DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum NHL... Fire Bettman, Please!

Should have gotten rid of him several years ago. Attendance is down, ratings suck, OLN, etc.

sportsbusinessnews.com

The time has arrived, the time is now, there is nothing more important to the future of the National Hockey League – it’s time the Lords of the Rink fire Gary Bettman before Bettman destroys the NHL. His time has long past, his inability to lead the NHL into what might be a bright future, is impossible given that Bettman and his ‘crew’ clearly have no understanding, no concept of where the sports industry is, where the NHL stands and how to move the NHL forward. If Gary Bettman is allowed to continue as NHL commissioner undoubtedly the NHL is headed to a dark deep place, a journey that will see the NHL as we know it implode with the NHL certain to lose at least six franchises in the next decade.

Bettman offered his “State of the League Address” Tuesday from the league’s All-Star festivities in Dallas. As is always the case with Bettman, he refuses to acknowledge there are any real challenges facing the NHL. There’s nothing wrong with any leader being optimistic, there is everything wrong with the person in charge of a sports league not showing a clear and concise understanding of his/her league.

The NHL Board of Governors meeting earlier in the day before Bettman spoke to the media decided not to change the NHL’s schedule format. As a result, the NHL has lost an opportunity. Under the current NHL schedule formula, NHL teams do not play each other every year. While that may seem like a non issue for those who follow the National Football League or Major League Baseball where teams do not play each other every year, one of the few great NHL opportunities went up in smoke Tuesday morning, Hockey Day in Canada. Canada is Hockey and Hockey is Canada. The last seven NHL seasons have featured a Hockey Day in Canada where the six Canadian NHL franchises played each other. Canada’s Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) made it a national day celebrating hockey in the only country in the world where hockey is a part of the fabric of society.

There will be no Hockey Day in Canada as part of the 2007-08 schedule. The teams in the NHL’s Pacific Division will not be playing the teams in the NHL’s Northeast Division. The Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames are all in the Pacific division, with the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs all members of the Northeast Division. In an example of failed leadership, Gary Bettman should have made it clear to the members of the NHL Board of Governors there must be a Hockey Day in Canada, and if it meant changing the NHL’s schedule back to what it was before the NHL’s lockout than so be it, but Bettman had to rise to the occasion and make it happen.

The President of the Edmonton Oilers Cal Nichols left the NHL’s Board of Governors meeting upset that Bettman hadn’t ‘stepped up to the plate’ and ensure the NHL went back to the schedule format the league followed before the league’s season long lockout.

What Nichols offered the media following the Board of Governors meeting was a total commdenation of Gary Bettman’s leadership. Given that Nichols is the longtime member of the NHL’s Board of Governors the tough talking Nichols remarks clearly indicate one of the more influential Lords of the Rink is losing confidence in Bettman’s ability to lead the National Hockey League.

"Encouraging those to do the right thing for the game," said Nichols. "I don't know about individual conversations with others, but obviously they occur and I guess (Bettman's) decision to just sort of allow it to happen amongst ourselves is another frustrating thing. We voted for change and then we got into all these (different options). That shouldn't matter. We already said we wanted change. We should just pick the best one and go ahead. If there's disagreement, you've got to talk to people and convince them. It doesn't always work, but most of the time it does."

Bettman for his part did what Bettman does best, he sidestepped the issue.

“He didn't share that view with me. The fact is there wasn't enough support from the clubs to make a change, which leads me to conclude, because we're in the middle of a three-year rotation, a number of clubs only thought it fair to conclude it. And sometimes people lose sight of the fact that while some of you think I throw lightning bolts, the fact is I do report to a Board.

“And the Board on certain things has the final say. Actually, ultimately, the Board on anything it wants can have final say. But I'm comfortable that finishing the three-year rotation is the right thing to do.

“And whether or not we need to change after that, we have ample time to consider. What's interesting about the schedule, unlike lots of things that we've done as a League, where everybody can focus and do it on a League-wide basis, the schedule is kind of personal. Market-specific. Rivalry-specific. It gets emotional. And in the absence of what I call a catalyzing event, or a reason to have to do it, it's more difficult.

“So, for example, if Pittsburgh has to move, I guarantee you this issue will get resolved. If they don't have to move, you know, then maybe we'll just sit tight and see.

“So I think that the prudent, safe course was to continue what the Board voted a year and a half ago, and that had a three-year life to it in terms of how it played out.

