137 replies to this topic

[DropThePuck]

In terms of generating U.S. media attention, announcing a tentative labour deal on a day when baseball was quiet -  taking one more day off following Tuesday's all-star game -  was a good start. The league also hopes rule changes to open up scoring opportunities will excite and entice fans.

But the hockey world -  management and players alike -  will have to hit the pavement, showing up at more charity events and the like. It'll be in the players' best interest to do so as payrolls become tied to league revenue.

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[hockey2k]

"Players are going to have to get out into the public domain, connect with the fans at every possible opportunity -  make themselves very open."

Durn right!!

[DropThePuck]

NHL's Credibility on Thin Ice

Sure, the hard-core fans suffered. But the general public didn't notice. More importantly, the television executives found better alternate programs, such as poker. High-stakes poker, celebrity poker, you name it.

As one columnist noted, more people watched hockey players playing poker than playing hockey. Yep, we'd rather see them check than cross-check.

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{username: allducks@allducks.com; password: allducks}

[DropThePuck]

"People will find hockey fans are more loyal than skeptics believe," said Brian Burke, who was hired as the Ducks' general manager on June 20. "Our core fans love this game and will regard this as a huge day. They can't wait to get back in the building.  I think this is a proven hockey market," Burke said. "I never looked at Anaheim as not being a hockey market. I always thought it supported hockey on a frantic level. Then [fans] lost faith."

"First and foremost we need to lose the blue-collar mentality," Avery said. "Hockey players are personable and have interesting things to say. No one has any idea about them." Avery said that even in Canada, the emphasis has been on "the game" and "never on the players." He said that the league has to begin marketing individual players to appeal to fans.

"We have some amazing players," Avery said. "[Atlanta's] Dany Heatley, [Tampa Bay's] Vinny Lecavalier. Figure it out, Vinny Lecavalier is the best-looking guy in sports."

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{username: allducks@allducks.com, password: allducks}

[DropThePuck]

"If the NHL could stack the ping-pong balls in the lottery for the entry draft and somehow the New York Rangers get the No.1 overall pick, that would be the NHL's equivalent of the beginning of a marketing home run," says sports marketing consultant Bob Stellick, who was a 25-year employee of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Stellick remembers the buzz that surrounded Paul Kariya when the flashy winger entered the league in 1994. But Kariya's best years went virtually unknown in Anaheim, where the Ducks' losing was chronic.

The Ducks made the Stanley Cup final in 2003. By then Kariya, in addition to being slowed by injuries earlier in his career, found himself trapped in a game that allowed for more clutching and grabbing than slick passes and clever stickhandling.

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[MrsBevo]

Is someone going to put Vinny and Avery on the kisscam when the Lightning come to the Staples Center? I'll bet Avery won't live that one down.

[GoDuxBooKings]

Kariya slowed by injuries. He was not the same after the cross check to his grill. That had nothing to do with the obstruction, clutching & grabbing......

[skb19]

Wow Avery said some I just about agree with! Wonders never cease.

Shannon

[DropThePuck]

A valid point about the lack of fanfare for the yet-to-be-ratified-CBA:

NHL bungles big news

But no, fans are supposed to be content with a hastily scribbled press release and a promise of more later. Gee, seems like the same old, same old.

At this stage, the league motto should be "A Whole New Game -- Next Week."

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[DropThePuck]

The damage is done ... what's it going to take to recover?

While NHL officials said it was too early to estimate total team revenue losses, financial reports of some teams give a hint. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns the Continental Airlines Arena, said canceled Devils' games contributed to a 5 percent decline in revenue last year.

Cablevision Systems Corp., owner of Madison Square Garden and the New York Rangers, said first quarter revenue fell 12 percent but the drop was offset by the decline in expenses.

Some business owners worry the lockout may have destroyed hockey's fan base. Dave Allsbrooks said he ran to tell his boss about the agreement Wednesday but has since reined in his excitement.

"Honestly, I still don't believe it until they open up next door and drop the puck," said Allsbrooks, general manager at the Frog, Bear & Wild Boar Bar in Columbus' trendy Arena District.

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[DropThePuck]

We Ducks fans have had player access so much better than those Stars fans ...

So the Stars will open all practices to the fans free of charge. Training camp, which likely will open around Sept. 12 or 13 in Frisco, also will be open to the fans, who can expect postgame autograph sessions, too.

As much as it might have inconvenienced players in the past, such activities will be part of a future the players say they need to embrace.

"I hope all those players that were the kind of guys who just showed up to the rink to play now realize there's a lot more to it," New York Islanders defenseman Adrian Aucoin said. "You have to do more than just show up and play, collect a paycheck and go home. You have to do your part to sell the league and make it grow."

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It'll be interesting to see what the Ducks will do to improve player visibility for the fans.

[DropThePuck]

A new CBA will mean precious little if the NHL does not go far enough in reinventing itself, to allow its star players to showcase their skills. One veteran skill player suggested the only good thing about his season off is that the hiatus did allow the NHL a chance to return with a new approach, something he doubts could have occurred if the league were forced to change on the fly.

