GDT: 2/12/13 "Wash It Away" - Capitals VS Panthers

[Android 16]

Someone said this in a post earlier..

"Weiss already looks like he's gone"

So true as of late..

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

I'd be for trading Versteeg and something else for Ryan O'Reilly. That could be this year's Booth trade. I know, I know, he's Tallon's guy but there's no way Tallon isn't frustrated with his play like we all are. It also gives us some insurance towards a Weiss departure so we could have another second line center playing first line minutes, lol.

http://thehockeywriters.com/its-time-for-the-avalanche-to-trade-ryan-oreilly/

If we are under .500 at the halfway point of the season(24 games), I think you can start fueling the Weiss and "prospect" for O'Reilly and a 2nd or 3rd round pick train. The main question is if O'reilly will still be up for grabs after 24 games.

The Avalanche apparently need help on their D so that "prospect" could be Robak or Petrovic if we're involved in trade discussions with Colorado.

I've defended Weiss for many weeks now but have also said if the value is fair, maybe a big trade can spark something in this team. This team is built for the next 3-5 years and O'Reilly could add to our young core of Centers. The question is whether Goc and Matthias can be the veteran leaders for these young centermen?


Would we be happy with:

Weiss and Robak to Colorado

for

O'Reilly and a 2nd or 3rd round pick, if not a pick then a possible AHL player for depth.

 

[CoolburnIsGone]

So just wanted to give you guys my insight into Club Red after being there last night. There's a ton to say but I'll try to condense it down as much as possible. Also there are pictures attached too

- The food in there is AMAZEBALLS! My fiancee is basically a vegetarian and they had this pasta ala vodka with meat in it so she didnt really want that. But they had all the noodles & sauce off to the side so they custom made her what she wanted (no meat in it) right in front of her and it was delicious.
- Free wine & beer...nuff said! LOL
- The layout is really nice too, giant bar in the main area with plenty of nice seating and then some little alcoves to the sides where there's some even nicer chairs & big screen TVs
- My fiancee even said if you have the money, that is the way to enjoy a hockey game for sure. So if you asked her, yes the price they are asking is worth it. I was having a hard timing disagreeing with her too with the whole experience.
- As I said in my earlier post, the lounge area was mostly empty with about 5 mins to go in the 1st period (I went to go to the bathroom and took pics below). Maybe 5 people were there. At the beginning of the 2nd period too, there was a few more people but not like you would think (I was sitting in the lounge for the first 5 mins eating).
- The private bathrooms are awesome too but I'm sure not many care about that. Just cool that they have full length doors so you have privacy (nice for women) and mints in the bathroom as you're leaving
- The seats where I was sitting (2nd to last row) those areas seemed to be mostly filled with people and looking down several rows, you saw the emptiness. So what it seems to me is that the lower seats havent sold out yet and thats why it looks bad on TV. Honestly I dont think I would want to sit that low because you would have to try and see thru the bench and not really good viewing angle for the game. So yes it looks bad on TV but I can logically see why people dont sit lower

I met Yormark last night between the 2nd & 3rd period and he knows the customer service is an issue and he had a meeting with his staff about that. He basically was preaching responsiveness is more important than even trying to solve the problem of the customer and I agree with that statement. I think you'll see them working on that too for the STHs that have complained so far.

I think its been mentioned or maybe not but Yormark did confirm during the town hall meeting that the team is trying to get a new scoreboard this summer. They have a consultant working on it and will be asking for VSP's (which I believe IIRC means Vendor Submitted Proposals). But the scoreboard is gonna cost in the neighborhood of $5M so some people are gonna see their ticket prices increase to try and cover that cost. Honestly I'd rather they invest that money in the team over a new scoreboard but maybe I dont put much value on the scoreboard like some of you do.

I got to sit behind Cliff in the 3rd period and let me just say that he's a true fan just like all of us. He sees the same things we do and says similar things to any one of us. I hope he remains owner of the Panthers for a very long time (not just for my own personal benefit) because he is exactly the type of sports owner that you want. Someone thats passionate about the game but doesnt get involved in the running of it and lets the experts do what they do best. I wish I could say more but I really dont want to jeopardize my job in any way (and there are some interesting specifics that I would love to share) but that was what I could share with everyone.

 

[Panthers Rock]

i mean so that i can contact a Admin? id like to change my name by asking a Admin to do so .

In case this hasn't been answered for you yet, there's a support link on the bottom right portion of the page. Make a new thread there.

