Around the NHL - Part XXXVII

[chaz4hockey]

The Habs have won 8 of 46 games, that’s amazing.

Compared to '76-'77 in which they only lost 8 games....that team was a machine.

 

[romba]

I'm the only yutz that when taking the Major Deegan North to get on the GWB goes in the proper lane in standstill traffic because every other new yawker cuts from the Connecticut bound lane at the last minute. So too the Rangers are the only shmucks trading away valuable assets for 65 cents on the dollar to stay under the MANDATORY HARD CAP while other teams view it as optional and face no consequences.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I think the Coyotes will have much better attendance in Tempe. I know a lot of college-age students that really like hockey but the arena in Glendale was just too far away from everything that they had no interest in going.

Not sure if you realize just how populated Arizona is (and I don’t mean that in a rude way). I know I didn’t when I first moved out here from NJ. In fact if you look at 2022 population, Houston is like the 4th largest city and Phoenix is the 5th. When you take Phoenix plus Tempe the population is only 400k less then Houston. I wouldn’t be surprised if we pass Houston in the next couple of years with the way the housing market is and the number of people coming out here from California.

The market is there, people from other states, especially the east coast, just don’t see it. I get it because I was one of those people as well.

Living in Vegas for 10 years, I spent a fair amount of time in Phoenix & in Flag/Sedona, so I'm familiar enough with the area. A new arena Tempe would absolutely give them a short term shot in the arm, but I'm not a big believer in the market overall. Sure the college kids might not want drive to Glendale, but what's the excuse for the rest of the 5M people there? I assume you're originally from the Tri-State area, so you're aware that people travel much further distances to attend games at MSG. Sure there's a mass transit option here, but plenty of people choose to drive also. Same with other teams, such as Philly & Boston. I'm back on the east coast now in Central Connecticut...plenty of people here take the 3 1/2 hour round trip drive to Boston to attend games. Same with me & MSG. Obviously going to every game is not practical, but many attend a couple of games a year.

The biggest indictment of the market, IMO, are the local TV ratings. I read somewhere a couple of years ago they were something like a 0.45 rating on average. Doing the math it came out to about 11,500 viewers. For the 19-20 season it increased 23%, but that's still less than 15,000 people per game watching the Coyotes. That's less than the arena capacity. The fan interest just isn't there...yes I know they haven't been winning, but those numbers are basically the same as MeTV reruns. I don't see that magically improving simply because they move across the Valley.

I'm sure from living there, you've realized the culture of sports in entirely different in the Southwest. That includes all of Southern California & now Vegas. Most of the population in those areas are casual sports fans. They truly have minimal interest until the team is winning & contending. Then they are all rah-rah. I completely understand why; there's a ton of things to do outside year round in Southern California. Would you rather watch the Padres lose a Saturday afternoon game or go to the beach? Phoenix & Vegas are 9 months outdoor seasons, but the point is the same. Outdoor activities take precedence, as they should, but the culture of pro sports fanaticism just isn't as ingrained out west as it is back east.

There's also the demographics issue. Sure they have plenty of transplants, but there's a giant hispanic community there, who are football & basketball fans. The Suns are far & away "the team" in that region...they've been there the longest & it's primarily a basketball town. Even the Cardinals struggle to draw fans when they aren't winning. The Yotes are a distant 4th in popularity, so they have to consistently be a contender. Which they haven't been in over a decade.

For all of these reasons, I'd also see the NHL struggling to establish as solid fan base in Houston without a much stronger ownership situation from the onset. The market is extremely similar, with them already having 3 established major league teams & similar population demographics. Vegas was the perfect expansion destination, because they were first in the door. The NHL would be smarter to find similar markets like Austin, with no pro teams. Much easier to compete against UT football one day a week for 3 months than it is the NBA running concurrently.

