Red Wings

[lions&tigers&wings...yea]

You think Bettman has so much pride in himself that these missed games bother him?

As long as the owners are willing to cut him a check, Bettman will happily take it.

Okay I should have worded that better, Bettman does not give a shit what anyone (apart from the owners) think. I'm saying he will not be "fired" he will step down and retire (due to significant pressure from some hard-line owners). Don Fehr is also done, though he is handing the reigns to his brother which pisses me off.

The NHL will not grow so long as there is revenue sharing of this magnitude is required to keeps teams in shitty markets afloat. I do not know much about the NFL/AFL from back in the day and I wanted to know if some of you could answer this question: What did the NFL do to explode it's product from the mid-late 70's onward? Did they have revenue sharing in place so teams could stay in bad markets for way too long? That is what is most upsetting, this sport would be so much better with teams in Quebec City, Hamilton, and Seattle..or even a team in Wisconsin instead of Phoenix and Florida.

[chemiclord]

Okay I should have worded that better, Bettman does not give a shit what anyone (apart from the owners) think. I'm saying he will not be "fired" he will step down and retire (due to significant pressure from some hard-line owners). Don Fehr is also done, though he is handing the reigns to his brother which pisses me off.

The NHL will not grow so long as there is revenue sharing of this magnitude is required to keeps teams in shitty markets afloat. I do not know much about the NFL/AFL from back in the day and I wanted to know if some of you could answer this question: What did the NFL do to explode it's product from the mid-late 70's onward? Did they have revenue sharing in place so teams could stay in bad markets for way too long? That is what is most upsetting, this sport would be so much better with teams in Quebec City, Hamilton, and Seattle..or even a team in Wisconsin instead of Phoenix and Florida.

None of those places (outside of possibly Seattle) would have the revenue stream to support an NHL team with the standards the league would require. Hell, it's why Winnepeg has tried (and failed) I think three times now (iirc).

The NHL, with the salary and creature comforts the NHLPA is demanding can realistically support around 20 teams. And until both sides realize and are willing to accept that, this is a fight they will have time after time after time.

[WingsFan]

I have to watch the red wings for the first time without Nick since I was a teenager and it sucks.

Yea, I wonder what he would say to playing only 48 games

[Malto Marko]

Thanks, I laughed when i saw it and thought it was time for a change anyways.

I guess I'm glad its over but now I have to watch the red wings for the first time without Nick since I was a teenager and it sucks.

Hmmmmm.

Felt the same way when I had to watch the Red Wings without Howe.

Hope they do not go into the same slump they did when Howe retired.

I believe Bettman has to step down and retire now...that's the only way he gets removed. The owners like him, or at least enough of them that I don't think they would out-right fire him.

However, I think he will retire because of the fact he has cancelled more games as a commissioner than the Florida Panthers or any other of the 90's expansion teams have played in their history.

Step down?

Would you step down if you were making MM a year and all of a sudden you had to work?

I am guessing you would continue to collect from the golden goose as long as you could.

What did the NFL do to explode it's product from the mid-late 70's onward? Did they have revenue sharing in place so teams could stay in bad markets for way too long? .

Nope.

They put the product on regular TV that anyone can watch.

When the NFL was coming up, Networks used to run old movies, a bit of live sports (ABC Wild World of Sports) but generally ignored the viewing public because that was their day for Church/Family.

The NFL secured Contracts to broadcast their games on Sundays with start times that agreed with a lot of viewers and it took off from there.

It is really hard to find NHL games and Bettman thinks he is a Champion for the contracts he has with where every you can find a game.

The biggest problem with Hockey is that Bettman has taken a stance to take the fighting out of it which is the reason most people that can't skate watched it.

The fighting was not just to fight, is was usually a pay back for a previous wrong.

[lions&tigers&wings...yea]

None of those places (outside of possibly Seattle) would have the revenue stream to support an NHL team with the standards the league would require. Hell, it's why Winnepeg has tried (and failed) I think three times now (iirc).

