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official NHL 06-07 thread! (free agent signings updated on page 11)

Ugh...the glowing puck. I can't find the words to describe how stupid that was.

I miss the old division names...Patrick, Adams, Norris, Smythe...made hockey different.

Although it won't happen, I would like to see Winnipeg and even Quebec City get teams again. They both sold out their arenas back in the day.

As American fans...what do you guys think the NHL can do to make gains in the US? People either love it or hate it. And the ones that love it are really passionate about hockey. I keep hearing from so called "hockey people" that fighting is keeping Americans from liking it and the NHL has to get fighting out of the game to attract new fans. I don't buy that.
 
^^ no, I don't think the fighting has anything to do with it.

I honestly think that its the ticket prices that scares American fans away. the NHL is the least popular major sport in the US, but their ticket prices don't reflect that. it is still basically just as expensive to goto a hockey game as it is to goto a basketball or baseball game, and that definitely needs to change.

I just got tickets for feb 10th, Caps vs. Rangers, and it was $63.00 for two tickets in the nosebleed section, yet I guarantee you the place will be a little bit more than half full. and when the place is half full, its quiet and boring. you can hear a pin drop in that bitch. I think the key is to get the fans in the seats by any means nessecary, because once the place gets loud, American fans will take it seriously.

I think its some sort of psychological thing. when fans see empty seats, they assume that the game isn't significant/important and it isnt worth the energy it takes to cheer on the team.
 
oh shit. im glad to see this thread alive and kicking again. i have some reading to do and what not, but im out for now, ill gladly leave my mark when i return home later.

however, quick ON TOPIC note... did anybody watch the calgary vs. columbus game last night? that was a travesty! the one good thing to come from it though was the ammount of physical play. it was a rough game... entertaining to watch (though at times scary cause columbus cant afford ANY more injuries). i actually cringed when gilbert brule threw a shoulder into robyn regehr while regehr was trying to ice the puck. regehr went down like a sack of potatoes and smacked the wall with a ferocious bang. i thought he may have REbroken both his legs and fucked up his face pretty bad. he ended up being ok, but im sure he was PRETTY DAMN sore later. it was good to see brule playing tough though because hes got the makings of a great finnesse player and now on top of that... a hard physical game??? awesome. hes got a ways to go to match ovechkins talents... but he's stepping it up a bit and showing signs of being a great future talent.

yar!
 
Yeah that got to get rid of that touch icing and go to no-touch icing. It would save players for getting hurt like that needlessly. Someone is going to break their neck in a game (it has happened in junior and college, which is why they moved to no-touch icing). HAte seeing players get hurt like that.
 
Just heard on TSN a report that states 1/3 of all league revenue for the NHL comes from the six Canadian teams. (taking into account we only have 20% of the teams that is pretty good) If the NHL wants to make more money, it seems the logical answer would be to put a couple of more teams in Canada
 
youarewhatyouis said:
^^ I heard that players make less when they play for Canadian teams though... is that true or not?
Click to expand...

Actually players playing in Canada are paid in American funds, and right now the conversion rate is just under 10% so it's really not that big of a difference. Taxes are different in every province just like they are in every state, but if a player is making $1,000,000 a year, paid in American dollars, with the conversion rate, they would be making $1,100,000 Canadian a year.
 
I think it all comes down to market size. The bigger the city, the more money there is to be made.

when small market teams in American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, etc) have financial problems, they're shipped off to a bigger market.

its almost like a Catch-22 situation. As the NHL becomes less popular in the US, alot less money is made. So naturally, as the league becomes less popular, the chance of smaller market cities in Canada getting a team, goes up.

But then if the NHL started putting teams in Canada, the excitement level would go up, thus the prospect of a team would be more appealing to big market cities here, and sports owners in the US would start bringing them back.

now does that make sense to anyone else?
 
Yeah I have heard of it, and I am indifferent with it. I liked the four division league back in the 90's.

I don't see them changing it anytime soon though.
 
anyone play NHL2k7???

I play that game till my thumb blisters...... best hockey video game of all time
 
Glad to see the thread got bumped

But I don' t play. Don't own a system...well my six year old has an Xbox, but he doesn't like sports games. I must say it looks awesome though. Hockey games are always great on console. I loved the original EA Sports hockey for PS way, way back.
 
sorry, im an asshole and neglected my own thread. ive had family issues that have needed tending to, but im glad to see that its still being used!

anyways. first i play nhl2k7 and all the years prior, i LOVE it also, BUT... there are way too many glitches (like getting scored on as the puck LITERALLY transports THROUGH the side of the net, or like your goalie chasing the puck to the back boards then standing in the corner with their back to the goal while the other team takes the puck and scores on the open net, etc... plenty more). also the disc... at least ALL of my 2k7 discs that ive gotten have frozen in the middle of my seasons ive started. i want to win a fucking cup already, but its hard to do when your game freezes 40 some games into a season.