Link: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=68

 

[adam graves]

So just wanted to give you guys my insight into Club Red after being there last night. There's a ton to say but I'll try to condense it down as much as possible. Also there are pictures attached too

- The food in there is AMAZEBALLS! My fiancee is basically a vegetarian and they had this pasta ala vodka with meat in it so she didnt really want that. But they had all the noodles & sauce off to the side so they custom made her what she wanted (no meat in it) right in front of her and it was delicious.
- Free wine & beer...nuff said! LOL
- The layout is really nice too, giant bar in the main area with plenty of nice seating and then some little alcoves to the sides where there's some even nicer chairs & big screen TVs
- My fiancee even said if you have the money, that is the way to enjoy a hockey game for sure. So if you asked her, yes the price they are asking is worth it. I was having a hard timing disagreeing with her too with the whole experience.
- As I said in my earlier post, the lounge area was mostly empty with about 5 mins to go in the 1st period (I went to go to the bathroom and took pics below). Maybe 5 people were there. At the beginning of the 2nd period too, there was a few more people but not like you would think (I was sitting in the lounge for the first 5 mins eating).
- The private bathrooms are awesome too but I'm sure not many care about that. Just cool that they have full length doors so you have privacy (nice for women) and mints in the bathroom as you're leaving
- The seats where I was sitting (2nd to last row) those areas seemed to be mostly filled with people and looking down several rows, you saw the emptiness. So what it seems to me is that the lower seats havent sold out yet and thats why it looks bad on TV. Honestly I dont think I would want to sit that low because you would have to try and see thru the bench and not really good viewing angle for the game. So yes it looks bad on TV but I can logically see why people dont sit lower

I met Yormark last night between the 2nd & 3rd period and he knows the customer service is an issue and he had a meeting with his staff about that. He basically was preaching responsiveness is more important than even trying to solve the problem of the customer and I agree with that statement. I think you'll see them working on that too for the STHs that have complained so far.

I think its been mentioned or maybe not but Yormark did confirm during the town hall meeting that the team is trying to get a new scoreboard this summer. They have a consultant working on it and will be asking for VSP's (which I believe IIRC means Vendor Submitted Proposals). But the scoreboard is gonna cost in the neighborhood of $5M so some people are gonna see their ticket prices increase to try and cover that cost. Honestly I'd rather they invest that money in the team over a new scoreboard but maybe I dont put much value on the scoreboard like some of you do.

I got to sit behind Cliff in the 3rd period and let me just say that he's a true fan just like all of us. He sees the same things we do and says similar things to any one of us. I hope he remains owner of the Panthers for a very long time (not just for my own personal benefit) because he is exactly the type of sports owner that you want. Someone thats passionate about the game but doesnt get involved in the running of it and lets the experts do what they do best. I wish I could say more but I really dont want to jeopardize my job in any way (and there are some interesting specifics that I would love to share) but that was what I could share with everyone.

The scoreboard is a must. The lack of replays and the image of our minitron is making me enjoy roadgames on my 60 inch. They didnt show most goals, they didnt show the hit on versteeg, and if they do the quality is out of the 80s. There is no option but to upgrade.

 

[CoolburnIsGone]

The scoreboard is a must. The lack of replays and the image of our minitron is making me enjoy roadgames on my 60 inch. They didnt show most goals, they didnt show the hit on versteeg, and if they do the quality is out of the 80s. There is no option but to upgrade.

So you would rather that than spending money on the team to either keep a guy like Weiss or get someone to replace him? A new scoreboard seems like a luxury to me and the spending on the roster is more of a necessity. Sure it would be better fan experience but I'd rather we have the talent to win than to see a replay of a hit or goal in HD. Maybe I'm more simplistic but thats how I feel about it. I could honestly care less about the scoreboard cause I rarely look up at the scoreboard though but I know many of you do care.

 

[adam graves]

So you would rather that than spending money on the team to either keep a guy like Weiss or get someone to replace him? A new scoreboard seems like a luxury to me and the spending on the roster is more of a necessity. Sure it would be better fan experience but I'd rather we have the talent to win than to see a replay of a hit or goal in HD. Maybe I'm more simplistic but thats how I feel about it. I could honestly care less about the scoreboard cause I rarely look up at the scoreboard though but I know many of you do care.

I just dont buy it as an either or. The screen would be for SSE, not the panthers. Same theory as club red. Do we have less budget for players becuase of club red? The screen should be considered an arena improvement, not part of the Hockey buisness.

 

[CoolburnIsGone]

I just dont buy it as an either or. The screen would be for SSE, not the panthers. Same theory as club red. Do we have less budget for players becuase of club red? The screen should be considered an arena improvement, not part of the Hockey buisness.

For most non-hockey events that I've been to at the arena, the scoreboard is pulled up into the top of the arena. So no its not for arena improvement because it wouldnt be used except for hockey really.

Club Red is in a different category though because that can be utilized for non-hockey events. SSE took out a specific loan just to pay for Club Red so no that didnt affect the budget for the players but if they tried to pay for it themselves, I'm pretty sure it would've affected the budget. And while you dont buy it as an either or, thats fine but I'm just saying that if we didnt use the money on a scoreboard, more money could be used on the roster. I just dont see the scoreboard as a "need" and more of a "want" and you have prioritize things according to needs and we need to upgrade the talent on the roster more.