Winnipeg averaged 100% occupancy last season, so if you look at those numbers and not just the avg occupancy (which was around 16k, which is the maximum number of seats in their arena) you will see that it is working and the amount of merchandise they have sold is doing better than hockey did in Atlanta the two times franchises have failed there. And I would say Hamilton won't get a team but not because of lack of support they would receive but because I think Toronto has some back door deal that won't allow for another NHL team in any of the cities in the GTA (greater Toronto area). Because as it is right now, people drive very long distances and pay ridiculous prices for leaf tickets and would much rather see a team play closer to them (such as Hamilton).

Seattle is building that new basketball arena (that is being built to accommodate an ice hockey team as well just in case) which would make it one of the obvious candidates for relocating Phoenix.


I just want to see the wings play, what do you guys think the lineup will end up being?

Here's my guess/hope:

Franzen - Datsyuk - Nyqvist
Brunner - Zetterberg - Filppula
Cleary - Helm - Sammy
Bertuzzi - Abdelkader - TooToo

Kronwall - White
Smith - Ericsson
Kindl - Quincey
CC/Lashoff/Almqvist

Howard
The Monster

[froot loops]

Winnipeg failed last year! They moved in the first place because they couldn't get a new arena. Now they have the arena.

[lions&tigers&wings...yea]

Winnipeg failed last year! They moved in the first place because they couldn't get a new arena. Now they have the arena.

Well it's an AHL arena and has been since it was built in 04 and can only seat 15,004 people for a hockey game. They averaged 100% occupancy which was tied for 6th in the league last year, unlike Phoenix, Anaheim, Columbus, Dallas, or the NY Islanders who all finished at the bottom of the rankings in both categories. Once they get a bigger arena they will go up in the avg attendance per game, but as it stands now they are just making the tickets a hotter commodity by having one of the smallest arenas in the NHL there is.

[froot loops]

Anytime you hear the words finanically unsustainable, you can assume the sports owners are lying. No teams are folding. But you can expect they'll be doing something years down the line because the owners figure its short term pain for long term gain.

[jaadam4]

Isn't Filppula hurt? I thought he hurt his knee a littl while ago. No way he's ready

[FVD]

From Terry Foster's Blog:

http://terryfostersblog.com/?p=1476

How about a walk out now that the NHL lock out is done

So the boys finally decided to return and play hockey.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the gang decided enough is enough and they are returning to play hockey. There is likely to be a 48-50-game schedule and now everybody is supposed to flock back as if nothing happened. I know I won?t get my wish but I hope that for at least one week nobody shows up.

The hell with the NHL. The hell with the players, the teams, the Commish and everybody.

These labor disputes are upsetting because nobody in the game is really hurting. The players are fine. The owners are fine. The only people that are hurt are the fans, business near arenas and workers who depend on tips and secondary business that professional sports generates.

A part of me is happy to see the return because the common man and woman has suffered with fewer work shifts. These are the people I care about. It is a shame to see them earn smaller pay checks because rich people cannot get their acts together. I blame Bettman and the owners more in this labor dispute.

This is another case of a CBA where owners are trying to protect themselves from each other. Owners are the ones that sign players to outlandish contracts. They pat themselves on the back and then realize they made mistakes later and try to remedy things by getting rid of lesser players or passing along the bill to fans.

If you really enjoy hockey go back. I just wish fans could return on their terms. If the NHL returns Jan 19 as is reported I hope fans would set their return date to Feb. 1, just to let the league know whose boss.

[WingsFan]

Here are the odds (top 10) to win the Stanley Cup, courtesy of Bovada:

Pittsburgh Penguins -- 8-1

New York Rangers -- 17-2

Vancouver Canucks -- 9-1

Los Angeles Kings -- 12-1

Philadelphia Flyers -- 12-1

Chicago Blackhawks -- 14-1

Boston Bruins -- 16-1

Detroit Red Wings -- 16-1

St. Louis Blues -- 16-1

Minnesota Wild -- 18-1

[Tom]

Truly the end of an era:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130107/SPORTS05/130107079/Helene-St-James-detroit-Red-Wings-Tomas-Holmstrom-decides-to-hang-em-up?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[WingsFan]

No doubt, camping if front of the goalie ..Homer was the best.

[FVD]

I didn't realize he was 40, but it makes sense.

[WingsFan]