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OK, NBC, you can exhale now

TheBigA said:
But yes, I agree an all-Canada final would have been deadly.
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Not for the pure hockey fan. All teams in the NHL consist of Canadian, American and foreign born players so it doesn't really matter to most fans what the city origin is any longer. Of course, Canadians root for their teams first and Americans most likely do too but for those of us who live in cities not in the playoffs we just want a good series.

If American TV networks could choose they would always have an American original six against another original six team because that is where the big numbers are. It is like having the Yankees in the World Series year after year. It isn't good for the game.

There is a difference between fans who root for their home team to the exclusion of other teams and those of us who watch hockey for the thrill of the game no matter who is playing. I get as much entertainment watching my 30-year old son play in his adult league as I do the Stanley Cup series although the quality of play is obviously very different. Almost every fan has a favorite team but most of us still watch the full playoffs because we like the game even if our favorite team isn't there.

Of course, the TV suits don't care about fans. They are just looking for demos.
 
Preds rally to tie the game at 3-3 but come up shorts as the Pens win 5-3. Something was missing in NHL Playoffs the Redwings after 25 years they missed the playoffs.
 
TheBigA said:
Think of it this way. Who is a bigger star: Sidney Crosby or Garth Brooks? Every playoff home game, the Predators have featured a different star singing the national anthem. They've turned it into a promotion: Who will sing tonight? Carrie Underwood, Kelley Clarkson, and Trisha Yearwood have done it so far. They haven't even begun to tap the pop stars who live in that city. So it could all make for great TV.
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Casual fans with no rooting interest will decide to watch a hockey game on TV just to hear Carrie or Kelly or Trisha sing The Star-Spangled Banner before the first puck drop? Really? Maybe if NBC and the NHL arrange to have big-name entertainers performing between periods as well, singing something other than that recycled English drinking song. At least that would keep some of them tuned in during game action and maybe they'd like what they see. Otherwise, can't see much of an upside.

Besides, that's just for the games in Nashville. What could Pittsburgh provide in the way of musical excitement?
 
landtuna said:
Not for the pure hockey fan. All teams in the NHL consist of Canadian, American and foreign born players so it doesn't really matter to most fans what the city origin is any longer. Of course, Canadians root for their teams first and Americans most likely do too but for those of us who live in cities not in the playoffs we just want a good series.

If American TV networks could choose they would always have an American original six against another original six team because that is where the big numbers are. It is like having the Yankees in the World Series year after year. It isn't good for the game.

There is a difference between fans who root for their home team to the exclusion of other teams and those of us who watch hockey for the thrill of the game no matter who is playing. I get as much entertainment watching my 30-year old son play in his adult league as I do the Stanley Cup series although the quality of play is obviously very different. Almost every fan has a favorite team but most of us still watch the full playoffs because we like the game even if our favorite team isn't there.

Of course, the TV suits don't care about fans. They are just looking for demos.
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Only the NFL and NBA have figured out how to make fans across the country want to watch small-market teams. They market the hell out of their leagues' stars, whether they're playing in New York or New Orleans, Chicago or Cleveland. The huge fantasy and gambling interest in the NFL certainly helps ratings as well. And, as Tim Donaghy will tell you, a lot of folks are interested in how many points NBA teams win or lose by, too.
 
Megatron said:
Preds rally to tie the game at 3-3 but come up shorts as the Pens win 5-3. Something was missing in NHL Playoffs the Redwings after 25 years they missed the playoffs.
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They should have missed them last season, a team on the decline.

Speaking of playoff streaks, the University of Miami had made the NCAA baseball tournament for 44 straight seasons. That ended today when the Canes were not selected for any regional field after a mediocre regular season and failing to win the ACC tournament.
 
TheBigA said:
But it was a pretty exciting game...lots of scoring.
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"Lots of scoring" in hockey usually means a game lacking in defense. In the old days of the Edmonton Oilers with their high powered offense and a defense almost as good you could expect bunches of goals but that isn't the norm these days.

I would not have called tonight's game 'exciting' except for the 2nd period and there almost at the end (when Nashville tied it up). The first three Pitt goals were ludicrous. Nashville actually scored first but it was called back on an offside call that I really doubt any official could have reversed. The official was right there and he said it was onside and that's what should have stayed. Then, one terrible call against Nashville and one stupid play by the same team resulted in a 5 on 3 for two full minutes but even then Pitt couldn't score until just a few seconds were left in the penalty. Then a missed call (interference) by the official resulted in a goal by Pitt and the fluke goal by Pitt when the puck was deflected and bounced off a Pred defenseman into the net. A terrible first period and absolutely no flow to the game at all.

Nashville came back in the second period but managed only one goal. Pitt looked bad and they were clearly hanging on.

Nashville tied it up in the third before Pitt scored the game winner (a rare miss by the Pred's goalie) and then the empty netter. Not a stellar period of hockey by any measure.

For someone watching their first game it was a stinker. For everyone but a Pitt fan it was a waste of time but it did show the Pred's can come back.
 
CTListener said:
Stanley Cup hockey is great. You don't have to sell me on it. Been a Bruins fan since the glory days of Orr and Esposito.
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Bobby Orr was a delight to watch. He epitomized skating skill and speed and had the hands to match. Espo, on the other hand, made his living standing in front of the oppositions net and collecting rebounds and goalie interference. Not very much skill and not much fun to watch unless you were a Boston fan.

