Thanks for this, Gina!
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Monday, March 24, 2003
http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2003/0323/1528428.html
Sunday, March 23
Hull says he'd consider a return to St. Louis
ST. LOUIS -- If he becomes a free agent at the end of this season, Detroit's Brett Hull said he'd seriously consider returning to the Blues, according to a report from weekend anchor Dan Eassa at KPLR television station in St. Louis.
"I had a lot of great years there," said Hull, who played for the
Blues for 10 years, from 1988-98. "Obviously, that would be a place
that I would definitely listen to."
Hull can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, or, if he scores 35 goals, a clause will be triggered in his contract giving him another season at $4.5 million. To date, Hull has 33 goals.
Okay, what's wrong with *this* picture?
"If you score 35 goals we'll give you another 4.5 million. Never mind that the Rangers paid Bobby Holik $9 million a year to score <--checks -- uh, SIXTEEN goals with five games left to play in the season. No, no, sorry, Brettski, you're just not worth as much as Bobby Holik."
Okay, bear with me - if Brett scores 35 goals a year for the next five years, he will meet/surpass Wayne Gretzky's goals record.
Are you with me?
Brett Hull - 4.5 million a year. 712 (and counting) lifetime goals.
Bobby Holik? 9 million a year for the next four years. 240 (and counting) lifetime goals.
*snarl*
Sunday, March 09, 2003
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
He said it, not me...
After the tribute, the Avalanche presented the veteran goaltender with a regulation-sized silver stick, and the NHL passed along a piece of crystal, both to commemorate Roy's unprecedented 1,000th career game.
Smiling, Ray Bourque watched from a private box upstairs.
A few minutes earlier, Bourque had addressed the Avalanche, offering more of an affirmation of belief in his former team than a pep talk. As he stood in the middle of the room, Bourque could look over to the doorway, where his beleaguered friend sat at a stall. Bourque didn't need to say it. Roy knew it. Bourque still believes that the has-Patrick-lost-it debate is premature, and that Monday night's thousandth-game commemoration didn't deserve to be thought of as a tribute to a career in decline.
Bourque's longtime friendship with Roy deepened in their season and a half as Colorado teammates, and in the championship celebration that sent Bourque into retirement. One of the prerogatives of retirement is the right to go flying downhill without worrying about violating contract clauses, and Bourque and his family have traveled from the Boston area for a Colorado ski vacation.
"It worked out great," Bourque said in the box. "I hadn't seen the guys yet this season, and I wanted to come around and see things for myself. It was perfect timing for Patrick's 1,000th, and that was pretty remarkable.
"The thing is, not too many forwards or defensemen have played 1,000 games and now a goalie has. ... More important, look at the way he's played them, with the numbers he's put up in other areas. He's had a phenomenal career, and he just keeps adding on and adding on."
As Bourque helps coach his sons' hockey teams and is involved in several business ventures back in Boston, he hears the rumblings about Roy. And he also talks often with his former teammate.
After the tribute, the Avalanche presented the veteran goaltender with a regulation-sized silver stick, and the NHL passed along a piece of crystal, both to commemorate Roy's unprecedented 1,000th career game.
Smiling, Ray Bourque watched from a private box upstairs.
A few minutes earlier, Bourque had addressed the Avalanche, offering more of an affirmation of belief in his former team than a pep talk. As he stood in the middle of the room, Bourque could look over to the doorway, where his beleaguered friend sat at a stall. Bourque didn't need to say it. Roy knew it. Bourque still believes that the has-Patrick-lost-it debate is premature, and that Monday night's thousandth-game commemoration didn't deserve to be thought of as a tribute to a career in decline.
Bourque's longtime friendship with Roy deepened in their season and a half as Colorado teammates, and in the championship celebration that sent Bourque into retirement. One of the prerogatives of retirement is the right to go flying downhill without worrying about violating contract clauses, and Bourque and his family have traveled from the Boston area for a Colorado ski vacation.
"It worked out great," Bourque said in the box. "I hadn't seen the guys yet this season, and I wanted to come around and see things for myself. It was perfect timing for Patrick's 1,000th, and that was pretty remarkable.
"The thing is, not too many forwards or defensemen have played 1,000 games and now a goalie has. ... More important, look at the way he's played them, with the numbers he's put up in other areas. He's had a phenomenal career, and he just keeps adding on and adding on."
As Bourque helps coach his sons' hockey teams and is involved in several business ventures back in Boston, he hears the rumblings about Roy. And he also talks often with his former teammate.
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 11, 2002 12:00 AM
There's a reason the Coyotes haven't made a trade in an effort to shake their spiraling ways.
