Around the NHL - Part XLIII

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"we only need a permanent arena solution, then we will all show up!" right.

Speaking of terrible fanbases, LOL Penguins:

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"Our generational talents are near retirement, time to empty the building again and claim poor!"

Pittsburg is the ultimate loser city.

Interesting to note Hawks, Wings, Sharks, Ducks, Habs, etc. on the positive side of attendance changes - none are good teams, but high end youth is exciting. Imagine Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, Zellweger, Lacombe, Dostal all already on the big club with more like Sennecke on the way? No guarantees it works out (though Ducks rebuild seems solid, IMO, not rushing nor lagging - just slow and steady, letting their guys acclimate with some vets like Killorn, Strome, Vatrano, Trouba, Gudas and Gibson in the room) but definitely has to be fun to watch. Especially when expectations are low. Cuylle being our “highest end” young offensive talent is sad. Nothing we can do about it - can’t change who was BPA in our lottery years, but damn, I’m sure you all agree you wish we had our own Logan Cooley or Tim Stutzle, etc.
 
Interesting to note Hawks, Wings, Sharks, Ducks, Habs, etc. on the positive side of attendance changes - none are good teams, but high end youth is exciting. Imagine Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, Zellweger, Lacombe, Dostal all already on the big club with more like Sennecke on the way? No guarantees it works out (though Ducks rebuild seems solid, IMO, not rushing nor lagging - just slow and steady, letting their guys acclimate with some vets like Killorn, Strome, Vatrano, Trouba, Gudas and Gibson in the room) but definitely has to be fun to watch. Especially when expectations are low. Cuylle being our “highest end” young offensive talent is sad. Nothing we can do about it - can’t change who was BPA in our lottery years, but damn, I’m sure you all agree you wish we had our own Logan Cooley or Tim Stutzle, etc.

Ducks are more boring than the Rangers, they are dead last in scoring in the league. People go because tickets are very affordable.

But honestly I have more fun going to Ducks games than Rangers games, even when their team sucks, fans are still into it.
 
Yeah but this board is young. How many of those years were they even alive for?

Is it? I feel like nobody young comes to forums. they are all on reddit or other platforms. All the names i see post on here are all the same names for like 20 years. lol :)

I'm only on forums because thats what ive been using since the 90s. UseNet before that. (alt.sports.hockey.nhl.ny-rangers)
 
Is it? I feel like nobody young comes to forums. they are all on reddit or other platforms. All the names i see post on here are all the same names for like 20 years. lol :)

This take is probably 10 years old when I remember half the board being 16 while other boards everyone was like 50. But I guess it's not the same anymore.
 
We would have f***ed them up, too.

Possibly. But they already had world class speed, edges and hands when they were drafted. It’s kind of crazy how Stutzle had world class attributes on draft day - namely skating, but also very good hands and a laser wrist shot - and Laf had no world class attributes but was considered head and shoulders above him because of how well rounded he was (also definitely Laf being NA and Stu not only being European, but not from a hockey power - if he wasn’t German he probably would have gone 1OA even without hindsight, IMO). I would say, going forward, if you’re that high in the rankings, draft for elite skill, not a well rounded player. I don’t want a well rounded player at 1OA. I want a defensive liability who is already a better skater and stick handler at 18 and a day than 97% of the NHL. I think it’s harder to ruin existing elite skills. Like, I don’t think we could make Stutzle slower. Less confident? Shooting less? Yes. Actually lower the quality of his skating? No.
 
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Interesting to note Hawks, Wings, Sharks, Ducks, Habs, etc. on the positive side of attendance changes - none are good teams, but high end youth is exciting. Imagine Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, Zellweger, Lacombe, Dostal all already on the big club with more like Sennecke on the way? No guarantees it works out (though Ducks rebuild seems solid, IMO, not rushing nor lagging - just slow and steady, letting their guys acclimate with some vets like Killorn, Strome, Vatrano, Trouba, Gudas and Gibson in the room) but definitely has to be fun to watch. Especially when expectations are low. Cuylle being our “highest end” young offensive talent is sad. Nothing we can do about it - can’t change who was BPA in our lottery years, but damn, I’m sure you all agree you wish we had our own Logan Cooley or Tim Stutzle, etc.

Habs have operated at capacity for years. Here are the attendance figures from a year ago.


Their fans are annoying as f*** but they show up. Might be the only fanbase in the league that actually does this because even Leafs fans stayed home when they were shit.

