Ten Ways to Save the NHL

[livinthedream]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/tcowlishaw/stories/060607dnspocowlishaw.2cb3128.html

The attached article is from Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News, for those of you who don't have ESPN deprogrammed on your dial, he's also a regular on "Around the Horn". This article is being discussed on the message board circuit and Luke DeCock commented on it in today's blog. I apologize for the length but thought it would be easier to read here than pan back and forth to another website.

I'll admit.......I haven't read it all the way through yet to formulate my opinion, but thought it would be fodder for an interesting discussion. Fire away!


10 ways to avoid an NHL ice age
01:54 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The Anaheim Ducks could hoist the Stanley Cup as early as tonight which would shock not only Ottawa fans but about 300 million Americans who had no idea that hockey season was still under way.

Like the last two Finals between Canadian teams and teams from nontraditional U.S. markets, there have been great goals, terrific saves and punishing hits. And like those series, no one (relatively speaking) is watching.

On Saturday night when LeBron James led Cleveland into the NBA Finals, the NBA earned a 5.3 rating. That's not what the league used to get for conference finals, by any means. But it was far better than what NBC drew (1.5) for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Quick, before commissioner Gary Bettman renders this league extinct, here are 10 ways to fix the NHL and deliver an improved product to more viewers in 2008.

1: Put microphones on all coaches and captains for all games. One of the things that the millions of fans that flock to NASCAR races each year really enjoy is the ability to hear every word exchanged between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.

The scanner technology is there to let every fan in the seats eavesdrop on what's being said. We don't want lame interviews conducted by bench reporters. We want to hear the real thing, and if we're paying $100 a ticket, we deserve it.

2: Start the season a month later. The Stanley Cup Finals should be starting when the NBA Finals are ending. For two weeks, you get the closest thing you're ever going to get to undivided attention.

The technology is good enough to make ice playable in late June. Starting the season a month before the NBA in the heart of college and pro football season does nothing for the NHL.

3: Convince the selfish Eastern Conference general managers to act in the best interests of the game and change the schedule. This was voted on and rejected a few months ago. But Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, moving into the prime of what's going to be a fantastic career, needs to play a game in Dallas and Los Angeles and Chicago every year. Not once every three years.

4: Kiss up to ESPN. Make amends. There's still enough room for programming at the world-wide leader to get your games back there. Versus gives the NHL no presence at all. The studio show has Bill Clement, a great analyst, in the misguided role of host.

Get back to ESPN – even if it's ESPN2 – and get your highlights back on SportsCenter.

5: Let the skaters in shootouts go without their helmets. In the Sixties and Seventies, we could easily identify Bobby Hull, Jean Beliveau, the flowing locks of Guy LaFleur.

Then safety reared its ugly head, and now we have no idea what these players look like. Most of the regular-season highlights we see of the NHL are from shootouts. Let's see the players. Women will like this one.

6: Eliminate the ability to ice the puck during penalty killing. You can't do it 5-on-5 but you can do it when you're being penalized? Montreal GM Bob Gainey never really thought that made sense and he's right.

If they ice it, bring back the puck back for the face-off and the penalty killers have to stay on the ice.

What that would do is increase scoring from the game's best players, make power plays more powerful and cut down on penalties which would increase the flow of the game. All of those are good things.

7: Adopt the 2-3-2 travel format for all series. Commissioner David Stern did it for the NBA Finals after the 1984 season to ease the travel for newspapers. Those Boston-to-Los Angeles-to-Boston-to Los Angeles-to Boston trips were hard on the budget, not to mention hangovers.

Do it for all series. Increase (even by a fraction) news media coverage of the playoffs. It can't hurt.

8: Adopt the shootout after 40 minutes of playoff overtime hockey. Once you get past that point, the hockey gets ugly. Fans need to know that if they stick around until a little after midnight, they are going to see a winner. Networks need to know that, too. They aren't making any money with those long ad-less overtimes.

I would keep unlimited overtime for any game that could decide the Cup Finals.

9: Move the U.S. league office to Atlanta. Being in New York, the NHL can at least pretend it's a big deal. Bettman and other league officials need to walk the streets of Atlanta or, I don't care, Raleigh or Nashville and learn that nobody knows who they are. It will help them figure out what they have done to the game.

10: Contract to 26 teams. Arrive at a formula based on revenue, attendance, won-lost record and local ratings. The two worst performing teams are dropped and their players are dispersed after next season. Two more go a year later.

Now you have fewer and better teams and you get to see the stars more often and you increase your chances of making the playoffs. Those are good things.

Someone should let Bettman know how his grand plan of "expanding the league's footprint" has really gone.



DeCock's take:


Thursday, June 7, 2007

The suggestion box is open
Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw his 10 ways to avoid an NHL "ice age" and while I happen to disagree with a few of them, the NHL should be listening to most.

(For the record, I think he's right about Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6, wrong about Nos. 2, 8 and 9 and could go either way on Nos. 7 and 10.)

In any case, if you look at Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5, they're common-sense recommendations that don't require much — if any — expense, and would substantially help the league. Of course, the league would never allow open miking of coaches, officials and players. God forbid someone say something interesting instead of the endless stream of "C'mon boys!" the league deigns to allow us to overhear now.

Posted at 10:51 am by Luke DeCock in General

[dakuwan]

Agree with 1-5, 7, and 8. #2 only because of us in the middle of college heaven, September would be good.

Could go either way on 6 and 9.

Completely disagree with 10.

[nccanes]

Disagreeing with #10 is a given. I hate anything that's based on a snapshot of a org/market. Forget it.