“That's not an irrational, irresponsible or necessarily unwise decision. And the research we do with our fans is more fans than not like what we have.” Bettman told the media after the BOG meeting.

And when asked if changing the schedule back to a format where every team played each other at least once was something he personally wanted, his true lack of understanding became obvious.

“I think to the extent that there were some concerns by some quarters that they prefer to see every team at least once -- although I think that's being made into perhaps a larger deal, because it affects five teams in any given year -- that's really the difference in this. But I think since everybody went into this with the expectation that we would rotate through the three years, I'm comfortable with seeing that through.” Bettman commented.

Here’s the issue coming to a head. Many Canadians believe Gary Bettman has never appreciated how important hockey is to Canadians and how important Canada is to the NHL. That isn’t true. It was Gary Bettman who managed to save the Ottawa Senators and keep that team in Canada’s capital, but his belief that the current schedule “affects five teams in any given year -- that's really the difference in this”, doesn’t wash if you consider Tuesday’s BOG decision effectively killed one of the few successful NHL promotions. In a league filled with many more dark than light days, Hockey Day in Canada is a success story.

Two weeks ago Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold made it clear to the Nashville media he was concerned with the teams attendance. Leipold has an out-clause in his contract with the city of Nashville that permits him to move the Predators if their paid attendance does not reach at least 13,200 by the end of the current NHL season. The Predators paid attendance isn’t near that figure right now. Two weeks ago when the Predators (then with the second best record in the NHL) met the Anaheim Ducks (the team with the best record in the NHL), the Predators paid attendance that night was less than 12,000. The two best teams meeting each other and less than 12,000 paying their way into the building – Gary smell the roses something is clearly amiss in Nashville.

“The attendance is up compared to last year, which is a good thing. I'd like to see attendance stronger in Nashville. I know Craig Leipold would like to see attendance stronger.

“I know that's one of the reasons he's made it known that he would like some local ownership to assist him, because I think we've got great fans.

“And interestingly enough, I think as a percentage basis, there were more individual season ticket holders in Nashville than most other clubs.

“I think it's really the corporate community that hasn't stepped up. And I'm hoping that, over time, that changes.” Bettman told the media Tuesday.

Telling it like it is is how and what Bettman should have done. He needed to send a strong, clear and concise message to Nashville’s business community, you had better step up and start buying tickets, and it better be now. He had a tremendous opportunity at the NHL’s All-Star media presser to deliver that message. Instead trying to be the nice guy, Bettman stepped around the issue instead of dealing with the problem.

One issue Bettman wasn’t questioned about during his media gathering Tuesday, but was dealt with in an interview Gary Bettman have to The Dallas Morning News before the NHL’s All-Star festivities this week, was how Gary felt about the NHL’s non-existent American television ratings.

“The answer is we're working very hard with our partners. Both of our partners tell us not to be concerned, that these things take time. We're committed to doing the right things over the long haul and we're confident over time our ratings will grow.

“I think that our fans are well served by all of our television relationships, both locally and nationally. Obviously, the broader the exposure you get over time, the more awareness people have of your broadcasts, the more likely you are to attract casual sports viewers. I also think high definition television will continue to enhance the broadcast quality of our game, which will make it even more attractive on television.” Bettman told the Dallas Morning News

Of all the mistakes, error in judgments Gary Bettman has made during his tenure as NHL commissioner none come close to his misguided belief that Versus is the right American cable TV partner for the NHL.

“They have honored and exceeded their commitments to focus on hockey. If you think back to last year's playoffs, every night there were doubleheaders, hockey-related programming, hockey features, hockey updates during the intermissions and between games, postgame shows instead of going to a sports summary show of all sports. They gave us more of the touch and feel of the game. They have been absolutely terrific in covering and promoting hockey. And we knew that they would. And we gave up some distribution in the short term in order to get this better treatment. And they've grown by more than 7 million homes in the year that we've been on them. And they anticipate continuing to grow.” Bettman made his belief in Versus clear to The Dallas Morning News.

It has been said before in the pages of Sports Business News and it will be said again, if you’re not on ESPN, you’re not a sport in the United States. It doesn’t matter if Versus has done more or less than what was expected of them. What is important is ESPN in the last year has become the machine that is consuming the sports industry. The only decision the NHL needs to make regarding Versus is how to head back to ESPN. And let’s remember this, it was Gary Bettman who set the “pay as you go” rights fee (or lack thereof) for the NHL. The NHL’s agreement with NBC doesn’t guarantee the NHL a dime, all it ensures is the NHL has an over-the-air national carrier in the United States. Its time Gary Bettman was held responsible for leading the NHL’s BOG’s into their terrible Versus cable agreement.