Considering ticket prices won't be coming down in a significant way, this is the only good news for fans.

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[SarahDuckFan]

Figure it out, Vinny Lecavalier is the best-looking guy in sports.

Uhhhhhh........I don't think so Avery! ROTFL!

I really wish the LA Times could find someone else besides Avery for their player quotes.

Thank you DTP for that yahoo article.

"If NASCAR hasn't shown everyone what you have to do, then that person isn't intelligent; they've made it so everyone in the world knows the driver's face," Stars executive vice president for sales and marketing Geoff Moore said.

I hope all this "talk" isn't just talk and that we see all these teams really make the effort to change!

[Francaise]

He's the only one talking...He practically was the only one talking when there was hockey the last season.......heheheheeh

[DropThePuck]

After nearly nuking itself out of existence, the NHL is back. And after a few years of rebuilding and bending over backwards to cater to loyal fans, I'm sure the league will return to its rightful place – behind pingpong and the World Series of Poker on the American sports scene.

Too bad.

Hockey can be thrilling to watch, especially in person. But those in charge of ensuring its welfare took the sport on a near-suicidal game of chicken. So now we know what it's like going over a cliff on a Zamboni. Good luck driving back up the hill, guys.

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[DropThePuck]

Yahoo NHL home page poll:

Question: Are you excited?

148335 votes since Jul 13 2005

Definitely! 43% 64371 votes
Yaw-w-w-n 57% 83964 votes

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[DropThePuck]

Despite the impending lockout, in 2004, NBC signed on as the league's new network broadcast partner, but with no rights fees going to the league. Instead, NBC and the NHL will share any profits, as well as any losses, from the deal. NBC is slated to air seven regular-season games, six playoff games and up to five Stanley Cup Finals games.

ESPN said it would have no problem entering another TV deal with the league, as long as it's on a revenue-sharing basis. It's likely the league, which clearly needs ESPN's exposure more than the network needs the NHL, would have to settle for fewer games shown nationwide, and probably on slower weekdays, as well.

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[DropThePuck]

TSN.ca NHL home page poll:

What will be the most intriguing story when NHL hockey returns?

How teams will work with a salary cap
49%

New rule changes to increase scoring
24%

Sidney Crosby's rookie season
19%

Todd Bertuzzi's possible reinstatement
4%

The road to Turin
2%

[DropThePuck]

The new labor agreement is designed to bring parity to the NHL with a salary cap similar to the National Football League. It's designed to produce more scoring, less grabbing and fewer ties. It's a victory for the owners in the labor arena.

They just can't negotiate things like passion. That's up to Roenick, Joe Sakic and us.

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[DropThePuck]

But why risk it? The lottery would be great TV and the fans want to see it. Gary Bettman can still do the easiest, smartest and best thing for himself and his rebuilding league.

Allow the lottery to be broadcast.

Is this new NHL fan friendly or not?

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[DropThePuck]

Idiots.

That’s all you can call them. No, not the current edition of the defending champion Red Sox. I mean almost everyone involved in the labor negotiations that caused the National Hockey League to shut down for the entire 2004-’05 season.

Who’s ultimately to blame? Not enough time or space here to pin that down. But now that the league is apparently returning after a one-year hiatus for the upcoming season, here are some of the key developments worth watching — if, in fact, you do intend on coming back to see the new-look NHL.
...
Through it all, by the time we reach next June, the hallowed Cup itself will have resided in Tampa Bay, of all places, for two full years.

Sacré bleu, but welcome back anyway.

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[DropThePuck]

"This is a tweener league that wants to be one of the 'Big Four' but is tenuously close to becoming just one of the others," said Paul Swangard, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.

"Can it act like a major sports league and get the media coverage becoming of a major sports league? Will the fans come back and follow it?"

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[DropThePuck]

As the shakeout process begins, the widespread perception is that the Avalanche's 10-year streak of sellouts, the longest in the league, and the NHL's high profile in this market are more about a bandwagon than a Zamboni.

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[DropThePuck]

"I think if they (the players) paid attention, they understand that it's now a revenue-driven business," Primeau said. "I hope that point is driven home even more in the fall.

"When you're asked to do an interview, you do it. When you're asked to sign an autograph, you do it. A public appearance, you do it, to the best of your ability. Indirectly, it's going to affect your bottom line."
...
"There was talk of players signing autographs before going out for warm-ups [before a game]," Primeau said. "Anything to get people excited about the game again. We have to think of ways to bring people back into the building."

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[DropThePuck]

Let's hope the media stone keeps rolling and scraping off all that moss that's been gathering during the lockout!

MSG Network will carry today's NHL news conference live at 3 p.m., followed by the entry draft lottery at 4 p.m. and also broadcast an hourlong special on the return of the league at 9 p.m., featuring a round-table discussion with team executives centering on the collective-bargaining agreement, results from the draft lottery, potential new rule changes, the upcoming draft, and the next steps for the Rangers, Islanders and the Devils.

MSG also has created a Web site primarily dedicated to local hockey called hockeynation.tv, which debuts today.

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