I also disagree with 7. Gives too much to the team without Home Ice advantage. I will admit to not following closely enough the leagues that use the 2-3-2 format and if that rings true, but I definitely don't like the idea.

[StormShaman]

If they implement #10, we can kiss the Blackhawks g'bye.

[aldamon]

I also disagree with 7. Gives too much to the team without Home Ice advantage. I will admit to not following closely enough the leagues that use the 2-3-2 format and if that rings true, but I definitely don't like the idea.
Didn't the VS announcers say the home team had a 57% winning percentage in the NHL playoffs while in the NBA it was well over 75%? I don't think a 7% swing is much to worry about. I think the convenience and continuity outweigh that minor advantage.

Anyway, I agree with 1 - 5, 7 and totally disagree with 8 - 10. Idea #6 has always bothered me except when we're killing the penalty, so I guess I could go either way with that one. :D

[nccanes]

I just woulda hated sending the Canes off to EDM for games 3-5, lol.

[aldamon]

I just woulda hated sending the Canes off to EDM for games 3-5, lol.

At least our coin would have been intact.

http://www.damontech.net/smythdog.jpghttp://www.damontech.net/dogsmyth.jpg

http://www.damontech.net/smythdog.jpg

[PennsylvaniaCanesFan]

Ok...here is my take.

1) Having in game interviews breaks up the game. I don't like it in any sport. The mic'd up isn't bad. That's done during a break and doesn't affect anything.
2) People complain hockey lasts too long as it is. A lot of people don't think hockey in 90+ degree weather. At least the casual fan.
3) I do agree with 3. But seeing a final like CAR/EDM or ANH/OTT where the teams don't see each other is interesting as well.
4) Like it or not, hockey needs ESPN. At least decent coverage during Sportscenter. And getting games on ESPN2 would be good as well.
5) This is very interesting. The only thing I could see being a problem is the goalies complaining. They have to wear masks, so why doesn't the shooter?
6) I don't like this one either. That would give the edge to the PP too much. And if I was on the PK, I would ice the puck anyway. That's 5 seconds or so that the puck isn't in the zone.
7) I like the 2-2-1-1-1. It's more fair. The 2-3-2 gives a advantage to the visiting team. All they have to do is win 1 away and they have a shot at a championship at home.
8) No way. No way. No way. No way. You gotta love 3OT and 4OT games. Sure they are long, but they are usually exciting.
9) Bite me Tim. That's all I have to say about that.
10) And here is where I take the flames from the faithful. I do like this idea. But instead of contracting 4, contract 2 and move the other 2 back into Canada. Give Winapeg and Quebec City back teams (yes I used to like the Nordiques.)

My humble opinion as always.

[livinthedream]

1. Mikes. Yikes! Now that would be fun.

2. Start the season later. My problem with this is ending the season later. I may be in a minority here, but I think the season is too long for such a physically demanding sport. I realize that cutting the schedule cuts revenues big time, but personally I’d rather see a 60-game regular season.

3. Change the schedule. Agree but not necessarily so Tim can see Sid come to Dallas. I just don’t think we need to play every team in our own division 8 freakin’ times.

4. Bristol. I waffle on this one. I was a much bigger fan of ESPN 5 years ago than I am now. IMO their stock has peaked and is on the decline.

5. No helmets in shoot-outs. Yeah right, why in the world do I want to see any of our guys without their helmet on?

6. Icing on the PK. Don’t agree with this one. I think the PP has just about the right amount of advantage that it needs as the rules exist today.

7. No to the 2-3-2. Too much advantage to the away team.

8. Playoff OT changes. Not sure, but not sold.

9. Move the league offices. Meh. I really don't care where Bettman lives.

10. Contraction. Uh no, don’t see that happening. If anything I could see expansion, while it's still relatively cheap to own a franchise. I could see the league at 32 teams. Don't necessarily think it's a good idea, just what I think is more likely.

[aldamon]

They have to wear masks, so why doesn't the shooter?
I think the goalie has more risk of an injury during the shootout so I doubt any of them would make that argument.

[KaniacFever]

My 2 cents worth:

1. I am one to like the mic'd up, but putting on coaches can be destructive. We all see how coaches can get fired up and we can read lips and see the F word being used. No you got networks getting sued by idiots cause profanity was used on tv to where kids can hear.

2. I can agree with starting a month later, but playing in July will just be too weird. Start a month later, but end the sametime, cutting the season by 1 month.

3. Don't really care about this one.

4. Agreed, we need ESPN

5. Is this one really there. Having the shootout players do the shootout w/o their helmet. This does what? Just don't get this one and I'm female. So is a female gonna watch a full 60 minute game just to hope that they go to a shootout so she can see them w/o a helmet.

6. Not able to ice the puck during the PK could be interesting. It may also make the team on the PK take a chance. So not only could the PP be more deadly but we could see more shorties.

7. Absolutley no to the 2-3-2 format.

8. Absolutley no shootout in the PO. Its fine for the regular season, but the playoffs should be decided by the team NOT an individual.

9-10, really don't give care.

[Jillsdad]

I like #1, #3,#4,#5,#6...no to #2,#7,#8,who cares about #9 and no to #10....replacing it with if the goalie leaves the crease....he is fair game....increase scoring....wipe out the goalie with a clean hit....empty net.....goal....plus goalie's would not wander as much thus allowing more forecheck which could also increase scoring

[livinthedream]

Clarify on #8. I am NOT in favor at all of shootouts in the playoffs. What I do think is that there should be some sort of tiered overtime where you go 'x' minutes OT full strength and then if it goes to a second OT you go 4-on-4 for the remaining OT periods. I'm also in favor of shortening the OT period to 10 minutes versus 20. Plus maybe there's an opportunity for TV ad breaks.

