The NHL held their board of governors meeting today to address several league issues going into the season. Perhaps the biggest topic brought on to the conversation is the re-alignment of the divisions. The meeting concluded with the owners hopeful that they can have a new realignment plan made before December of this year.
When the Atlanta Thrashers franchise jumped ship to Winnipeg over summer, it’s common sense to think that having a team so far north in the Southeast division makes little sense. However, now that the Jets are destined to move to the Western conference, what team is primed to come to the East?
Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold threw some hints on what the divisions could be earlier this year, when he visited the Paul Allen Show on KFAN in Minneapolis. In the interview, Leipold said, “Our division would include the Winnipeg Jets, us, the Blues, the Nashville Predators, the Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, and maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets… maybe not depending on if they go east or west. I am all in favor of that. I think that is a grand slam, home run, hat trick for our team.” Leipold added, that he thinks the Jets are a natural rival to the Wild, going back to the North Stars-Jets days, and thinks it would be a lot of fun to see that rivalry again.
If Leipold’s words were a preview of what could come in December, then it looks as if the NHL is doing a retro look for the divisions with two divisions in each conference. Using Leipold’s hints and with the process of elimination, this is what the conferences could look like:
Central Division: Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.
Pacific Division: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.
Atlantic Division: Boston, Florida, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, and Washington.
Mid-Atlantic Division: Buffalo, Carolina, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.
It has long been rumored that the Detroit Red Wings were promised to be the next team in line to move East, as they “took one for the team” for the last realignment that saw the Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Thrashers join the Eastern Conference. The purpose of keeping the Red Wings in the Western conference was to use their winning tradition to fuel rivalries with newer franchises like the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Nashville Predators.
Speaking of the Blue Jackets and Predators, it is also believed that both teams are interested in moving to the East, as both teams feel that a move could further build their fan base with much earlier road games, which would drive fan attendance up because of more convenient distances. I believe a move could do Nashville good, but I think they have a strong enough market to hold their own even with the departure of the Red Wings. (By the way, it was an amazing PR move for the Predators to get Mike Fisher. Advertising Carrie Underwood at the games will draw attendance alone in the country music state!)
In my opinion, it makes perfect sense to move Detroit to the east, but I also think Columbus should follow. The NHL has tried to build up the Columbus-Detroit rivalry in hopes of someday re-creating a Michigan vs. Ohio State feeling between the two teams. If Detroit were to move away from the Blue Jackets, it would be a disaster for the Ohio based franchise, and I think it will create uncertainty in the stability of the team.
Moving Columbus and Detroit to the Eastern Conference will create uneven conferences, but now the NHL will have room to further expand and perhaps get a better opportunity for teams to succeed in the West. My proposition for next year is:
Central Division: Chicago, *Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.
Pacific Division: Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.
Atlantic Division: Boston, Florida, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, and Washington.
Now there is logic behind my proposal to make lopsided conferences, as my goal here is to create much more stable franchises. Now that Colorado moves to the Central division, their fans can now take quicker drives to cities like Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, and Minnesota, as opposed to Edmonton, San Jose and Vancouver. They can also keep a rivalry going with Minnesota, which got pretty strong in the early 2000’s.
The NHL has tinkered with a few ideas of expanding to other markets such as: Kansas City and Las Vegas. The expansion teams can plug right in and start rivalries with teams within a relatively close distance. I would like some of the league’s other struggling franchises to settle in before they expand more, but this division lay-out creates the possibility.
My guess is as good as everyone else’s, but the definite answer in the new realignment will come sometime in December. While it seems Detroit will come East, I only hope the NHL can figure out a way to do what’s best for all their teams with the new divisions.
Michael Jafari is a producer and contributor for WGR Sports Radio 550 in Buffalo, NY. He also served as the Web Content Coordinator Graduate Assistant for the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits and the IIHF World Junior Championship. You can follow him on twitter: @mikejafari.