And just how bad are the NHL’s national TV ratings on NBC? They’ve fallen by 20 percent through the first three weekends of coverage. Just how can anyone judge what 20 percent of nothing is a bigger issue than it was last year, but the ultimate believer that little if anything is wrong with the NHL made it clear to The Dallas Morning News that as bad as the ratings are it’s much to do about nothing.

“No, when you look around at the sports ratings landscape, most sports, all sports are in decline, and that's a function of fragmentation, both with respect to other programming and the new technology. So, I think you have to look at it in context. But other than the NFL, I'm not sure anybody has a great ratings story to tell.” Bettman answered when asked if the NHL’s 1 percent national TV ratings was a problem.

"It's a bit like pulling teeth during the season," Calgary defenceman Andrew Ference, one of half-a-dozen player business representatives who are in Dallas to kick around some marketing ideas told globesports.com’s Brian Milner. "We have to convince guys that it's worth doing."

"It's a work in progress," Ference said of efforts to improve NHL marketing. "It's not going to be perfected in one year or two years."

Which brings the biggest issue, the schedule back to the forefront. The NHL’s current schedule as it is currently formatted ensures the NHL’s two biggest and most marketable players, the Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby and the Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin, won’t be playing in many NHL arenas every year. For the NHL that remains a major problem given that Crosby and Ovechkin have the potential to do what Larry Bird and Magic Johnson did for the NBA – save a sports league.

"You're hard-pressed in some markets to have a chance to see any of the new stars," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center and a die-hard Vancouver Canucks fan since childhood.

Swangard made it clear to the globesports.com’s Brian Milner. "If I have empty seats and I know there are some players who could potentially put butts in seats, I should think like a circus and take my stars on the road."

And a report in Canada’s National Post painted an even scarier picture of what the reality is in some key NHL markets as the league stumbles forward.

"I was in Chicago last Sunday and Tuesday," a scout said over the weekend told The National Post. "There weren't 6,000 people there either night. And I'm seeing a lot of that in the U.S. Los Angeles? For the most part, you won't see 10,000 people there.

"In Philly, they're really, really worried about next year, from a business perspective. They've got plenty of season tickets sold -- this year. But look at the stands. No one is using their tickets. What happens after you paid for season tickets but never used them? You don't renew."

"Detroit? A lot of empty seats there. The tickets are sold, but they're not coming," another scout reported. "I've never, ever seen empty seats in Detroit. I was there for a Dallas game -- empty seats. A Nashville game -- empty seats. Montreal? Empty seats."

The bottom line – Gary Bettman has had his share of success stories as NHL commissioner (notably the current NHL collective bargaining agreement) but if anyone were to objectively access Gary Bettman’s 14 years as commissioner he has failed. Under the direction of Gary Bettman the NHL expanded from 24 to 30 teams but common sense paints a picture of bad decisions.

It was February, 1993, and expansion teams in Anaheim and Florida would begin play next season. Within a few years, Winnipeg and Quebec City had left for Phoenix and Colorado, Atlanta and Nashville were awarded franchises, and expansion to Minnesota and Columbus rounded out the league at an even 30 clubs. Hockey teams moved from traditional (Quebec and Winnipeg) to non traditional markets (Denver and Phoenix). Denver has been a tremendous success story for the NHL (and Bettman) but Phoenix has been a disaster. The NHL’s return to Minneapolis another success, but expansion to Atlanta and Nashville are destined to be failures, and when was the last time the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes was a major league sports city? Columbus is and will always be a college town. Two franchises in Southern California is one franchise too many and in Miami they can’t giveaway Florida Panthers tickets. Eight franchises and two success stories, that’s a 25 percent success and that by any definition is a failure. Its time the National Hockey League Board of Governors showed they really care about their game, show they really care about the future of the NHL and hold Gary Bettman accountable for how his lack of leadership in managing the NHL.

Ohh God, another load of crap. Last time I was in Canada I remember Hockey Night in Canada. Yeah this guy needs to go. Hockey has suffered and enough is enough.

That was an outstanding read. Bettman, whom I have never liked, has failed in trying to turn the NHL into the new NBA as far as the U.S. is concerned. Football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, golf... all more popular than hockey (and that doesn't even take college sports into consideration). Some parts of the U.S. have been exposed to hockey, and they don't care about it.

