SalarySwishSalarySwish
Avatar

HockeyScotty

Membre depuis
18 juin 2022
Équipe favorite
Avalanche du Colorado
Messages dans les forums
1356
Messages par jour
2.0
Forum: NHLil y a 4 heures
Sujet: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #5: The Final Stretch
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>CantStopWontStop</b></div><div>I’m kinda a weirdo:

I’m preferring Utah HC as the final name.

Maybe I’ve thought about so many names they all just kinda seem generic and lazy. Like what low grade theme park would name its newest ride. So why not be generic and lazy to the extreme, own it and do it well, go big or go home. Could refer to them as whatever people from Utah call themselves, or just Utah. (A Ute?, the Utes?) (I’ve recently lived thru the St. Louis MLS expansion and really like our branding there, local ownership enhances marketing opportunity and impact, impresses upon fans that advertising partners are “us”).

It would be fun if their mascot was a snake and it was a dude in a modified green inflatable flailing arms man costume, so for that I’m rooting for venom or poison or whatever. They could have a power play dance for the fans that looks absolutely stupid and ridiculous, making it amazing, where they all wiggle around like snakes.</div></div>

Too "futbol-y" for me for hockey; think it still has to be a part of the NHL branding style.

BTW - A "Ute" is a Native American tribe or a member of the Ute Nation, there are several tribes and also what the state flagship NCAA school nickname is: Utah Utes so there is noway they encroach on that.
Citizen of Utah call themselves Utahns; not really good for a team nickname.
Forum: NHLil y a 19 heures
Sujet: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #5: The Final Stretch
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Saskleaf</b></div><div>7. Utah Fury
It, A, is kind of boring and generic, B, doesn’t scream hockey, and C, probably works best with a fire theme and we already have the flames in the NHL. So pretty easy no for me

And of course, 1. Yetis
As mentioned with Mammoth, I’m glad this is Yetis and not Yeti. But overall I think Utah Yetis should be what this team is called. Yetis are big and fierce (but have a lovable side too so good mascot potential), they’re from the mountains, they’re associated with snow, they’re white which can leave the jersey colour to be up in the air, and Utah Yetis sounds good and rolls off the tongue well. Hopefully this wins the contest</div></div>

I had originally thought that something like Utah Hotshots would be cool (Wildfire Firefighters that drop in on helicopters; pretty much heroes out in the west) so if they incorporated that into the "Fury" I would like it more but the connection is kind of weak.

I thought Yetis were just fancy expensive coolers that all the hipsters had and drinking cups before Stanley's became cooler? It's a stretch since it is a Himalayan myth and not much of a Rocky Mountain one; we have more Sasquatch legends out here and alien cow mutiliation than Yeti.
Forum: NHLHier à 11 h 3
Sujet: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #5: The Final Stretch
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>CantStopWontStop</b></div><div>Anybody have a guess on Chychrun’s trade value and next contract?

Revisiting his last trade, he went for a sub 16 draft pick (unknown at time and top 5 protected), a 2nd, and a 2nd 2 years later.

I’m finding him very comparable to Vince Dunn and his 4 year, 7.35AAV, and acquiring him gets you next season at his current aav of 4.6.

I wonder if Ottawa gets back “more” than they paid, primarily because Chychrun played all 82 games this past season, and the acquiring team would be extending at the time of trade. I think they can flip him for more.

I dunno if my blues would be involved but the left side of our d is going to change eventually, one way or the other.</div></div>

Personally, I would keep Chychrun and move Chabot out if I were Ottawa.

Sanderson is the absolute stud of the future there and they need a RD complement to him (a defensively responsible partner) to allow Sanderson to push the play. Pesce would be ideal but Demelo or Matt Roy would be in the mix.
Chychrun-Zub as their 2nd pair would be ideal. If they strike out on their top pair targets then maybe Sean Walker and bump Zub up to the top pair.
Forum: NHL Tradesmar. à 8 h 48
Sujet: (COL/BUF) - Byram for Mittelstadt
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Andy_Dick</b></div><div>Goalies are bizarre that way. We see guys like Sorokin that works better with higher shot totals. Then, again, we see guys like Adin Hill perfectly comfortable with little work load. Goalies are all about rhythm and staying calm in the net, less movement so that things dont open up. Having Jake Allen on HNIC was fascinating as he replaced Kelly Hrudey in the booth. Allen was talking about the triangle openings in goalies and not the pucks leaking through the five hole. It's all about how you move keeping everything square and not letting your extensions/stretching to create gaps.
Speaking of a goalie, the Avs could have had for little to nothing.
Allen was great in Jersey with a terrible defensive club and he was very good in STL as well with structure.
He struggled in Montreal with a 3 goalie system with little playigng time behind mostly rookies on D. I don't know why the Avs didnt try to land him at half retention like many Habs fans suggested. Allen was one of the most experienced and steady guys to be had. Avs win game 1 easily with Jake Allen.</div></div>

