Author Topic: NHL 2008 - 2009  (Read 33970 times)

Offline Morgbug

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #105 on: May 28, 2009, 06:20 PM »
Jeff, I don't know where I heard that stat or what it includes (beer leagues?) so it could well be wrong.  Still, the notion of 10-12 teams in Texas is kinda interesting considering the climate.  I gotta think you don't have no kiddies running about in the streets with hockey gear, at least not commonly so. 

Canada would definitely exceed that number between NHL/AHL/CHL/WHL etc. leagues.  Geez, I couldn't come close to naming all the teams in Canada, let alone leagues. 
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #106 on: May 28, 2009, 06:23 PM »
I've heard that as a theory, but I find it hard to believe that they can't sell it out...  It's the friggin' finals!  Even in the dark times around here, the arena offered seats inexpensively for the college crowd which ultimately turned around to be the most rabid fans...  I don't know if the Wings are doing anything remotely similar but I think if it's an economic issue they could rectify it by lowering prices to fill seats with their own fans at least.

It's rough all over too though...  I just figured "hockey town" would somehow sell out their own arena considering what they've accomplished last year and this year.  For the organization that has to be a HUGE disappointment.

If Detroit is anything like Pittsburgh now though, tickets are expensive and prohibitive to many fans...  Still, I'd think selling anything remaining open at a steep discount an hour or two before game time would be a good idea just to fill things out.
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Offline CorranHorn

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #107 on: May 28, 2009, 07:39 PM »

I find it funny Detroit can't sell out their own arena considering their success.

IMaybe we can blame that on the economy too... in case you haven't heard, things aren't going so well in Detroit.  :-X


I've heard it said for some teams, including the Wings over the years, that fans expect so much out of a team come playoff time that they only go to the Finals - sort of a high expectation / self-entitlement thing I guess. I was in Detroit 2 weekends ago, just before Game 1 of the Hawks/Wings series, and the only tickets available were the high-end seats near the boards, way out of my price range. My guess would be that many of the "cheaper" seats are sold, but the pricier ones can still be had.

The thing about Versus not showing the handshakes pissed me off too, I like seeing that interaction after the game especially when there is someone like Kronwall who's number is going to be marked by the Hawks for a long time to come.

Some fans in Chicago are majorly disappointed about the end of the Hawks season, however I'm 100% satisfied with the way things turned out. They more than met expectations and this is the most successful year they've had in over a decade with nothing but bright futures ahead.

The Hawks motto this year was ONE GOAL - used to describe where as a team they wanted to be. First it was a winning record, then 100+ points, making the playoffs, then winning a playoff series. They not only did all of that, but got all the way to the Conference finals for the first time in 14 years. A great season to me and I can't wait for October.

And as a Blackhawks fan, my goal for the rest of the playoffs is to hope beyond hope that the Pens sweep the Wings in 4.  ;D
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #108 on: May 28, 2009, 08:04 PM »
They're reporting here a LOT of seats are available...  There's an active move to get people up there, haha.  We used to do this to Washington, but Washington was advising their people not to sell extra tickets to Pens fans I guess...  It's nuts this time of year. :)
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Offline Paul

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #109 on: May 30, 2009, 11:56 AM »
I would say there are probably 10-12 pay for play Hockey Teams here in the state.

And no there is NEVER a chance to see kids outside on a frozen pond skating.  But within 5 minutes from my house alone there are 5 rinks for rec-league hockey..as compared to when I was younger and we had someone transfer here from Minnesota and he played on a a Junior League Team that it took the entire North Texas area to fill.  Now my old High School has a team.   

I'm sure I've already shared this, but my first "pro" event I went to was the Fort Worth Red Wings Hockey games back in the 70's.  To this day my mom is a Red Wings fan (unless they play the Stars).

I am stoked about the Finals Starting tonight.  Gonna get some good Take-Out from a small Italian Place (Calzones are Game 1 food in our house).


Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #110 on: June 1, 2009, 08:07 AM »
Wings 2 - Crosby, I mean Pens 0. Yeah!!!!

It's too bad the "almost goal" part of the scoreboard for Pitt wasn't working and the "lucky goal" part wasn't working for Detroit otherwise the series might be opposite. (some of you may get that)  ;)
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #111 on: June 1, 2009, 06:49 PM »
I'm actually glad on the NHL's decision because I want the finals to be as full strength as possible, but how lucky are the Pens that the NHL office decided not to give Malkin an instigator penalty at the end of the game yesterday. A fighting instigator in the final five minutes comes with an automatic one game suspension.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #112 on: June 1, 2009, 07:22 PM »
I don't consider it luck personally.  I think they did it because of the circumstances that led to the fight, namely the late hits/scrum...  It wasn't like Malkin was a goon sent on the ice to pick the fight specifically, which is that rule's intent ultimately.  It all occurred amidst a large scrum/fight amongst all the players, and that's just hockey fighting to me.  I think the refs didn't look at it that way at the time, and the NHL did ultimately.