Nobody wants any of their players, according to Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, the team's part owner and managing partner.
"I don't mean this to be controversial, and I don't mean it to be a finger-pointing sort of thing," Gretzky said Tuesday in Scottsdale at the conclusion of the NHL owners' meetings. "But the fact of the matter is there aren't many guys on our club that teams want, and that's a fact."
Well, that's what happens when you hire all the puck kickers in the league, Wayne...
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 11, 2002 12:00 AM
There's a reason the Coyotes haven't made a trade in an effort to shake their spiraling ways.
Nobody wants any of their players, according to Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, the team's part owner and managing partner.
"I don't mean this to be controversial, and I don't mean it to be a finger-pointing sort of thing," Gretzky said Tuesday in Scottsdale at the conclusion of the NHL owners' meetings. "But the fact of the matter is there aren't many guys on our club that teams want, and that's a fact."
Well, that's what happens when you hire all the puck kickers in the league, Wayne...
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Well, we did it. We had to do something to take our minds off the lack of enforcement for the "new" rules, the stupidity of the Drury trade, and the inexplicable scoring miasma the Wings are caught in...
Which NHL Star Are You?
Moral: never let me and Cee spend time on the phone together. I'm just sayin'.
Which NHL Star Are You?
Moral: never let me and Cee spend time on the phone together. I'm just sayin'.
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Bergevin pays for ripping referees (scroll down a little)
Tuesday November 26, @11:13AM
Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Marc Bergevin got his money's worth ($1,000 fine) when he blasted the officials' work in a recent Penguins- Islanders game, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Tuesday.
"Write what you saw. It's a $%@# farce. This league's a joke. They change it for what, 10 games, 15 games? I honestly thought it was going to change. It was a rodeo out there. It was unbelievable. I'm not trying to take anything away from New York -- they played hard. They deserved to win. That's not what I'm trying to say. But it's a (expletive) joke. Did you guys see it? Did you watch the same game I did? Am I wrong?"
Tuesday November 26, @11:13AM
Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Marc Bergevin got his money's worth ($1,000 fine) when he blasted the officials' work in a recent Penguins- Islanders game, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Tuesday.
"Write what you saw. It's a $%@# farce. This league's a joke. They change it for what, 10 games, 15 games? I honestly thought it was going to change. It was a rodeo out there. It was unbelievable. I'm not trying to take anything away from New York -- they played hard. They deserved to win. That's not what I'm trying to say. But it's a (expletive) joke. Did you guys see it? Did you watch the same game I did? Am I wrong?"
Thursday, November 21, 2002
*not* the only insane goalie out there:
3nd Period NYI: J. Blake (K. Jonsson, Wiemer) 0:25
Penalties NYI: Webb (Charging), 12:33
TB: Keefe (Roughing), 17:15
TB: Keefe (Roughing), 17:15
TB: Keefe (Cross-checking), 17:15
TB: Konstantinov (Leaving the Crease), 17:15
NYI: Hamrlik (Roughing), 17:15
NYI: Snow (Leaving the Crease), 17:15
NYI: Snow (Match), 17:15
Hehheh. You should've seen the pounding.
3nd Period NYI: J. Blake (K. Jonsson, Wiemer) 0:25
Penalties NYI: Webb (Charging), 12:33
TB: Keefe (Roughing), 17:15
TB: Keefe (Roughing), 17:15
TB: Keefe (Cross-checking), 17:15
TB: Konstantinov (Leaving the Crease), 17:15
NYI: Hamrlik (Roughing), 17:15
NYI: Snow (Leaving the Crease), 17:15
NYI: Snow (Match), 17:15
Hehheh. You should've seen the pounding.
Monday, November 18, 2002
He said it, not me:
Hey, Adrian! Who does Rob Blake room with on the road now that Chris Drury is gone? How often do the guys switch roommates? Thanks!
-- Kaylee, Casper, Wyo.
At last check, Blake was rooming with Martin Skoula. That seems like an odd couple, but sometimes those are the best arrangements. How often do they change things up on a team? Not too much. Once people get comfortable with each other, they generally stay together for the full season. Adam Foote and Patrick Roy, for example, have been rooming together for years.
Hee...
Hey, Adrian! Who does Rob Blake room with on the road now that Chris Drury is gone? How often do the guys switch roommates? Thanks!
-- Kaylee, Casper, Wyo.
At last check, Blake was rooming with Martin Skoula. That seems like an odd couple, but sometimes those are the best arrangements. How often do they change things up on a team? Not too much. Once people get comfortable with each other, they generally stay together for the full season. Adam Foote and Patrick Roy, for example, have been rooming together for years.
