – but 78′s most likely out.
You’d hope they’ll see the writing on the wall to the point where they know they need cheap guys like 49 to round out an already expensive D corps but who the fuck really knows.
But, in the interest of discussion, I’ll throw out some things:
– If you intend to buy and are trying to make the playoffs, it doesn’t make much sense to move 26; at least not for Sobokta and Lashoff. Now, if you want to move him for Ruutuu, I could go for that.
- now that 37′s on the mend, that means eventually we’ll have 43-49 as our 6th and 7th guys. Is that good enough or do you deal 78 for a D and then farm out 49? Or perhaps you deal off 78 for a D and then you deal off 49 Plus for Guerin.
- what do you do with 12? You could move him for a rental or you could bring him back. Last year i said I’d bring back Stoll if he was affordable and he has indeed bounced back. I think I see enough good things from 12 to say that he’d bounce back next year for a ~ 50 point season but is that good enough?
Forgot to add this but the last time a change of scenery move really worked out was last year when former high first rounders Ladd and Ruutu were dealt for each other.
Well I’m not one to bitch and moan about prospects not getting a chance and Pouliot has in fact had 550 at-bats (and then some).
However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a career in another town.
There’s some things to like, and I think he’ll be on the Chimera/Cleary side of the ledger (as opposed to the Rita/Salmelainen side).
I’m not saying the kid couldn’t try a little harder but as is he is a top niner and would be even more valuable if he was a pivot or was allowed to kill penalties.
I guess the problem started when macT decided that he’d take the tough love approach with 13 and let him play pivot and that 51 was the 4th line pivot no matter what. so, once 78 was nothing but a winger, now you’re gonna notice him more on the sideboards and in the corners and here we go.
i think he’ll be a centre in his next life because guys who can play centre usually do play centre.
LT – oh I hope you’re wrong, man. DO I ever hope you’re wrong.
With respect to LT, trade prognostications aren’t really his forte. Were still waiting for that third line C we were getting back in November.
Italians often do. Add Pisani and they’ll be in control of concessions by the first intermission.
See, stuff like this is the only reason I’m still caring about the Oilers. The games suck, but the commentary here is top shelf.
LT: I agree with you if he’s given a shot at center. That’s why I think a destination like Atlanta or Pittsburgh where he’d be an inexpensive part would be perfect. But the key is that he be given a real chance at Center.
Dennis: I agree with you on Peckham. Anyone who think he’s going somewhere given the cap issues the Oil have is smoking the drapes. If you’re going to have 4 expensive d-men you need Peckham and Sturds as spare parts.
Sorry, on that last post the center I was referring to was Pouliot.
Fuck, the Staios/Moreau love affair with one another is disgusting, and MacT eats this crap up and believes every bit of it.
The sooner these three are gone, the sooner this town stops glorifying grinders. The sooner, the better.
Jordon Eberle is playing well. 62 points in 51 games (31, 31).
Here's another guy on the same team that has potted 30 goals. As they say, devlopment isn't linear.
http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?encode=TRUE&pid=81516
Purple monkey dishwasher.
Ha! You guys made me laugh out loud quite a few times tonight. Great stuff.
My man Zorg did play a mighty fine game tonight. He’s starting to arrive at the goal mouth just in time rather than a split second too late, and that paid off in the Souray goal, the Cogliano goal, and a couple other situations that caused Ramo problems. He had 3 shots on net which may well be a career high. Also made a real nice breakout Pass to Cogliano that led to a dangerous rush, and somehow managed to get his ass up the ice to almost get on the receiving end of Cogs’ return pass as he was hauled down.
Kudos to Strudwick and Peckham who had very solid games to my eye (I saw about 40 minutes of it). Certainly there’s no arguing with the +3 that each posted. Count me among those who think this team would be fucking crazy to deal Peckham just now. No way his value in a trade is anywhere near what his potential is.
Souray’s arms must be tired after attempting 16 shots on goal, including 7 on that one second-period PP. I don’t mind that we got one guy on the club that isn’t just looking for the cute pass and will keep hammering away even when things aren’t working too well. We got more than enough guys that will try to make the extra pass, and then the one after that.
Then there’s Hemsky who is so oblivious to hearing 17,000 fans all yelling SHOOOOOT that he doesn’t even notice the clock ticking down to zero while everybody in the building but him is aware of it. That kind of stuff bugs me a little bit, it’s about awareness and the real Great Ones have it.
On the bright side, Moreau too with the big +3 (he got a bonus on the empty-netter) while his linemates were each +2. Can’t remember when was the last time the Third line (and third pairing) actually won us a game — maybe October vs. Calgary? — but they deserve the credit tonight. Sometimes the big boys come up empty, as Horpensky did tonight, and that secondary scoring is huge.
Hey LT,
I wrote a paper on the marketing of the NHL and really nothing has changed drastically in the game since Frank Patrick instituted the forward pass, and changes on the fly.