[Fghtr4jc]

#1-Sure why not, I don't see this hurting anything as long as they don't have the players cursing and what not, it should be ok.
#2-I actually support this. Unless you like baseball (which I personally do not), then july has nothing going on after the free agency craze, I think having the finals then would attract attention simply because hockey would be the best thing on, and sometimes the best competition is no compeititon.
#3-Fully support, 8 division games is overkill. Balanced schedules will build true rivalries, not this division stuff they're trying to do.
#4-This may be the one that has me the most torn. Do we really NEED espn? Maybe. Both sides have good arguments. It would take a lot for that relationship to recover I think.
#5-I agree simply because this would take absolutely no effort to put into place. If we gain a few fans because of it, its a few fans we didn't have. I can't see a negative here.
#6-Completely disagree. Too much advantage to the PP.
#7-Disagree, see all reasons listed by the other people.
#8-Don't anyone even think of touching playoff overtime. Multiple OT games are some of the best things about playoff hockey.
#9-This may be the most worthless step on here. I don't see anything that this would actually help.
#10-Ok, we're to the one that actually caused me to write this post. At this point, I thought he was joking. While some teams may continually hit the basement (ie Chicago). There is usually a team that only stays in the cellar for a couple years (ie Carolina 2002-2004). I don't think he took into effect that teams rebuild and change and get better. That's the great thing about sports. You cheer for your team because you know that SOMEDAY, they will be champion (this was us during 2003, when we occupied the wonderful 30th place).

[svandijk1]

#4-This may be the one that has me the most torn. Do we really NEED espn? Maybe. Both sides have good arguments. It would take a lot for that relationship to recover I think.

I'm really starting to wonder on this one. It seems I hear more and more people associated (some loosely, but still) with ESPN saying the NHL has to suck it up and go back to ESPN. I'm starting to suspect ESPN wants the NHL but doesn't want to be viewed as having been wrong about the affect of the lockout and instead would like the NHL to crawl back and admit they screwed up. How is it ESPN continues to disparage the league yet revenues continue to rise and the league should beg ESPN to take them back?

#10-Ok, we're to the one that actually caused me to write this post. At this point, I thought he was joking. While some teams may continually hit the basement (ie Chicago). There is usually a team that only stays in the cellar for a couple years (ie Carolina 2002-2004). I don't think he took into effect that teams rebuild and change and get better. That's the great thing about sports. You cheer for your team because you know that SOMEDAY, they will be champion (this was us during 2003, when we occupied the wonderful 30th place).

By it's very nature, it will never fly in American sports, but the relegation model used English Premiere League (soccer) is very intriguing.

[goalie33]

1. Bad idea. You'd get tons of unairable crap just for a gem every once in a while. Then there's the matter of threats made between players...if a guy makes a threat, it gets on the air, and then the player gets hurt, the league is in hot water.

2. Blah. We have enough bad ice as it is.

3. I like the division rivalries, but I like the old schedule, too. Cool.

4. As much as I hate to admit it, this would be a good move.

5. Who cares?

6. Eh, no.

7. Absolutely not. Too much advantage for the away team.

8. He wants to change the playoff OT, but then change it back whenever there's a SCF elimination game? Even he doesn't know what he wants. If the NHL ever changes the playoff OT format, I'll give up the league forever.

9. Who cares?

10. :eyeroll:

Also, Jillsdad, you have to realize that goaltenders are not padded to take hits. The equipment restricts body movement in some directions, and the stiffness of the leg pads is such that severe damage to the legs could be done if they were forced in the wrong direction. There's absolutely no padding on the back of a goaltender, and masks are not made to protect the head from body impact...in fact, they're not even made to protect the head from puck impact on the back and sides.

[aldamon]

1. Bad idea. You'd get tons of unairable crap just for a gem every once in a while. Then there's the matter of threats made between players...if a guy makes a threat, it gets on the air, and then the player gets hurt, the league is in hot water.

No you got networks getting sued by idiots cause profanity was used on tv to where kids can hear.

He didn't say air it on TV. He said to do it like NASCAR does it and broadcast the feed to people in the stands. Obviously, you wouldn't opt to give a child an uncensored feed.

[caneshockeychick]

1: Put microphones on all coaches and captains for all games. One of the things that the millions of fans that flock to NASCAR races each year really enjoy is the ability to hear every word exchanged between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.

The scanner technology is there to let every fan in the seats eavesdrop on what's being said. We don't want lame interviews conducted by bench reporters. We want to hear the real thing, and if we're paying $100 a ticket, we deserve it.

I can honestly say I'm not interested...and I have a scanner that I used when I used to go to Races. IMO, it was kind of boring...

2: Start the season a month later. The Stanley Cup Finals should be starting when the NBA Finals are ending. For two weeks, you get the closest thing you're ever going to get to undivided attention.

The technology is good enough to make ice playable in late June. Starting the season a month before the NBA in the heart of college and pro football season does nothing for the NHL.

I'd be okay with this...but the thing is something else is always going to be going on during hockey season...college FB, pro FB, college BB, pro BB, baseball and yes, even Nascar

3: Convince the selfish Eastern Conference general managers to act in the best interests of the game and change the schedule. This was voted on and rejected a few months ago. But Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, moving into the prime of what's going to be a fantastic career, needs to play a game in Dallas and Los Angeles and Chicago every year. Not once every three years.

I hate playing the 8 divisional games and yes, I would like to see more of the Western conference. I definitely think a home and away series with each WC team would be cool.

