Smitty93
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NHL Around the NHL XXI - UPDATE 7/1 - Toronto and Edmonton chosen as hubs
- Thread starter Fenway
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talkinaway
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It wouldn't surprise me at all if Toronto got to play in their own home rink.
On the bright side....our record in the playoffs in Toronto:
2013: 2-1
2018: 1-2
2019: 2-1
It might not be all that bad, especially if there are no crowds, and if all players (even the home team) are forced into hotels without . I honestly don't care where it's being played. Safety and ice quality come first, IMO. Play all the games in the Centre de la Poutine des Schtroumpfs for all I care - the ice will be the ice, and with no fans, home ice is just last change.
Plus, I think Fenway or someone else said something about the home DJ being in charge of the arena music. Kernkraft 500 in Scotiabank Arena after scoring against the Leafs? Priceless!
I'd love the idea of having no team play in their home arena, but practicality might have to win out. Having the Bruins play in Vegas, and the Oilers play in Toronto, would be ratings suicide, I imagine. There's enough complaining here when we have an 8 PM game - imagine 6 weeks straight of 9 or 10 PM games. Yes, they could play early out West, but NBCSN needs something to put on at 10 PM - are they going to have the Western teams play in Toronto at 1 AM EDT/ 10 PM PDT?
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No kidding, this will be their 1st mistake
I have always been thorn between what I want to see and what I should see.
Vegas is not a good idea in any capacity, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas , therefore hockey should not be in Vegas
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With Australian sports returning in the last couple of weeks it’s been interesting to see what’s been done to accommodate the lack of a crowd, which may provide pointers on what the NHL does if the playoffs do get off the ground or alternatively next season begins without fans. There’s been 3 things:
- 'Canned’ crowd noises. Broadcasters have been using these for both the rugby and Aussie Rules comps. I thought I’d hate them but they’re actually not too bad. It’s a bit jarring initially because you can see empty stands that don’t correspond with the sounds, but you get past that pretty quickly. They work better so far for rugby because the game play has a more regular flow than the AFL, but they’re effective enough for both. Basically there’s a general ‘atmosphere’ of soft background crowd hubbub during regular play, and then when someone scores there’s cheering and if there’s a big hit or some other notable play there’s an amplified crowd reaction noise. The AFL’s also experimented with ramping up the crowd in the mix if the game has a close finish. It’s far from perfect and it’s no substitute for the real thing, but I think it’ll improve with time and it’s probably better than no fan sound at all.
- Dressing the stadiums. Both sports have used cardboard fans and big banners across the seats with the teams’ logos and colors on them. The cardboard cut-outs are cheesy and need to go, but the banners are effective and I think would be really important in adding some team color in the probable event that neutral venues are used by the NHL.
- @Fenway may find this one particularly interesting and have already noticed it: more in close camera shots. The broadcasters of both leagues are clearly instructing their camera operators and producers to use more close up shots of the action that avoid showing the empty stands and involve you more directly in the play. Of course there are times when long shots are still necessary, but their use has been reduced since there’s no need to involve the live crowd as part of capturing the general atmosphere and experience of the game. This has again been pretty effective. The camera angles hockey uses are pretty fixed, but I wonder if a little closer zoom might come into play a bit more in crowdless games?
Just some food for thought as we anticipate how hockey may look on our TVs when it eventually returns.
- 'Canned’ crowd noises. Broadcasters have been using these for both the rugby and Aussie Rules comps. I thought I’d hate them but they’re actually not too bad. It’s a bit jarring initially because you can see empty stands that don’t correspond with the sounds, but you get past that pretty quickly. They work better so far for rugby because the game play has a more regular flow than the AFL, but they’re effective enough for both. Basically there’s a general ‘atmosphere’ of soft background crowd hubbub during regular play, and then when someone scores there’s cheering and if there’s a big hit or some other notable play there’s an amplified crowd reaction noise. The AFL’s also experimented with ramping up the crowd in the mix if the game has a close finish. It’s far from perfect and it’s no substitute for the real thing, but I think it’ll improve with time and it’s probably better than no fan sound at all.
- Dressing the stadiums. Both sports have used cardboard fans and big banners across the seats with the teams’ logos and colors on them. The cardboard cut-outs are cheesy and need to go, but the banners are effective and I think would be really important in adding some team color in the probable event that neutral venues are used by the NHL.