This is the first story by Michael E. Jafari for the Business of Sports Network. Look for his articles across our sites, especially here on BizofHockey.com and BizofFootball.com. Please welcome him - Maury Brown
The NHL has more financially struggling franchises to join the New York Islanders and the Phoenix Coyotes. The NY Post has reported that the New Jersey Devils defaulted on a $100 million loan payment that was due on September 1.The report goes on to say that the default could open the door for lenders to “push the team into bankruptcy”.
Trouble has followed the franchise ever since they moved into the brand new Prudential Center in 2007.The Devils, who were estimated to be worth $218 million in the latest Forbes evaluation of the NHL franchises, have declining attendance and unpaid loans related to the building of the team’s new home.
In addition to their arena woes, part-owner Ray Chambers has sought out to sell his 47% share of the team for the past year, after an apparent fall-out with principal owner, Jeff Vanderbeek. Fallout, or not, that appears to be the case today as The Post is reporting that Vanderbeek has agreed to buy out Chambers’ stake.
The team’s financial troubles leave many doubts within the franchise. One of those questions will be the futures of star forward Zach Parise and soon-to-be hall of fame goaltender Martin Brodeur. Parise signed a one-year $6 million deal with the team in the offseason, but their 2003 first round draft pick will be an unrestricted free agent, and now the hopes of resigning their homegrown star looks grim. Brodeur’s contract also expires with the club in the offseason, and at a cap hit of over $5 million, it seems to make the most sense for the Devils to part ways with the 39-year-old. However, the divorce won’t come easy, and it could make an impact on the franchise, since Brodeur is a four-time Vezina trophy winner and led New Jersey to its three Stanley Cup victories in 1995, 2000, and 2003.
New Jersey didn’t appear to be a team under financial scrutiny in the summer of 2010, after the team signed star forward Ilya Kovalchuk to a whopping 15-year $100 million contract.The original deal was a 17-year deal worth $102 million, but the deal was nixed by the NHL due to that fact that the league accused the Devils of circumventing the league’s salary cap.If the team were to lose the legendary Brodeur and/or the young star in Parise, how can the franchise justify Kovalchuk’s contract to their fan base?
There are ways the Devils can increase their revenue and make them an attractive franchise again.The team finished with a horrendous 38-39-5 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-1996 seasons.Despite the record, the team made a late-season run going 26-7-3 to end the season.If they start the season the same way they ended it, then perhaps the better team can increase attendance.
Another way they could increase their revenue is to make appropriate upgrades to their uniforms. The Devils haven’t made any uniform alterations since 1992, when they dropped the green from the uniform. The team could also create an alternate jersey, which would drum up jersey and t-shirt sales.
It would be a travesty if the NHL lost a team that was essentially a dynasty in the late 90’s and captured three Stanley Cup championships. It would be an even bigger shame for the New York City area, as the epic-rivalry between the Devils and Rangers brought hockey back to life in the Big Apple.
Michael E. Jafari is a contributing writer for the Business of Sports Network. He can be reached on Twitter @mikejafari
When it comes to sports biz, this may be one of the most unique partnerships yet in Major League sports.
The New York Islanders on Friday an agreement to designate Tattoo Lou’s as the official tattoo shop of the New York Islanders Hockey Club – this is the first time a professional sports franchise has ever designated an official tattoo shop.
The wild thing is, it isn’t a partnership from a distance. The Islanders said that as part of this strategic partnership, Tattoo Lou’s will set up a tattooing and body-piercing station on the Nassau Coliseum concourse for 10 Islanders home games during the 2011-12 season. Tattoo Lou’s will also sell Islanders-centric body jewelry and tattoo-inspired Islanders t-shirts and sweatshirts.
“This partnership with the Islanders is a great fit for us and it’s a wonderful benefit to be a part of the Islanders team,” said Lou Rubino, President of Tattoo Lou’s. “This is another victory for the tattoo industry. For a long time, tattoos were frowned upon, but now, we’ve become more and more mainstream. One of the main things I love about this partnership is the history the Islanders have. My dad opened his first shop in 1958. We’re a part of Long Island history just like the Islanders.”
