Around Hockey and the NHL

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

 

[LightningStrikes]

Yeah, that's gotta be heartbreaking. I don't know how you can concentrate on the game at all after you've just been celebrating, thinking you've won the gold medal.

Women are able to multitask I've been told.

 

[Felonious Python]

This is from the Dundee Stars official YouTube channel, so I guess that makes it canon.

 

[DaBolts]

Word must not be getting out as HFB is still surviving...

Maple Leafs’ Kadri suspended for rest of Round 1

 

[LightningStrikes]

Drago and Burner representing the blue and white.

 

[Sky04]

Might rag on them a lot but that's heart right there, Tampa still looking for easy paths to win.

 

[JoVel]

Might rag on them a lot but that's heart right there, Tampa still looking for easy paths to win.

Maybe our guys would do that as well if we could just have a lead late in the 3rd.

 

[Sky04]

Maybe our guys would do that as well if we could just have a lead late in the 3rd.

You can block a shot before you fall behind too

 

[JoVel]

You can block a shot before you fall behind too

That's sound like something that would take some will and effort.

 

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

Might rag on them a lot but that's heart right there, Tampa still looking for easy paths to win.

Marner is an excellent player. This guy is going to get paid this summer. My friend told me to cheer for the Leafs if we go out, but I think i'll just cheer for the Blues or Sharks instead

 

[The Macho King]

Might rag on them a lot but that's heart right there, Tampa still looking for easy paths to win.

I've never ragged on Marner. Kid's a hockey player.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

The AIHL season is back.



Kyle Neuber on the Adrenaline played for the Florida Everblades. He was a human/trash-can hybrid. An agitator/dirty player.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

US vs Canada bronze medal game at 9:30 am on NHLN
Russia vs Sweden gold medal game at 1:30 pm on NHLN

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[Felonious Python]

We're getting some movement on women's hockey. 200+ North American players will boycott the NWHL next season and it seems to have pressed the issue for the NHL.



The overhead for women's hockey is enormous. The roster size is huge, there's apparently not a huge fanbase for it, and just running the rink is very expensive. Where the WNBA has a benefit is that basketball is pretty cheap to run and they kept the roster sizes even smaller than NBA teams. Women's college b-ball was also a big enough deal to be on ESPN regularly at the time, IIRC.

A mitigating factor I had for the 45-minute game idea that I didn't mention was to shrink the rosters. It cuts the number of jobs, yes, but the players still in the game get the money and insurance. It's not like there isn't historical precident. Pro teams a hundred years ago would have like 9-10 guys the whole season. Maybe a few more for cups of coffee if needed.

115 years ago, the Ottawa Silver Seven were literally seven dudes. (keep in mind they also played a rover in these years)

What they could do here is dress 6 forwards, 4 defensemen, 1 extra, and 1 goalie. Each team/rink is required to have at least one, but preferably two or more house goalies that can play for either team if injury occurs. Minor league teams still have this somewhat, although the emergency backup is with one side and sits on the bench. The house goalie system is what the NHL did for years though.

 

[Felonious Python]

The women should play a tour over the following months, including possible future sites for the league they want to build. Do the US vs Canada.

It'd be similar to the Ice Hockey Classic they do in Australia. http://icehockeyclassic.com.au/

 

[Hoek]

Yeah a tour concept may be the best. I think they'd get better attendance as a novelty in different cities and with more time to promote games.

 

[Felonious Python]

Yeah a tour concept may be the best. I think they'd get better attendance as a novelty in different cities and with more time to promote games.

I had a #ForTheGame tour in mind more as a stop gap & testing grounds. I don't think that's what the players want long term.

I think you can sell women's USA vs Canada though with the national team players. The depth of 200+ players sitting out also means that they can substitute players if the touring is too intense, or there's a local favorite.

With 200+ though, you could run multiple tours simultaneously like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. An east coast tour and a west coast group for instance. It's probably way too short of notice to get something so elaborate going for an October-November start, but it's an idea. It can't be a summer tour (next year for instance) because they need buildings with ice still in them.

But the touring means that they can test all sorts of markets that are normally high risk. Why put a team in Albany when Buffalo and NYC are bigger? Maybe they'll get blown away by a mid-tier/smaller market and find that a Burlington, VT or Manchester, NH is exactly the place that comes out to see women's pro hockey. They can also invite prospective investors (existing minor league owners, etc.) in the cities they visit to the game, the players give them the pitch and try to convince them with the quality of their play (and hopefully the size of the crowds). They'd be investing in the league as a whole though. The centralized model for the first years seems to be pretty effective.

New rule ideas are also fair game for this.

 

[LightningStrikes]

As long as they don't adopt the concept of the LFL...

 

[Felonious Python]

Discussing the state of women's hockey after massive boycott - Sportsnet.ca

I really wish the ladies would say what makes a sustainable league with good pay and insurance, other than being under the NHL umbrella. (and what a fair pay is right now)

I get that the NHL is another entity, so they don't want to say publicly 'inclusion in NHL Center Ice and Game Center Live packages, etc., etc.,' before they've even really met with the NHL to discuss it.

The ideas I've come up with are independent of the NHL being involved. They've got to be able to move on a plan, either way, to get a league going.

edit: list of known players to be boycotting