From what I understand the Avs were in on Allen and Ullmark at the deadline; for whatever reason (probably cap management and 2-3 other deals going down) they didn't pull the trigger.
Forum: NHL Tradeslun. à 9 h 12
Sujet: (COL/BUF) - Byram for Mittelstadt
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Rolfadinho</b></div><div>Didn’t they already have enough scoring power though?</div></div>

No, all of the offense was running thru the top line and top pair; they needed a secondary scoring threat and had no 2C options.

Also, your post seems reactive to game 1 vs Winnipeg where we had Sam Girard and Jonathan Drouin injured; both impactful players on our overall team defense/transition game. Mittelstadt was a major positive factor in that game to keep Colorado within 1 goal; not to mention Sean Walker's impact (who we would not have acquired without moving Byram). You can't ignore all of that just to imply we needed Byram back.

7 goals on 23 shots, at one point it was 3 goals on 7 shots. The problem is Georgiev not being reliable until he has faced 15+ shots. Probably 2 of the Winnipeg goals are not really anything he can do about; but the Avs need someone who can be "cold" for long stretches while they dominate possession and not give up a goal every 3 shots.
Forum: NHLlun. à 1 h 32
Sujet: Expansion Ideas and Division Reshaping
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>AK50</b></div><div>Fair, but I just feel that the East Coast deserves a hockey team and Halifax has the most people(around 500,000), so it seems like an obvious choice. Quebec City wouldn't be bad, its just that a team in Atlantic Canada really makes the game more accessible.</div></div>

To put the NHL economics into perspective, Winnipeg fans must pay nearly 6x the amount per person to support the team compared to "average NHL cities" who have a large corporate base for sponsorships and larger populations of fans to purchase tickets. Toronto has such a large economy/population that they are below average in "support ratio" (0.6x), while Montreal is right around average at 1.2x, Vancouver is slightly above average at 1.7x, and then Calgary 2.5x, Edmonton 3.1x, and Ottawa 3.2x. Buffalo is the lowest ranked American city at 4.6x with Salt Lake City coming in next at 2.9x

These statistics are born out by the teams struggles at the gate this year with fans complaining about ticket prices. They have to subsidize the team because otherwise it wouldn't exist; but now they "forgot" that and are feeling the pinch in the pocketbook (understandably so). However, you cannot award a team to a small city and say "but they have a great hockey culture/fandom/etc and will support the team even without corporations" and then turn around and use that as an excuse as to why they are struggling financially.

Quebec City is very similiar in that 6x ratio.

Hallifax would be double that at 11.6x and with a much lower per capita GDP compared to Quebec and even Winnipeg it would only be destined for failure as an NHL market.
Forum: NHLlun. à 1 h 11
Sujet: Expansion Ideas and Division Reshaping
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>A_Habs_fan</b></div><div>Unfortunately, there's nowhere in Atlantic Canada than can fit an NHL team imo, Halifax is the biggest one but I think they're too small for an NHL team. Maybe AHL would consider Halifax though</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>AK50</b></div><div>Fair, but I just feel that the East Coast deserves a hockey team and Halifax has the most people(around 500,000), so it seems like an obvious choice. Quebec City wouldn't be bad, its just that a team in Atlantic Canada really makes the game more accessible.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Rangsey</b></div><div>Halifax ain't it. Not big enough to support a team. Hamilton gotta be on the list tho</div></div>

The new 32-team average NHL city has a US$GDP of over $380 billion and a DMA population of over 4.15 million; average per capita US$GDP of nearly $92,000 per year.

Salt Lake City for reference has GDP of $135 billion, DMA population of 1.25 million and average GDP of $107,644
Phoenix was $362 billion GDP, 4.85 million DMA, and GDP per capita of $74,721.

There are only 3 other non-NHL cities in North America that would raise the average, and in theory create the opportunity to accretively raise league-wide revenues: San Francisco, Houston, and Atlanta. Phoenix is the next closest city to be on par with the league average.

