Neowin's NHL Discussion Thread

[CatnipOligarchy]

Roenick was in the right. But yeah one of the financially disabled teams fromt eh south called winnipegs 'vice-mayor' to ask how serious we were about getting the NHL back and i t wasnt the pens. So if god loves us we might get teh jets back. Plus we willhave a new arena by the end of the year!!!

And what the hell is up with atlanta? At least they won last night.

that would be awesome if they got the jets back, i always liked them for some reason. as long as that certain team from the south isnt atlanta. And i dont know wth is up with atlanta right now. We are now 10th in the East and they have been playing like the Thrashers of old. I still think we will make the playoffs though. i would really like to have that 3 seed.

[Ayepecks]

Roenick was right, I agree...

[Ayepecks]

Kariya should become a word made into ******, I hate that guy. It is funny though, the 2 most complete players, in my opinion, come from Europe. Federov and Forseberg, Russia and Sweden. Federov is the man, he makes amazing plays on both sides of the puck. He is a super guy too, I have met him a couple times. My little brother got hit in the head with a puck, the only puck to go in the stands the whole game, and we got compensated with some tickets and stuff. Seems Federov has the same Bday as me and my dad, so I asked the Ducks director of marketing who gave us the tickets to let us meet him. We got to meet him and Ruslan Salei, my fav player, and they joked around with us. Euro players seem to be nicer off the ice though, Salei is from Belarus, part of the former Soviet Union. Just my little behind the scenes deal I had with hockey players, makes me respect the game even more.

Yeah, Fedorov's a nice guy... It's a shame Detroit didn't keep him :(

[Boffa Jones Veteran]

It is speculated that it will either be carolina or the predetors

[CatnipOligarchy]

well now, carolina belongs to hartford. they deserve their team back just as much as winnipeg. nashville is fair game though.

[bayrider]

i really don't think a canadian city can support a franchise be-it Winnipeg or Quebec City. I think it would be great if a northern US state had a team like Vermont, but the population there is spread out so thin over a large area it would be hard to support the team

[axis]

Federov will retire in Anaheim, for people who have never been there or in So Cal for that matter just wouldn't understand. Teemu Selanne still has his house in Anaheim Hills and he hasn't been on the Ducks in almost 5 seasons. So don't be mad if Federov never returns to Detroit, Southern California is a different world, along with our alien people. It is true that Canada has a hard time supporting a franchise, since they have to pay in US dollars, which costs about $1.25 in Canadian money to every American $1.00. The NHL needs to adopt revenue sharing like baseball does and come down hard with the salary cap, athletes make way to much money.

[-Clark-]

i think its time to trade bobby clarke. :woot:

[Boffa Jones Veteran]

Nice, more or less all of the canadian teams are really starting to pick up and win. ottawa and montreal are really showing this with their last tten games both have been kicking ass.

[Ayepecks]

Federov will retire in Anaheim, for people who have never been there or in So Cal for that matter just wouldn't understand. Teemu Selanne still has his house in Anaheim Hills and he hasn't been on the Ducks in almost 5 seasons. So don't be mad if Federov never returns to Detroit, Southern California is a different world, along with our alien people. It is true that Canada has a hard time supporting a franchise, since they have to pay in US dollars, which costs about $1.25 in Canadian money to every American $1.00. The NHL needs to adopt revenue sharing like baseball does and come down hard with the salary cap, athletes make way to much money.

I wouldn't wager money on that. Fedorov wants a good contract... If he keeps performing at the current rate, I doubt Anahiem will offer an extension beyond his current 5 (or was it 4?) year contract.

I highly doubt Fedorov will retire in Anahiem. The main reason he went was a leadership role. Once he's a free agent again, if he sees another leadership role for more money, he'll take it. You're only kidding yourself if you think there's no way he'll retire somewhere besides Anahiem.

[CatnipOligarchy]

atlanta vs. colorado tonight.. 1-0 Thrashers after 1. this would be 3 in a row if atlanta won tonight, and agaisnt one of the best teams in the league

[BroChaos Veteran]

yeah baby, flyers up now. we really need to get back on the right track and finish the season strong.

[Ayepecks]

Finally, Datsyuk gets some credit and is going to the All-Star game!

...WTF is up with the West all-star goalies, though?

[CatnipOligarchy]

atlanta ties colorado 1-1.. good game, atlanta missed some great chances to take the game, but i suppose 1 point will do.

also, Dany Heatley participated in his first full-contact practice today link

[BMac]

Great to hear Heatley's almost ready. Hopefully he'll help Atlanta more than distract them.

