NHL 2010/2011 season....

[Danny99]

When the Flyers ended their win streak, the headline was "Crosby extends point streak". They might as well continue that tradition until it ends, apparently that's the only thing noteworthy in the NHL

This is what I find flawed about the NHL marketing policy.

Of course you have to market your big stars (Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamkos), but in markets like Atlanta, Florida, Phoenix, you need to be marketing those players. Sure, Philadelphia doesn't need the marketing, but is it at least possible you could get more people out to games in those markets if people were actually excited about their teams?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Also, if they market just a couple of superstars, they face a ratings nightmare if other teams make it to the cup.

 

[Danny99]

Also, if they market just a couple of superstars, they face a ratings nightmare if other teams make it to the cup.

Like last year.

How do you market Kane when the main thing he is known for is beating up a cabbie?

 

[mimic]

Chris Pronger is having foot surgery today and will miss 4-6 weeks. Since the Flyers are randomly off for consecutive 8 days during that stretch it doesn't amount to missing that many games. Of course, the announcers on the Montreal game failed to notice that he was gone for about 13 minutes, so maybe he won't be missed.

To randomly throw out a player the NHL could market other than Crosby/Ovie, I'll say Matt Duchene.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

To randomly throw out a player the NHL could market other than Crosby/Ovie, I'll say Matt Duchene.

Never happen, he plays west of the Mississippi River.

 

[mimic]

But...he's really good!

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

I know, he's on my favorite team. If they can keep he and Stastny together, it might be like Sakic- Forsberg.

 

[mimic]

First NHL game, just had a goal taken away for a 'distinct kicking motion' that wasn't that distinct, and then this happens:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd8XLkE7D3w[/yt]

 

[DeafPoet]

Look, I haven't been following this thread up to this point; but I'm sure as hell following my beloved Leafs.

The last game against Calgary was basically a must-win in terms of points and pride. After all, we practically switched rosters. Too bad they got raped.

Tonight the Leafs HAVE to beat the Canucks on HNIC. It's also a big chance for Gustavsson to assert himself.

Anyone have any thoughts? Parallel with mine or not?

 

[DeafPoet]

Is it just me or does Glenn Healey hate the Leafs? I miss Bob Cole. The Habs dont deserve him as a commentator.

 

[Warped9]

I watch the Habs on RDS.

 

[DeafPoet]

I watch the Habs on RDS.

Is that en francais?

I'm thinking about starting a weekly Hockey Night thread. If there's an audience.

 

[Timby]

Well, after several months of "unpaid" work, Donald Fehr has been elected as the NHLPA's executive director, which is seen as a victory for Eric Lindros and his circle of power in the NHLPA (Lindros has been acting as the veterans' voice since last year). This has fantastic consequences for the future of hockey, since Fehr is the guy who orchestrated the MLB strike of 1994.

Here's what I said about his interim appointment a while back:

As for Fehr, it's both good and bad news. Eric Lindros and his cronies are the current group in power at the upper levels of the NHLPA, and their drumbeat for quite some time has been, "Go on strike and return everything back to the way it was before this CBA." They're ready to go to the mats, and truth be told, most of the union membership will likely go along with whatever the executive board decides.

Every sane person agrees that an NHL player strike (or another lockout) would be monumentally retarded for everyone involved.

The problem is that the decision to strike will be made by a group of people not generally believed to be the smartest men on the planet.

 

[DeafPoet]

Donald Fehr basically killed my dreams when I was a young, Baseball loving kid.

He'll negotiate a "cost of living" raise for the PA. The cap will increase accordingly and that's it. Neither the owners nor the players can afford the horseshit of 5 years prior. Thats why Fehr has his job. The upcoming contract will be a relative piece of cake, I'd wager.

 

[mimic]

Out of curiosity, how alone am I in disliking the OT rules? I don't want to write an essay here, but I much prefer the OT loss = 0 points, no shootout, tie after 5 mins system that we used to have. The only thing I'd keep is the 4x4.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I'm pretty sure an overtime loss used to be a point too. The only thing they changed is removing the chance for both teams to get one point. I liked the old system too, but that's because I'm not afraid of ties. The NHL thinks their ratings would sink if ties were brought back.

 

[Warped9]

I watch the Habs on RDS.

Is that en francais?

I'm thinking about starting a weekly Hockey Night thread. If there's an audience.

Yes, it is. I'm French Canadian, and while I may not be fluent (having been born and lived my whole life in Ontario) I understand enough to know what's going on and being said and, of course, I can follow the play.

Also TSN and RDS use the real Hockey Night In Canada song that CBC was stupid enough to let go. Indeed I've come to prefer watching hockey on TSN and RDS to CBC. And Ron MacLean and Don Cherry are a tired act.

 

[mimic]

I'm pretty sure an overtime loss used to be a point too.

Not before 1999-2000.

 

[Canadave]

Out of curiosity, how alone am I in disliking the OT rules? I don't want to write an essay here, but I much prefer the OT loss = 0 points, no shootout, tie after 5 mins system that we used to have. The only thing I'd keep is the 4x4.

I agree. Something more like European soccer would be a good idea, where a win is 3 points, a tie is one point, and a loss is a fat goose egg. That gives teams a good reason to play for the win in OT, since a tie is only worth a third of what a win is.

As it stands, I figured once that it's theoretically possible for a team to lose a significant majority of their games and still make the playoffs, so long as they lose in OT. A 10-0-72 team would have been seeded sixth in the East last year, for example, with 92 points.

And yes, I recognize that's nearly a complete impossibility, but the fact that it's even fathomable under the current rules rankles a bit.

 

[mimic]

And Ron MacLean and Don Cherry are a tired act.

As a non-Canadian, I'm not exactly familiar with them, but since I subscribed to Gamecenter this year I'm watching a few more non-Flyers games, and Cherry (?) went on this bizarre speech about how Christmas is Jesus' birthday and kids should never take the Lord's name in vain in response to BB's cursing on 24/7.

Something more like European soccer would be a good idea, where a win is 3 points, a tie is one point, and a loss is a fat goose egg. That gives teams a good reason to play for the win in OT, since a tie is only worth a third of what a win is.

That would be a HUGE improvement over the current point system. I like it.