<strong>NHL EXPANSION CITY CANDIDATES
</strong><strong>PACIFIC</strong>
San Francisco, California - huge economy, large and wealthy population (not San Jose, CA); very old/small arena (13,550) would need to be replaced. NFL, MLB, NBA teams.
Portland, Oregon - NHL sized arena ready (18,280); similiar sized market/population as Vancouver and St. Louis. NBA team. Some hockey culture.
San Diego, California - large economy/population (similiar to Minneapolis and Denver); smallish arena (12,920) would need to be replaced. MLB team.
Others to consider but not top options: Sacramento, Oakland (Former NHL team the Golden Seals were in Oakland, not San Francisco which was a big factor in their failure), Boise.

<strong>CENTRAL</strong>
Houston, Texas - huge &amp; wealthy population, large economy/corporate base. Has to be Fertitta until 2033 when arena (17,800) lease is up. NFL, MLB, NBA teams. Former successful WHA team (Aeros) here.
Phoenix, Arizona - huge market/population; arena issues are well documented, 5 year clock is ticking. NFL, MLB, NBA teams. Former NHL team located here (Coyotes)/culture.
Austin, Texas - wealthy citizens and fairly large economy (similiar sized market/population as Vancouver and St. Louis); no large arena. No major sport teams.
Kansas City, Missouri - NHL sized arena is ready (17,544) - economy/population is similiar to Nashville &amp; Pittsburgh. NFL, MLB teams. Short-term NHL team located here (Scouts).
San Antonio, Texas - NHL sized arena (16,151) is ready - average sized economy/population compares to Las Vegas/Pittsburgh. NBA team.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - NHL sized arena (15,178) - population/economy is similiar to Edmonton, Ottawa, Raleigh, and Salt Lake City. NFL, MLB, NBA teams. Strong hockey culture.
Others to consider but not top options: Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Memphis, Omaha, Tulsa, Albuquerque, Des Moines, and Saskatoon/Regina.

<strong>METRO</strong>
Baltimore, Maryland - large population/economy (similiar to Vancouver/Charlotte), decent sized arena (14,000) but would need to be replaced. NFL, MLB, NBA teams. Some hockey culture.
Charlotte, North Carolina - large population/economy (similiar to Vancouver), decent sized arena (14,100) but would need to be replaced. NFL, NBA teams.
Cincinatti, Ohio - average population/economy (similiar to Nashville/Pittsburgh), decent sized arena (14,453) but would need to be replaced. NFL, MLB teams. Some hockey culture.
Indianapolis, Indiana - average population/economy (similiar to Nashville/Pittsburgh), small arena (11,651)would need to be replaced. NFL, NBA teams.
Cleveland, Ohio - similiar economy/population to Columbus. NHL sized arena is ready (18,926). Former NHL team located here (Barons). NFL, MLB, NBA teams. Some hockey culture.
Others to consider but not top options: Norfolk, Richmond, Louisville, Birmingham.
Re-alignment option could be to put Nashville Predators in Metro if best expansion candidates dictate realignment.

<strong>ATLANTIC</strong>
Atlanta, Georgia - huge population and economy, 2 bidding expansion groups/arena proposals. NFL, MLB, NBA teams. 2x former NHL teams located here (Flames/Thrashers).
Orlanda, Florida - similiar economy/population to St. Louis. NHL sized arena is ready (17,353). NBA team.
Hamilton, Ontario - as a stand-alone city is way too small to be an NHL market based on population/economy (smaller than even Quebec). NHL sized arena (17,383) and extremely strong hockey culture in place. As a "2nd Greater Toronto Area" team however, Hamilton ranks on this list. IMO, if the Buffalo Sabres were ever to relocate they would be allowed to move here; otherwise I think both the Maple Leafs and the Sabres block any additional teams in the southern Golden Horseshoe.
Quebec City, Quebec - much too small of an economy/population for the modern NHL (similiar to Winnipeg, Manitoba). NHL sized-arena is ready (18,259) and former NHL teams (Bulldogs/Nordiques) were located here. Extremely strong hockey culture.
Others to consider but not top options: Jacksonville, Hartford, Providence, Grand Rapids.
Atlanta could be a Metro or Atlantic team to place; depending upon other expansion options to optimize geographical/potential rivalry fit.

The four strongest cities to grow the leagues revenues would be: San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, and Phoenix and it's not particularly close. San Diego and Baltimore come in 5th/6th.

I can see the concern over San Francisco with neighboring San Jose but that is about the same distance as Toronto to Buffalo but in this case it would be like having Toronto and Vancouver an hour apart and everyone in both cities made twice their current income.