[bayrider]

Jagr is a Ranger now... no comments?

whats up with this season? all the top 8 seeds in each division are extremely close in points

[Ayepecks]

Jagr is a Ranger now... no comments?

whats up with this season? all the top 8 seeds in each division are extremely close in points

There was a thread on it already, I believe... at least I replied to one. Think it was here.

There have been a ton of injuries in the leading teams. That and some teams (Dallas) are barely holding on to hope.

[CatnipOligarchy]

Jagr is a Ranger now... no comments?

whats up with this season? all the top 8 seeds in each division are extremely close in points

not gonna make a difference for the rangers, i'd much rather have Carter.

and yeah, the race is really tight right now. it will spread out a little bit, but i hope it stays a 10-11 team race all the way through. that makes for a lot of excitement and attention, attention the NHL really really needs right now. But all that wouldnt matter if theres a lockout. The NHL really isnt a league in any kind of economic shape to have a lockout.

[Steven]

Isles vs. Atlanta Tonight! :D

/me looks at 8th place standings.... this is a big game for either team!

GO ISLES! :D

[BMac]

The Isles will be fine so long as they bank on Dipiertro. He's the goalie that will take them to the promise land. I like the Isles even more now that Yashin is out. :D :p

[applelover]

Chiming in.

First, a few ideas to improve the game:

1. Get rid of the instigator penalty. This is the main reason that there is so much stick usage and why the skilled players are constantly abused. This is one of the worst ideas that has been introduced; the players used to police themselves.

2. Make the ice surface larger. Everything in the NHL has gotten bigger except the playing surface.

3. Enforce the rules. The on-ice officials need to call all the clutching, holding, grabbing that occurs, so that the skilled players can do what they do best.

Now onto the current news:

Jagr to the Rangers. Big deal. The Rangers needed defensive help and they still won't make the playoffs.

Scott Stevens out. This is a major blow to the Devils. This was the team to beat in the East, but if Stevens doesn't return, they may have trouble moving on in the playoffs.

Someone in this thread mentioned revenue sharing. Well, here's the problem. Hockey doesn't have the big TV contracts like the NFL does; so, revenue sharing isn't really a feasible idea. What it really needs is to get much better ratings. After all, when a re-run of some lame reality show gets a larger audience, no network is going to pay big money to showcase the NHL. Also, the impending strike/lockout may spell doom for our beloved sport. Remember the '94-95 shortened season, this one could be worse and not every team will recover from a prolonged absense.

[Steven]

:woot: ISLES WIN 3-0 Over the Thrashers! DiPietro With the Shutout!! :woot:

:laugh: :rofl: RANGERS LOSE 9-1 to the SENATORS :rofl: :laugh:

[Ayepecks]

I happen to like the instigator penalty. If any rule really needs to be removed, it's the offsides rule. It confuses those new to the game and really slows down the game at times. I do agree that the ice surface should be larger, though. About the rules: every league is like that. They try to get it all, but it's better if they let some things slide.

[Coolme]

Jagr's first Rangers game - get this 1-9 loss against ottawa!!!

[axis]

You need offsides, it keeps players from cherry-picking. Nothing is wrong with the ice surface, do not change it at all. You have to actually play the game, and the defensive position, to understand why you need offsides. Like I said, call some kind of illegal defense when teams run left wing locks or traps. A two minute penalty will really **** off a coach and end it instantly. I will also help with the ratings...

1. Don't take fighting out, new fans come to see that stuff first.

2. Get out there. On 01-26, the Ducks had an off night, so they did something great. Schools from all around So Cal took a field trip to the Pond, the players were doing simple drills and other things to keep the kids occupied. They each got a booklet, with bios for players, stuff about hockey and the equipment, math related to hockey and other subjects. The kids learned about geography from the players home town, and the other subjects vicariously through hockey.

3. Advertise it as the sport it is. The fastest, toughest and hardest sport to play.

4. Make your star players visible, the league needs to get its best players everywhere.

I do not see how it decreases in popularity. Everyone who goes to a live game will admit it is the best sport to see. Roller hockey is the fastest growing sport in the world and is almost surpassing ice in popularity. I just think we are in a generation slump. A few more years all these kids will be older and hopefully the ratings go up. Lets hope there is a league in a few more years though.