Forslund contract negotiations

[Novacane]

Forslund, Hurricanes continue to negotiate as broadcaster’s contract expires

Didn’t realize Forslund’s contract expired today...

Apparently Dudley is moving on, while Chynoweth, Krepelka, and Forslund are still negotiating

Click to read more...

 

[A Star is Burns]

Hopefully they figure it out with something a bit more long term this time. Won't be shocked with any outcome.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Pay the man

 

[AD Skinner]

Forslund is among the most valuable assets the team has pay him whatever he wants

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

Don't even think about screwing this one up.

 

[SvechneJerk]

In addition to looking to cut expenses overall, given the lack of revenue coming in with the NHL “paused” by COVID-19, Dundon has said in the past that he prefers to spend money improving the on-ice product and look for savings elsewhere, which is how Kaiton ended up leaving in 2018. But this is a different situation: there is no ready-made replacement for Forslund, who in many ways has become the public face of the franchise not only through his work for FS Carolinas but national broadcasts on NBC.

Are you MORE or LESS likely to watch games one FSCar if Forslunds gone? I know my answer.

Less eyeballs watching = less ad revenue = less $ to spend on that on-ice product.

Pay the man.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Are you MORE or LESS likely to watch games one FSCar if Forslunds gone? I know my answer.

Less eyeballs watching = less ad revenue = less $ to spend on that on-ice product.

Pay the man.

I'll watch the same either way. Forslund absolutely enhances the experience, but he's not the primary reason I watch. In the case that people wouldn't watch without him, then they're screwed when he retires one day eventually.

This isn't to say I don't think they should pay him. Just that Forslund isn't the reason I tune in. But like I said, I won't be surprised whatever direction it goes.

 

[CandyCanes]

Forslund, Hurricanes continue to negotiate as broadcaster’s contract expires

Didn’t realize Forslund’s contract expired today...

Apparently Dudley is moving on, while Chynoweth, Krepelka, and Forslund are still negotiating

Ooo the stresses of having Dundon as an owner, always playing hardball. I believe Dundon understands the value of Forslund and what he means to this franchise, but still worried as he is also able to cut ties in a snap of a finger if he doesn't get the deal he wants. Please don't break my heart. Forslund is a Hurricane for life, he's a part of the team.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I'll watch the same either way. Forslund absolutely enhances the experience, but he's not the primary reason I watch. In the case that people wouldn't watch without him, then they're screwed when he retires one day eventually.

This isn't to say I don't think they should pay him. Just that Forslund isn't the reason I tune in. But like I said, I won't be surprised whatever direction it goes.

I have NHL.TV. I will watch every away feed in protest.

 

[emptyNedder]

I have always been more skeptical than most. So I won't be surprised if Forslund is not re-signed.

 

[AD Skinner]

I mean if you were going to do it now would be the time. The team is on the upswing though who knows when there'll actually be games to call again or what the tv/radio deals will be then. But for real John is the best and definitely a huge part of my personal enjoyment of the team. Would hate losing him more than any player

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'll watch the same either way. Forslund absolutely enhances the experience, but he's not the primary reason I watch. In the case that people wouldn't watch without him, then they're screwed when he retires one day eventually.

This isn't to say I don't think they should pay him. Just that Forslund isn't the reason I tune in. But like I said, I won't be surprised whatever direction it goes.

Exactly my view. I remember as a youngster being upset when Jack Brickhouse retired as the WGN Cubs PBP guy. Never stopped me from watching though, and he was replaced by Harry Caray, who became more beloved by Cubs fans.

Forslund is great, but not why I watch

 

[cptjeff]

Last year, it sounded like the issue wasn't so much money as it was John wanting to be available for increasing NBC work, which is why we got more of Shaya. If he's willing to do that again, I'm sure something will get worked out.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I'll watch the same either way. Forslund absolutely enhances the experience, but he's not the primary reason I watch. In the case that people wouldn't watch without him, then they're screwed when he retires one day eventually.

This isn't to say I don't think they should pay him. Just that Forslund isn't the reason I tune in. But like I said, I won't be surprised whatever direction it goes.

Same here. I think Forslund should get paid, but not necessarily because he drives ratings in any way. I kind of doubt any announcer really drives ratings.

To me it's more about:

a) the general brand identity of the franchise, of which Forslund is a visible factor. It's similar to having a Francis or RBA on board, except their tenure was always going to be tied to on-ice results. Forslund's results are more tied to the fan experience, and he does a great job with that, and you're not going to replace him easily in that capacity, so pay the man.

b) it was easier for them to walk away from Kaiton because they had a PBP guy capable of calling a simulcast for both TV and radio. The ability to do this is a value-add that would be very difficult to replace. Again, if a guy is doing a great job and is difficult to replace, and he's already saving you a bunch of money by doing 2 people's jobs, you pay him.

c) Forslund is one half of a popular duo. Take him away, and you probably end up having to replace Tripp before long. No specific reason for saying that... it's just the way things always seem to go. Why create 2 problems when you can have 0 problems? It's probably cheaper to just pay Forslund than to completely revamp your broadcast, so just pay the man.