Chicago fans (great fans who are being screwed, great hockey town) are tired of Wirtz, he's cheap and they've been losers for years. I can't remember the last time they made the playoffs. That's a sin, for an original Six team.

Detroit... I don't know what's going on there...

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Two franchises in Southern California is one franchise too many and in Miami they can’t giveaway Florida Panthers tickets. Eight franchises and two success stories, that’s a 25 percent success and that by any definition is a failure.

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You can not force hockey down people's throats. Putting a team in Nashville was [censored] stupid. People onl'y cared about hockey in L.A. when Gretzky played there, he was a star, a guy Los Angeles sports fans recognized for his star power.

Taking a team out of Winnipeg and utting it in Phoenix made sense at the time because of the Canada-U.S. dollar discrepancy. It was't because of lack of fan support in Winnipeg, believe me. With revenue sharing, if the city of Winnipeg can get the corporate support (dubious) it would make sense for the NHL to move a franchise to Winnipeg - their fans are rabid and Phoenix doesn't have any fans to speak of.
Of course, the greedy NHL owners might not want to help prop up a Winnipeg franchise, although they don't mind propping up these other losers.
Not letting Crosby & Ovechkin into every NHL rink is sheer stupidity. These guys are the future of the NHL.
It's been said for years the NHL is the most poorly-run major professional sports league.

Here is a excellent article on the Preds and their status in Nashville. The credits are at the bottom of the article.....




Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Yet another NHL franchise facing an uncertain future


Lost in the avalanche of sports business news Thursday and Friday relating to the Los Angeles Galaxy’s signing of David Beckham several reports from Nashville on the future of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The Predators having a good season on the ice are not having as much fun off the ice. The franchise reportedly is facing serious challenges both in selling tickets and more importantly in reaching Nashville’s corporate base. One of the NHL’s franchises located in the American southeast appears to have an uncertain future in their current home.

When the National Hockey League awarded the City of Nashville a franchise, the Predators ownership group received a very lucrative deal. The city of Nashville paid 31.25% of the $80-million fee to join the league. The city also absorbs operating losses from the arena, despite the fact that the [censored] Entertainment Center is operated by a subsidiary of the team.

And the City of Nashville is the gift that keeps on giving to the Predators. In the last six months taxpayers agreed to $8 million in renovations to the [censored] Entertainment Center which included a new state-of-the art taxpayer paid scoreboard. The breakdown according to taxpayer records – a $3.6 million scoreboard, a $2.4 million digital control room and $1.85 million in other facility improvements. The current lease (the one the team may try to break) guarantees that any loses the arena accrues as a direct result of the arena operations are covered by taxpayers. The teams’ lease also allows the Predators to keep a significant portion of the revenue generated by the arena.

"It's a very positive deal for them because they're not placed at any risk associated with the operation of the facility itself," Metro Finance Director David Manning told The Tennessean.

On the surface the Predators are filling more than 80 percent of the [censored] Entertainment Center the teams’ home. However when the franchise averages over the last four plus seasons (the previous four complete NHL seasons and the 21 home games the Predators have played this year) stands barely above 14,000 fans per game, the challenges the Predators are facing begin to surface.

Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold announced he believed for the franchise to remain economically viable, he had to sell 40 percent of the franchise for as much as $50 million. Given that the City of Nashville paid more than $25 million of the Predators $80 million franchise fee, in essence if Leipold managed to sell 40 percent of the team for $50 million he would own 60 percent of the team for pennies on the dollar.

Last Tuesday, the Predators first in the NHL Central Division and second in the NHL’s Western Conference met the Anaheim Ducks (the team with the best record in the NHL). Two of the NHL’s best teams and less than 12,000 in attendance caught Leipold’s attention.

"Attendance has been an issue for six or seven years," Leipold told The Tennessean.

"I think our players were very disappointed in the attendance when the No. 1 team is playing the No. 2 team in the league."

According to The Tennessean the Predators have an opt-out clause in their 30-year lease with the City of Nashville (the owners of the teams’ arena) if the team isn’t happy with their attendance. If the Predators exercise their out-clause they would be free to move to another city at the end of the 2008-09 season

The Predators out-clause, according to the Tennessean is directly linked towards total ticket sales, not number of tickets sold based on building capacity. The club's lease works like this:

• If attendance slips below 14,000 a game this season, the Predators can signal an interest in exercising their [censored] Entertainment Center escape clause two months after this hockey season ends.