“Our team is thrilled to bring another Long Island institution to the Coliseum, especially one from such a unique industry,” said Justin Johnson, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships & Marketing for the Islanders. “Tattoo Lou’s is an innovative brand with a creative vision. They’re a great fit with our energetic team on the ice and our youthful fan base around Long Island.”
Can’t wait to hear what the elder set thinks of this when they roll in for an Islanders game. How long before a sports clubs has Jim Rose Circus as a presenting sponsor?
Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to the Forbes SportsMoney blog. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).
The NHL has yet to officially confirm the 2012 Winter Classic which is scheduled to take place at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, home of MLB’s Phillies.
The holdup, at this point, is still unknown -- despite anticipation for an official announcement the last few weeks.
As noted by Chuck Gormely of the Courier-Post earlier this month, coordinating games at Citizens Bank Park for Penn State’s men’s hockey team and the AHL’s outdoor game, as well as scheduling Winter Classic activities could be factors: “Since the Wells Fargo Center will have an open date on Jan. 2, the Flyers are considering opening the building and its adjacent parking lot for a daylong festival that will kick off a week of hockey-related activities.”
Whether the issue involves tickets, seating or other activities, specifics between the League and the stadium still need to be worked out.
For now, the waiting will continue for the game scheduled on Jan. 2; but, as Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski points out, a charity auction by the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation has leaked details of hockey’s regular season headliner that isn’t technically official yet:
Winter Classic Spectacular - Four (4) VIP tickets (with parking) to the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park on January 2, 2012. Package also includes 4 VIP tickets to the 2011 New Year's Eve Alumni Classic and the January 6, 2012 Phantoms game (both played outdoors at Citizens Bank Park). The lucky winner will also receive an autographed Winter Classic jersey from Danny Briere and 4 passes to participate in one of the public skating sessions on the Winter Classic ice.
The auction information not only reveals details of a NHL alumni game, but also the continuation of the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Outdoor Classic between the Adirondack Phantoms and Hershey Bears on Jan. 6.
The first Outdoor Classic, held in 2010 at the New York State Fairgrounds between the Syracuse Crunch and Binghamton Senators, drew over 21,000 fans. The 2011 version between the Connecticut Whale and Providence Bruins was expected to draw as many, but severe weather limited the attendance to less than 16,000.
Sloane Martin is the creator of the women's sports blog Same Size Balls. She is a sports broadcaster and freelance writer. She can be followed on Twitter.
The voter turnout was weak, but for those that did go to the polls, the message was clear: paying for a new arena for the New York Islanders is not a priority.
The $400 million construction bond measure before Nassau County voters would have built a new arena for the Islanders, and a minor league ballpark. Reports by Newsday were that with 99 percent of the precincts reporting, the measure failed 57 percent against, with 43 percent for. Nassau Co. has some of the highest taxes in the state of New York.
For Isles owner Charles Wang, it was disappointing defeat. The public referendum failing came after his Lighthouse Project – a new arena and mixed use development plan, died after Town of Hempstead resident concerns.
“Right now, I have to tell you, it’s a very emotional time and we’re not going to make any comments on any specific next steps,“ Wang told a group of employees, county officials, and media on Tuesday.
But, for Wang, the message is, and has been clear: if a new arena isn’t in the offing, relocation has to be considered.
There are options for relocation, albeit distant. Kansas City has had an arena in the Sprint Center waiting for a cornerstone tenant and the Islanders have played an exhibition game there prior, albeit sparsely attended. There is currently an NHL to Portland effort that would seek to have a team in the Rose Garden, and Seattle, still stinging after the loss of the NBA Supersonics have made noise about wanting a team. Jim Balsillie sought to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and relocate them to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, but the Maple Leafs were always fighting behind the scenes to prevent that from happening given Hamilton’s proximity to Toronto.
If Hamilton is off-limits to relocation, then the other aforementioned locations are far west, meaning realignment for the league, should relocation be seriously considered.
