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Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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I saw headlines a few weeks back that the Leafs put the Tampa Bay Lightning away in the first round of playoffs and I was happy to hear it since I can't stand that team. But that was a short-lived run for the Leafs as they were defeated by the Panthers which eventually eliminated the Bruins in a recent round and now we're at the final four, and well..... they're all sunbelt teams!
Carolina Hurricanes vs Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights. Lame!
So as much pleasure that I got from seeing the Bruins win the Stanley Cup and defeat the Vancouver Cannucks way back in 2011 and then having a good chuckle after seeing their fans riot in the streets; I have to say I'd genuinely like to see a Canadian team make it all the way and put an end to the decades long drought of not having a Stanley Cup victory. Certainly more than any sunbelt team which just seems unnatural. But it all to boils down to the money and the money being banked on these teams.
Ryan Reynolds had big plans for purchasing the Ottawa Senators and drumming momentum for the team, but he withdrew the offer this week and it all fell through.
Phoenix cannot come to an agreement on building a new arena paired with low attendance so the Coyotes will be moving out. I know Quebec City has a desire to get a team back, but reading further it seems very unlikely that the team is moving up there and they could end up going to either in Salt Lake or possibly even Houston.
What's the feeling north of the border on the NHL? Do you think if this pattern continues year after year with so much money and fanfare being thrown at Sunbelt teams that Canada might possibly divide their teams away from the league into a league of their own? Or is there a Canadian team who can overcome this long spell? It seems like a curse. I don't think anyone questions the loyalty of Habs fans, and somehow a small metro like Winnipeg warranted a team to move back and away from a much larger one like Atlanta.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,750 posts, read 23,822,981 times
Reputation: 14665
Crickets.....
Sorry if it's salt in the wound. Sometimes a thread idea is just an idea, perhaps not a good conversation. Oh well.
Just my feeling on the NHL. Another year, another victory for a sunbelt city, and 30 years dry for any Canadian team taking the Stanley Cup. As someone who skated and slapped hockey pucks around frozen ponds in the winter as a kid, it just feels like an oddity to me. That and it would of been cool to see Quebec get a hockey team again an pick up the one leaving the hot desert city.
What's the feeling north of the border on the NHL? Do you think if this pattern continues year after year with so much money and fanfare being thrown at Sunbelt teams that Canada might possibly divide their teams away from the league into a league of their own? Or is there a Canadian team who can overcome this long spell? It seems like a curse. I don't think anyone questions the loyalty of Habs fans, and somehow a small metro like Winnipeg warranted a team to move back and away from a much larger one like Atlanta.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Champ le monstre du lac
Crickets.....
Sorry if it's salt in the wound. Sometimes a thread idea is just an idea, perhaps not a good conversation. Oh well.
Just my feeling on the NHL. Another year, another victory for a sunbelt city, and 30 years dry for any Canadian team taking the Stanley Cup.
Not crickets, not salt in the wound. You've asked a very good question, that is affected by a number of issues you may not be aware of.
First of all, the time of year. It's the last third of May right now, nice temperatures outside, and many of us would rather be outside than be inside watching TV, hockey or not. Then there are the Blue Jays, who have fans all across the country, and who have been playing for almost two months.
It seems to me that at this time of year, "hockey fatigue" seems to affect a lot of people We've had NHL hockey for almost ten months, we've had World Junior championships back around Christmas, we've had IIHF men's and women's championships in the spring. We have the lower leagues (e.g. WHL, OHL, etc.) and their championships. Hockey news is prominent in every print media sports section, and tends to lead every sports report on broadcast media. Speaking only for myself, my sports interests this time of year do not include hockey, as I am tired of so much of it being offered to me since last September.
But I think it is also important to note that there are many hockey fans who will only follow "their" team. Edmonton fans are insanely devoted to the Oilers, but if Edmonton isn't playing today, they are not going to watch a New York-Chicago game or a Toronto-Montreal game, just because it's hockey. They're going to find something else to do.
This is what one of our big media companies (Rogers maybe?) didn't understand: that Canadians will not watch just any hockey game; they want to watch games featuring their favourite teams. Mostly, those are Canadian teams, but not always. Anyway, by purchasing broadcast rights to every single NHL game played in a season, the media company thought it had a lock because Canadians want to see as much hockey as possible, right? Wrong. What it didn't realize is that very few Canadians want to watch a Phoenix-Nashville game, or a Dallas-Florida game. No, they want to see Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver or other games featuring Canadian teams. If NHL games are between two American teams, or international games don't involve Canada, then Canadians have little to no interest.
