I swear (and I might a few times here), I see no reason to continue buying The Hockey News. They piss me off more than any Red Wings blogger has - ever. In what I assume is the latest article (I'm not even interested in going to their website to find out, Crosby and Malkin on the cover), they tell us how, since no one is going to games in America anymore, it's high time some of the teams should be moved to Canada. That's right, the Gary taketh, and the Gary should giveth back.
To make their point, The Hockey News selected November 30th as it's measuring stick. A Thursday. So, THN then goes on about the attendance figures for that night across the league. They talk about the total attendance percentage figures (72%), then the percentage without the Canadian home games included (61.4%). Now, here's some of the kickers:
- The night in question was chosen for a specific reason. Namely, in St. Louis, the Blues has an announced attendance of 5,410 (according to THN). So, that dramatically lowers the percentage. That night, there was also a nasty ice storm. THN reports it as "icy outside". Weather Underground reports that around 8:30 am, there was "light freezing rain," and soon following "ice pellets." Here in Denver, there is snow like a mother (or what I'm assuming THN would call a 'light dusting'), and the Nuggets game was canceled. Uh, oh. We better move the team to the sun belt. Now they have canceled the Avs / Flames game for tonight. On no, we better ship the team back to Quebec City. Our fans aren't good enough to make the game happen.
- There were three NHL games played in Canada. Ducks at Vancouver (it's the Ducks, with the best record in the league, and the dreaded Chris Pronger), Avalanche at Edmonton (an in division game in the tightest division in the league, also right after the Ryan Smyth / John-Micheal Liles knee-on-thigh incident), and Panthers at Senators (huh?). The Senators game was announced at 17,814, and have a reported capacity of 20,500. Not bad, but what is that 85% ish? Fine, not bad, but still... The games played in America: Flyers at Islander (two crap teams), Kings at Coyotes (crap and crap), Lightning at Bruins (can you say disenfranchised fans? I knew you could), Stars at Caps (out of Conference, but should sell, didn't but should), and Maple Leafs at Thrashers (sold decent considering that the fan base is getting back into the game after years of losing for no good reason). So, what do you stake your findings on? A piss poor night of hockey.
- This is a beef with THN specifically. If you are going to put a picture of a game in Montreal in your article about attendance on a specific day, pick one where the Habs play.
- St. Louis is the whipping boy. After coming in last with a bullet, and then the promise of serious rebuilding falling flat, and with an increase in ticket prices to boot, what the hell do you expect? I found this simple graphic from St. Louis Today. I can't attest to it's accuracy, but if this is what's happening in St. Louis, I think there are some real problems that can be solved easily and without a border crossing.
They claim that Winnipeg and Southern Ontario would be good markets. Fine. Great. If Winnipeg was so good, why did the Jets leave? Why take a chance on Arizona, a place that many people believe is a silly place for the NHL to be in. Or, if Quebec City is a possibility, why did the Nordiques leave for Colorado. Sure, the Flames left Atlanta for Calgary, and are wildly successful, but they were in Atlanta first for a reason, and a franchise was put back there for a reason.
Even if the teams moved to Canada, what would that give you? A few more percentage points of attendance bump? Whoopide doo. You also get a more diluted Canadian television package, and an even less interested American audience (we don't see many Canada vs Canada teams down here, you know). What you wind up doing is selling the game to the same people you are already selling the game to. This is not how you build a league beyond gate revenues. As important as that is, how much is television rights worth for individual teams, in their own markets?
My beef is not with Canada, or with the people who want or would support an NHL team in another Canadian city. In a way, I hope you get your wish. My beef is with THN. There is more punditry in THN than on the average hour of FOX News, and that is saying something.
11 comments:
The Jets left because there was no new arena and the new owners wanted to move it to Phoenix cause its a MAJOR AMERICAN MARKET. Now there is a modern arena, salary cap, everything there should have been in place when bettman was hired. But of course, Winnipeg had its chance. Unfortunately its in Canada and nobody want's Winnipeg in the league. Especially not Bettman.
I wouldn't mind Winnipeg in the league, if it were more than nostalga. But they moved to a major American market, and still took a huge risk. That was better than staying in Winnipeg?
The buildings in Winnipeg and Quebec were full, Greedy owners are the entire story. Marcel Aubut in Quebec is the second most mischevious hockey man next to Eagleson. He plotted his move for years before he sold.
THN could pick any night of U.S. attendence for a case study and it would still look grim compared to Canada. It's time the NHL tries selling hockey were it's being bought rather than the ideology they have failed with for ten years.
Florida, Phoenix, Nashville, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa, and Anaheim will always remain on financial quicksand when their teams stutter on the ice.
Fans fill buildings in Canada whether the teams win or lose.
Now that the penguins appear to be on the outs in Pittsburgh, the city most often mentioned is Las Vegas. Now there's a fricking hockey town fer ya!