Add San Francisco to the Pacific, Arizona/Houston to the Central; move Nashville to the Metro, and add Atlanta to the Atlantic

<strong>PACIFIC</strong>
Edmonton
Calgary
Vancouver
Seattle
San Francisco
San Jose
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Vegas

<strong>CENTRAL</strong>
Winnipeg
Minnesota
Chicago
St. Louis
Colorado
Utah
Dallas
Houston
Arizona

<strong>METRO</strong>
New York R
New York I
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Washington
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Carolina
Nashville

<strong>ATLANTIC</strong>
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Detroit
Buffalo
Boston
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
Florida

Or an alternative Metro/Atlantic alignment could be:
<strong>SOUTHEAST</strong>....................<strong>NORTHEAST</strong>
Philadelphia...................New York R
Washington....................New York I
Pittsburgh.......................New Jersey
Columbus.......................Boston
Carolina..........................Buffalo
Nashville.........................Detroit
Atlanta............................Toronto
Tampa Bay.....................Ottawa
Florida.............................Montreal

This format could have a positive impact on TV ratings/value by having the Northeast teams competing more regularly such as Toronto/Montreal vs the New York area teams, but the alternative is re-creating the not-so-successful "Southleast" division/demographic.
Forum: NHLven. à 12 h 18
Sujet: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #5: The Final Stretch
Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo did an interview that is interesting to watch:

https://arizonasports.com/story/3546271/alex-meruelo-i-am-the-only-one-bring-hockey-back-arizona/

His position is that the Coyotes would continue at Mullett Arena for another 3-4 years while building the North Phoenix arena and did not see that as a problem until Bettman/Daly called him out in March.

basically in his perspective the NHL forced him to sell due to the arena issue not being resolved. He is convinced that the "Coyotes" are still an NHL team that is on hold and everyone should just stay on the bandwagon because its still the Coyotes. Pretty disconnected owner to what the fans are going through. My view is that he sees players/staff as commodities and that the name on the front of the jersey is what people are loyal to not the names on the back and emotional attachment to their history/legacy.

I think he needed the NHL to move the team to create the urgency from City of Phoenix to get his arena project done.

Dude needs a major crash-course in public relations and consensus building leadership skills.
Forum: Utah Hockey Clubven. à 11 h 2
Sujet: What will the team name be?
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BigBallsBriere</b></div><div>it's rumored they trademarked

Hockey Club - Temporary Purposes I assume
HC - Temporary Purposes I assume
Utah Fury
Utah Blizzard
Utah Venom

Which I really hope aren't picked. Blizzard is probably the best out of the 3, but all feel like names of a EASHL team not an NHL team lol.

I like the idea of the Eagles, Stags, Alpines, Moose. Don't mind the idea of the Wolves either.</div></div>

I like the Eagles/Golden Eagles, Saints, Grizzlies (currently their local ECHL team nickname), I'm sure there would be some better options that come out in the future but most of the ones I've seen are funky (not a fan of Blizzard, Fury, Venom, Alpines, Stags, or Moose). Utah Phoenix would be epic
Forum: NHLven. à 10 h 35
Sujet: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #5: The Final Stretch
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>IconicHawk</b></div><div>Also the reason why the coyotes didn’t relocate to Quebec was simple: Detroit and Columbus would rather fold then move west again</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>aadoyle</b></div><div>I think Quebec should be saved for expansion rather then just relocation. Kind of like Houston

But first get a team in Saskatchewan so we can fill in the map lul</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>A_Habs_fan</b></div><div>Like the Thrashers before them, ownership failed to Yotes and now the team will move. Meruelo was a problem, he should not get a 2nd chance at a team, Arizona should though, like Atlanta, they have the fans and metro area to have a successful team, it will depends on ownership and a good arena but they can be a good spot</div></div>

I'm starting to suspect that the NHL used the post-expansion buzz from Seattle/Vegas to float the idea of being "open to expansion" for the sole purpose of building a market around finding a relocation option for the Coyotes because they were "stuck" with the Meruelo/Mullett situation. They approved him as an owner, approved the arena situation, then got burned when Tempe vote failed.

All of the "expansion" talk from Utah, Houston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Omaha were based on Commissioner Bettman doing his job by trying to build a market through "soft conversations" with potential NHL owners (a pretty small group of likely candidates/markets to be sure) through signaling that they would entertain any "expression of interest".

The NHL could have been as pissed off as they wanted about the Coyotes situation but without a legitimate long-term alternative they would just be kicking the can down the road. And I also think that the owners would never give too much authority to Bettman to simply "revoke" an owner from his team without a major Show Cause type of event; which they didn't have on Meruelo.