 

[will1066]

I'm the only yutz that when taking the Major Deegan North to get on the GWB goes in the proper lane in standstill traffic because every other new yawker cuts from the Connecticut bound lane at the last minute. So too the Rangers are the only shmucks trading away valuable assets for 65 cents on the dollar to stay under the MANDATORY HARD CAP while other teams view it as optional and face no consequences.

Off-topic, but I get in the proper exit lane and I'll wait as long as it takes as a personal rule, but will break it only on the rare occasion, such as when there's traffic behind me and I'm not going to block the rest of the world while waiting for an opening to get into the exit lane. I feel like cutting in at the fork is bad karma that will come back to collect later on. I've been watching idiot driver and car crash videos on YT, you know, because no hockey for 14 days, and it's really hitting home. Last minute cutters always f*** up eventually.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Off-topic, but I don't do this as a personal rule, but will break it only on occasion. I feel like it's bad karma that will come back to collect later on. I've been watching idiot driver and car crash videos on YT, you know, because no hockey, and it's really hitting home. Last minute cutters always f*** up eventually.

Driving these days is just terrifying. I hate getting in my car to go anywhere with the maniacs all over the road tailgating, texting, weaving in & out of traffic. It honestly feels like Grand Theft Auto has come to life.

 

[tlk]

I'm the only yutz that when taking the Major Deegan North to get on the GWB goes in the proper lane in standstill traffic because every other new yawker cuts from the Connecticut bound lane at the last minute. So too the Rangers are the only shmucks trading away valuable assets for 65 cents on the dollar to stay under the MANDATORY HARD CAP while other teams view it as optional and face no consequences.

 

[will1066]

Driving these days is just terrifying. I hate getting in my car to go anywhere with the maniacs all over the road tailgating, texting, weaving in & out of traffic. It honestly feels like Grand Theft Auto has come to life.

Agreed. Have to be extra vigilant. Not sure how people are passing driving tests these days. And with the onboard driver assistant tech, people have just forgotten the fundamentals of driving.

 

[romba]

Off-topic, but I get in the proper exit lane and I'll wait as long as it takes as a personal rule, but will break it only on the rare occasion, such as when there's traffic behind me and I'm not going to block the rest of the world while waiting for an opening to get into the exit lane. I feel like cutting in at the fork is bad karma that will come back to collect later on. I've been watching idiot driver and car crash videos on YT, you know, because no hockey for 14 days, and it's really hitting home. Last minute cutters always f*** up eventually.

I just feel like a dick doing it so I don't, unless I genuinely make a mistake and am in the wrong lane.

This isn't the standard cut across a solid white to cut the line, here there are f***ing space shuttle sized semis weaving their way over quadruple solid 15 foot wide crisscrossing white lines, practically jumping barriers to save themselves 5 minutes. Nobody gives a shit, pure selfishness and disregard of the rules and other ppl. It seems it's accepted by law enforcement, some places the rules are flexible and not worth causing a stink it seems.

It got the TBL a Stanley Cup, so why not??? Imagine Vegas does it too with Stone just coincidentally returning when his cap hit is manageable again, and wins with us watching Buch PPG on the Blues. Stone doesn't care, neither did Kuch, both can be 'team guys' and sit out a bit longer because they got their fat contract so no benefit to them playing a few extra games, he's not trying to prove anything to get more $ and can potentially get his name on the cup for a wink wink. In anyone really looking into whether the players could have come back sooner? The NHL doesn't want a big controversy especially for a one off. Drs are also definitely fully legit (wink wink) and with no way to really prove their prognosis wrong, they def won't want to help a pro sports team (great story for grandkids! plus opens/keeps doors for more pro sports partners) and happens also get some cool merch and maybe full price tickets at a minor discount that makes it free. For sure not! For they are gods holy messenger MDs! If he says it still hurts, then even though the scan is clear he definitely should sit out until game 1 of playoffs don't want to reinjure it!