also... keiths31 i think it was you that asked what would make the nhl work better in the US? my thoughts (as an american fan)... would be to quit fucking with the game itself. the ONLY thing i didnt like about hockey back in the day were ties... so that DOES present a problem as the shootout is kind of a love/hate relationship with me. i like the idea of overtime... but a 5 minute 4 on 4 OT followed by a shootout is kind of sketchy in my eyes. the poor goalies are being screwed by the new rules and shit too, their crease is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than it used to be, and now they have the "martin brodeur" rule which helps to prevent goalies from wandering too far at times. they're trying to make it too much of an offensive game instead of letting the games natural flow take place. thats just my opinion though... im sure newer fans dont mind the shit... or non stubborn people, but im way too stubborn and i like hockey the way it used to be. i still love it dont get me wrong, but im an old school purist hehehe.

one of my favorite things is watching the REAL good goalies. like kiprusoff, brodeur, leclaire and norrena (haha im biased, but god damn it when they're on they're OOOOOON!), etc... because they're so technical and acrobatic. i think the goalies are more exciting to watch sometimes than the forwards. dont get me wrong, i LOVE the flashy goals too, but theres more to hockey than the flashy goals. probably 90% of the goals scored are tip ins and soft goals anyways... garbage men cleaning up the junk in the crease.

the nhl gets a raw deal around my parts though. i get to watch the columbus games (which only about 1/3 of them are shown because of the 75 games that FSN ohio picks up about half of those are on nights the cavs play and my cable company picks up cleveland region television not columbus which means i have to watch basketball or NOTHING!) and whatever games are on NBC on sunday afternoons which the nhl only starts doing half way through the regular season. there really isnt much of a market for hockey here which sucks balls. even nashville who's currently 3rd in the NHL and at one point about a week ago was 1st in the nhl overall in points... has problems filling seats and is talking about a possible moving of the team. wtf!?!?

im just hoping columbus starts performing better soon (ie REAL soon) because i'd hate to lose them to another city in the near future because of a failing market. columbus really has a great hockey base (which extends all of about 10 miles though) because they have hockey at EVERY level. you can literally start playing at 3 years old... and get all the way to the nhl having played in every level... without ever leaving columbus. no other city in the US can say that.

btw... im working on moving to minnesota or canada (edmonton area). so that i can enjoy hockey all day and all night every day hah. we dont have a hockey night in america :( but im sure northern minnesota would pick up on canada's.
 
It would be a shame for Columbus to lose it's team. They have done pretty well in supporting the team as far as I know. And it is the only major pro team in the city.
If you move you will get lots of hockey in Minnesota, but even more in Canada. We have two seasons. Hockey season and the rest of the year.
I have watched a few Blue Jacket games this year and they have some good young players. They will be in the playoffs in another year or two. Just hope they are still there for your sake.
But Nashville is brutal. They are a first place, cup contending team, and they can't sell out. They are 23rd in league attendance. Get them out of there and somewhere where they will be appreciated.
 
^ i agree about moving nashville, but at the same time i have mixed feelings. i think it would be weird to move them because ive become too familiar with them as nashville even though i HATE them!!! i like alot of their players dont get me wrong, but i just have a strong dislike for the team as a whole. they give the jackets a tough time hehe.

anyways, thanks for your well wishes for my boys though!

i think the jackets' problem is that they're too heavy of a team. they dont control the puck very well in the neutral zone which obviously means they cant take it into the offensive zone with much control. the jackets play way too much dump and chase (which im not a huge fan of). i like watching calgary (even though i hate them also... they play dirty and huselius, as good as he is, should pay his diving coach for the lessons HAH) and nashville and quick teams like that who make nice tic tac toe passes and control it all the way to the crease.

they do have alot of speed... but they play a slower heavier game. i think thats why zherdev has become better as a transitional player than he has a goal scorer. they have alot of great players, but i just think their games are not at all in sync. they dont USE the speed they do have, nash uses his strength alot... but not his feet or hands.

i'd say zherdev, nash, fedorov, vyborny, modin, svitov (and cycling svitov and fritsche) should be their top six. i think it would be a better mix of players for their top two lines because those players are not only fast, but they have great hockey brains. they think more strategically plus i think its a good balance between speed (and skill) AND strength. also as far as defense goes... klesla and hainsey have shown that they have WICKED shots (especially klesla). i really dont think columbus' problem is with defense though cause theyve got a pretty deep line up in that area. its the offense that hasnt lived up to its end of the deal, but they have plenty of potential. once they're on the same page they'll be a team thats tough to play against.
 
^they got a great coach in Hitchcock too. He will do good things for them. A couple more players and they are in. Easy for me to say when my team is the Senators though...
 
^ yeah... hitchcock is definately a good coach. i was excited when they picked him up. i think next year will be much better... its tough to take the reigns halfway through a race when youre already behind. it'll be nice to see him start fresh at the beginning of the year.

im not a huge sens fan, but i do enjoy watching them play. i was at work one day and took an extended lunch cause i had the senators vs. sabres game on the big screen in our break room hehe. it was the game that heatley got a hat trick and an assist all in the second period. i actually like a lot of ottawa players. they look pretty good this year and will most likely be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
 
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