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NHL Roundup..week ending 10/25/09

Oct 262009

A busy schedule over the weekend leads to a few story lines to go with it. Here’s my weekly version of the NHL Roundup.

The Washington Capitals won their fourth straight against the lowly Islanders with in come from behind fashion. The Islanders were up 2-0 halfway through the third period before eventually blowing the game in overtime to the Caps 3-2.

The L.A Kings have also won 4 straight snapping Phoenix’s four game winning streak. Anze Kopitar had 3 assists as he lead the Kings to a 5-3 Victory. Kopitar is currently leading the league in goals (10) and points (21). Jarret Stoll also tallied his first two goals of the season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins 7 game win streak came to an end on Saturday when the streaking New Jersey Devils went into the Igloo and beat the Pens 4-1. Martin Brodeur was just over ten minutes from tying Terry Sawchuks NHL record for career shutouts.

Speaking of shutouts, Roberto Luongo set a franchise record for the Vancouver Canucks Saturday with his 21st shutout in a Canucks jersey, leading them to their 3 straight victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs who are still win less for the season. Toronto may catch a break tonight when they head to the Pond to face the Ducks as Giguire is likely going to be out of the line up.

The Hurricanes suffered their 6th loss in row in Minnesota from a bizzare overtime goal by Cal Clutterbuck. Mikko Koivu’s shot from the slot hit the post and went off the falling Clutterbuck’s face. Clutterbuck then swiped at the puck from his knees and scored the game winner.

As mentioned above, Jean-Sebastien Giguiere left the game late in the third period Saturday night against the Blue Jackets. Giguire tweaked an ailing groin and is listed day to day.

Atlanta Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk is expected to miss four weeks with a broken bone in his right foot. Kovalchuk was injured when he was struck by a puck during the first period of Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. He is tied for second in the league with nine goals.

Penguins defenseman, Sergi Gonchar will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken left wrist from collision with a St.Louis Blues player Tuesday night.

David Booth was released from the hospital after suffering a concussion the resulted from what looked to be a cheap hit from the Flyer’s Mike Richards.

Darcy Tucker is out indefinitely with a concussion and 40 stitches from the result of Ruuto’s violent hit on Friday night.

Is it time to down size the NHL?

AHL News, NHL News No Responses »

Oct 102009

There is no question that with the sluggish economy, certain luxuries lose out on the deal and major sports is not excluded. Don’t get me wrong, the NHL just had their fourth consecutive attendance record with 21,475,223 overall giving the league an average of 17,460 per game and there is no doubt that the birth of the Winter Classic has boosted the interest in hockey in most areas.

The Pittsburgh Penquins had a first in franchise history , back to back season sell outs. Other teams that sold out the 2008-09 season were the Canucks, Leafs, Oilers, Rangers and Flames with the Bruins, Blackhawks, Canadiens and Minnesota Wild with significant increases over the 07-08 season.

So what’s the problem you ask? The smaller market teams are suffering severely, teams like the Panthers, Predators and Thrashers who are looking to sell or move out of Atlanta. It’s no secret in the NHL that the Coyotes are in serious trouble and what about the Islanders who thought signing a goalie to a 100 year contract (obviously exaggerated) would fill the seats.

Then you have the city of Winnipeg, looking to get an NHL team and there is some rumors out of Winnipeg of course, that the Atlanta or possibly Pheonix are just a few teams that may be looking to re-locate to Winnepeg. But is that the answer? Lets think about this, a city that once had an NHL team and lost it , only has a 15,000 seat arena wants an a team that once played there.

Here’s the harsh reality, with the crazy money that pro players make now a days and the sluggish economy, unless you have a very strong core of players in your locker room, you will not fill the seats. There are 30 NHL teams, use that formula and do the math…we are talking about roughly 150 marquis players (give or take)are needed to make 30 teams strong enough to survive.

There is no shame with a few of these teams shutting down and letting those fourth line players and back-up goalies, play where they should be.. the AHL. There are great advantages of downsizing, the players I am referring to will get some quality ice time instead of a shift or two a game and it will make both the AHL and the NHL well represented.

Bruins season tickets price from $1247 to $9116 per seat with only seats $3098 and up available. Going to an AHL game is a great alternative with ticket prices under 20 bucks. They are very kid oriented with games and events going on through out the building. I personally think that the AHL should expand and the NHL should down size. It is time to give the fans some quality hockey games for the price they are paying to see them.