Obviously I'm disappointed in the series, but I think a lot of the games have been close enough for hope for the series, and they've been entertaining to watch regardless...  It's a huge task to play such a defensively deep team though, and Detroit is amazing with that part of the game.  I think that's their best aspect personally.  Offensively they're deep and very good, but I think the Pens are superior...  their defensive game is just amazing though and they generate from that and make generating your own offense an almost impossible task at times.  It's really something to watch, honestly.  I think right now Fleury and Osgood are fairly evenly matched, but Osgood's making saves when he has to and Fleury let in a weak assed one last night when it really mattered a lot.  Disappointing all around.  Our defense isn't near as deep though, and that is showing...  Plus Gonchar is still hurt pretty bad according to rumors in Pittsburgh, which certainly isn't helping.  Definitely disappointing for a Pittsburgh fan right now though.  I'll keep my beard going though and hope for the best for the Penguins. :)
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Offline Jeff

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #113 on: June 4, 2009, 02:35 PM »
So, with Granato finally getting the ax this week (awfully late for that, don't you think?), that makes 4 of the 5 Northwestern teams that have hit the "reboot" button for head coaches:

EDM - fired MacTavish, hired Pat Quinn
MIN - Lemaire quit, hired ?
CAL - fired Keenan, hired ?
COL - fired Granato, hired ?

They all seems to be looking at the same guys too.  I know the Wild looked at Pat Quinn, sounds like Calgary interviewed him too before he landed in Edmonton.  Also sounds like more than a few of the teams are interested in former Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette.  I wonder which one will land him.


OK, sorry for the distraction - back to your regularly scheduled Stanley Cup talk... Go Red Wings!
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Offline Jeff

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #114 on: June 4, 2009, 02:49 PM »
I lied, I'm back again with more non-Cup realted things - this one is for Brent:



08/09 Average announced attendance:  14,866
08/09 Total PAID Tickets: 13,075
08/09 Actual announced attendance:  10,943

Average ACTUAL attendance since '96/97 = 12,068

It sort of makes you wish every team was in bankruptcy so we could see these kinds of numbers for plenty of other teams - I can't imagine Phoenix is the only place where actual attendance is 4k lower than what the team announces.   :P
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Offline CorranHorn

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #115 on: June 4, 2009, 05:08 PM »
Those are some interesting numbers there Jeff, add in the 30 yr lease with the arena it's no wonder the Coyotes are in the position they are in.

Until the last 1+ seasons, the Blackhawks were consistently announcing crowds of 10-15k, when in fact they may have had 5k in attendance. There was a stretch of 2-3 years where the AHL's Wolves, our minor league team in a town called Rosemont not too far from O'Hare Airport, had consistently larger actual attendance numbers than the NHL's Blackhawks.

I don't have the stats to prove that since that kind of information is hush hush, but you could easily tell the stark difference in actual butts in the seats from watching the Wolves on TV and seeing highlights on the news for the Hawks (this is before home games were televised). So I wouldn't be surprised if other teams (not just in the NHL) are playing with the books when it comes to announcing attendance as it usually matters only how many tickets were sold to the teams.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #116 on: June 4, 2009, 05:39 PM »
In the down times, the Pens would sell out, but it took financial finegaling to get it done usually because they'd have the student rush program and whatnot.  The SR program had any available seat, no matter where it was (except box seats) for $20 a head, so long as you flashed a valid student id.  The theory being that Oakland's right up 5th Avenue, and that's where CMU, Pitt, Carlow, etc. are all at, and the Southside right across the river has lots of college kids living there too, so they'd come sell out the games.  While you'd see the attendance #'s in butts in the seats on TV, the financial reality of those sell-outs was much different.

That said, the college kids were the hardest of hardcore fanbase since they'd sit out in the rain, snow, and anything else waiting for the hour before gametime to see if they could get tickets, and usually at least 50% or more needed turned away I think.  It got so bad (the weather) at times that the Penguin players were actually buying pizza and taking it out to the crowd for doing that.

It's definitely its own way of fudging the books though, from a certain point of view.
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Offline Ryan

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #117 on: June 12, 2009, 11:43 PM »
Congrats to the Pens. That was a very exciting finish tonight. Jesse must need some new pants. Then Pens and the Steelers win it in one year? Wow. Maybe the Pirates can pull it off too? Oh wait... :P
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Offline Paul

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #118 on: June 12, 2009, 11:44 PM »
Congrats JJ.

I just got home, so I missed the game.  Are they boo-ing Bettman? or something else?

Offline Rob

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Re: NHL 2008 - 2009
« Reply #119 on: June 12, 2009, 11:45 PM »
That was excellent.  When that puck went off the crossbar with a few minutes left I nearly pooped myself.