• Average attendance would have to fall below 14,000 a game again in the 2007-08 season for the team to actually leave by October 2008.

And here’s the kicker – the clause is based on paid attendance and according to what Leipold told The Tennessean, the Predators actual paid attendance is actually just over 13,000 per game (the team gives away 1,500 tickets per game).

Leipold told The Tennessean he believes one or more local owners with influence in the community could "open doors to get businesses involved. We don't have that. We need some local owners."

"Who it is will make a lot of difference. ... A country star, someone along those lines, would get attention, and that would work for at least the short term," said Jim Grinstead, publisher of Revenues From Sports Venues (a Nashville based industry trade magazine). "But it depends on how much they are at the games and how involved they are with the team.

"If you bring in the right folks with the right company, those folks will buy a block of tickets, and that company will set an example for others."

One interesting name that hasn’t been offered, but remains a hockey fan is ‘retired’ country superstar Garth Brooks. Brooks has worked with NHL chantries on several initiatives and would be the perfect music icon that could help build the franchises base.

"Local ownership typically makes a difference, particularly if they've got a relationship with the corporate community and with the civic community that they're able to tap into," Marc Ganis president of Chicago based Sportscorp told The Tennessean.

Mark Bloom, a minority owner of the Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League (who also call the [censored] Entertainment Center home) believes securing local minority ownership for the Predators will be easier said than done.

"I've lived here for 25 years now and one thing I've noticed is that the most prominent families here are not necessarily too interested in sports ownership," Bloom said. "There are a lot of wealthy families here, but traditionally it seems like they've been more involved in philanthropic things. We've never really had a big sports family."

The NHL’s revenue sharing plan (part of the current CBA) dictates that for the 2007-08 season, the Predators must average 13,200 in paid attendance (almost where the team currently stands in the number of paid admissions) or they will miss out on 25 percent of the total money available to them from the league's revenue-sharing plan.

And in 2008-09, the Predators must average 14,000 in paid attendance or they will miss out on 50 percent of the money available to them from the NHL’s revenue sharing plan. The Predators received more than $10 million in revenue sharing from the NHL at the end of the 2005-06 season, invaluable capital to a team unable to sell more than 13,000 tickets in a gate driven sports league.

A breakdown of the Predators ticket base painted a picture as to what the challenge is. On average most NHL teams believe 60 percent of their ticket base is corporate (businesses) with the remaining 40 percent individuals (fans). The Predators ticket base is 70 percent individuals (fans) and 30 percent corporate (businesses).

“That’s why you see the upper bowl filled and the lower bowl sometimes half empty,” Steve Violetta, executive vice president of business affairs for the Predators told The Nashville City Paper “It is exactly the opposite of other NHL cities.”

“I’ve had conversations with people in Nashville, but no one was really interested in being part of an ownership group,” Leipold said. “Nashville is a market with significant wealth. It is probably one of the wealthiest cities in America. There are a lot of very wealthy individuals and companies with high net worth’s. We would like to share this with four or five people who each come in for five or 10 percent.”

“It is not the local ownership that is the problem,” Leipold told the Nashville City Paper. “We need local owners to help us get into the doors of the corporate business community. We have talked on numerous occasions about having local ownership to help with this.”

Violetta is one of the best in the industry. His background includes working with Roy Malkar to build the Ottawa Senators into one of the strongest NHL business operations and most recently Violetta worked with the San Diego Padres in helping launch Petco Park. In the not too distant future expect Steve Violetta to become president of a major sports franchise.

One of the ideas Violetta tried when he moved from the Padres to the Predators was a sales plan that targeted 250 Nashville based businesses. Of that number, the Predators were able to actually make a 30-minute sales pitch to about 70 of the companies. He said that 10 companies actually bought ticket packages.

“We sent them a pretty nice direct mail piece,” Violetta said. “We sent them each a DVD player with a portable DVD already loaded. Each one had batteries in it. They were all charged up. All they had to do was press play.”

When one of the industries best and certainly a marquee NHL executive like Steve Violetta managed to only connect with less than 5 percent of a highly targeted market in a well organized campaign its easy to understand the concerns Leipold has about the Predators future in Nashville.

"We were not disappointed in how many we got in to see, but we really weren't happy with the number of people we were able to close," Violetta told The Tennessean Monday.