 

[adam graves]

For most non-hockey events that I've been to at the arena, the scoreboard is pulled up into the top of the arena. So no its not for arena improvement because it wouldnt be used except for hockey really.

Club Red is in a different category though because that can be utilized for non-hockey events. SSE took out a specific loan just to pay for Club Red so no that didnt affect the budget for the players but if they tried to pay for it themselves, I'm pretty sure it would've affected the budget. And while you dont buy it as an either or, thats fine but I'm just saying that if we didnt use the money on a scoreboard, more money could be used on the roster. I just dont see the scoreboard as a "need" and more of a "want" and you have prioritize things according to needs and we need to upgrade the talent on the roster more.

We will have to agree to disagree here. My knowledge base tells me its a seperate "balance sheet".

But as my wife will tell you, Im wrong often

 

[PanthersHockey1]

So you would rather that than spending money on the team to either keep a guy like Weiss or get someone to replace him? A new scoreboard seems like a luxury to me and the spending on the roster is more of a necessity. Sure it would be better fan experience but I'd rather we have the talent to win than to see a replay of a hit or goal in HD. Maybe I'm more simplistic but thats how I feel about it. I could honestly care less about the scoreboard cause I rarely look up at the scoreboard though but I know many of you do care.

It pisses me off that we have to choose. Why does Jeff Vinik get to have everything and then some? Awesome analysis about Club Red BTW however don't understand the point when ADT is offering same services, much more pleasing to the eye from tv, and is cheaper than club red.

 

[adam graves]

It pisses me off that we have to choose. Why does Jeff Vinik get to have everything and then some? Awesome analysis about Club Red BTW however don't understand the point when ADT is offering same services, much more pleasing to the eye from tv, and is cheaper than club red.

Terrible mistake by the county to permit it. So many "club" options, and for a low end team that purpotedly needs to think twice to buy a new jumbotron, the loan was (shockingly) a mistake.

 

[CoolburnIsGone]

We will have to agree to disagree here. My knowledge base tells me its a seperate "balance sheet".

But as my wife will tell you, Im wrong often

Well based on during the town hall meeting how Yormark, when he was bringing up the increase in ticket prices, referenced Dale and giving him the money needed to field a competitive team. Then just later when the scoreboard upgrade was mentioned and how many were complaining about the increase in prices, he said how do you think we can pay for a $5M new scoreboard without increasing prices. I'm probably paraphrasing a lot here but that was the gist of what I got from his statements. It may technically be part of different "balance sheets" but it essentially comes from the same pot from what I could tell from his statements.

It pisses me off that we have to choose. Why does Jeff Vinik get to have everything and then some? Awesome analysis about Club Red BTW however don't understand the point when ADT is offering same services, much more pleasing to the eye from tv, and is cheaper than club red.

I dont think its we have to choose but it just means less money going into the roster based on the above. I have sat in the ADT area and now having sit in the Club Red area, there is a MUCH bigger difference IMO in quality. IIRC, you have to pay for drinks up in ADT area also where you dont in Club Red (well beer & wine anyways). Understandable its not pleasing to the eye but you're trying to compare lower bowl center ice to 3rd level end zone...center ice wins that one easily too. Eventually I think Club Red will be mostly sold so it doesnt look so bad but just make take a yr or so since we lost a lot of momentum due to the lockout & current struggles on ice.

 

[adam graves]

Well based on during the town hall meeting how Yormark, when he was bringing up the increase in ticket prices, referenced Dale and giving him the money needed to field a competitive team. Then just later when the scoreboard upgrade was mentioned and how many were complaining about the increase in prices, he said how do you think we can pay for a $5M new scoreboard without increasing prices. I'm probably paraphrasing a lot here but that was the gist of what I got from his statements. It may technically be part of different "balance sheets" but it essentially comes from the same pot from what I could tell from his statements.
I dont think its we have to choose but it just means less money going into the roster based on the above. I have sat in the ADT area and now having sit in the Club Red area, there is a MUCH bigger difference IMO in quality. IIRC, you have to pay for drinks up in ADT area also where you dont in Club Red (well beer & wine anyways). Understandable its not pleasing to the eye but you're trying to compare lower bowl center ice to 3rd level end zone...center ice wins that one easily too. Eventually I think Club Red will be mostly sold so it doesnt look so bad but just make take a yr or so since we lost a lot of momentum due to the lockout & current struggles on ice.

To my point why this was premature.One playoff round in 10 yrs doesnt rise to the level of execting great sales in high end seats. Now this season is in jeopardy. Dont see big sales in club red, or great renewals if we tank.