Changes of +/- .02 are negligible though. Sharks are still running at like 80% capacity where as a team like the Rangers are at 99%+ so despite all of the turmoil and "lack of young exciting talent", the fans are still showing up (or at least the tickets have been sold.)
 
Habs have operated at capacity for years. Here are the attendance figures from a year ago.


Their fans are annoying as f*** but they show up. Might be the only fanbase in the league that actually does this because even Leafs fans stayed home when they were shit.

Changes of +/- .02 are negligible though. Sharks are still running at like 80% capacity where as a team like the Rangers are at 99%+ so despite all of the turmoil and "lack of young exciting talent", the fans are still showing up (or at least the tickets have been sold.)

Absolutely but for those teams, growth and enthusiasm is still a positive. I’m not expecting the Sharks to outsell the Rangers. Just noting that even having better odds of finishing dead last than making the playoffs can be made palatable by some genuine exciting kids to at least keep your eyes on.
 
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Habs have operated at capacity for years. Here are the attendance figures from a year ago.


Their fans are annoying as f*** but they show up. Might be the only fanbase in the league that actually does this because even Leafs fans stayed home when they were shit.

Changes of +/- .02 are negligible though. Sharks are still running at like 80% capacity where as a team like the Rangers are at 99%+ so despite all of the turmoil and "lack of young exciting talent", the fans are still showing up (or at least the tickets have been sold.)
Habs fans knew the Messiah Lane Hutson would be coming eventually so that was enough of a draw
 
People don't go to games for exciting young talent, they go because tonight is BOGO Nacho night and 400s seats are $17 on alternating Thursdays.

When I was in FL I went to 0 Panthers games because they had Barkov. I went to several games because tickets were free, in the area, Rangers were playing, free t-shirt, etc. And I'm one of you psychos who actually care about hockey.

If the Rangers had Kyle Connor I would be exactly 0% more likely to go to a game than I am currently.
 
Absolutely but for those teams, growth and enthusiasm is still a positive. I’m not expecting the Sharks to outsell the Rangers. Just noting that even having better odds of finishing dead last than making the playoffs can be made palatable by some genuine exciting kids to at least keep your eyes on.

It's barely a bump. I don't think that constitutes as excitement.

Winnipeg has the biggest jump. They aren't exactly loaded with exciting young talent. They jumped that much because they're winning.
 
It's barely a bump. I don't think that constitutes as excitement.

Winnipeg has the biggest jump. They aren't exactly loaded with exciting young talent. They jumped that much because they're winning.

I only mentioned it because it was a lot of bottom feeders seeing a bump, even if small. This isn’t meant to be a competition either, it was just an observation. Any bump is far better than a decrease when the team is that poor.
 
I only mentioned it because it was a lot of bottom feeders seeing a bump, even if small. This isn’t meant to be a competition either, it was just an observation. Any bump is far better than a decrease when the team is that poor.
It's very likely just cheaper tickets.
 
People don't go to games for exciting young talent, they go because tonight is BOGO Nacho night and 400s seats are $17 on alternating Thursdays.

When I was in FL I went to 0 Panthers games because they had Barkov. I went to several games because tickets were free, in the area, Rangers were playing, free t-shirt, etc. And I'm one of you psychos who actually care about hockey.

If the Rangers had Kyle Connor I would be exactly 0% more likely to go to a game than I am currently.

That’s fair but hardly an absolute. When I look at Stars tickets (since I like them as my local team, but don’t really care that much since they aren’t NYR) I literally choose which games to go based on who they’re playing against that I get a chance to see in person. Ottawa, Buffalo, San Jose are games I’ve gone to specifically to see Tage and Dahlin or Stutzle and Sanderson. I go to Avs games in Dallas to see Mack and Makar. Now, I understand not everyone behaves like me, but I also wager not everyone behaves like you. I’m sure there are fans like myself who find the exciting young players in the league to be a draw.
 
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This is why I locked the trade thread. It’s time to move on and worry about our own team and players.

Funny how a guy who was traded several years ago because he was not performing to his potential is in trade talks/rumors to come back to the team he struggled with or didn’t meet his potential. You can’t make this shit up.
In hindsight probably made sense to leave the trade thread open so all Kakko updates stay there.
 
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Is it? I feel like nobody young comes to forums. they are all on reddit or other platforms. All the names i see post on here are all the same names for like 20 years. lol :)

I'm only on forums because thats what ive been using since the 90s. UseNet before that. (alt.sports.hockey.nhl.ny-rangers)
Agreed, the board is definitely not young. I would imagine the majority are in their 30s. No kids are using message boards, they just stick to radical Reddit.
 

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