The US TV deal is a pipe dream at best, and to have the games on VS Network is crazy as it is not even available in every NHL market. Plus, the NBC deal is not a money maker for neither the league or the network. IT boils down to no guaranteed revenue for the league and is merely a 50/50 split of advertising revenue. So, if the league or network cannot draw advertising $$$$$, guess what will get pre-empted? I mean last year, NBC pre-empted an OT playoff game to show the pre-race show for the Preakness Derby.
I agree with you as well that the NHL merely grants franchises to cities with rich owners and shiny new rinks and ignores large media markets in the US, like Houston, and Las Vegas.
Plus the NHL does nothing to curb the image in many US viewers minds that hockey is nothing more than a goon sport. YOu and Bruce remember the days of the Broad Street Bullies and unfortunately that is the view many in the US have of hockey. I think part of the reason for this is many in the US have never played the game so they don’t understand the skill level required to actually play the game.
The NHL is partially responsible for this as well because past presidents like Clarence Campbell stated that they were in the entertainment business and had no moral responsibility to amateur hockey.
I love the NHL, but I sure don’t like the way it is marketed.
Bruce: I noticed the same thing about that play where 46 started it and then almost finished it. Fuck, that guy must have been hauling ass to get down there in that timeframe.
Plus the NHL does nothing to curb the image in many US viewers minds that hockey is nothing more than a goon sport.
I disagree. The NHL’s campaigns since the start of the last round of expansion in the ’90s have downplayed the violence and tried make the game more kid and family friendly. Yet somehow, marketing skill and warm fuzzies has has failed to reach a market where UFC, WWE, NFL and televised car crashes (NASCAR) are the biggest thing since sliced bread. And they are still doing it, choosing whitebread Crosby as the face of the new NHL over the much more dynamic and “edgy” Ovechkin.
Little Fury they may be more kid and family friendly, but they haven’t done enough to get that message out to the general public. Ask any person in the US about hockey and what they remember and chances are they will tell you it is a violent sport. The goon image is still there.
Ask any person in the US about hockey and what they remember and chances are they will tell you it is a violent sport. The goon image is still there.
Given that I actually live in the U.S. I can tell you that’s incorrect. The actual response is generally, “Who cares about hockey, is that even on television anymore?”
Nobody in the U.S., save the traditional enclaves, gives a damn about the sport enough to have philosophical debates about whether or not there are too many goons in the sport.
Fixing the sport’s popularity in the U.S. isn’t about taking fighting out, adding cheerleaders, and hoping everyone comes back. It’s about making it a sport that kids play when they’re young, just like football and baseball, and putting it in the public eye as much as possible.
And it’s about making the Sunday NBC game not Rangers vs X every damn week.
And no, I have no fucking clue what is up with Americans and NASCAR. I’ve nearly choked a few drunk hillbillies to death trying to figure it out.
Ask any person in the US about hockey and what they remember and chances are they will tell you it is a violent sport.
My brother-in-law lives in New York and he says that nearly all of the Ranger fans he knows also really like ultimate fighting so I think the “violent sport” thing applies. It also underlines that these people actually have Versus. As has been pointed out though, the perception of violence is not necessarily a problem.
Dennis: Considering it was the NHL speedskating champion Zorg was tracking up the ice, he did all right didn’t he? That first pass hit Andrew right on the tape and didn’t slow him down a whisker, so Cogs was able to use his speed through the neutral zone as the weapon it is, ultimately drawing a penalty. It’s to Zorg’s credit that he managed to stay in the play.
The key was he was already moving when he hit Cogs with the initial pass, and like most big guys once he gets going he can cover the ice. Acceleration is an issue; Cogs would blow Zorg away from a standing start.
On that trio Cogliano is the guy I want carrying the puck up ice, and at least Stortini will try and get it to him. Moreau would rather just do it all himself, it seems.
Stortini has the right idea and chemistry with Cogliano.
if possess_puck()
send_pass(Cogliano)
else
skate_to(net)
But Q,
People obviously don’t give a shit about it, and what do they see on TV whenever the topic of hockey comes up: Thomas JUnta killing another dad, Todd Bertuzzi sucker punching Steve Moore, 2 guys dying on the ice in San Jose, Don Sanderson, etc.
With the exception of Bertuzzi, did the NHL ever comment on any of the other incidents? Shouldn’t Gary Bettman be on every major TV Network stating that hockey is not a violent sport? Shouldn’t the NHL Marketing machine make some attempt to relate to NASCAR fans?
Ever seen the Everett Silvertips of the WHL? Absolutely sold out each game. To people who know the game, it might seem insulting to have the PA announcer telling the crowd that an icing has occurred, but they have tickets to sell and a sport to sell to young fans.
Why can junior leagues do it and the NHL can’t?