4: Kiss up to ESPN. Make amends. There's still enough room for programming at the world-wide leader to get your games back there. Versus gives the NHL no presence at all. The studio show has Bill Clement, a great analyst, in the misguided role of host.

Get back to ESPN – even if it's ESPN2 – and get your highlights back on SportsCenter.

I don't care...Maybe because I can get Versus and I can get Fox sports and I can choose to get Center Ice. I'm not, nor have I ever been, a big fan of ESPN.

5: Let the skaters in shootouts go without their helmets. In the Sixties and Seventies, we could easily identify Bobby Hull, Jean Beliveau, the flowing locks of Guy LaFleur.

Then safety reared its ugly head, and now we have no idea what these players look like. Most of the regular-season highlights we see of the NHL are from shootouts. Let's see the players. Women will like this one.

What a sexist statement to make!!! Ugh. I could care less whether I actually see their faces or not. I'm not into hockey for looks. Besides, if you are actually at a game, and you are in a 3rd or 4th or nosebleed type seat, what are you actually going to see, the dimple on the player's chin? NOT!!!

I just think they need to make more "stars" out of some players. Get them into some commercials, ads, etc.

6: Eliminate the ability to ice the puck during penalty killing. You can't do it 5-on-5 but you can do it when you're being penalized? Montreal GM Bob Gainey never really thought that made sense and he's right.

If they ice it, bring back the puck back for the face-off and the penalty killers have to stay on the ice.

What that would do is increase scoring from the game's best players, make power plays more powerful and cut down on penalties which would increase the flow of the game. All of those are good things.

Honestly, I've always wondered why it isn't icing on the PP too. Either way, I'm ok ;)

7: Adopt the 2-3-2 travel format for all series. Commissioner David Stern did it for the NBA Finals after the 1984 season to ease the travel for newspapers. Those Boston-to-Los Angeles-to-Boston-to Los Angeles-to Boston trips were hard on the budget, not to mention hangovers.

Do it for all series. Increase (even by a fraction) news media coverage of the playoffs. It can't hurt.

Hell no!!! I definitely prefer the 2-2-1-1-1 format. If you get home ice over your opponent, it should definitely be an advantage. NO!! NO!! NO!!!

8: Adopt the shootout after 40 minutes of playoff overtime hockey. Once you get past that point, the hockey gets ugly. Fans need to know that if they stick around until a little after midnight, they are going to see a winner. Networks need to know that, too. They aren't making any money with those long ad-less overtimes.

I would keep unlimited overtime for any game that could decide the Cup Finals.

Again, Hell no!!! Makes no sense to just limit only the SC Finals to no shootout. Eventually, they'd just work that in too. Maybe go to 4 on 4 after the 1st 20 minutes and see what that gets?

9: Move the U.S. league office to Atlanta. Being in New York, the NHL can at least pretend it's a big deal. Bettman and other league officials need to walk the streets of Atlanta or, I don't care, Raleigh or Nashville and learn that nobody knows who they are. It will help them figure out what they have done to the game.

Like someone said above, I could care less where Bettman lives.

10: Contract to 26 teams. Arrive at a formula based on revenue, attendance, won-lost record and local ratings. The two worst performing teams are dropped and their players are dispersed after next season. Two more go a year later.

Now you have fewer and better teams and you get to see the stars more often and you increase your chances of making the playoffs. Those are good things.

Umm, no!!

[goalie33]

He didn't say air it on TV. He said to do it like NASCAR does it and broadcast the feed to people in the stands. Obviously, you wouldn't opt to give a child an uncensored feed.

Except that two weeks ago NBC aired a Duck (pretty sure it was Penner) threatening Datsyuk on national television. That would've turned out well. If they've got access to it and it's clean, some dumb director is going to show it.

[RangersCanesFan]

1: Put microphones on all coaches and captains for all games. One of the things that the millions of fans that flock to NASCAR races each year really enjoy is the ability to hear every word exchanged between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.

The scanner technology is there to let every fan in the seats eavesdrop on what's being said. We don't want lame interviews conducted by bench reporters. We want to hear the real thing, and if we're paying $100 a ticket, we deserve it.

Duh. This isn't going to enhance the game. Most likely, someone will end up getting fined a record amount for letting a few f-bombs fly. Then, the league has to face bad media attention for weeks because someone cursed while miked.

In NASCAR, you idiot, the radio IS A PART OF THE SPORT. In hockey, not so.

No thanks.


2: Start the season a month later. The Stanley Cup Finals should be starting when the NBA Finals are ending. For two weeks, you get the closest thing you're ever going to get to undivided attention.

The technology is good enough to make ice playable in late June. Starting the season a month before the NBA in the heart of college and pro football season does nothing for the NHL.

Playing hockey until July is dumb. Playing as late as it goes now is dumb. The Stanley Cup should be awarded around Memorial Day at the latest. Start the season a few weeks earlier if need be, and let's not have a week between the end of a series and the start of the next one.

3: Convince the selfish Eastern Conference general managers to act in the best interests of the game and change the schedule. This was voted on and rejected a few months ago. But Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, moving into the prime of what's going to be a fantastic career, needs to play a game in Dallas and Los Angeles and Chicago every year. Not once every three years.

Agree, and it's related to #10. Less teams, easier to play everyone.

4: Kiss up to ESPN. Make amends. There's still enough room for programming at the world-wide leader to get your games back there. Versus gives the NHL no presence at all. The studio show has Bill Clement, a great analyst, in the misguided role of host.

Get back to ESPN – even if it's ESPN2 – and get your highlights back on SportsCenter.

Why? So the league could be shown after poker? Versus does a pretty good job, they just need to get into more homes. As has been said, fans buy the Center Ice package.