The NHL persues money markets rather than hockey markets. look where it's gotten them.
There will never be a major US TV contract - it's a pipe dream!
Americans are indifferent to Canadian culture. The misconceptions are many. Hockey is a joke in so many places in the US, why continue to bother.
Just because a major city can scramble up 15,000 fans for games hardly constitutes a hockey market.
Once this CBA runs out in 2 more years, all hell will break loose between the NHLPA and owners. It has been a failure on too many fronts.
With the top ten annually sharing revenue to bail the bottom ten, the battle lines are being drawn. Next CBA will see the owners fighting themselves a lot more.
The game is so watered down and diluted anymore. They have made so many consessions to selling it to the US that even American hockey fans have been turned off. We bitch ten times more about these fixes to the game, yet we still show up.
NHL hockey should still live in Winnipeg and Quebec. Hamilton, Regina and Halifax would be better NHL cities than any of those I mentioned.
I don't blame Bettman - any commish is just an owners "yes man." It's the new regime of NHL owners doing the damage.
I think a positive step would be limiting the number of European and russian players per team. No matter how great these stars are, they are no help in selling the game. Their language barrier prevents them from marketing themselves and being a presence in their communities.
The league needs to cut down on the marginal Euro players and replace them with the hundreds of worthy North Americans who would be far more willing to promote the game.
Ever watch a Jaromir Jagr interview?
He's been in the NHL 15 years, won 5 scoring titles, and is virtually unknown in the states. He's hardly hurt the game, but why do we need the Jan Bulis'and such.
Again the league is backwards!
Fans fill buildings in Canada whether the teams win or lose.
Lie much?
Or I should say, "Talk only about the Habs and Leafs much?"
Those two teams are bulletproof. The Sens are near-bulletproof. The rest? Please. When the three Western Canadian teams suck(ed) on toast, there are plenty of empty seats in their barns.
But please, don't let me stop you from playing games with the truth.
R/C - THN could have picked any night? Then why didn't they? Oh, yeah, it wouldn't have been as spinnable. Man, some days, I look at all the trash talk that gets shot towards Americans, and I realize the fingers point right back.
Greedy owners? Have you looked around the league? There isn't an owner out there who can turn a buck just running a hockey team. My favorite was the Wild. Everyone was bitching about high ticket prices, and complaining that they were stingy with the salary. Meanwhile, where did the expansion fees come from, the fairy money tree? Is that greed? Or is it getting back on solid financial ground?
Owners who have multiple holdings are the only ones who have any stability. They can offset losses with other businesses, or at least, they can without having to lose their shirts in the process. They may have to define hockey revenues to the league, but they can keep for themselves what they need to, and do the money shuffle so they can keep the team.
The problem is that you want your little gate reciept league, and nobody invlolved in the NHL wants that. The league is too big to just be sold locally. Not just the number of teams, but also the scale of it. Media campaigns, players salarys (pre and post lockout), support staff, transport, everything. It can't survive on gate reciepts. The NHL can't charge what they do and expect to survive on people coming to the game.
So, is it fan base, or is it too expensive for what you get? People keep coming to the games in Colorado (sellout streak, my ass), but the presentation is crap. Really, it's awful. and the amount of fans showing up will decrease as the bang for buck goes down, not as the love of the sport decreases.
Hamilton? Really? Come on, they didn't show up for their one chance to see an NHL game in the preseason. One game, and the complaints were about the prices. That was Penguins vs. Sabres. So, no, Hamilton is not an NHL city. Everyone knows it, even Hamilton knows it. Regina? Halifax? Please. Remember the Saskatoon bid to buy the Blues? Where would that team be now? These towns have junior teams, and that seems about the right size for them.
Too many Euros? Who are you, Reality Cherry? That is just dumb. Sorry, dude, but it's dumb. Sure, let's just get rid of the "Euros", and in the process, become more ugly and racist in the process. It's cute when Don Cherry says it, because his is a racist fuck who nobody cares for, a cute little troll in silly outfits, but that's it. Is this why Canadians pay money to have him on the air? Because you agree? It's racist, it's horse shit, and I hate that crap. If they limited the amount of "Euros" that came to America, my grandmother wouldn't have gotten out of Armenia. If you are wondering what that has to do with hockey, it has to do with the world, and not looking at where someone came from. Ask the Stastnys about that. Teams can choose who they want, and thank goodness they can. If you want an all Canadian league, go for it. Have fun. Go back to the way things were in that league.
(This pisses me off so much, it almost deserves it's own post)
Ovechkin sells the game with his skill, and so does Malkin. Crosby can be boring as hell, as long as he can play. And he is both. Jagr doesn't have to sell the game, he has to play hockey. That's his job. The NHL marketing department is there to sell the game. They don't do that good a job lately, but it's their job, not just the players.
Maybe the league isn't so backwards after all.
AQ - Amen
You missed my points entirely.
