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who is excited?? i was born and raised a New York Islander hockey fan for 29 years. it is the greatest sport in the world.....0-0 ties and all!! who agrees? i know alot of people hate hockey out there and i wanna know why. go Islanders!!!!
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#1 Reply
Posted by
Spacey
on 18 Jul, 2005 11:31
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Did the players screw themselves on the deal? I heard that they lost a lot of the benefits they once had and that the owners actually won out on the deal. Is it true that an NHL hockey player no longer has dental insurance?
Did you play hockey or just grow up on it?
Ever since the Whalers left the state, hockey interest in CT has gone down.
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#2 Reply
Posted by
kyndkate
on 18 Jul, 2005 11:53
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I\'m a Redwings fan by nature (my dad\'s side of the fam is all from WI and MI). It kinda sucks about the players getting the shaft, but I\'ll admit, I realllllly missed hockey this year.
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greatest sport in the world is back.....go Bruins!!!!!
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#4 Reply
Posted by
Spacey
on 18 Jul, 2005 11:58
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The players should have never settled for an agreement without dental insurance, they must be dumb. There is no one to blame but the players for getting shafted. I also like the Red Wings when it comes to hockey, I like to see them play the blackhawks or what ever team Chicago has. I like the fights. thats all I like.
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#5 Reply
Posted by
davepeck
on 18 Jul, 2005 12:36
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Hockey is Back!!!!!
wait...what???
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#6 Reply
Posted by
antbach
on 18 Jul, 2005 12:38
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The players got shafted, yes, but it wasn\'t entirely their fault. The head of the Union (name slips me) declined the offer in February which turned out to blow the one they settled out the window. If anyone has been following the shenanagins people like to label as "meetings" (as I have, sort of), and read Jeremy Roenick\'s interviews, he plainly states that the players union should have signed in February, and thus have been screwed. The new agreement hurts high-revenue/high-profile teams like the Flyers, Red Wings, and Rangers. Growing up playing hockey and being a huge fan since I was tiny, I must stress that I feel this is actually a GOOD thing for hockey. While it may hurt certain big market clubs, it does nothing but create better competition among every team in the league. And since hockey is, in my opinion, a sport where money definitely CANNOT buy you championships (see: NY Rangers), I think we are in for a great season.
The NHL has alot of work to do to gain its decreasing fanbase back though, and I think for a small reason it will return more popular than ever, kinda like the home run chase repopularizing baseball. Hockey has become less popular, even before this debacle, than women\'s tennis (not that I have anything against watching women in skimpy outfits run around). Enourmous amounts of people say its to hard to follow on TV, so NHL ratings are lower than say bowling. I disagree. Maybe because I know the game, but I find it very easy to follow the action on television. I can understand trying to follow a tiny puck around when you are there sitting 20 rows from the ice, but the cameras on TV do the work for you. Ticket prices are without a doubt the biggest issue with the NHL. You ain\'t gonna put people in the seats charging in excess of $75 for a two hour game.
Anyways, enough of my bitching, heh. The only thing that I am confused about is the draft. Sidney Crosby is the next Gretzky (so it is said, by the great one himself) and without a doubt the #1 pick. How do the decide who gets the pick though!?
Oh, and. . . . . GO BRUINS!!!!
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#7 Reply
Posted by
Powerslave
on 18 Jul, 2005 12:57
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Glad to see hockey\'s comin back but from what i\'ve heard some of the new rules are gonna make it look more like an arcade game. most likely shrinking goalie equipment(good thing), no red line(whatever), and no ties, games decided by shoot-outs(gay). also, the cap and free agent rules are gonna make the league look worse than football, players changing teams constantly. hopefully things will work out better than this. the league\'s got a lot of work to do to win back fans, i dont really see it happening.
the draft is set up like the lotto. teams that suck but havent had a first overall draft pick in a while get three balls (rangers, blue jackets, etc.), teams that suck but either got a first overall or made the playoffs get 2 balls, everyone else gets one. so the rangers have a slightly better shot at first overall than the avalanche or lightning, pretty stupid in my opinion but i hear the draft is gonna be rigged for the rangers to get crosby, that\'s why negotions took so long. go blue!
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no more two-line pass calls!!! tons of breakaways and goals!
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#9 Reply
Posted by
antbach
on 18 Jul, 2005 13:51
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If the Rangers get Crosby, I refuse to watch hockey for the season. The kid is gonna be the poster-boy for the NHL (Lebronish, I guess). If they want to get fans back and get some new ones in the small hockey market cities (Columbus, Atlanta, Miami, etc.), do not let the Rangers have the pick, give it to one of the small market clubs. Rig the lotto! I beg you!
As for the new rules. The AHL implemented some of them this year to good results. I went to quite a few P-Bruins games this year and thought they worked well for the most part. The lines are wider and I am pretty sure the neutral zone was smaller making the offensive zones bigger. Getting rid of two-line passes is huge, it opens up the ice more than these guys have known since college/juniors/wherever. The only rule change I didnt like was getting rid of touch-up icing. It slows the game down (too many whistles). As for no OTs, and shootouts, they didnt try those out with the AHL, but yea shootouts are awful. I was skeptical when they added the point for an overtime loss rule/ 4 on 4, but have since think it works very well.
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they need to get rid of the smaller markets
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#11 Reply
Posted by
Spacey
on 18 Jul, 2005 14:05
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less teams? is that what you are saying? less teams and focus more on the larger markets?
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noooooooo! my team will get the shaft! for some reason people like the rangers more than the islanders.
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noooooooo! my team will get the shaft! for some reason people like the rangers more than the islanders.
no, the islanders would stay, i\'m saying teams like columbus, nashville, etc....
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#14 Reply
Posted by
Powerslave
on 18 Jul, 2005 14:35
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damn right they need to get rid of smaller markets. one of the reasons hockey is so boring to the average viewer is that the talent pool is so diluted with AHL level players the game has to be slowed down with clutch and grab style for them to keep up. i was actually hoping the lockout would squeeze out a few franchises, why the hell should florida have 2 teams?!?
as far as crosby goes, i think he has to land on a team with a big market, and ya dont get much bigger than the rangers. i mean, if i was crosby, why would i want to play in nashville or columbus where there are no fans or interest? the best thing for the league i think would be to have crosby in a place where he could get the maximum exposure to fans.
oh, and i think they\'re doing tag up offsides and are gonna try to call more holding, we\'ll see how that works out.
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