5: Let the skaters in shootouts go without their helmets. In the Sixties and Seventies, we could easily identify Bobby Hull, Jean Beliveau, the flowing locks of Guy LaFleur.

Then safety reared its ugly head, and now we have no idea what these players look like. Most of the regular-season highlights we see of the NHL are from shootouts. Let's see the players. Women will like this one.

This isn't a bad idea, save the sexist comment. Actually, no helmets all the time would probably take a lot of the stick work out of the game.

6: Eliminate the ability to ice the puck during penalty killing. You can't do it 5-on-5 but you can do it when you're being penalized? Montreal GM Bob Gainey never really thought that made sense and he's right.

If they ice it, bring back the puck back for the face-off and the penalty killers have to stay on the ice.

What that would do is increase scoring from the game's best players, make power plays more powerful and cut down on penalties which would increase the flow of the game. All of those are good things.

Not necessarily. An 8-7 game is exciting, but a fabricated 8-7 game wouldn't be. With all of the innane penalties called these days, not allowing a short-handed team to ice the puck would increase scoring astronomically. Without the ability to ice the puck, the short-handed team would have extreme difficulty in changing. Very few players could stay on the ice for 2 minutes killing a penalty. On it's face, it doesn't sound bad. Analyze it, and it's silly.

7: Adopt the 2-3-2 travel format for all series. Commissioner David Stern did it for the NBA Finals after the 1984 season to ease the travel for newspapers. Those Boston-to-Los Angeles-to-Boston-to Los Angeles-to Boston trips were hard on the budget, not to mention hangovers.

Do it for all series. Increase (even by a fraction) news media coverage of the playoffs. It can't hurt.

Don't make it mandatory, but give the "road" team the option.

8: Adopt the shootout after 40 minutes of playoff overtime hockey. Once you get past that point, the hockey gets ugly. Fans need to know that if they stick around until a little after midnight, they are going to see a winner. Networks need to know that, too. They aren't making any money with those long ad-less overtimes.

I would keep unlimited overtime for any game that could decide the Cup Finals.

Dumbass non-hockey fan comment.

9: Move the U.S. league office to Atlanta. Being in New York, the NHL can at least pretend it's a big deal. Bettman and other league officials need to walk the streets of Atlanta or, I don't care, Raleigh or Nashville and learn that nobody knows who they are. It will help them figure out what they have done to the game.

Who cares where the league office is?

10: Contract to 26 teams. Arrive at a formula based on revenue, attendance, won-lost record and local ratings. The two worst performing teams are dropped and their players are dispersed after next season. Two more go a year later.

Now you have fewer and better teams and you get to see the stars more often and you increase your chances of making the playoffs. Those are good things.

Yes, I happen to agree. Maybe not on the formula, but I agree with reducing teams.

[nccanes]

I have never understood what alienating two entire fanbases, having the league have to buy out those 2 owners, and reducing the no-talent players by a whopping 40 players league-wide would help the game.

Never mind the fact that no professional league (in modern times anyway, maybe ever?) have just said "we don't need these two franchises" and given up. Talk about fodder for criticism for eternity.

[caniac369]

The only thing about going back to ESPN is the fact that those games would be on most basic cable and satilite packages (including mine). We had to upgrade last year just to be able to watch anything playoff related that wasn't picked up by fox or on NBC.

[toastmasterbone]

Getting miked up might actually attract new fans, but only because everything in television programming is based on "reality TV" these days. And I don't mean strapping a microphone on 'em, I mean (1) get directional/shotgun mikes all around the arena and pump up the sound until the play-by-play is just a shade louder than the sounds of guys on the ice. (2) Do this only for games with an 8 o'clock start on the east coast with a disclaimer saying that there will be objectionable language. (3) Let 'er rip.

For other markets, they're SOL on the time, but the NHL just signed a contract with Sling (http://blogs.pcworld.com/digitalworld/archives/2007/06/sling_hooks_up.html), and fans could get games in the "unedited form" that way. This might help promote the NHL as a sport trying to stay on the cutting edge.

I'd be hip to hearing full on-ice sound, but could give a crap about the 4-second, edited, here's-what-Gionta-said stuff. It's supposed to be compelling, but always achieves a full serving of ho-hum fluff and makes the Beautiful Game look silly.

[svandijk1]

The mic'ing seems useless to me. Please tell me how many times a mic'ed up player said something other than "Come on boys! Let's Go!". And that's supposedly after they've had the chance to edit and pick out the good bits. Though I have to say the editing must be suspect because several times they show a clip of the player and yet there's no sound to be heard. What's the point?

[SouthernHockeyChick]

I have never understood what alienating two entire fanbases, having the league have to buy out those 2 owners, and reducing the no-talent players by a whopping 40 players league-wide would help the game.

Never mind the fact that no professional league (in modern times anyway, maybe ever?) have just said "we don't need these two franchises" and given up. Talk about fodder for criticism for eternity.

Agreed. It's completely ridiculous. I can agree that the league made some mistakes with expanding too much, too fast but, sorry, we gotta live with it now. The only reason most people make the contraction arguement is because they're too stupid to know that the bottom 5 teams would not be the entire Southeast division.

I know the reason I've always loved the National Anthem is because they players take their helmets off. :roll:

[goalie33]

Getting miked up might actually attract new fans, but only because everything in television programming is based on "reality TV" these days. And I don't mean strapping a microphone on 'em, I mean (1) get directional/shotgun mikes all around the arena and pump up the sound until the play-by-play is just a shade louder than the sounds of guys on the ice. (2) Do this only for games with an 8 o'clock start on the east coast with a disclaimer saying that there will be objectionable language. (3) Let 'er rip.

