Forslund contract negotiations

[tarheelhockey]

Nitpick, but im pretty sure they aren't paid a salary.

Not a salary, no. My understanding is they get a small amount for public appearances.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Man, Tripp might be the one getting the raw deal. With the guests he's pulling in on his podcast and the level of output, he may be the most interesting man in hockey.

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

Man, Tripp might be the one getting the raw deal. With the guests he's pulling in on his podcast and the level of output, he may be the most interesting man in hockey.

He is probably going to get more national attention if he continues his wide variety of guests. Helps when seeking a new job.

But yeah, his new deal sucks.

 

[Canes]

Tripp has virtually no other options. John is literally going to be calling games in a week.

No other options in the hockey world, maybe.

He's a Harvard grad with more options than any of us could ever dream of, he could have easily found a no pressure high 5/low 6 figure job like practically any Harvard alum (or any Ivy Leaguer), especially one with any kind of decent resume.

He very likely could have easily held out in solidarity with Forslund but I imagine he's still comfortable with his new salary. If he's actually having to live paycheck to paycheck in order to keep his job I still don't really feel bad for him unless he was literally getting paid only like 40-50k.

Forslund had more leverage in comparison to Tripp in landing a similar job and used it to test the market when the Canes offer came up short. I'm sure he'll eventually get a deal of his liking but I guess we'll never know exactly how much he made by exercising his right to go elsewhere/the Canes refusal to pay him either way.

 

[Joe McGrath]

No other options in the hockey world, maybe.

He's a Harvard grad with more options than any of us could ever dream of, he could have easily found a no pressure high 5/low 6 figure job like practically any Harvard alum (or any Ivy Leaguer), especially one with any kind of decent resume.

He very likely could have easily held out in solidarity with Forslund but I imagine he's still comfortable with his new salary. If he's actually having to live paycheck to paycheck in order to keep his job I still don't really feel bad for him unless he was literally getting paid only like 40-50k.

Forslund had more leverage in comparison to Tripp in landing a similar job and used it to test the market when the Canes offer came up short. I'm sure he'll eventually get a deal of his liking but I guess we'll never know exactly how much he made by exercising his right to go elsewhere/the Canes refusal to pay him either way.

This is incredibly stupid. A Harvard degree doesn’t mean f*** all for a guy in his 40s whose entire real world experience is being a color commentator for a hockey team. Tripp has plenty of connections in hockey where he could get work for sure, but he can’t walk into any office and say I went to Harvard give me a job. That’s completely insane.

 

[Borsig]

While the money is significantly lower, the same argument applies to the Storm Squad. In fact, several more profitable teams don't have cheerleaders.

So why might they still be around?

So wives can make shitty, catty comments about them.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

So wives can make shitty, catty comments about them.

Nah tho. Most of the comments I hear from women in general, and my wife in particular, are not critical of these kids, who just need jobs; they are, rather, critical of an org that's selling some outdated ideas about women to a fanbase that has more women than you realize.

Want cheerleaders? Great idea. Put some Junior Hurricanes out there, boys and girls, dressed in hockey gear. Let's have less Big Tits and more Big Mikes.

You don't actually need to sell the sexuality of young women as a value add; that's a choice. It's not a choice that everyone likes.

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

The first announcer's voice heard on the NBCSN preview show is... wait for it



John Forslund

 

[A Star is Burns]

The first announcer's voice heard on the NBCSN preview show is... wait for it



John Forslund

Um, cool.

 

[Stickpucker]

If the idea is to get butts in seats doesn't having a worse broadcast experience and better in person experience help achieve that goal?

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

If the idea is to get butts in seats doesn't having a worse broadcast experience and better in person experience help achieve that goal?

To a degree. But I don't think it would move the needle that much. Either you want to go to a game for the in person experience (or decide to spend your entertainment dollars on that, etc.) or you don't. I live less than 3 miles from PNC. I go when I feel like it. And, no, I did not rush to go when I knew Shaya was pbp. I sat at home and groaned. But that's just me. As many have said and we witnessed last year, winning will fill the place up. That was with JF broadcasting too.

 

[hblueridgegal]

We were up 20% over the past year at 90.5% of capacity. The enthusiasm was there and the window was open especially with Duke down and UNC abysmal as competition. Maybe if the team hadn't lost so many of the weekend sellouts, the number may have ticked up a little more before the pause but it's hard to say.



We did very well with the playoff viewing numbers last year - quite a bump for local and national coverage. I guess at some point the Forslund factor will be determined.

 

[AeroFishOne]

So is it pretty much official that Johns gone? I know on Twitter his bio just says play by play nhl on nbc.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

So is it pretty much official that Johns gone? I know on Twitter his bio just says play by play nhl on nbc.

Seems that way. The door is open for a return but the organization isn’t negotiating and the offer on the table wasn’t close to adequate for someone of Forslunds caliber.

The thought is that he will get a good offer somewhere else or get a national gig with NBC before things are back to normal enough for Dundon to pay up.

