Agreed.

 

As much as I hate to say it, I think an American league with a Canadian minor league is a good idea (because let's face it, the Canadian teams are the predominant ones strugglineg because the monetary difference betwen the US and Canada).

 

Also, I think getting rid of some teams isn't a bad idea either. If a team's not drawing and can't pay their bills, get rid of 'em!

You CAN NOT under any circumstances get rid of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa and Vancouver do pretty well every year and with the new ownership, Ottawa is solid financially again. Calgary and Montreal are on the rise. Edmonton usually has a solid team, I don't know how they do financially, I have a hunch they're solid though.

 

I think the Canadian hockey problem is becoming a thing of the past. They can't really put more teams up there, because as said, the money isn't the same, but they don't need to lose anybody either.

 

They do need to drop a couple teams. Buffalo and Pittsburgh (as much as I hate to say it) need to go. Buffalo isn't going. Pittsburgh may move to Winnepig. :whistle

Why post about it if you don't know dookie?

 

Kind of seems like a waste of your time.

 

 

because it is america

Why post about it if you don't know dookie?

 

Kind of seems like a waste of your time.?

 

 

because it is america Good point.

 

You must exercise your right to be uniformed and make pointless comments.

 

Continue on, represent our country proudly.

Have the Jackets been to the Playoffs or even had a five hundred record since we've been in the league.

We've been around for 4 years.

 

Yeah, you guys went to a Cup in your 2nd year, you've sucked since though.

 

You've got a good young team now, they're going to be stellar soon.

 

But, guess what?

 

So do we. Correction 3rd year.

 

 

 

I like the Jackets, nothing against them. Zherdev is going to be great with Nash. The Nash-Zherdev-Player to be named later line is going to be great for years. My only problem with them is the goaltending situatuation there is horrendous and your in a horrible division. Besides, you got Doug Maclean.

no i don't know anything about hockey because it bores me like it does 80% of the country. i try to watch the playoffs so maybe i can fall in love with it like i did with baseball in 1993 but i can't feel it.

Let me guess. You are so enamored with NBA basketball (no offense to our more knowledgable NBA fans here) that you could careless about the best sport in the world. No its not baseball, I said WORLD. Are you talking about fotball (soccer)?

 

I'm bored with that crappy sport.

 

But you don't see me posting about it trying to sound like an expert either.

no i don't know anything about hockey because it bores me like it does 80% of the country. i try to watch the playoffs so maybe i can fall in love with it like i did with baseball in 1993 but i can't feel it.

Let me guess. You are so enamored with NBA basketball (no offense to our more knowledgable NBA fans here) that you could careless about the best sport in the world. No its not baseball, I said WORLD. Are you talking about fotball (soccer)?

 

I'm bored with that crappy sport. No I mean Hockey.

I like the Jackets, nothing against them. Zherdev is going to be great with Nash. The Nash-Zherdev-Player to be named later line is going to be great for years. My only problem with them is the goaltending situatuation there is horrendous and your in a horrible division. Besides, you got Doug Maclean.

Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, WOAH.

 

Denis is horrendous? Are you KIDDING me? This guy stands on his head in front of a piece of crap blueline all season, his numbers go down every year. He's got one of the better save percentages in all of hockey. His GAA is bad because he faces 50 shots a night and he's not Superman.

 

And we've got Pascal Leclaire waiting in the wings too.

 

I think goaltending is a strength. I can't even imagine what Denis would be like if he has some better defense in front of him.

I like the Jackets, nothing against them. Zherdev is going to be great with Nash. The Nash-Zherdev-Player to be named later line is going to be great for years. My only problem with them is the goaltending situatuation there is horrendous and your in a horrible division. Besides, you got Doug Maclean.

Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, WOAH.

 

Denis is horrendous? Are you KIDDING me? This guy stands on his head in front of a piece of crap blueline all season, his numbers go down every year. He's got one of the better save percentages in all of hockey. His GAA is bad because he faces 50 shots a night and he's not Superman.

 

And we've got Pascal Leclaire waiting in the wings too.

 

I think goaltending is a strength. I can't even imagine what Denis would be like if he has some better defense in front of him. Marc Denis is an above-average goaltender at best. I am saying this with a Roberto Luongo bias because our defense is worse. If he was facing 50 shots a night than how was Olie the Goalie Kolzig in front of him in shots faced.

 

 

Denis on any other team is probably a good backup, not a starter though except on the Pens. Pascal LeClaire is good I'll give you that.

Why post about it if you don't know dookie?

 

Kind of seems like a waste of your time.?