Violetta and his sales staff followed up their initial campaign by producing 10,000 additional DVD’s (this time without the DVD players included). The 10,000 DVD’s was a case of throwing more good money after a failed idea.

“Part of the challenge of this market is that the Predators have only been around nine years and the Titans have only been around eight years,” Violetta said in The Nashville City Paper. “So there is not a huge history here about how to use pro sports team tickets to drive your business. When you compound the short life span of the franchise with the fact that hockey is not native to the area it makes it very difficult to get the interest of businesses.”

While the teams overall attendance is around the targeted figure, Violetta is like a salmon swimming upstream. The Predators had 4,000 corporate accounts when the team arrived nine years ago; the number has shrunk to 1,800. Its going backwards not forwards, a dangerous trend for any sports franchise. During the teams first season the teams’ corporate season ticket base accounted for 70 percent of the teams total season ticket base (8,500), today it stands at 2,600 among the lowest corporate ticket bases among NHL franchises. When Nashville was awarded an expansion franchise a condition was the selling of 12,000 season tickets. How little that seems to matter nine years later when the franchise in the not too distant future could be fighting a battle to save its existence. The key isn’t selling the 12,000 tickets in year one, but selling the tickets in year nine.

One of the keys to how the Predators sold the needed 12,000 season tickets nine years ago how proactive the business community was. A task force was organized that helped arrange one-on-one meetings between Predators sales personal and Nashville based businesses.

"It was a very well-organized campaign," said John Stein, Tennessee president of Bank of America.

But season ticket sales according to published reports began to slide as soon as the Predators took the ice. By the 2000-2001 season, the team's third, season-ticket sales fell just below 10,000. In 2003-2004, the team sold 6,532 season tickets.

"Hockey is not a native sport here," Stein said. "I think because of the cultural element of their geography, it's going to be a challenge in many seasons."

The NHL for its part keeps on insisting the NHL can work in the American southeast. One of the shining examples Gary Bettman and company like to use is the Carolina Hurricanes. How convenient an example to make – the team that won last year’s Stanley Cup. However upon closer inspection attendance figures aren’t what they appear to be in Raleigh.

"The boost that we've seen in our attendance … is more due to individual families and fans," said Jason Karmanos, the Hurricanes vice president and assistant general manager. "The corporate support, quite frankly, is lagging."

Assume for argument sake the Predators legitimately challenge for the Stanley Cup. In the best of scenarios the Predators follow the path the Tampa Bay Lightening and the Carolina Hurricanes managed to accomplish – warm weather NHL franchises winning the Stanley Cup. A Stanley Cup would push Predators season ticket sales past 12,000 but unless there is a dramatic change in the attitude towards the Nashville Predators from Nashville’s business community in the not too distant future the National Hockey League will be forced to look at another franchise searching for warmer hockey weather – one where tickets can be sold.

For Sports Business News this is Howard Bloom. Sources cited and used in this Insider Report: The Tennessean and The Nashville City Paper
Labels: Gary Bettman, Howard Bloom, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, Sports Business News, ticket prices, tickets

posted by sportsdoc at

It ain't working in Nashville, it ain't gonna work.
Putting NHL teams in Florida and Raleigh made some sense because of the large number of Canadians (and northeastern U.S. residents who happen to like hockey) that flock south every winter, plus Canadians who live in those areas full-time.

I don't know of one Canadian who winters in Nashville, unless they wanna go to the Ryman Auditorium to hear Barbara Mandrell every day, and who'd want that?.

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That was an outstanding read. Bettman, whom I have never liked, has failed in trying to turn the NHL into the new NBA as far as the U.S. is concerned. Football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR, golf... all more popular than hockey (and that doesn't even take college sports into consideration). Some parts of the U.S. have been exposed to hockey, and they don't care about it.

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You are correct. Some areas of the US won't support hockey no matter how it's presented. Anyone with an ounce of brains could have seen that.

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Chicago fans (great fans who are being screwed, great hockey town) are tired of Wirtz, he's cheap and they've been losers for years. I can't remember the last time they made the playoffs. That's a sin, for an original Six team.

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It is a sin. I know a few diehard Blackhawk fans and they mirror your sentiments. They still go to games, as great seats are available for every game.

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Detroit... I don't know what's going on there...

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They've priced themselves out of the average hockey fan's pocket. Tickets are still very hard and expensive to come by. The people who own the season tickets are so rich they don't give a damn about eating unused tickets.

I think putting a team back in Winnepeg is a great idea.