And get ready for the greatest number of f-bombs in one program in television history.

[caniac369]

^ Yup. How many times have they zoomed in (without sound) on a player or coach who is OBVIOUSLY droping f-bombs. I remember a couple of occasions hoping there were no children in earshot of Lavi when he'd get pissed... or last year when the cup was getting passed around I remember one of the players getting bleeped for saying 'F*CKIN ROCKS'!!

[goalie33]

^ It's not even that. I mean, even as an experiment with disclaimer, it's only going to take one "f*** you, you c*******ing f*****," to sink the whole thing.

I can just see the articles now: "The NBA gives technicals for even looking at an official in a funny way. How can the NHL let its players get away with constantly cursing at refs?!"

[toastmasterbone]

But that's my point. Let it fly. Make it late night and prepare to be offended. The guy who watches because he might see a fight would be glued.

Not saying it's good, but it's real.

^ and that's good publicity.

BTW, I really could care less about the mike thing, so you can hammer on this all you like... I'll agree with you.

[goalie33]

But that's my point. Let it fly. Make it late night and prepare to be offended. The guy who watches because he might see a fight would be glued.

Any start late enough for it to be feasible would be way too late for a hockey game. 9:00 isn't even late enough. I see the attraction and wouldn't mind it, I just know it'd never go through any television bureaucracy in the country.

[Pirate Caniac]

You know, something that hasn't even been mentioned at all and would have probably the largest effect in raising fan support would be if the NHL got together with the minor leagues and really worked on setting them up to work in cohesion to build the sport. It works well for baseball, which is similar in having many players coming into the system from other countries, as compared to football, where the college system is the closest thing to a minor league system, and the vast majority of players come from within the US.

The AHL, for example, only has 27 teams compared to the 30 NHL teams. Some of those teams are/have been shared for affiliations. Some NHL teams have affiliations with more than one minor league team, too. Many are very far away from the NHL team they are affiliated with, and many more change affiliations pretty constantly.

How much does anyone here think it would help if the Canes had as their minor league affiliations Charlotte for the AHL (I realize it's ECHL now), Myrtle Beach for the ECHL, and Fayetteville or Winston-Salem (or both) for the SPHL, for instance? Some of the newer markets especially could really use this kind of setup to help grow the base. Fans can go see those prospects down the road, and then when their favorite guy gets called up they'll be much more likely to tune in to watch the games on tv.

Good for getting people into the seats. Good for people buying merchandise. Good for tv ratings. Just what the NHL needs.

Nothing against our friends in Albany or Florida, but having the teams there really doesn't help the Canes all that much compared to what it could be. I'm sure the same is true with a lot of the other newer/non-traditional markets, as well.

[svandijk1]

Honestly, I think that may help draw a few AHL fans to the parent NHL games, but I doubt it has too much affect in the other direction. First the SPHL is irrelevent with respect to the NHL - no one puts their players there. It's exceedingly rare to see ECHL "prospects" reach the NHL. There might be some value in having the AHL affiliate close by even for non-fan reasons - easier callups. Other than that, I'm not sure. Seems a lot of your top prospects are actually spending more time in the major juniors leagues in Canada than they do in the AHL.
But I don't think distance is such a big deal. The Durham Bulls aren't exactly right next door to the Devil Rays nor are the Grasshoppers any closer to the Marlins to use your baseball example. And I'm really not sure how this makes for good tv ratings.

[nccanes]

The AHL will have 29 teams next year. There will be 1 shared affiliation left (I think Fla/Buf, but don't quote me).

I heard a great interview on XM with the AHL's league president (or commissioner or whatever he's called) about the league. Talked about how some other pro sports owners own AHL teams. Some NBA ownership along with NHL ownership.

^^The AHL is the healthiest it's been in its history I believe. But not all teams are owned by the NHL parents, so the local ownership has to be able to exert control and look out for their own financial well being.

I *do* think a lot of prospects spend time in the AHL (unfortunately, not ours, lol).

[svandijk1]

I *do* think a lot of prospects spend time in the AHL (unfortunately, not ours, lol).

I think they're trying to, in a way, artificially make that true by reducing the number of AHL vets/lifers that can be active for any given game. But yeah, my perspective may be skewed by the fact that Carolina had/has so few prospects at the AHL level. But with the age requirement, like I said, your better prospects, when not jumping to the NHL, are still in juniors (or college).

[Pirate Caniac]

The AHL will have 29 teams next year. There will be 1 shared affiliation left (I think Fla/Buf, but don't quote me).

I heard a great interview on XM with the AHL's league president (or commissioner or whatever he's called) about the league. Talked about how some other pro sports owners own AHL teams. Some NBA ownership along with NHL ownership.

^^The AHL is the healthiest it's been in its history I believe. But not all teams are owned by the NHL parents, so the local ownership has to be able to exert control and look out for their own financial well being.

I *do* think a lot of prospects spend time in the AHL (unfortunately, not ours, lol).

That's a lot of the problem, I think. The AHL in some ways is almost trying to act as a competitor rather than as a feeder. Which is much of my point. Get the leagues set up into a much better organized way so that it works more to the baseball setup of Rookie, A, AA, AAA, then majors. The problem being that you have many smaller US leagues that don't get many prospects (like the USPL and ECHL), and most prospects in the OHL and juniors in Canada. People still need to understand that not everyone will get their shot at the big league, and some only the occasional lucky call-up, too. Which might be hurting the lower levels in that why keep a guy around if you don't think they will be playing for the NHL club. Plus keeping teams more regionally based (which as I said I think is more important for the growing markets than the already established ones).

