Michael Russo: Possible Stadium Series Game next season?

[BigT2002]

I’ll be hosting a live chat today at 3 p.m. on www.startribune.com/wild. Be there, pretty please. No questions on Thomas Vanek, Mikko Koivu’s captaincy, Jason Zucker, Mike Yeo’s coaching future or outdoor games (I did report today the Wild may host a stadium series game next season at Target Field; Wild wants Chicago to be the opponent; the NHL is pushing Dallas).

So the question is, if you're Dallas going into this game: Do you wear the N* throwbacks?

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[Avder]

So the question is, if you're Dallas going into this game: Do you wear the N* throwbacks?

You do and you know there will be riots and a PR disaster.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

Still kinda miffed it won't be a WC. I thought that's the entire point Minnesota didn't do this stadium series garbage this year, because the Wild were supposed to get the next WC.

Also, agreed, if they wear North Stars throwbacks their gonna have a bad time.

 

[BigT2002]

Still kinda miffed it won't be a WC. I thought that's the entire point Minnesota didn't do this stadium series garbage this year, because the Wild were supposed to get the next WC.

Also, agreed, if they wear North Stars throwbacks their gonna have a bad time.

TBH, I think that is just what CL used as the excuse why we didn't get it. The team had just made the playoffs by the skin of their ***** and had the two national headline signings that year as well. This year, they make it and they solidify the lineup means it is an easier sell to just get the game now.

And either Dallas or Chicago is what we all pretty much figured as well. I'd imagine the NHL wants Dallas purely to keep it moving away from the big name teams who they appear to want in WC's more often than this set of games.

 

[Hall of Faber]

Still kinda miffed it won't be a WC. I thought that's the entire point Minnesota didn't do this stadium series garbage this year, because the Wild were supposed to get the next WC.

Also, agreed, if they wear North Stars throwbacks their gonna have a bad time.

The WC in Washington was planned out almost 3 years ago.

 

[BurnsyMN]

You do and you know there will be riots and a PR disaster.

Does Dallas even own the trademark to the North Star logo? The North Star jersey is still sold in the hockey lodge. I've always been confused by that.

 

[DANOZ28]

i would hope the nhl & dallas would have more class than to allow dallas to wear northstars jerseys in minnesota. they would deserve all hell breaking loose if that happens.

 

[BigT2002]

Does Dallas even own the trademark to the North Star logo? The North Star jersey is still sold in the hockey lodge. I've always been confused by that.

To my knowledge they still own everything from the franchise. IDK though.

 

[Bazeek]

So the question is, if you're Dallas going into this game: Do you wear the N* throwbacks?

I would hope that the league has enough sense to realize what a bad idea that is. But considering that the whole point of the Stadium Series (and outdoor games in general at this point) seems to be to drum up faux drama, I can see it happening.

I'd rather see the Wild skip the whole sideshow, but since it's inevitable I don't particularly care who the opponent is. As long as the ice doesn't suck and the weather cooperates.

 

[Bazeek]

To my knowledge they still own everything from the franchise. IDK though.

When the topic comes up I always hear it mentioned that the league has some degree of control/ownership of defunct logos (North Stars, Whalers, etc.), but it's impossible to find anything reliable. When you buy stuff with a North Stars logo on it I'm pretty sure profits go to the league though, not the Dallas Stars.

 

[PuckInTheNards]

Should both wear North Stars Jerseys....

 

[BurnsyMN]

When the topic comes up I always hear it mentioned that the league has some degree of control/ownership of defunct logos (North Stars, Whalers, etc.), but it's impossible to find anything reliable. When you buy stuff with a North Stars logo on it I'm pretty sure profits go to the league though, not the Dallas Stars.

Hmmm that makes the most sense. Any business lawyer types around here that could weigh in on this? haha. This is just guessing but perhaps you're right about the league holding ownership on defunct logos. They can license them out to a team like Dallas or Minnesota if they wanted to use it for a stadium series/winter classic. If either wanted to profit off the logo, they would have to purchase the rights.

 

[llamapalooza]

OK, just looked it up in the USPTO database.

The Minnesota North Stars trademark, since 1999, has been owned by the National Hockey League. This replaces a dead listing that expired in 1998, which registered the mark to Minnesota North Stars Hockey Club, Inc.

Who gets the money from merch sales may be subject to more complicated internal agreements, but ultimately the final control of the trademark lies with the league.

And yeah, I really hope the NHL is smart enough to realize that the controversy of letting Dallas wear the throwbacks would completely distract in a negative way from the actual event.

 

[Avder]

Does Dallas even own the trademark to the North Star logo? The North Star jersey is still sold in the hockey lodge. I've always been confused by that.