Houston - didn't appear to be in play based on Fertitta balking at the purchase price of around a Billion USD$; he wants to buy cheap sell high and without him there is no viable Houston option because he has the arena operating rights thru 2033.

Atlanta - has 2 bidders for expansion but their timelines are at least 3 years away at the earliest.

All of that was simply leverage to get someone like Ryan Smith to step up his offer to the range they needed and the timeline they needed to force Meruelo to sell under the conditions they needed and avoid a legal fight.

Now that this has occurred, the NHL will wait to call Meruelo's bluff on the 5 year "right of first refusal" that he has to bring NHL back to Phoenix area. If he does not then I would be surprised if the NHL pursued expansion again. If he does they would have to consider the impact of expanding with two teams (Atlanta/Phoenix for example) and the disruption that would have to NHL teams.

In any case, having multiple cities/ownership groups interested in the NHL is a good thing since the NHL's job is to create value for its owners.

The catch-22 for Bettman, is that when there is too much unmet demand for franchises that is when competitor leagues start to form and I wonder about something like that popping up with Atlanta, Houston, Quebec, Hamilton, Phoenix (if NHL doesn't return), Cincinnati, Kansas City all feeling like they can host high-level pro hockey along with a team like the Chicago Wolves and other "major league cities" such as Cleveland, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Portland, San Diego, Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Memphis, Indianapolis, Baltimore, and even Brooklyn. Could be another WHA/IHL type of situation.

If I were one of those potential primary owners I think I would target the CBA expiration as an option to start with a 6-8 team independent league in "hockey-starved" cities that the NHL doesn't serve.

And there should be no debate: there is no way a league can threaten the NHL like the WHA did; but there could be some impacts to the AHL/NCAA/CHL as they all stand in uncertainty regarding player issues and it could be something like the IHL was.

I also feel that there is a large unmet demand from both fans/players in Europe to have an "AHL equivalent" that if a league had 6-8 teams on both continents it could be viable financially as a replacement for the KHL/AHL for NHL fringe players.
Forum: NHL18 avr. à 17 h 9
Forum: NHL15 avr. à 19 h 0
Sujet: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #5: The Final Stretch
NHL Executive Committe <a href="https://www.sportico.com/leagues/hockey/2024/nhl-exec-committee-approves-coyotes-move-salt-lake-city-1234775401/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Approves Coyotes Move</a> to Salt Lake City

I 100% think that the NHL should have to pay 50% of that into the player's escrow account.

For 2 years while Arizona was allowed to play in Mullett Arena with less than 5,000 capacity seats the drop in Hockey-Related Revenue was anywhere between $80 million (lowest average attendance) and $120 million (average NHL attendance) for the 82 games played there based on average NHL ticket price of $110.00 each. Split the difference at $100 million and the players should get half of the ownership relocation fee.

The NHLPA and players had no say, no veto power, and no formal way to force NHL teams to have adequate facilites/arenas. If I were the NHLPA I would fight this tooth and nail and even if I lost I would set the expectation that the next CBA will be much more player friendly across the board.
Forum: Other Leagues15 avr. à 17 h 33
Sujet: AHL-ECHL Teams/NHL Affiliations
Given the news about Arizona Coyotes NHL team relocating to Salt Lake City; there are questions that arise regarding the "trickle-down" effect on AHL and ECHL teams. Some of the rumors state that the former owner of the Coyotes, Alex Meruelo, will continue to own the AHL team located in Tucson but move them to Phoenix as tenants of Mullett Arena. No clarity on if that means automatic affiliation with the SLC NHL team yet. Will it be the Roadrunners or the Coyotes? Something else... The Kachinas?

https://gophnx.com/what-is-the-roadrunners-future-in-arizona/

<strong>Teams affected:</strong>
Arizona Coyotes (NHL) -&gt; Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) -&gt; no ECHL affiliate but rumors were that a team would be placed in Reno, NV when the arena is built there (stop me if you've heard that before).
Colorado Avalanche (NHL) -&gt; Colorado Eagles (AHL) -&gt; Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)

Would the teams do right by Tucson and place an ECHL team there during the 5 year window for Arizona to get a new NHL team?

Also, there is an existing ECHL team in Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City; the Grizzlies which are an Avalanche affiliate (relocated to SLC area from Denver after the Avs came to town).

Avs probably do not want their ECHL team in the backyard of a division rival. There is an unlikely long-term situation that sees both an ECHL and NHL team sharing the market in SLC.

I am really optimistic that the Avs will get an ECHL team in Colorado Springs, CO (World Arena has no anchor tenant) or even Albuquerque, NM.