I'll use my favorite team's minor league system as an example. The Cleveland Indians have Buffalo (AAA), Akron (AA), Kinston (A), Lake County (A), Mahoning Valley (A), and Gulf Coast (Rookie). Kinston is down here in NC, and Gulf Coast in FL. Akron, Lake County and Mahoning Valley, though, are right outside of Cleveland, and Buffalo is just up Lake Erie a few hours away. So not all teams need to be right near the major club. Just some better localization of the teams, like that. Makes much more sense to me than what we have now in hockey, especially with the Canes.

The Durham Bulls are more of an exception than the standard, mainly because they were one of the last teams to be promoted to get AAA status and so have gotten stuck being affiliated with the newest MLB expansion team in Tampa.

This current setup in hockey really hurts the fan growth in the US by taking away most prospects from the minor league system here. Find a way to draw more and things will pick up, IMO. The problem is would Canadians in general really want to lose a lot of the good players this way out of the Canadian system? Plus some of the younger ones couldn't leave that are underage. How to draw some of the players down here? There's a lot of things that would need worked out. Starting with the AHL and working down might be best for these reasons.

My other post may have made it sound simple, but there's a lot more to it. I totally realize that. The bottom line, though, is that a stronger minor league system (in terms of quality of play and affiliation to the NHL) would help build fan support in the US.Right now the minors really don't matter that much, at least in the US.

[puck_it]

Thats all well and good that clevland indians have their farm system set up so nicely, but this is hockey. Major League Baseball has the most thorough farm system in all the big sports... Hockey doesnt have the breadth of players and financing to support it..

[nccanes]

This current setup in hockey really hurts the fan growth in the US by taking away most prospects from the minor league system here. Find a way to draw more and things will pick up, IMO. The problem is would Canadians in general really want to lose a lot of the good players this way out of the Canadian system? Plus some of the younger ones couldn't leave that are underage. How to draw some of the players down here? There's a lot of things that would need worked out. Starting with the AHL and working down might be best for these reasons.

My other post may have made it sound simple, but there's a lot more to it. I totally realize that. The bottom line, though, is that a stronger minor league system (in terms of quality of play and affiliation to the NHL) would help build fan support in the US.Right now the minors really don't matter that much, at least in the US.

I'm not sure I'm getting what you're suggesting. And I'm not sure I agree with your assertion that the minors don't matter. Don't matter to whom?

Do I think the Canes could do more to promote their farm system? Sure, probably. I do think they've done a little more in the recent years to keep us informed. Maybe the huge turnout for the Norfolk/Lowell game during the lockout showed the market was ready to digest more about the prospects.

I know that baseball has the most extensive farm set up, but do the majority of casual fans that go to MLB games know what's going on in the AAA, AA, etc? Probably not. Hardcore do, yeah - but that's not everyone.

I get the sense that I'm missing the general point of your thread, because I don't think I get what exactly you think they need to do and what that will accomplish.

I do think that being affiliated with Charlotte or Norfolk would be nice - but I also realize that you can't possibly have that arrangement for every NHL team - it's just not gonna work from the logistics standpoint -- ownership of the franchise can align with whomever they want - and whomever they think is going to work best from a financial standpoint.

I guess I don't see a reason to even discuss making a change to the way kids that opt for Canadian Jr team, because no one involved would want it changed.

[Pirate Caniac]

Thats all well and good that clevland indians have their farm system set up so nicely, but this is hockey. Major League Baseball has the most thorough farm system in all the big sports... Hockey doesnt have the breadth of players and financing to support it..

Yet we have Jim Balsillie trying to buy whatever team he can so he can move it to Hamilton, and other possible owners like Jerry Bruckenheimer or Mark Cuban wanting to get involved.

There's the financial support available. Maybe not as good as baseball, but it's there. It's just everyone wants to own an NHL club and not a minor league one.

Push these potential owners towards the minors to help build that up by freezing any possible expansions and putting in a moratorium on any moves. Make them have the choice of buying an existing team that they can't move, or buying a minor league team. That would be a good start.

[nccanes]

Or they could just pass on it and invest in something else.

[Pirate Caniac]

I'm not sure I'm getting what you're suggesting. And I'm not sure I agree with your assertion that the minors don't matter. Don't matter to whom?

Do I think the Canes could do more to promote their farm system? Sure, probably. I do think they've done a little more in the recent years to keep us informed. Maybe the huge turnout for the Norfolk/Lowell game during the lockout showed the market was ready to digest more about the prospects.

I know that baseball has the most extensive farm set up, but do the majority of casual fans that go to MLB games know what's going on in the AAA, AA, etc? Probably not. Hardcore do, yeah - but that's not everyone.

I get the sense that I'm missing the general point of your thread, because I don't think I get what exactly you think they need to do and what that will accomplish.

I do think that being affiliated with Charlotte or Norfolk would be nice - but I also realize that you can't possibly have that arrangement for every NHL team - it's just not gonna work from the logistics standpoint -- ownership of the franchise can align with whomever they want - and whomever they think is going to work best from a financial standpoint.

Minor league hockey doesn't matter to anyone but the hardcore fans or those who live near the minor league teams. There's really not much point for Canes fans to follow Albany, let alone Florida or especially Plymouth. The only time we ever really hear something is when Babchuk gets sent down to Albany, or a little blurb about how so-and-so prospect was signed and has started play in Florida. But the fans of those teams are more likely to follow the Canes.

Yet what good does that do the Canes? TV revenue helps the NHL, but not the team. Same with merchandise sales. Only actual people in seats helps the Canes financially. People in Albany, Florida, and Plymouth can't help with that at all. At least not on a consistent basis.