Hee...
Friday, November 15, 2002
QMJHL: Suspensions handed out in Drakker, Mooseheads brawl
(posted Nov. 14, 7:20PM EST)
LONGUEUIL, Que. -- A brawl-filled game between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Halifax Mooseheads produced its first suspensions from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday.
Baie-Comeau's Louis-Philippe Martin, who left the penalty box to join one of several multiplayer melees Wednesday night, was suspended for five games and coach Richard Martel was banned by the league for two games.
The Drakkar were also fined $1,000.
The suspensions and the fine were automatic because Martin left the bench to join the fighting in the Mooseheads' 9-2 win over the Drakkar, when 23 players were ejected and 485 penalty minutes were called.
A league spokesman said QMJHL disciplinarian Maurice Filion was reviewing videotape of the game and may issue further fines and suspensions later this week.
The low point of an already brawl-filled game came in the third period, when all 12 players on the ice were fighting.
After the game, Martel said his team “played with frustration, that's all.”
I wouldn't call it a "low point," myself... *g*
(posted Nov. 14, 7:20PM EST)
LONGUEUIL, Que. -- A brawl-filled game between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the Halifax Mooseheads produced its first suspensions from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday.
Baie-Comeau's Louis-Philippe Martin, who left the penalty box to join one of several multiplayer melees Wednesday night, was suspended for five games and coach Richard Martel was banned by the league for two games.
The Drakkar were also fined $1,000.
The suspensions and the fine were automatic because Martin left the bench to join the fighting in the Mooseheads' 9-2 win over the Drakkar, when 23 players were ejected and 485 penalty minutes were called.
A league spokesman said QMJHL disciplinarian Maurice Filion was reviewing videotape of the game and may issue further fines and suspensions later this week.
The low point of an already brawl-filled game came in the third period, when all 12 players on the ice were fighting.
After the game, Martel said his team “played with frustration, that's all.”
I wouldn't call it a "low point," myself... *g*
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Saturday, November 09, 2002
Friday, November 08, 2002
From Cee (it tickled her):
Yahoo! Sports: NHL - Bush calls Red Wings champions on and off the ice
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news/ap/20021108/ap-redwings-bush.html
By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent
November 8, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Calling them ``ruffians skating in the same direction,'' President Bush praised the Detroit Red Wings on Friday for their championship play and community service.
In an East Room ceremony filled with good-natured ribbing, Bush said athletes should follow the Red Wings' lead and be good examples for children who adore them.
``See, it's one thing to be the champion on the ice, it's another thing to be a champion living your lives,'' the president said.
Bush mentioned an NHL tradition in which members of the championship team each get a day to carry around the Stanley Cup. Team captain Steve Yzerman visited children in three hospitals with the trophy.
The team's owner, Mike Illitch, used the Stanley Cup to raise money for charity. Scotty Bowman, the Hall of Fame coach who retired after last year's championship, ``made a dream come true for a child with leukemia, who just simply wanted to touch the Stanley Cup,'' Bush said.
``You've proven yourself to be champs off the ice,'' the president said.
``You have a responsibility to set the right example and to use your position to help not only serve something greater than yourself, the team, but to serve a society and help heal the hurt and help people who need a little special care,'' Bush said.
The event was not all serious.
The president kidded Illitch, who also owns the struggling Detroit Tigers. Bush, former controlling owner of the Texas Rangers, said, ``This goes to prove it's easier to win in hockey than in baseball.''
The Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup finals for their third title in six years.
Bush said Bowman is so popular in Michigan that he had a job in mind for the former coach -- but it already is held by Dick Cheney.
``If I hadn't already announced yesterday the vice president was going to be my running mate. ... I was thinking about you,'' Bush said.
Standing behind him, laughing, were the Red Wings -- including center Kris Draper, who was sporting a black eye after getting hit by a stick in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
``He gets these ruffians skating in the same direction,'' Bush said of Bowman.
Bowman congratulated Bush for, hours earlier, securing a 15-0 vote at the United Nations Security Council for action against Iraq.
``We had to win 16 games'' in the playoffs to earn the Stanley Cup, Bowman said. ``We know how hard that is.''
Bush commented on the Wings' international flavor, with players from Russia, Canada, the United States and the Czech Republic. ``It looks like the United Nations,'' he said.
Following the ceremony, Darren McCarty said he and his teammates were impressed with Bush's low-key style.
``The thing that makes him so endearing is he seems so natural,'' McCarty said. ``It was neat how he left, just saying, `OK, got to go.' How cool is that?''