This same point was made by one of the talking heads on a sports talk show last week. Might have been Pardon the Interruption, which I like to have in the background while I'm working. Anyway, it was a day or two after the last Canadian teams (Toronto and Edmonton) had been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. "If you don't have Canadian teams in the playoffs, then you don't have Canadian viewers," he remarked. "They want to watch Canadian teams, but they're not so crazy about hockey that they will keep watching playoffs involving American teams only."
And perhaps that's a partial answer to your question. It's not "crickets" or "salt in the wound"; it's just that with no Canadian teams playing any more this season, I'd suggest that we've lost interest in following or commenting on hockey. At least, until the next season starts.
Some thoughts for now. I'll undoubtedly have more later.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,750 posts, read 23,822,981 times
Reputation: 14665
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChevySpoons
First of all, the time of year. It's the last third of May right now, nice temperatures outside, and many of us would rather be outside than be inside watching TV, hockey or not. Then there are the Blue Jays, who have fans all across the country, and who have been playing for almost two months.
It seems to me that at this time of year, "hockey fatigue" seems to affect a lot of people We've had NHL hockey for almost ten months, we've had World Junior championships back around Christmas, we've had IIHF men's and women's championships in the spring. We have the lower leagues (e.g. WHL, OHL, etc.) and their championships. Hockey news is prominent in every print media sports section, and tends to lead every sports report on broadcast media. Speaking only for myself, my sports interests this time of year do not include hockey, as I am tired of so much of it being offered to me since last September.
It also just occurred to me that you all are currently enjoying a long holiday weekend. So yeah I can understand being burnt out on hockey all together. The Leafs beating out the Lightning got my attention to tune into the playoffs. That along with the recent headline of Ryan Reynolds' interest in potentially purchasing the Senators franchise, my interest piqued in recent weeks. But with the Bruins out and the remaining teams competing in the final four, I'll be tuning it out myself. I'll give this one a bump in the Fall. Enjoy your Victoria Day weekend.
It also just occurred to me that you all are currently enjoying a long holiday weekend. So yeah I can understand being burnt out on hockey all together. The Leafs beating out the Lightning got my attention to tune into the playoffs. That along with the recent headline of Ryan Reynolds' interest in potentially purchasing the Senators franchise, my interest piqued in recent weeks. But with the Bruins out and the remaining teams competing in the final four, I'll be tuning it out myself. I'll give this one a bump in the Fall. Enjoy your Victoria Day weekend.
Well the Leafs lost AGAIN - so i don't really care
Honestly I'm not a big sports guy tbh- but yeah long weekend and we've been getting some nice weather up here so the canucks across the land are drinking bear and enjoying the weather.
Tonight is BBQ night here.......
btw I think Snoop Dogg and some Rap producer are interested in the Sens as well. I had no idea Snoop was a big hockey fan until recently. If he does buy them - I'm sure they will reach a new high!
Well the Leafs lost AGAIN - so i don't really care
Honestly I'm not a big sports guy tbh- but yeah long weekend and we've been getting some nice weather up here so the canucks across the land are drinking bear and enjoying the weather.
Tonight is BBQ night here.......
btw I think Snoop Dogg and some Rap producer are interested in the Sens as well. I had no idea Snoop was a big hockey fan until recently. If he does buy them - I'm sure they will reach a new high!
Nah. NHL will always remain Canadian so I have no worries there. Besides, there are a lot of Canadian snowbirds who move to our southern states who will probably watch hockey while they're down at their vacation homes during the winter. Arizona in particular is a huge draw; I know because I came back from a trip to Arizona last month and the tourist brochures claim that Canadian citizens contribute a lot to their economy. Now that it's Spring, the snowbirds are all back home in Canada and of course enjoying other things. CFL season is about to start. Hockey best belongs in winter. The NHL should shorten the season by a month but I know they won't because it is money to them.
As a matter of fact, according to the Encyclopedia of Hockey, the NHL started in 1917 with four Canadian teams: the Toronto Arenas, the Montreal Canadiens (yes, that’s how they’ve always spelled it), the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Wanderers. This means the “nation” referred to in “National Hockey League” is none other than our neighbor to the north, Canada.
So I cannot see Canadian teams breaking away to form another league. The NHL is Canadian*, and has been for over a hundred years. If any hockey teams are going to break away from the NHL, they would have to be American teams.
* Yes, I know that the NHL is headquartered in New York now, and the commissioner is an American businessman, but no matter how much he wishes it were otherwise, he cannot overcome the league's documented history. The NHL belongs to Canada.
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