My point is that the leagues need to work more together to help build the hockey fanbase by consolidating. Not by getting rid of teams and contracting, but by pulling together the resources to help all involved in the best and most effective way possible. Right now they don't, at least in my opinion. It's just a mismatch of the leagues doing their own thing, with no regard to the others.

Hockey has been so disorganized and fluid from top to bottom, from NHL teams moving and expanding faster than anyone can keep up (and all those places having lost a team trying their hardest to bring one back), to the minors just not being a stable base for the big leagues. All the leagues, the NHL, AHL, ECHL, OHL, and all the other minor ones, need to come together and come up with some sort of plan to promote the sport of hockey. College hockey may grow a little, but never will be able to compare to say college football or basketball. So the minors is the only possibility for this kind of growth in hockey.

[svandijk1]

I think one thing that makes your suggestion less than plausible is that there just aren't that many prospects in the system to warrant a deep farm system and there's certainly not the money to support even with a Basillie or Cuban. Hockey simply doesn't have the volume of players. They really don't have enough to even support the 7 rounds of the draft (used to be 9 as I recall) IMO compared to baseball's 20+. Teams generally have to rely on AHL vets/lifers to even fill out a squad and teams rarely provided more than a couple of players at the ECHL level (I think the Canes have generally had no more than 2 or 3 guys in Florida in a given year). The SPHL and UHL are just completely out of the picture. You also can't really touch the juniors leagues for several reasons, but the most obvious being that players start there long before they're even eligible to be drafted by the NHL.

[SoCalcaniac]

Why is there always this attempt to compare our sport with "other sports"? It never makes a lick of sense to me. I'm happy baseball has such a great farm systems, whoop-de-friggin-do. If I actually cared about baseball, It might just matter to me. Don't give a darn about football or basketball either, but everytime someone wants to make a point about HOCKEY we get fed the line about what the other sports are doing. Like I said, if I cared, it would matter. That's another "problem" that needs to be fixed in the NHL, quit worrying about the other sports and worry about our sport. We're never gonna be the NBA, NFL or Baseball and to that I say thank goodness; yet, on and on people go. And for good measure around here, hockey gets lumped in with College sports. UGH. Beyond annoying.

Minor league hockey doesn't matter to anyone but the hardcore fans or those who live near the minor league teams. There's really not much point for Canes fans to follow Albany, let alone Florida or especially Plymouth. The only time we ever really hear something is when Babchuk gets sent down to Albany, or a little blurb about how so-and-so prospect was signed and has started play in Florida. But the fans of those teams are more likely to follow the Canes

I'm glad you took the pulse of all people who follow hockey and know for sure that minor hockey "doesn't matter" to anybody except for the people in the communities that the team plays in. I for one, follow Albany, and the Everblades pretty closely, (and the Plymouth Whalers are PK's junior hockey team- they're kids) and I know plenty of people who do the same. If you're following the Canes and paying attention to everything related to the team, you'd be following what is going on with the players in Albany specifically, since they're a step away, and for so many people who followed Lowell during the lockout, we were able to track Cam, Eric, Chad, Ryan Bayda, Zigomanis and heck, we learned about Commodore since we shared with Calgary, and boom, we traded for him just after the lockout ended, so Commodore wasn't a 'mystery' cause many knew about him. There is full value in AHL and ECHL hockey- so to suggest it "doesn't matter" is wholly inaccurate. Perhaps to you, it is; but I'm pretty sure, it matters, to JR, Karmanos Jr, Ronnie Francis, and the entire scouting staff. It's probably the most exciting part of grooming young players, you see it all, the highs - the young player getting that call up or even more exciting, when they make the team out of camp, and the lows- the player not panning out or the heartbreak of seeing a kid do well in camp and get sent back (like Chad did last year). That all comes from 'the minors'. Not everyone is an Eric or Jordan Staal, and makes the team at 18. So it's the minor leagues that provide the seasoning required to make it to the show.

[nccanes]

^^agree completely Svan.

I'll also say that having multiple leagues with different options allows parent of real prospects to have choice. They can choose college hockey, Jr hockey, minor pro hockey. In some cases we're talking about 15 or 16 year old kids and their parents making decisions. I don't see any reason to limit that to 1 path.

And I think the NHL teams enjoy having choices as well. They can choose to align or choose to own. The NHL isn't the cash cow that baseball is on that regard. They have to consider the cost of structuring their farm systems a certain way with whatever level of investment/cost.

[Pirate Caniac]

Wow, I didn't realize that offering a different perspective than the usual ones always brought up in "How to improve hockey" rants would stir up so much emotion.

I don't want to make hockey just like every other sport. But just because many of us may prefer hockey to other sports doesn't mean that there can't be things that work for them that we can take and evaluate whether something similar might help hockey. Or in this case how I believe the way the minors are set up hurts hockey more than it helps. Which was all I was trying to do. And that's just my opinion, nothing more.

SoCalCaniac, you and probably most of the others who post here are what I refered to as a "hardcore" fan. That's pretty easy to tell to anyone who reads your posts here. But the vast majority of fans aren't going to be so dedicated. I'm sorry if you took it differently, but that wasn't meant to be a slam against you or anyone else.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

[SoCalcaniac]

Pirate- you didn't offend me at all. You made a blanket statement in reference to AHL/ECHL/minor hockey, IMO; & I responded to the statement. No, not everyone is diehard, I don't imagine 'everyone' follows their team's AHL affiliate, but I know alot who do; so I thought your statement was a little too generalized & disagreed; no offense taken, and you can pardon my strong stance, as obviously I feel strongly about it. :lol:

So, no harm no foul; that's what we do here right? ;)