There is nothing racist about my point of view. In business you simply hire what promotes. If you run, say a video store, does it serve your interests best to position a non English speaking Russian to man the front counter and search for movie titles. You wouldn`t run an amputee in a marathon!
Yes, the Jagr`s and Selanne`s sell the game with their talent, but I`d rather see more Dan Hinote types than the 100 Karlis Skrastins in the league. It`s just better business, that`s all.
I`m not sure if you are familiar with the name, Alexei Kaigorodov or not. This past summer, he was highly touted as the Senators walk on 2nd line center. He was a total bust. He was timid and challenged because of his inability to understand his coaches. Two years back Ottawa traded off Todd White, a local area kid. White did tons of hospital charity work, signings in malls and such. What is the better fit in your eyes.
I don`t like to generalize when it comes to different types of people as each has their own individuality. A person sells themselves short believing things they think are typical. Don Cherry is a comedy act from start to finish. If his comments on Euro`s gather steam, it is just because there is a small element of truth to them that the masses are willing to believe. For every case that proves that type is thinking to be correct, there is another that renders it untrue. Media, especially the brash kind, tends to paint things in one loud way. There are always more sides to the story.
As for the placing more NHL teams in the cities I mentioned, I think it`s worth looking into. Remember, they have little, if any, other types of sports competition. With a cap in place and a stronger Canadian dollar, it is more feasable than ever. It is more sound than dropping teams in places like Phoenix or Florida.
Previous issues with attendance in Canada`s three west coast teams revolved around season ticket bases, Bettman`s stance on Canadian teams after the Winnipeg and Quebec moves, and out of whack ticket prices to afford the rising cost of talent. These different uncertainties combined to keep 2,500 empty seats in the arenas.
That would be excellent in Nashville - it`s a disaster in Canada - imagine that, only 14,500 people showing up for a hockey game!
My point remains that to grow the game, it must be done from the most solid of foundations. That doesn`t include just Canada - Minnesota and Columbus were great choices, as would be Portland.
Franchises must be located where a hockey heritage already exists before excursions into propositions are sought.
Above all else it just makes sense.
"Icy Outside"???
I couldn't even make it home from work that night... literally. I had to hang out at a co-worker's house for three hours after work and STILL had to get a ride home from him because my car couldn't make it on the roads... so it sure was hell wasn't going to make it all the way downtown for a hockey game.
No, I didn't miss the point. I think you are.
The point isn't to hire who promotes. There are people to do that. Hire people to get folks to even see the game, and people to play it well. They don't have to be the same person, and in an organization as large as the NHL, you can't have them be the same thing. You can't limit what you put on the ice to accommodate the press.
You are dangerously close to telling me that if they want to be in these countries, they should speak the language. Want to go there? Oh, you already did.
Hinote was brought up from the minors because of his scoring he had in Hershey. By that definition, he would be a bust. Making his game about something else is what saved his butt in this league.
Kaigorodov? No, I never heard of him. How about this guy, who has a language barrier. His name is Malkin. Ever hear of him? Doesn't seem that language is a problem with him. Should we ship him back?
Since you love to talk about the Habs so much, why don't you tell Cristobal Huet that he doesn't deserve to play here. Or Markov. or Samsonov. Or Kovalev. Or Koivu.
This isn't a video store, BTW, and amputees run marathons all the time. Those arguements don't hold up at all.
So yeah, if you are going to tell me that these people don't belong in the game because of where they were born, or what language they speak, then what do you call it? Good marketing? It's BS.
As for teams moving to Canada, look, you had your chance. Really, you did. It wasn't greed, it wasn't the Americans, and it wasn't Bettman. It was ownership, and it was business that made the teams move. It wasn't long ago that Canadian NHL teams were looking for government handouts to make the teams viable. Now that there is a salary cap and cost certainty, now that the league has saved the owners from itself, it's time to move back to the land of failure? This isn't just an experiment, it's business. It's not just a nice little game, it's a league. The salary cap and cost certainty aren't subsidies. They aren't there for Canadians only. They are there for the entire league.
Franchises must be located where a hockey heritage already exists before excursions into propositions are sought.
They did that already. It was Winnipeg and Quebec City. It moved on. So no, it doesn't make sense.
Why do I even bother?
You know what? On that point, I agree completely.
I was talking about the NHL moving teams to Canada. You brought up the "Euros" thing. Unless you are actually talking about the currency, yeah, maybe you should give it a break. You won't change my mind on this, and I don't care for your opinion on the matter.
If you feel I missed the point, or any of your points, I feel I touched on most of them, if not all. In fact, you haven't even talked about any of mine (Malkin, "Euro" Habs, Greed vs. Business, gate reciept league vs. large business). I don't agree with your points, and find a few of them flat out wrong. That doesn't mean I am missing them. I understand your points on some of it (Canada and NHL teams), and am not even remotely close to your opinion on the others ("Euros").
So, yeah. Why bother?
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