 

 

because it is america (salutes your ignorance)

 

:usaflag

Marc Denis is an above-average goaltender at best. I am saying this with a Roberto Luongo bias because our defense is worse. If he was facing 50 shots a night than how was Olie the Goalie Kolzig in front of him in shots faced.

 

 

Denis on any other team is probably a good backup, not a starter though except on the Pens. Pascal LeClaire is good I'll give you that.

I think it's hard to judge how good Denis is because of the situation he's in. I mean, seriously, night after night, watching him, I think he's a top 20 goaltender. On paper, maybe he doesn't start in a lot of places, but if Denis were starting in a lot of places, he'd be considered an upper-echelon guy.

 

I mean, he's no Luongo, there's no question, I think he's probably the best in the game (and if he's not, he will be shortly), but Denis is hampered by a lousy defense, so without watching him constantly, I don't think people know how good he is.

 

I mean, I may be wrong, I don't pretend to know everything about the sport, but I think it's true.

 

He had the same save percentage as Belfour and better than Brodeur, Esche, Cloutier, Giguere, Biron, Turco, Khabibulin, Vokoun, and Kolzig to name a few.

Better than Esche? Now THAT'S good!

 

(but I've got Flyer-bias)

Lots of anger here from the hockey fans.

 

Seventy games is going to change very little, I think. The best teams just coast into the playoffs every year because seeding means almost nothing. Do #1 seeds ever make the finals any more? The regular season is basically a formality. We have to wait it out, so the real fun can begin. If you cut down the number of games, though, and the number of playoff spots, then the best teams can't afford to be complacent. 50 games is PLENTY of time for a playoff race to develop...it's like 3-4 months.

 

If I were in charge, I would make the entire league smaller. Yeah, that means getting rid of some teams. 50 game regular season, 20-24 teams, 8 playoff spots.

 

As it is now, hockey offers very few reasons for the casual fan to tune in, and there just aren't enough fanatics out there to sustain the league. The game is dull during the regular season. The playoffs are too long. I know you guys enjoy the first round, but if they were to add still another round, you'd probably enjoy that, and yet I doubt you'd think that's a good idea. To the casual fan, the first round is overkill.

 

If you cut things down, every game becomes important.

Lots of anger here from the hockey fans.

 

Seventy games is going to change very little, I think. The best teams just coast into the playoff every year because seeding means almost nothing. Do #1 seeds ever make the finals any more? The regular season is basically a formality. We have to wait it out, so the real fun can begin. If you cut down the number of games, though, and the number of playoff spots, then the best teams can't afford to be complacent. 50 games is PLENTY of time for a playoff race to develop...it's like 3-4 months.

 

If I were in charge, I would make the entire league smaller. Yeah, that means getting rid of some teams. 50 game regular season, 20-24 teams, 8 playoff spots.

 

As it is now, hockey offers very few reasons for the casual fan to tune in, and there just aren't enough fanatics out there to sustain the league. The game is dull during the regular season. The playoffs are too long. I know you guys enjoy the first round, but if they were to add still another round, you'd probably enjoy that, and yet I doubt you'd think that's a good idea. To the casual fan, the first round is overkill.

 

If you cut things down, every game becomes important.

See, the problem I have with this is that I don't think hockey is EVER going to get the casual fan and they should stop trying. They should market more to real hockey fans and get the financial structure in line with this marketing strategy. I mean, I know you're supposed to want to improve and expand your market, but I don't think it's a realistic goal to do it, so don't do it. Market to the real fans, market strong in your own cities, put on the games that hockey fans want to see, not what you think the casual fan wants.

 

Playoff ratings are up this year, by the way, but it has nothing to do with casual fans and everything to do with better matchups.

 

This sport is losing money because they have tried to market to casual fans.

 

And the suggestion that you cut all these games doesn't make a lot of sense to me only because most hockey revenue comes from attendance, so you'd be cutting back on your main revenue source in a major way. They're already going to be asking the players to take enough of a pay cut without adding this to the table.

 

They don't NEED to cut teams, they NEED to get their financial model in line with the revenue they're pulling in.

Thank you Doodle.

the play sucks so bad now, i hope they cut down to zero games

 

and i like hockey as much as the next guy, but the league is awful right now

the play sucks so bad now, i hope they cut down to zero games

 

and i like hockey as much as the next guy, but the league is awful right now

get ready for an argument

the play sucks so bad now, i hope they cut down to zero games

 

and i like hockey as much as the next guy, but the league is awful right now

get ready for an argument What are we supposed to do? Agree with that?