 

[hblueridgegal]

NHL broadcaster John Forslund lands in another quarantine of sorts

Forslund is living Stompin’ Tom Connors’ “The Hockey Song.” Hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey. Hockey all the time. He has called more than 40 games and watched more than 100, in 100 days. He has been on TV so much, he has all but met the Kardashians.
“Every day I do the same thing,” he said. “Get up, get tested, prep, do a game, go to bed. Do the same thing the next day. Have done the same thing for weeks. I see Bouch (color analyst Brian Boucher) a lot. That’s it for human contact.”

Forslund will remain in the Edmonton bubble until a Stanley Cup champion is crowned early next month. He’ll go back to his home in Raleigh, North Carolina, and continue with his job search. He has been the TV voice of the Whalers/Hurricanes since 1995, but he is out of contract and the front office has stopped calling.

Forslund will still work national games for NBCSN, which has one more year remaining on its NHL deal. But his next home base is TBD.
Teams are tending to replace veteran broadcasters with younger voices. Generally speaking, they want cheaper labor and homers in the booth.

Forslund calls it the way he sees it, which used to be a basic skill but is no longer prized.

 

[tarheelhockey]

NHL broadcaster John Forslund lands in another quarantine of sorts

That last line seems a bit unfair. This wasn’t about the quality of his performance, it was about his pay rate.

 

[hblueridgegal]

I don't think he was being critical of Forslund at all...rather the organizations opting to go with "cheap labor and homers" as he puts it instead of seasoned professionals so the final product suffers.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I don't think he was being critical of Forslund at all...rather the organizations opting to go with "cheap labor and homers" as he puts it instead of seasoned professionals so the final product suffers.

The cheap labor part makes plenty of sense, but the homerism part seems out-of-left-field.

He specifically said that Forslund's ability to call the game evenly is no longer prized. Where is that statement coming from? He was probably the most celebrated local PBP guy in the league, and his replacement isn't especially homerish.

Just seems like an odd point to make about a situation that was completely about the money.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Not sure as he appears to be a fan of JF in the article and annoyed that he doesn't have a new gig yet.

TBL did say they're trying to decide between someone like JF vs an up and comer for their PBP opening.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Not sure as he appears to be a fan of JF in the article and annoyed that he doesn't have a new gig yet.

TBL did say they're trying to decide between someone like JF vs an up and comer for their PBP opening.

Hmm, maybe that parting shot is aimed more at Tampa then. That would make sense, if said candidate is more on the homer side.

 

[To Be Determined]

i love forslund as much as the next guy, but i'm to the point that i put most of this on him from a 'he needs to figure out what he wants' point of view.

we had a long, long relationship. eventually, we gave him a hall pass. then he wanted to spend more and more time with the hall pass. so, does he want to be a national guy as first priority? if so, cool. we can amicably split and the kids will get used to seeing him with the new partner. but don't tell the 'canes 'i really want to be with you' while also trying to spend more and more and more time with the side-piece.

i'd love him back with a limited nbc deal where conflicts are minimized. if that isn't what he wants, i genuinely wish him well. but the half in - half out thing isn't fair to him, his replacement, the team, or the fans. just my opinion, anyway.

tampa also said they wanted a full-time pbp person, not someone they had to share with nbc. so maybe that is why an organization seen as well run and not dundon-cheap passed on bringing in the best pbp person available in a quarter century.

now, it may come out the deal offered was a mega-cut (more than even covid would account for). in which case, lol dundon so cheap.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

How many times did he actually miss a Canes game? I didn’t watch a ton this season, but based on chatter, Shaya did maybe 3 games?

 

[AD Skinner]

I think it has come out that the deal offered was a mega cut. Like 50% cut. I don't remember exactly but I don't blame him for exploring his options if thats what they're coming at him with. I'm still hanging on to a faint hope that things will get sorted between the playoffs and the season starting again and they'll work something out. But I dont really think its likely.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

How many times did he actually miss a Canes game? I didn’t watch a ton this season, but based on chatter, Shaya did maybe 3 games?

It just seemed like 30 because he is So. Bad.

Speaking of: what happens with Shaya? I presume he stays with the Checkers, in which case, do we have a backup PBP guy now? Maybe Shane Willis in a pinch?

 

[To Be Determined]

It just seemed like 30 because he is So. Bad.

Speaking of: what happens with Shaya? I presume he stays with the Checkers, in which case, do we have a backup PBP guy now? Maybe Shane Willis in a pinch?

so true. i feel bad for the guy, but shaya makes me want to tune out. and i literally watch every single game. when i go to games, i record them to watch later. i hope he conveyed with the checkers.

i've been assuming if forslund doesn't come back, maniscalco gets the gig full time as pbp and they bring abby labar on to backfill him. i thought she was good, but i honestly don't know if there is something else she does that would prevent her from taking this as a full-time gig. as far as i know, when she isn't on a hurricanes broadcast she ceases to exist.

eta - i totally misread the question about a backup pbp. willis does seem the likely call. and have they already announced maniscalco as full time pbp? if they did i missed it (i thought he was given the playoff as a stop-gap/audition).