You can’t blame voters for wishing to not raise taxes for sports ownership anymore than you can blame Wang for now seriously considering relocation. The Islanders ranked dead last in attendance last season averaging just 11,059 a game.
Already, the Atlanta Thrashers have relocated to Winnepeg and rechristened the Jets. The Coyotes are still a considerable question mark and are life support. With the Islanders, it’s possible that the NHL could see the relocation of not one, but three teams in a short window of time.
Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to the Forbes SportsMoney blog. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).
The NBA and NFL lockouts might have caused sports fans to think that owners were finally putting their collective feet down when it comes to exorbitant player salaries, but the NHL and its annual "Free-Agent Frenzy" has chimed in to remind us that the trend of overpaying for mediocre talent is alive and well.
Beginning Friday at noon, free agents were allowed to sign new deals, and there was no shortage of teams willing to pay up for a variety of reasons. Philadelphia, who entered the day only $8 million under the NHL's hard salary cap ($64.3 million), aggressively stole former Penguins forwards Jaromir Jagr and Max Talbot away from Pittsburgh for about $5 million, and were rumored to be conducting negotiations into the night with Brad Richards, the prized player of this year's free-agent class. On the other end of the salary cap spectrum, the Florida Panthers, whose payroll sat around $20 million prior to last Friday's draft, went on a spending spree that saw them acquire 10 players through signings and trades over the past week in an effort to both end the team's
10-year playoff drought and reach the league's salary "floor", $48.3 million.
In between those two teams, the rest of the league's front offices did not hesitate to throw around big-money contracts, with Friday's signings amounting to $216 million for over 50 players. The NHL's CBA includes both a hard cap and a cap floor (a minimum dollar amount which each team's payroll is not allowed to go below), both intended to keep the league's 30 teams on a level playing field and, theoretically, encourage parity. However, forcing teams to commit to a minimum payroll, particularly with a free-agent class as weak as the one in 2011, has resulted in general managers vastly overpaying for talent that is largely considered so-so.
Christian Ehrhoff racked up 94 points over the past 2 seasons largely due to the fact that the Vancouver power-play he helped conduct also included stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin. But that didn't stop the Buffalo Sabres from handing Ehrhoff a 10-year, $40 million contract. Buffalo's wallet didn't close there. Newly-signed LW Ville Leino hadn't scored more than 6 goals in a season before netting 19 this past year for Philadelphia while playing alongside Scott Hartnell and Daniel Briere (who combined for 58 goals), yet Sabres GM Darcy Regier handed Leino a 6-year, $27 million contract. I don't mean to harp on Buffalo's signings, as they are indicative of a larger-scale problem. Over-compensating free agents is a league-wide epidemic, and one team's refusal to participate in the madness would simply result in another being more than willing to pick up the slack. In fact, with the cap floor in place, 17 teams entered Friday needing to increase their payroll in order to satisfy the minimum $48.3 million requirement. Friday's free-agent spending binge may have been irresponsible on the part of some teams (I'm looking at you, Columbus), but in many cases it was necessary.
Fans who are agitated by their teams signing average players for premium prices should direct their anger at the system, not the executives forced to work in it. While a cap floor prevents the type of embarrassingly low payrolls seen in Major League Baseball, it also contributes to the kind of severe inflation that lead to the Blue Jackets giving "offensive defenseman" James Wisniewski (who had never amassed more than 30 points in his 8-year career until 2010-11) a 6-year, $33 million deal. It will be interesting to see if NHL team owners are able to generate enough revenue to support the bloated contracts that they handed out Friday and in recent years past. If they're not, the cap floor and the subsequent inflation caused by it will likely be a point of contention when the current CBA expires in September of 2012.
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The NHL held their board of governors meeting today to address several league issues going into the season. Perhaps the biggest topic brought on to the conversation is the re-alignment of the divisions. The meeting concluded with the owners hopeful that they can have a new realignment plan made before December of this year.