Now that Vegas might be trying it again, the NHL might be forced to really look into it, but still might not be able to prove purposeful negligence. If a player says 'yea I still feel minor pain' then even if a scan gives all clear best practice is to wait and it's hard to argue that. Now if it were a pissed player on contract wanting a trade and not wanting to play you're damned sure the team would call into question the validity of the 'still hurts!' claim and would at least start a media smear campaign on the side, but with cap management no questions asked. We need a blanket rule for players making over X then a certain percent will count towards the cap on IR or something like that

 

[Larrybiv]

In other news, notice the Hurricanes whooped the Bruins 6-0 AND Marchand (that dirty rat bastard!) got suspended 6. (nice numerology), so I'm thinking..... here comes the mad downward spiral of the Bruins. Rask retiring, was their last hope and deflated team as soon as the (boohoo) press conference happened.

 

[will1066]

In other news, notice the Hurricanes whooped the Bruins 6-0 AND Marchand (that dirty rat bastard!) got suspended 6. (nice numerology), so I'm thinking..... here comes the mad downward spiral of the Bruins. Rask retiring, was their last hope and deflated team as soon as the (boohoo) press conference happened.

They didn't have Bergeron, who's out with a head injury, so they were missing 2/3 of their top line against a superteam.

 

[Cmox]

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

that’s a seasons worth of attendance for the team that plays there.

 

[will1066]

It's the devil's music!

 

[Thirty One]

lol.

 

[Paul Padovano]

Islanders getting chippy as usual after a loss. It's an Al Arbour tradition.

 

[Do you want ants]

I mean, every time we discuss Schneider I throw in a semi-serious reminder that I'd still prefer Brisson. He'll be a good one, no doubt.

He looked great last night vs Canada. Him and a cap dump for some combination of our picks/prospect/young cheap roster players.

 

[Anthony5967]

Six mins in, a goal and assist for Miller. Yes, please tell me more about how he doesn’t help us become a Cup contender if added.

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

JTM strong first period against TML. Goal and sweet primary assist on PP.

 

[OriginalLimbo]

I actually went to the show. Had VIP tickets and met Papa. We were like the last people to go in and, right after us, we saw the stupid nj Debbie go in to meet the good Papa and take this pic.

Awesome show. I even joked with Papa (Tobias) when we met that I grew up listening to Maiden, my wife grew up listening to Wham. And, Ghost is without a doubt our favorite current band. Not missing a beat, Papa said, “Oh..Wham?….wella as they say…You Gotta Have Faith..”. Haha! So quick, so cool.

And, not for the last time, I marveled at how completely shitty another crappy arena’s ceiling is compared to MSG’s. Pipes, girders, cheap bullshit. Gross and boring. MSG - iconic and incredible. Pure beauty and class.

 

[will1066]

Clash of the titans, this one with Carolina and Minny

 

[Kords]

Canes losing some of those games in hand. Our next 2 should be winnable and they have the Panthers and Preds. Good opportunity for the Rangers next week.

 

[Anthony5967]

Canes losing some of those games in hand. Our next 2 should be winnable and they have the Panthers and Preds. Good opportunity for the Rangers next week.

Bruins are winnable, sure, but not having played in like two weeks isn’t easy.

 

[will1066]

Six mins in, a goal and assist for Miller. Yes, please tell me more about how he doesn’t help us become a Cup contender if added.

Panarin gives him the #10 jersey when he returns

 

[Anthony5967]

Man, what happened to the toughest team in hockey to play against? This Isles team is wretched. They look like they’ve aged like dinosaurs. Lou is Frankenstein and No Neck Barry is Grandpa Munster. PS- Sorokin couldn’t wash Shesterkin’s jockstrap.

 

[ElLeetch]

Man, what happened to the toughest team in hockey to play against? This Isles team is wretched. They look like they’ve aged like dinosaurs. Lou is Frankenstein and No Neck Barry is Grandpa Munster.

Lou f***ed them good. A NHL team that is too old and slow to compete, and a bare prospect pool.

That team basically had a window that was 1.5 years long, and now its closed.