Hey All,
I always enjoy your posts, so thought it was high time I shared something too! I was at the signature event tonight, this was my experience.
We got there at about 4:45, Ford Hall was mostly full by then. Got in line, and got in fairly seamlessly, no complaints. The plan was to try for McDavid, so we got in that line. As we neared the stairs down to the club area where he would be signing, the usher walked down the line and told people that were still on the concourse that it was unlikely we'd get signatures. We decided to try our luck elsewhere, so I bolted for Draisaitl and my partner went for Lucic.
I got to the Draisaitl line by about 5:15, there were about 70 people in front of me. The Lucic line was longer already (we were texting each other, he figured about 100 in front of him) so we just waited. When 6pm rolled around, Drai was there on time and the signing went quickly. He wasn't taking much time to chat with people so the line kept moving quite quickly. I had my jersey signed by about 6:25 (estimate) and headed upstairs to get in the Maroon line.
That line was long, and was right beside the VERY far end of the McDavid line. As we waited (kudos to the 5 year old in front of me who was so patient and frankly just so excited, it was an awesome time in the line!) Anyway, I was hearing what the ushers were saying to the people in the McD line right beside me (going the other way). I was a bit perplexed. So, the first usher had told us our odds were slim early in the game...we would have been about an hour in front of these people, yet the ushers were telling them he would sign until 8pm. Then a different usher came and told them that he could only sign 600 autographs. Moments later, enter usher #3 who said he could sign up to 1000. I ended up realizing had we stayed in line, we likely would have made it (fairly easily in fact), but wondered if he is limited by time or numbers? Is that a contract thing? Anyway, my partner went for Kassian/Hendricks after Lucic and got through that line fairly quickly too.
Anyway, go to Maroon, he was great. Then headed up to meet my partner in the Slepyshev/Klefbom line. That moved quickly, they were fantastic and personable, and we got those.
By then it was about 7:40, and we were tired of standing (old people! lol) so got a pop and grabbed a seat.
The Hotstove was ok. I wouldn't say there was anything earth shattering shared. GM and Coach talked about how much and how important their communication with each other is (pretty much daily, post games usually wait till the am). Coach said the GM doesn't like to be surprised (eg. why is Eberle missing shifts?) so he tries to keep him in the loop at all times.
GM was asked if he was happy with the roster, he said it's his job to never be happy with the roster, so he never will be. His goal is to continue to improve it all the time.
They both talked about how awesome the fans are (all fans are the best, no? ) Jack Michaels said he had noticed a different vibe in the building last week, we were louder, etc. Personally, I think this was just meant to be some encouragement for us to be louder and more engaged...whether or not we really were, is up for opinion. I think they were trying to encourage us.
GM was asked about possible signings before the trade deadline...he said it's too soon to tell, the situation will continue to evolve. He was asked about whether the new building was a draw and made players easier to sign, he said yes, of course. He highlighted though, that Lucic, for example, really wanted to see the city, see more of the city as he wanted a good place for his family. They talked up Ice District a LOT, and how awesome it's going to be (this stage was set by Bob N and Jack M before Coach and GM showed up) and this trend continued. It was a bit like a commercial.
Coach said that the players are feeling at home in the new building, and he felt that fans had 'learned how to behave' in the new building. I wasn't sure what to make of that, but he added clarification that things were more smooth for us as we knew where to meet our friends, which concession to get to, what we wanted, etc. I think his point was that we're all feeling at home now at Roger's.
They gave away 3 trips to the last game in Vancouver (one via the Rogers App, and 2 via t-shirt toss where 2 t-shirts had 'golden tickets' in them).
Overall, I had a fun time, the players were genuine and seemed enthused till the end of the night.
Please feel free to jump in and correct or add to any of my perceptions...I don't have the greatest memory for details, and my Hot Stove summary is likely missing a bunch!