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....all of the other big sports in many ways are better watched on TV....at least that could be argued.....not hockey. Hockey is by FAR better watched live....not even close...and that fact makes it harder to market.

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True. The sounds, the sights, the speed if it... For Canadians (I'm speaking generally here obviously) who grew up playing/watching it, we can handle the TV thing because ... well just because!!

jfanent: The Blackhawk situation is really sad. I feel for the great 'hawks fans, they almost have it as bad as the Browns.
I met Bobby Hull last summer, he's biased, but thinks Chicago's the best sports town in North America. It's near the top, and that makes the 'Hawks situation even sadder.

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chicago was actually in the playoffs just a few years ago... they were in the finals what, 12 years ago?
i live in this town, and these fans aren't as great as they're made out to be...

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They last made the NHL finals in 1991 (Pitt beat em).Making the playoffs "a few years ago" isn't exactly astonishing, because almost everyone and their dog makes the playoffs.

But since you live in Chicago, I'll have to take your word on the fan thing.

My impression has always been that Chicago's a good hockey town. Maybe that's cuz they're an Original Six team, plus I grew up watching them on TV, when they played in the old Chicago Stadium (LOUD place, with that old pipe organ). I remember watching Leafs-Hawks playoff series (we usually beat 'em ) and hating their fans because they were so loud. That frigging horn after a Chicago goal.... The fans felt like the enemy, too.

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if you are a fan who has gone to games or follows a team, TV isn't that bad.

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I theorize that if someone has played a lot of hockey, they can better anticipate the action watching on TV (some people don't like the fact you can't see the puck easily).

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...the fact remains that TV is the only exposure many people have had, and that alone isn't going to sell the game.

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I agree. I mean, I didn't see an NHL game in the flesh until I was 22 years old, but of course I grew up on frozen ponds, played organized hockey up to my mid-teens and saw a lot of live games. People in the Sun Belt... they're a harder sell. I just don't think enough people want it in some areas. The politicians might want it, to nuture an image of being a major league city, but the people... too many of 'em don't care.
And there's talk of moving the Penguins to Vegas. GMAFB!

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I theorize that if someone has played a lot of hockey, they can better anticipate the action watching on TV (some people don't like the fact you can't see the puck easily).

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pretty much..

i have no problems watching a game on tv, because i understand the game...

i think once you've been in a real game, with referees, penalties, the way the momentum shifts... it's quite easy to follow on tv

although seeing a game in person, with decent seats is still the best way to fully understand it, it's easier to see a play develop when you can see the entire zone, and you have a better eye on seeing shots, even the ones that are going at the velocity of an nhl player's shot...

baseball is great to see live, but on tv it is still awesome to watch... football is almost made for tv, with the exception of the deep pass you can see everything develop...

basketball is also a good tv sport, but hockey has never really been

for those who have trouble following it on tv, try to not focus so much on the puck, but rather the player with the puck

i saw my first nhl game at age 14, in joe louis arena, the year detroit ended up winning their first cup in a while... and i've seen several games at the united center...

me and my girlfriend, who also has hockey in her blood, are making it a mission to try and see every team, starting with the canadian teams and original six...

of the original six we've seen, chicago, detroit, toronto, and montreal

we only have to see the rangers and bruins

and we have plans to see the sharks, canucks, senators, and possibly the oilers

the blackhawks offer you nosebleed seats (which are sitll good) for 10 bucks... so we usually just go to the bar and head up to the game, and we don't have to spend a ton

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for those who have trouble following it on tv, try to not focus so much on the puck, but rather the player with the puck

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That's a good tip for TV viewing.

I was surprised when FOX went to the blue puck a few years ago. I'd never thought the puck thing was a problem, I was so used to watching hockey on TV.

BTW, the 'Hawks lost in 1992 to Pittsburgh, not '91 as I had said earlier. No biggie, I just wanted to correct myself.

The early 80s through early 90s was great hockey.
Lots of creative players... the Europeans were making a profound impact. Coaching skills were better in part because the Soviets influenced North American coaching (in other words "Canadian" in the 70s, and that started to bear fruit in the 1980s.
We had guys like Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman, Gilmour, just to name a few...

...then along came expansion, which meant too many minor league-calibre players wore an NHL uniform, diluting the game. All those crappy players dragged down the skilled players. It's simple common sense.
On top of all that, the Devils perfected the boring trap style of defensive hockey.

