Ongoing NHL thread - Part III

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Bruce Boudreau baffles with backdoor breaking ball...Beauty.

Bruce Boudreau threw a backdoor breaking ball for a strike at last night’s Twins game

 

[dare2be]

Bruce Boudreau baffles with backdoor breaking ball...Beauty.

Sorry, that would not be complete without a "boo-yah"

 

[tducey]

Willing to bet that Murray's back in net for Pittsburgh in Game 6. Why they started Fleury I'll never know.

 

[tducey]

San Jose now has the Blues on the ropes. Could this finally be the year for the Sharks?

 

[Comeds]

Hey guys, I just thought of something you may get a kick out of. What if a team suits up a really fat guy as a goalie? There would be a lot less area to shot at.

 

[pixburgher66]

Soooo...the Bruins with some interesting choices. Kevan Miller for 4 years, $10M.

 

[tducey]

Yes, that is interesting. Will be interesting to see how the Bruins do this season. Got to think Julien is on a short leash as their coach.

 

[dash]

Gonna miss him, such a fun playet to watch.

Report: Datsyuk to join KHL next season

 

[DragonfromTO]

Gonna miss him, such a fun playet to watch.

Report: Datsyuk to join KHL next season

He's not dead dash, you can still watch him play hockey

 

[dash]

He's not dead dash, you can still watch him play hockey

lol - Remember when people were worried that the KHL was going to be a real threat to the NHL?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

lol - Remember when people were worried that the KHL was going to be a real threat to the NHL?

a quick look back at this lol ... MORE EATING OF WEASEL!!!!




Gallagher thinks the KHL can become viable


The NHL slumbers along content with their lockout situation, which seems to work for their franchises.

There’s another group of owners pretty happy about it, too. They are the owners in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, who are getting an enormous lift from the influx of players to their league right now, and if the NHL keeps turning a blind eye to what’s happening over there, they may find all the work they’ve done cultivating the game in Europe being capitalized on by this expanding league hungry for a long-term fix to what is now their unsustainable business plan. That would be a European television contract.

That’s really the only barrier that stands in the way of the KHL being a long-term financially viable operation. It’s never going to make money like the NHL, but that doesn’t matter to them. It’s run mostly by Russian billionaires who like the idea of having the highest paid players on their rosters and they’re willing to subsidize these operations out of money made from other successful business operations.

As long as the international oil price is high, fully half of the teams in the league right now will be fine. Were that to change, all bets might be off. But if they can get into Western Europe, land some high profile cities, a major television deal is a no-brainer given how little there is to compete with in terms of sports entertainment during the winter.

Right now the Swedish and Finnish federations are fighting this expansion by threatening their high profile teams by saying if they leave the home league for the KHL and don’t succeed, they won’t be allowed back. But it remains to be seen how long this hollow posturing can stem the tide.

Big Russian corporations like Gazprom have an enormous carrot to offer a potential business partner/KHL owner in Europe. They can offer to cut through the red tape and corruption payments it takes to do business and give them unfettered access to an additional enormous market if they agree to bring their team into the KHL.

The fellow may end up losing money on his hockey operation but he’d more than make it back on the enormous expansion into new markets without having to go through the expensive hoops and nefarious arrangements to make it happen.

The 27-team KHL is already in seven different countries — with teams in Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Slovakia — and it’s pretty well known they have already made pitches to get teams into the league from Sweden, Finland and Milan, the latter a city some may be surprised to learn has a long hockey history. The team in Bratislava, which left the Slovak league, has been a wild success, the building full every game with fans paying as little as 12 euros ($17) for an excellent seat. And according to Vancouver fitness trainer Dusan Benicky, who recently returned from a couple of games there, the hockey is highly entertaining.

While the players may not be quite as good as they are in the NHL, the games are often far more exciting for three reasons.

First, the players play fewer games and hence are significantly better prepared to put in an all-out effort. Sure they don’t have the equipment managers transporting their bags and setting out toothpaste for them like they do with some teams over here, but they’re fresh for the games despite the more arduous travel.

Second, the game takes place on a wider ice surface and there’s more room for players who tend to get into the league based on their ability to skate and handle the puck, not on their ability to put somebody through the boards or absorb an enormous hit.

And finally, because of the No. 2 factor, you don’t have a coach in your face after every shift telling you to play it safe. They want you to make a play and get the puck up to the forwards hungry to attack.

“The game is a lot more offensive over there and the coaches take a different approach,” says Barry Smith, who coached in St. Petersburg for a couple of seasons. “There nobody over there telling you to put it off the glass. A guy does that and comes back to the bench the coach wants to know why he did it.”

What this influx of NHL talent is doing for the league now is essentially showing potential Western European owners and television executives what might be possible some day if they could get their act together.

It may never happen but the NHL is naive if they think Western Europe isn’t next on the KHL agenda
Read more: NHL should be wary of KHL expansion

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I thought only the russians would go back ... the trend of russians playing in the nhl was on the decline back then ... 22 in 2012 who played 30 games ... there were 25 this season

 

[DragonfromTO]

lol - Remember when people were worried that the KHL was going to be a real threat to the NHL?

This Datsyuk thing could be exactly what the league needs to vault ahead.

 

[dash]

This Datsyuk thing could be exactly what the league needs to vault ahead.

 

[dash]

Some conflicting reports on Datsyuk:

 

[Comeds]

The KHL poaching young talent like that has got to have the NHL's top men worried. Who? Top men.

 

[dash]

Despite the soft Canadian dollar — which has now rebounded to 76 cents U.S. from its 13-year low of 68 cents in January — Bettman said he believes the NHL will set a revenue record this season.

“It’s a fact of life, it’s something we deal with,” Bettman said of the loonie. “If the Canadian dollar were still at par, we’d be $100 million or $200 million higher, perhaps, than we may find ourselves, but I do believe there will be a revenue increase over 2015.”

Last year the league raked an estimated $4 billion. Bettman said the game continues to grow annually in terms of attendance, revenue and media reach. The NHL’s fiscal year ends June 30.

Bettman also reminded Bloomberg that the recommendation process for expansion is still ongoing. An announcement would probably have to be made within the next couple months, he said, if the NHL is to expand in time for the 2017-18 season.

Many have speculated the NHL Awards on June 22 in Las Vegas as an appropriate date to announce expansion to that city.

 

[puckhead]

Despite the soft Canadian dollar — which has now rebounded to 76 cents U.S. from its 13-year low of 68 cents in January — Bettman said he believes the NHL will set a revenue record this season.

.

MOAR Stadium Games !!!!

ugh

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

MOAR Stadium Games !!!!

ugh

I think that's a great idea.

In fact, why not just play nothing but stadium games!

 

[dash]