Of all the teams back then in the late 60's and early 70's perhaps the most exciting to watch were the Montreal Canadiens. They, by far, exhibited the speed and grace that old time hockey had and is largely missing today. Small, speedy forwards who could weave through the defense and deke the goalie when they got there. It is somewhat a shame the game is now in the hands of the big guys who use nothing but physical force. Much like old time basketball compared to today's thuggery.
 
landtuna said:
Of course, Canadians root for their teams first and Americans most likely do too but for those of us who live in cities not in the playoffs we just want a good series.
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This made me think of something that happened a few years ago. The Carolina Hurricanes played for, and won, the Stanley Cup. The home arena for the Hurricanes is about 100 miles from where I live, and at the time it was called RBC Center. A Canadian company. The opponent was the Oilers, who played in Rexall Place. Rexall was an American chain of drug stores.
 
vchimpanzee said:
This made me think of something that happened a few years ago. The Carolina Hurricanes played for, and won, the Stanley Cup. The home arena for the Hurricanes is about 100 miles from where I live, and at the time it was called RBC Center. A Canadian company. The opponent was the Oilers, who played in Rexall Place. Rexall was an American chain of drug stores.
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I think Rexall is still a major drug chain in Canada. Here in the US now it's just a brand of OTC medicines sold in Dollar General stores. But in West TN there are some older drug stores that were Rexall stores at one time and still have their sign hanging up, even though the chain in the US doesn't exist any more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rexall
 
anotherguy said:
I think Rexall is still a major drug chain in Canada. Here in the US now it's just a brand of OTC medicines sold in Dollar General stores. But in West TN there are some older drug stores that were Rexall stores at one time and still have their sign hanging up, even though the chain in the US doesn't exist any more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rexall
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We have Reliable Rexall on Irving St. here in San Francisco. It's one of just a few independent pharmacies left. They still have those orange Rexall signs posted.
 
Let's face it, folks. The NHL is a cold weather sport. People in Dixie don't care about the NHL. They'd rather watch college basketball or NASCAR. And if you put it up against an international soccer game airing on Univision or Telemundo, the soccer game will win out. One time, for example, an NHL game airing on Versus(now NBCSN) on a Sunday evening was beaten in the ratings by a Mexican soccer match airing on Telefutura(now UniMas).
 
blackgold said:
Let's face it, folks. The NHL is a cold weather sport. People in Dixie don't care about the NHL. They'd rather watch college basketball or NASCAR. And if you put it up against an international soccer game airing on Univision or Telemundo, the soccer game will win out. One time, for example, an NHL game airing on Versus(now NBCSN) on a Sunday evening was beaten in the ratings by a Mexican soccer match airing on Telefutura(now UniMas).
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That must be why the Dixie franchises of the NHL are not doing so well. /sarc=off Although local support ebbs and flows depending largely upon the success or failure of the teams in any given season those franchises seem to be popular and financially successful even though they don't have the population of Boston, Chicago, L.A. or Noo Yawk Sity. The fans in Nashville are as loud and supportive as any in hockeyland and the Hurricanes and Lightning have both won the Cup with similar support.

Comparison with soccer isn't a valid test as soccer is played around the world and requires nothing more than one ball to get a game up. There is no other sport that will ever overtake soccer worldwide simply because it is so simple to play and can be played so inexpensively. Like soccer fans though hockey fans tend to be very passionate about their game. They don't give a whit that it will never be the most popular sport on the planet and most of us would be completely bored with football, baseball, soccer and can't stand the stop and go of basketball (which is probably the world's simplest ball sport). More people play golf than attend hockey games. So what? Virtually all hockey players also play golf and some are good enough to join the Tour. Variety is the spice of life and hockey is one of those spices.

As far as TV or radio broadcasting hockey - it is a numbers game so we can expect hockey only on niche stations (other than Final games which tend to draw bigger audiences). Again, it isn't important to the average hockey fan. We are not in a contest to see who can draw the largest crowds.
 
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Nashville is a Southern success story. Carolina is not -- the franchise pops up frequently in rumored moves. The Panthers are only where they are because pro sports leagues continue to believe that Miami is a sleeping giant of a sports market. It is sound asleep for everything but big winners, which is when the bandwagon fans come out, but is a giant only in terms of market size. Its populace is largely indifferent to pro sports.

The problem in Tampa is not attendance but something that most teams in non-traditional hockey cities face -- lack of enthusiasm from the corporate community. Dallas is a healthy hockey market on the surface, but hockey is a tough sell in the corporate boardrooms there. Most clients would rather be wined and dined at a Mavericks or Cowboys game, perhaps even a Rangers game when they're doing well.
 
Maybe Canes go back to Hartford it has been 20 years since they left for Carolina or go to Canada where the Avas use to be in Canada.
 
I know in West TN you didn't see much fan gear for the Predators in stores until they made it to the finals. Even with that it's still more UT and Memphis football and basketball and Grizzlies basketball than anything else.
 
Megatron said:
Maybe Canes go back to Hartford it has been 20 years since they left for Carolina or go to Canada where the Avas use to be in Canada.
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Much better chance of Quebec City than Hartford, although Bettman dislikes both. Hartford just didn't work as a major league city. It is far too close to Boston and New York and many people in the Hartford area have ties to those cities and their sports. Hartford also is becoming a corporate ghost town, with Aetna the latest of the "Insurance City's" insurance companies to look elsewhere -- lower taxes, lower cost of living, etc. -- to put its headquarters.

Quebec City is Canada, which will be a turn-off to NBC, especially since (a) it's virtually monolingual (French) and (b) it's far from the US border, meaning no OTA viewing of US channels.
 
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