Look at their current logo. It's the exact same star that appeared above the N in the North Stars logo since the franchises birth.

 

[Northland Wild Man]

Should be Minnesota against Winnipeg on lake of the Woods

 

[Avder]

Should be Minnesota against Winnipeg on lake of the Woods

We can't get 40,0000 screaming fans on to the Lake of the Woods.

If we could I'm sure Minnesota and Winnipeg would be ironing out the details in preparation for it.

 

[Bazeek]

We can't get 40,0000 screaming fans on to the Lake of the Woods.

If we could I'm sure Minnesota and Winnipeg would be ironing out the details in preparation for it.

Just put out word that there's an eelpout tournament that weekend. It'd work itself out.

 

[Northland Wild Man]

Just put out word that there's an eelpout tournament that weekend. It'd work itself out.

Yes it would

 

[Avder]

Just put out word that there's an eelpout tournament that weekend. It'd work itself out.

 

[MuckOG]

 

[TheeNorthStar]

I want a WC first before this stadium series ****

 

[Paul Bunyan]

If the NHL owns the North Stars stuff, I'd like to have that back and have the old banners and numbers in the arena, but maybe that's just me. I feel like it was our state's history, we should keep it. Then again at times I think there are more North Stars fans then there are fans of existing teams, so I'm sure they pocket a lot of dough.

The WC in Washington was planned out almost 3 years ago.

Well in that case, fair play...but that's not what I was reading last year when the team turned down the stadium tour stuff (which I still am not a huge fan of in general).

Then again, it's the internet...people write a lot of *****.

Should be Minnesota against Winnipeg on lake of the Woods

That would be the best ever obviously, which means it would never happen....but I can still dream.

 

[Bazeek]

If the NHL owns the North Stars stuff, I'd like to have that back and have the old banners and numbers in the arena, but maybe that's just me. I feel like it was our state's history, we should keep it. Then again at times I think there are more North Stars fans then there are fans of existing teams, so I'm sure they pocket a lot of dough.

Again I'm going mostly on hearsay, but I'm almost positive the Dallas Stars own things like banners, retired numbers, records, whatever from the North Stars days. Going off what llama posted, the league has control over the North Stars trademark/logo itself (i.e. the stuff it can slap on t-shirts and bumper stickers), which is probably for the best. Personally I don't think either franchise should be trotting out in North Stars jerseys at this point. I'm not even sure why Dallas would want to.

 

[00xtremeninja]

they don't do throwbacks for the SS games. they tweak the current jerseys and put some idiotic chrome logo on it.

 

[llamapalooza]

Again I'm going mostly on hearsay, but I'm almost positive the Dallas Stars own things like banners, retired numbers, records, whatever from the North Stars days. Going off what llama posted, the league has control over the North Stars trademark/logo itself (i.e. the stuff it can slap on t-shirts and bumper stickers), which is probably for the best. Personally I don't think either franchise should be trotting out in North Stars jerseys at this point. I'm not even sure why Dallas would want to.

The trademark and logo are the only thing where "ownership" is even a meaningful term. Legally speaking, nobody owns the North Stars records or retired numbers...they are factual statistics, which are legally exempt from any copyright/trademark/IP law.

Now, the NHL might have its own bylaws about how teams are allowed to represent themselves, but from a purely legal standpoint, it's meaningless to ask who "owns" those things. If Minnesota wanted to put up Mike Modano and Bill Masterton banners, there's nothing stopping them. If Winnipeg wanted to put up those banners, there's nothing stopping them. The only hitch in terms of records would be convincing the NHL to change its canonical version of the statistics to move the 1967-1993 years to be filed under MIN, but again, that's not an ownership issue, that's an internal record-keeping issue. And if the Wild really wanted to, they could just publicize their own version of history and refer to that instead of the NHL's stats in broadcasts.

they don't do throwbacks for the SS games. they tweak the current jerseys and put some idiotic chrome logo on it.

Ugh, don't remind me. What a hideous set of jerseys that was. Let's hope the chrome ******** was just a one-year fad and they try a little harder next year. It seemed like it could well have been Reebok trying to invent a gimmick that would sell to the trends of the LA/ANA market (see also, the prevalence of dull black sweaters in those markets).

Still, there's no reason they can't do real, unique, classy sweater designs for next year's SS games, especially since the word on the street is that there will be significantly fewer outdoor games in total. I'm optimistic, actually, since the Wild are well aware they'll sell ludicrous amounts of merch with a vintage scheme (I'm still pulling hard for a Wild logo in North Stars colors). They haven't really done any stupid modern gimmicks since the original 2000-era sweaters, and in fact they've been steadily moving in the opposite direction.

Worst case let's hope the Wild are at least smart enough to do like New Jersey and just refuse to change their sweaters for the event.