NHL Off-Topic thread

[TheMatrix31]

You can't manufacture rivalries. They have to come about naturally. A few playoff series with bad blood, a nice race in the standings, some fights/memorable incidents/games in the regular season, etc.

There are multiple types of rivals. Geographic, Cultural, Playoff, Divisional, etc.

Let them happen naturally. They last that way. The NBA is better at manufacturing rivalries out of thin air.

[Majingir]

Lightning are conducting a survey asking people about a new alternate jersey design(for 18-19 season).
https://tampabaylightning.turnkeysur...D438422063190C

I think lots more teams should do things like that. The jersey is supposed to represent the team and just as importantly, it's gonna be sold to the fans, so why not let the fans have input on what they want/don't want to see on it(for example in this survey, they ask a question about feelings on the BOLTS name on the jersey)

[Majingir]

More reasons why nhl sucks at marketing
https://www.nhl.com/news/nbc-nbcsn-n...18/c-290542286

National games in USA, a chance to showcase big teams and stars, but instead some of your big matchups are Sabres VS Jackets, Flyers VS Sharks, Stars VS Pens........ None of which are must see matchups Imo.

Wings get on 12 times, Sabres 7, but Matthews and Mcdavid get on a combined 6 times... Way to showcase your stars. Sure, Canadian ratings mean nothing to nbc, but if they want to grow the game, shouldn't they be pushing 2 of the best players in the league. If nhl was truly good at marketing, they'd be able to have 2 of their best young stars transcend the border. Weren't tv ratings great last year in USA in the matchups with leafs and Oilers?

[Madman55]

A good read from Bryan Bickell from the players tribune

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/br...ckell-grinder/

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

More reasons why nhl sucks at marketing https://www.nhl.com/news/nbc-nbcsn-n...18/c-290542286 National games in USA, a chance to showcase big teams and stars, but instead some of your big matchups are Sabres VS Jackets, Flyers VS Sharks, Stars VS Pens........ None of which are must see matchups Imo. Wings get on 12 times, Sabres 7, but Matthews and Mcdavid get on a combined 6 times... Way to showcase your stars. Sure, Canadian ratings mean nothing to nbc, but if they want to grow the game, shouldn't they be pushing 2 of the best players in the league. If nhl was truly good at marketing, they'd be able to have 2 of their best young stars transcend the border. Weren't tv ratings great last year in USA in the matchups with leafs and Oilers?

Detroit 12 times?!?!
I'm a Wings fan and you'd have to pay me to watch them 12 times.
I wonder if they'll manage to score 200 goals this year? Disinterested minds don't care to know.

[Majingir]

lol, the Canes saga continues. Seems like they might have buyers, but the owner is just trying to be greedy.
https://twitter.com/ice_chip

Gotta accept Coyotes aren't moving, so next up would have to be the Canes.

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Detroit 12 times?!?! I'm a Wings fan and you'd have to pay me to watch them 12 times. I wonder if they'll manage to score 200 goals this year? Disinterested minds don't care to know.

Like all sports, they just care about the market, not the team. Like how in NBA the Lakers and 76ers would get more national games than most others.

At very least why can't NHL/NBC promote the stars more? These American networks really need to include Canadian teams more. You want to grow the game...let fans in USA and other countries who also get these American networks experience non USA teams.

Wouldn't someone like Matthews be a draw down south due to his background? McDavid would because of him being Oilers biggest star since Gretzky and already looking like he'll have career like Crosby,Lindros and all those other stars hyped at young age.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

lol, the Canes saga continues. Seems like they might have buyers, but the owner is just trying to be greedy. https://twitter.com/ice_chip Gotta accept Coyotes aren't moving, so next up would have to be the Canes. Like all sports, they just care about the market, not the team. Like how in NBA the Lakers and 76ers would get more national games than most others. At very least why can't NHL/NBC promote the stars more? These American networks really need to include Canadian teams more. You want to grow the game...let fans in USA and other countries who also get these American networks experience non USA teams. Wouldn't someone like Matthews be a draw down south due to his background? McDavid would because of him being Oilers biggest star since Gretzky and already looking like he'll have career like Crosby,Lindros and all those other stars hyped at young age.

You're preaching to the choir.

The last time the league tried to promote the crap out of a player was Crosby. Then he was concussed from a very shady late hit and was out for 18 months.
The league no longer had their poster child, so they started promoting teams instead, knowing they wouldn't do a friggin thing to make sure the best players could shine on a nightly basis.

If the NBA were run like the NHL, Steph Curry would score 12 points a game because they'd allow defenders to hack his arms, pull his hair and wrestle him to the ground.
He'd average 6ppg in the playoffs BTW and the league would promote "intensity" and "heart" instead of allowing a player of his skill to hit 15 triples and score 40+ points.
Because who wants that. /sarcasm

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

You're preaching to the choir. The last time the league tried to promote the crap out of a player was Crosby. Then he was concussed from a very shady late hit and was out for 18 months. The league no longer had their poster child, so they started promoting teams instead, knowing they wouldn't do a friggin thing to make sure the best players could shine on a nightly basis. If the NBA were run like the NHL, Steph Curry would score 12 points a game because they'd allow defenders to hack his arms, pull his hair and wrestle him to the ground. He'd average 6ppg in the playoffs BTW and the league would promote "intensity" and "heart" instead of allowing a player of his skill to hit 15 triples and score 40+ points. Because who wants that. /sarcasm

That's another problem with promoting their stars that NHL sucks at. The game itself doesn't allow for that as often. In NBA, the star player is gonna be on the court for 70% of the game and will be involved in probably 30 or so points in the game, and used in about a quarter of all plays. In NFL, the entire offense runs through the QB.

In NHL...The star players are on the ice for no more than a third of the game, and might average 1 point in a game. All NHL has to do to improve itself is increase scoring and everything else falls in place. Star players hitting over 100 points, ok guys getting around 50 or so, and bad players getting under 20. In the NHL today where top guys on teams might be in the 70s and 2nd line guys are around 40-50 points, there's not much distance between stars and lower guys.