- @Fenway may find this one particularly interesting and have already noticed it: more in close camera shots. The broadcasters of both leagues are clearly instructing their camera operators and producers to use more close up shots of the action that avoid showing the empty stands and involve you more directly in the play. Of course there are times when long shots are still necessary, but their use has been reduced since there’s no need to involve the live crowd as part of capturing the general atmosphere and experience of the game. This has again been pretty effective. The camera angles hockey uses are pretty fixed, but I wonder if a little closer zoom might come into play a bit more in crowdless games?
Just some food for thought as we anticipate how hockey may look on our TVs when it eventually returns.
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Spooner st
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Estlin
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It is time
It would cost a King’s ransom. If he demanded a trade only to Boston, however...
Mr. Make-Believe
The happy genius of my household
Spooner st
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McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
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I was driving this morning and flipping around the radio, and came across a station playing Laura Branigan's Gloria, and instantly changed the station in disgust and felt like I wanted to drive into a building. We need hockey back, we need revenge, and we need a cup, asap.
Bruinaura
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Therick67
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Spooner st
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Humour is perceived differently I guess... personally I found it hilarious, pretty sure the players do to. On other teams that it was done for the whole team...they had fun with it.
Therick67
Registered User
I also found it humorous in a disturbing way..I guess sarcasm is perceived differently...my teenagers have these apps and have been using them for some time..
Spooner st
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I'd happily take 'Mrs Bergy' on a night out. As my wife adores Mr Bergy I figure that would only be fair. Then again, as she says to me, you'd turn for Mr B just as he is, and she's probably not wrong!
Therick67
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Spooner st
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Therick67
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It’s usually the only thing on me that works..I did have a long day thought.
well..... then there's this from TSN Insider Bob McKenzie;
whomever the hub cities are and when that is made official;
Vegas plays in the opposite hub city selected;
so it sounds like what's becoming known is:
it has been leaked that the Islanders and Rangers are heading to Vegas;
where the Knights go depends on what the other "hub" is
whomever the hub cities are and when that is made official;
Vegas plays in the opposite hub city selected;
so it sounds like what's becoming known is:
it has been leaked that the Islanders and Rangers are heading to Vegas;
where the Knights go depends on what the other "hub" is
McGarnagle
Yes.
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So are the hub cities exclusively east/west, or is it like the NCAA basketball tournament where a city will host first and second round games, but they're not all coming from the same bracket?
talkinaway
Registered User
Huh? From this, posted about 6 hours ago, it seems like he's not quite saying that:
Insider Trading: NHL, NHLPA take control of positive COVID-19 announcements
The end of the video says that it's the NHL's preference that no team plays in its own city, but that it may be impossible, particularly if both hubs are in the Western Conference - say, Vancouver and Vegas.
Chicago or Dallas would make a good hub city for the East in terms of fairness and time zone, but are they ready to handle this in terms of COVID? I don't know. And the WC teams would have to play in the East (CBJ, PIT, TOR), which would be tough time-zone wise. Do their games start at 9 PM local time, giving the players a weird lack of jet lag because they're still on LA time in Pittsburgh?
The other option would be to swap out two or four teams, so one hub isn't completely isolated throughout the tourney. One hub, say PIT, has 10 EC teams and 2 WC teams (including, say, Vancouver if the Western hub is VAN), and the Vancouver hub has 10 WC teams and PIT plus PIT's opponent.
That would mean there's some cross-contamination between the hubs if teams have to fly to the other hub after the preliminary round. Probably not ideal, but I guess with charter flights, it's not as bad, considering we're already having players fly back to the US and/or Canada from dozens of countries.
Also in the video: COVID testing from now on might only be "x number of NHL players have tested positive over the past y days". We won't necessarily know which team(s) are positive. I get the importance of privacy, but...it's game 7, Bergeron played a flawless (as always!), injury-free game 6, and now he's off the roster. You see in the COVID report a few days later that a player tested positive. What conclusion would you draw?
This lack of transparency might also keep teams from refusing to play a COVID-positive team. I know if I were playing, I wouldn't want to be on the team that had a positive player...but I also wouldn't want to be playing against that team, either.
NBC just informed hockey staffers the Eastern Conference bubble will be Las Vegas
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