NHL is (finally) back

[thegingerone]

I'm so excited for this season to get going. No hockey was really starting to wear me down. I'm really sad that it came this far. The NHL had some momentum going in building a fan base and having a lockout last this long was really ridiculous. I think its safe to say that "casual" viewership is going to take a huge hit, especially down here in the states, but that there are a lot of people like me that can't wait for the puck to drop. The management completely shot themselves in the foot. The key here should be growing the game. Growth in viewership both strengthens revenue and interest in the sport overall. People need to be familiar with the game, their kids need to play it and they need to bring their friends to watch it. The lockout did a lot to destroy what little growth the game had. I believe that if you love something you should share it (within reason of course). I would like to see some gestures from the management that show they are committed to winning back fans.

 

[Lunar Templar]

there was a Hokey strike thing?

I was not aware of this, but good for you Hokey fans I guess

 

[Vegosiux]

I get that it's a niche sport

Eeeehhhh, I suppose in US of A most sports are niche due to "not being gridiron football". It's quite a popular thing over here in Europe and in Canada and Russia, I hear.

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
I think whoever wins the Stanely Cup this year is always gonna have a mini-asterisk on it. I mean unless some team just goes out and absolutely dominates, it's always gonna be, "Well you only had to play half a season".

i dont agree. in 94 the rangers won the cup, and i dont see anybody that say : oh well, but they played half a season. Even if you play half a season, you still play the full playoffs.

so what, every cup win before 67 doesnt count because there was only 6 teams ?

It's pretty sure that in canada, there will be no consequence of the lockout. people will still watch the games, still pay 300$ for a pair of half decent tickets and full the arenas anyway. In some US market, i'm not that sure...

I think the main "problem" will be that whoever wins this season has won the season that came after the "Kings, seeded 8th, knock out the 1st, 2nd and 3rd seed in conference playoffs while only giving away 2 games, then proceed to win the Stanley Cup". Simply put, this season's champion has big shoes to fill.

Oh and, yeah I did go to see the cup live when Kopitar brought it to Slovenia. Was a great thing, to see "the holy grail of hockey" up close.

 

[Lionsfan]

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
I think whoever wins the Stanely Cup this year is always gonna have a mini-asterisk on it. I mean unless some team just goes out and absolutely dominates, it's always gonna be, "Well you only had to play half a season".

i dont agree. in 94 the rangers won the cup, and i dont see anybody that say : oh well, but they played half a season. Even if you play half a season, you still play the full playoffs.

so what, every cup win before 67 doesnt count because there was only 6 teams ?

Well one, you're thinking of the 1994/1995 season, when the Devils won (and almost killed hockey in the process). And people do talk about only playing half a season.

And two, I'm not going to pretend the regular season is the end-all be-all (not when half the freaking league makes the playoffs anyways), but now instead of figuring out what teams have the most talent to last, it's going to be which teams get lucky and didn't have their players get hurt. Or which teams managed to get their Russian players back from the KHL. Stuff like that. It's just gonna be a dash to the playoffs, which should make for some interesting tv, but not necessarily legitimate. Especially since teams are only going to be playing their division, and essentially nobody else.

The playoffs negate some of that, but a half-season is still half a season.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I was beginning to worry if I'd see Chris Neil beat the shit out of someone this year or not.

 

[Sp3ratus]

Just a quick update on the situation. The CBA has now been signed and we'll be getting a 48-game season, beginning January 19th.

Source

The post-Lidstrom era begins. I feel for you guys. He was one of my favorite non-Canucks.

Yea, it'll be hard without him. An amazing player and future hall of famer like him is irreplaceable. Wings still have a lot of great players, but it just won't be the same.

No chance of that happening, every player that's gone over seas has an out clause to return to the NHL. Or more specifically, they only signed a contract for half the season in Europe to begin with. Players were already starting to return from Europe in late December. If anyone stays it will be personal choice, not contractual obligations.

Of course, that makes sense. Just like the NBA contracts the previous year. Well, I'm glad to hear that it'll be a strong league competing, even if it's only for a 48 game scheduele.