 

[AeroFishOne]

Fordlund better come back period. That’s all I’m saying on it.

What blows my mind more is that NHL is going to look pretty Fing stupid if they have been saying and planning the comeback this whole time and can’t agree to a CBA extension. Atleast baseball did the negotiating first before getting everyone’s hopes up.

 

[MinJaBen]

Dundon’s going to fire Forslund and bring in Shaya as a strategy to get us away from the TVs and into the arena.


Nobody wants to listen to Shaya.

 

[A Star is Burns]

At the end of the day, I doubt most of the threats hold up. If you want to watch on tv and you're local, your legal options are limited. Dundon has no attachment or sentimental feelings towards Forslund. Remember that and it'll be much easier if something does happen.

 

[AeroFishOne]

At the end of the day, I doubt most of the threats hold up. If you want to watch on tv and you're local, your legal options are limited. Dundon has no attachment or sentimental feelings towards Forslund. Remember that and it'll be much easier if something does happen.

meh, the VPN route looks more and more enticing by the month considering I only watch food network and sports yet have to pay increasingly more and more each year. To watch what amounts to less than 3 or 4 channels. They can thank MLB and NHL blackouts for that opinion.

 

[A Star is Burns]

meh, the VPN route looks more and more enticing by the month considering I only watch food network and sports yet have to pay increasingly more and more each year. To watch what amounts to less than 3 or 4 channels. They can thank MLB and NHL blackouts for that opinion.

As I said, I have no doubt a few of you will follow through on it. But I doubt the vast majority of people will.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I'm already paying for nhl.tv and vpn. If they keep Forslund, great! If they replace him with someone good, I don't love it, but okay! If they replace him with Shaya, I'll learn a lot more about the announcing pairs around the league.

 

[A Star is Burns]

As much crap as Shaya gets, and sure, he's nothing special, I'll point out again that listening to some early Forslund stuff recently, he was a pretty rough listen in the early years of Carolina. He's light years ahead of where he was. And that was after he'd been doing it a while already.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

do y'all pay for subscriptions to evolving-hockey or hockeyviz? Supposedly they are better than the free naturalstattrick or hockey-reference. Although hockey-reference is adding some subscription stuff for some of their advanced stats.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

As much crap as Shaya gets, and sure, he's nothing special, I'll point out again that listening to some early Forslund stuff recently, he was a pretty rough listen in the early years of Carolina. He's light years ahead of where he was. And that was after he'd been doing it a while already.

Whether Forslund sucked in the past is immaterial to whether Shaya sucks bad enough to prefer watching the other team's announcers. Which he does.

 

[Chrispy]

Same here. I think Forslund should get paid, but not necessarily because he drives ratings in any way. I kind of doubt any announcer really drives ratings.

To me it's more about:

a) the general brand identity of the franchise, of which Forslund is a visible factor. It's similar to having a Francis or RBA on board, except their tenure was always going to be tied to on-ice results. Forslund's results are more tied to the fan experience, and he does a great job with that, and you're not going to replace him easily in that capacity, so pay the man.

b) it was easier for them to walk away from Kaiton because they had a PBP guy capable of calling a simulcast for both TV and radio. The ability to do this is a value-add that would be very difficult to replace. Again, if a guy is doing a great job and is difficult to replace, and he's already saving you a bunch of money by doing 2 people's jobs, you pay him.

c) Forslund is one half of a popular duo. Take him away, and you probably end up having to replace Tripp before long. No specific reason for saying that... it's just the way things always seem to go. Why create 2 problems when you can have 0 problems? It's probably cheaper to just pay Forslund than to completely revamp your broadcast, so just pay the man.

c) is a factor, because Tripp without someone who knows how to play off him would be...boy I don't know.

But for me b) is the biggest one. Put in a sub-par PBP guy and the radio feed becomes impossible to listen to without a dedicated radio PBP. So you either replace with a radio guy who now has to pick up TV, or you pay Forslund.

I think the biggest issue with Forslund's negotiations is the flexibility with NBCSN. We may both keep Forslund and get more Shaya simply because NBCSN wants to use Forslund more.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Whether Forslund sucked in the past is immaterial to whether Shaya sucks bad enough to prefer watching the other team's announcers. Which he does.

A case for closed caption use.