 

I think the play has been better this year than in the last several. They do need to do something about opening the game up though. Goalie padding isn't the answer either.

the play sucks so bad now, i hope they cut down to zero games

 

and i like hockey as much as the next guy, but the league is awful right now

get ready for an argument What are we supposed to do? Agree with that?

 

I think the play has been better this year than in the last several. They do need to do something about opening the game up though. Goalie padding isn't the answer either. i was never expecting anyone to agree with that

 

all im saying is the next time the an NHL regular season, they should worry about quality of play (ie reducing teams, cutting goalie pad sizes), not number of games

 

if play continues this way, im sorry but i wont be sad to see it go

I'm not sure you and I are using "casual fan" to mean the same thing here. The casual fan is a real fan. I'm not talking about someone who doesn't know icing from slashing, or whatever. The casual fan is someone like me. I am aware of what's going on in the NHL to some extent, and I enjoy the game when it's played well, or played like it matters. But I don't just watch hockey for hockey's sake. They have to make me want to watch hockey. I am not a fanatic.

 

I will definitely watch a lot of the Finals (or I would...if I weren't leaving the country). When the Conference Semis and Finals get past a couple games, I watch a lot of those too. But the rest of the season? I'm bored. Because I can't figure out why any of it matters, and the game is played slowly and lazily. There are definitely changes that can be made to entice people like me. I mean, how awesome was the Olympic hockey the last time they played? Make the game like that, and I'm in.

 

Hockey used to be my favorite sport--for a couple years there. Same for plenty of my friends. But then the game started to deteriorate. People like me can definitely be pulled back in.

 

The sport will continue to lose money, no matter what, unless they can pull more people in, or scale back dramatically. I think the two go hand in hand. The "real fans", or at least what I think you mean by real fans, are going to watch anyway, so I can't see what marketing to them would accomplish.

the play sucks so bad now, i hope they cut down to zero games

 

and i like hockey as much as the next guy, but the league is awful right now

this is something else they clearly need to look into. Make the rinks bigger or SOMETHING, cause yeah...the hockey being played is not so exciting.

no i don't know anything about hockey because it bores me like it does 80% of the country. i try to watch the playoffs so maybe i can fall in love with it like i did with baseball in 1993 but i can't feel it.

Let me guess. You are so enamored with NBA basketball (no offense to our more knowledgable NBA fans here) that you could careless about the best sport in the world. No its not baseball, I said WORLD. ya and its not hockey neither.

 

I'm not sure you and I are using "casual fan" to mean the same thing here. The casual fan is a real fan. I'm not talking about someone who doesn't know icing from slashing, or whatever. The casual fan is someone like me. I am aware of what's going on in the NHL to some extent, and I enjoy the game when it's played well, or played like it matters. But I don't just watch hockey for hockey's sake. They have to make me want to watch hockey. I am not a fanatic.

 

I will definitely watch a lot of the Finals (or I would...if I weren't leaving the country). When the Conference Semis and Finals get past a couple games, I watch a lot of those too. But the rest of the season? I'm bored. Because I can't figure out why any of it matters, and the game is played slowly and lazily. There are definitely changes that can be made to entice people like me. I mean, how awesome was the Olympic hockey the last time they played? Make the game like that, and I'm in.

 

Hockey used to be my favorite sport--for a couple years there. Same for plenty of my friends. But then the game started to deteriorate. People like me can definitely be pulled back in.

 

The sport will continue to lose money, no matter what, unless they can pull more people in, or scale back dramatically. I think the two go hand in hand. The "real fans", or at least what I think you mean by real fans, are going to watch anyway, so I can't see what marketing to them would accomplish.

Fair points.

 

I guess I can't really answer how to fix the regular season when I, personally, don't think it's broken. I'll leave that to someone else.

 

And as for the marketing thing, that's the whole point, they would hardly have to market, it'd save them tons of money.

 

My stance here is certainly skewered by how well hockey is doing here in Columbus, I guess I just don't want to see major changes to something I thoroughly enjoy.

to beinfest4prez: if hockey is the best sport on earth, then why is the NHL such a huge failure? doesnt really add up...

to beinfest4prez: if hockey is the best sport on earth, then why is the NHL such a huge failure? doesnt really add up...

Its not a huge failure. You want a failure? Any league that survives for 80+ years is not a failure. The NBA is about 30 years younger. The NFL wasn't really a major league till the late 40's to early 50's. Don't give me this failure crap.

 

 

The NBA is a failure. They let young kids skip school and not get a diploma and when they bust, what are they going to do. Yeah, sure other sports do that, even hockey, but many of those sports offer an education program like Baseball does for some players and with Hockey, some players are studying for degrees.

 

 

Get your facts staight.

What is ths hockey you speak of? :lol