An occasional hockey thread is fun here on DT.

yeah it seemed like one second, there were 24 teams, and then in such a short time, there were as many teams as the nfl has...

that was bettman's worst move, by watering down the league and forcing a lot of owners to pocket their money instead of spending it...

what has happened in chicago is nowhere near as horrible as what could have happened in edmonton, they were on the brink of folding, not moving, but just shutting down shop completely...

i like the new salary cap, and the rule changes are good (i still don't know how to feel about shootouts, i know the fans love it, but it is the equivalent of having a home run derby at the end of 10 innings in baseball... i don't know too many people that would accept that...

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i like the new salary cap, and the rule changes are good

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Me, too. I'm a huge Leafs fan, and the salary cap actually hurt my team because we were a large market club with all kinds of money to spend, but it was best for the league.

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i still don't know how to feel about shootouts, i know the fans love it, but it is the equivalent of having a home run derby at the end of 10 innings in baseball....

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Agree here, too. I don't like 'em, although I understand that a lot of fans want a winner and a loser. I've watched hockey for close to 35 years, ties were always accepeted as being part of the deal. There's no shootouts in the playoffs, but in a late-season game with playoff implications, a shootout (which you accurately compared to a home run hitting contest in baseball), could be the difference between a team making, or not making the playoffs. Which sucks, IMO.
Shootouts ain't real hockey, if they got rid of them it'd be OK with me.
What they should do, after 5 minutes of 4-on-4 hockey in regular season OT (which they do now as ya know), play five minutes of 3-on-3. That'll end things. If not..oh well, tie game...

yeah with the shootout, there is too much riding on your goalie, you should have to beat a defense to win the game, not just the goalie...

i would love to see 3 on 3 hockey... i guarantee you that most overtimes wouldn't last more than 5 or 6 minutes...

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An occasional hockey thread is fun here on DT.

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...and we haven't had a single "hockey sucks" post yet.

Back to the topic. I agree that the only good thing to come out of the Bettman era is the salary cap. If the refs can be consistent over time with calling the interference penalties, that would be another. Everything else he's done is ruining the game.

I've been a Detroit fan since the "dead wings" days, they seem to be adapting to the salary cap and the fan interest will always be there.

He can't ruin the NHL if he's dead.

...just saying.

the problem with bettman is that he isn't a hockey guy...

hence the reason that whenever the cup is won in a true hockey city, he gets booed when introduced to present the cup...

i believe he had never seen a hockey game prior to becoming commissioner...

but he is supposed to be a high profile business guy, and that obviously hasn't panned that out either...

the salary cap was long overdue... it's a good cap because it also has a basement (meaning there is a minimum amount you have to spend, meaning you can't go kansas city royals on your fans)

i think bettman should be given a few more seasons to see how things progress, the other problem is that they are not totally in the clear on league structure, as far as future lockouts/strikes...

but attendance is up, the pace of the game is better and faster, and there are a few emerging stars...

the next step is leaving anti-hockey espn no choice but to show playoff games...

versus (formerly oln) has done a better job of presenting the game, but most casual fans won't find the game because the channel is not popular

if the playoffs were on espn, people would flip over, because sports fans will always check to see what's on, and that is the league's chance to get casual fans back...

nbc does a terrible job of getting good matchups, they're aiming more at markets instead of giving viewers good teams, philly is one of the worst teams this year, yet they will be shown a lot, the rangers, are good, but not great, and they will be shown a lot...

like right now they are showing detroit and colorado... does nbc realize that the detroit/colorado rivalry has been dead for like 4 years?

they need to show the good teams regardless of market size, and just hope that a sidney crosby or alexander ovechkin lands in a big market to boost the league...

the playoffs are where the nhl needs to make their money, the nba is structured the same way, they get decent ratings for the regular season, but they make their money on having 4 rounds of 7 game playoffs, which is the same way that the nhl's playoffs work...

espn may not budge though... they can't stand the sport, and will continue to insult it by showing poker instead...

The Outdoor Life Channel (or whatever it's called TV deal)

This channel is probably more scarce on cable networks then the NFL Network....not to mention the fact that I couldn't find the All Star Game this year on TV for the life of me. I checked all the local channels and the ESPN's and couldn't find it anywhere. I even flipped over the the Lightning's channel to double check and couldn't find it on TV anywhere....was it also on OLN?

I don't mind what he's done but he's made it hard as hell to catch any games unless a team is in your area.

Yeah, I don't get OLN, so thats why I couldn't watch it then