Around Hockey and the NHL

[Felonious Python]

I'm going to say something a bit out of left field, but maybe women's pro hockey needs to change its rules. Not because they're any lesser athletes, but in the spirit of the Patrick brothers and the PCHA, maybe push the pastry a bit. Innovate. Find latent demand.

Frank Patrick, BA1908, and his brother Lester (he dropped out of McGill to play professionally) created the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, which rivaled the National Hockey Association (soon to be the National Hockey League), thanks in large part to the Patricks’ innovations: Canada’s first artificial ice hockey rinks, penalty shots, numbered jerseys, “on-the-fly” line changes, assists and the blue line. The Patrick brothers sold their league (and its rules) to the NHL in 1926, and both men were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The birth of three sports

They also created the 3-period structure (to sell more concessions). Goal creases, forward passing, allowing goalies to drop down to block shots, and a yearly playoff system was also first in the PCHA.

It'll peeve off the purists, but look at what the Storm Surge did for Carolina.

Ideas: Three 15-minute periods. Intermissions are cut down to maybe 14-15 minutes as well. Even 10-12. The time commitment is probably keeping some people away. The lines at concessions can't be huge given the crowds, so intermission doesn't need to be overly long.

Penalties put you down two players. The idea is to create as much 3-on-3 as possible, (without becoming a 3-on-3 league) and with plenty of PP opportunities to go around, probably a lot of lead changes. Huge stakes every time someone takes a penalty. Penalties while on PK lead to penalty shot (with chase so it goes right into play). The women's game is not built on physicality, so might as well lean into it.

 

[Stormbreaker]

lul

 

[The Macho King]

lul

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Did something about it = getting fed apparently.

DC is such a shit town.

 

[These Are The Days]

Who the hell is Chris Kuc? I don't know if I'm laughing harder at this or the Oil for being the first team in about 30 years to have multiple 100 point players and still miss the playoffs. I can AT LEAST fathom the Penguins situation at the time. That team was a bigger heap than the Oil could have ever hoped to be and had a long climb to the top. The Oil? Chia just gutted them and took on one stupid deal after the next. I pity McDavid and the fans but pray he never wins it in Edmonton. Not while that POS Katz draws breath as owner.

 

[Felonious Python]

I had the thought that maybe the best compromise between the people who want one women's hockey league (because monopolies work so well for everyone, right?) and having a continental footprint is to look at junior hockey.

To legally be considered a 'pro' league you need 6 teams. You could theoretically blow past this number if the NWHL became a Canadian Hockey League type umbrella, then had several conferences or leagues under their banner with the same rules.

This would allow for several tiny footprints in the strongest areas. The idea is to keep the travel as short and as cheap as possible. Limit the need for hotel stays. Boston to Calgary is too much just yet. There would be no crossover play until a Memorial Cup type series.

Possible leagues:
Toronto, Buffalo, Windsor, Detroit
Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Quebec City
Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Portland
Minnesota, Des Moines, Madison, Milwaukee
Boston, NY/NJ, Hartford, Providence
Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer
Tampa/St. Pete, Lakeland, Orlando, Jacksonville (maybe down the road)

edit:
the way it would work, incorporating the CWHL teams could be like:
Boston, Worcester, Metro (NY/NJ), Connecticut + Shenzen?
Toronto, Markham, Montreal, Buffalo + Minnesota
Calgary is not taken by the NWHL but can re-start as soon as two other Alberta markets join. Maybe only one since Shenzen could plug into wherever needed.

I'm not putting MN with Calgary because it's a bus league. That's a nearly 19-hour drive one-way. I'd like to keep things to 4-5 max. Everyone gets to sleep in their own bed at night. Especially since it seems like there's a lot of afternoon games.

The NWHL should be trying to start teams in places like Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Iowa, etc. to cut the travel on Minnesota.

Chicago to St. Paul is like 6 hours. Farther than I'd like, but the Milwaukee-Chicago-Madison area can sort of justify its own division. St. Paul is going to be the outlier with that. A bit like Montreal with Toronto, Markham, and Buffalo.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[LightningStrikes]

 

[These Are The Days]

The tank rolls on

 

[These Are The Days]

Holy f*** Millbury said something nice about us. He thinks Cooper deserves the Jack Adams

 

[Felonious Python]

Good post.


Women's pro hockey is in a bind because it's too small now to really give the players a living wage, insurance, and all that (which they do deserve), and the overlap between fans of women's hockey, which seem to be more likely to lean towards that social consciousness. A league with teams that are drawing in the hundreds can't pay everyone say, $20,000+ a season. As for the fans who think that the NHL should invest in them and supply NHL level salaries...well...

You can have fake wealth, like venture capital, most forms of NHL investment, advertising, and the mythical tv deal, but that can't all be going to the players.

This is why I like my mini-league idea (with the 16-game schedule). You slash expenses. This is how hockey leagues used to be built. It's true that it'd keep some big-name players to one conference, but you see this in the NCAA & junior hockey still. Those being amateur leagues don't really apply IMO. They're both successful, and when a women's league logically can, they'll bring the conferences together.

It's also why I feel the NWHL should really try to innovate the game. They don't have the red tape of men's hockey, and figuring out how to make their brand 'must see hockey' in their crowded markets would be huge.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[LightningStrikes]

Traitor!

 

[LightningStrikes]

Why manage the farm team when you had the job with the big club?

 

[JoVel]

Trust the Yzerplan.

 

[The Macho King]

Why manage the farm team when you had the job with the big club?

He's tired of collecting Rangers players via trade, so he's going straight to the source.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Why manage the farm team when you had the job with the big club?

"You'll have to ask Marty"

 

[AlphaCatalyst]

Mcdavid hitting the post gave my flashbacks to Stamkos.

 

[Sky04]

Mcdavid hitting the post gave my flashbacks to Stamkos.

Same, doesn't look good, game needs McDavid and getting an injury like that this early in his career sucks.

 

[gn2007]

Mcdavid hitting the post gave my flashbacks to Stamkos.

Literally same style almost it's scary and unfortunate hopefully he gets better

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[JoVel]

Stamkos had years of his career ruined because of injuries. If that is indeed serious, it could be brutally bad for a player like McDavid, considering his speed is the #1 asset in his game.

 

[SRQKiter]

Do they have MRI machines in Edmonton?

 

[Felonious Python]

US and Switzerland in the Women's Worlds are playing at 12:30 on NHL Network. At 3 pm it's the WB/S Penguins and Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

just tweeted, let's see if it gets deleted:

 

[The Macho King]

Oh my God shut up.

And regional rights are stupid.

 

[DrMartinVanNostrand]

What is Jack talking about? It's pretty well understood that, in the United States, the first round regional rights remain with the regional network*, and everything only goes national from the second round onward (in Canada, it's all national immediately). There's no disinformation there, because I'm pretty sure Sun Sports isn't listed either, in our case.

*with the exception of games broadcast on NBC itself.