Yahoo! Sports: NHL - Bush calls Red Wings champions on and off the ice
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news/ap/20021108/ap-redwings-bush.html
By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent
November 8, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Calling them ``ruffians skating in the same direction,'' President Bush praised the Detroit Red Wings on Friday for their championship play and community service.
In an East Room ceremony filled with good-natured ribbing, Bush said athletes should follow the Red Wings' lead and be good examples for children who adore them.
``See, it's one thing to be the champion on the ice, it's another thing to be a champion living your lives,'' the president said.
Bush mentioned an NHL tradition in which members of the championship team each get a day to carry around the Stanley Cup. Team captain Steve Yzerman visited children in three hospitals with the trophy.
The team's owner, Mike Illitch, used the Stanley Cup to raise money for charity. Scotty Bowman, the Hall of Fame coach who retired after last year's championship, ``made a dream come true for a child with leukemia, who just simply wanted to touch the Stanley Cup,'' Bush said.
``You've proven yourself to be champs off the ice,'' the president said.
``You have a responsibility to set the right example and to use your position to help not only serve something greater than yourself, the team, but to serve a society and help heal the hurt and help people who need a little special care,'' Bush said.
The event was not all serious.
The president kidded Illitch, who also owns the struggling Detroit Tigers. Bush, former controlling owner of the Texas Rangers, said, ``This goes to prove it's easier to win in hockey than in baseball.''
The Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup finals for their third title in six years.
Bush said Bowman is so popular in Michigan that he had a job in mind for the former coach -- but it already is held by Dick Cheney.
``If I hadn't already announced yesterday the vice president was going to be my running mate. ... I was thinking about you,'' Bush said.
Standing behind him, laughing, were the Red Wings -- including center Kris Draper, who was sporting a black eye after getting hit by a stick in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
``He gets these ruffians skating in the same direction,'' Bush said of Bowman.
Bowman congratulated Bush for, hours earlier, securing a 15-0 vote at the United Nations Security Council for action against Iraq.
``We had to win 16 games'' in the playoffs to earn the Stanley Cup, Bowman said. ``We know how hard that is.''
Bush commented on the Wings' international flavor, with players from Russia, Canada, the United States and the Czech Republic. ``It looks like the United Nations,'' he said.
Following the ceremony, Darren McCarty said he and his teammates were impressed with Bush's low-key style.
``The thing that makes him so endearing is he seems so natural,'' McCarty said. ``It was neat how he left, just saying, `OK, got to go.' How cool is that?''
Wednesday, November 06, 2002
AWFUL AT HOME: The Colorado Avalanche aren't happy with their 4-2-4-2 start and even more angry with their 0-3-2 record at home.
“The key to success in this league is winning at hoe,” said Avs star centre Peter Forsberg. “We're just not playing good enough at home. We have to pick it up. It's a good thing we have four more games (in a row) at home.”
We? WE? WE?!?
How about "I", Mr. Fuckberg? Cause not only has Mighty Joe stepped up to the plate with at least one and usually two goals in the past, oh, FIVE games, so has the defence. Adam has THREE goals already this year! Rob Blake just scored his first! Hejduk's up to 9 pts.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself, and you might want to considering offering yourself to Calgary in return for Chris Drury.
“The key to success in this league is winning at hoe,” said Avs star centre Peter Forsberg. “We're just not playing good enough at home. We have to pick it up. It's a good thing we have four more games (in a row) at home.”
We? WE? WE?!?
How about "I", Mr. Fuckberg? Cause not only has Mighty Joe stepped up to the plate with at least one and usually two goals in the past, oh, FIVE games, so has the defence. Adam has THREE goals already this year! Rob Blake just scored his first! Hejduk's up to 9 pts.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself, and you might want to considering offering yourself to Calgary in return for Chris Drury.
Friday, October 25, 2002
So I was wandering around hockey pages, as I'm wont to do, and came across the following.
and sent it to realitycek, Rowan, and Cee, as is also my wont.
Realitycek came back with: "Go in peace, children, and high-stick no more. While anyone's looking. If you can help it. And remember -- away game at Mordor, on the 28th."
which still has us rolling. So Cee had the brilliant idea to propose a caption contest. Go for it!
and sent it to realitycek, Rowan, and Cee, as is also my wont.
Realitycek came back with: "Go in peace, children, and high-stick no more. While anyone's looking. If you can help it. And remember -- away game at Mordor, on the 28th."
which still has us rolling. So Cee had the brilliant idea to propose a caption contest. Go for it!
I reprint this in its entirety because, well...because it needed to be said.
The NHL's going south
By MIKE ULMER -- Toronto Sun
Remember those plucky Carolina Hurricanes, the team that would induce the locals to forsake college hoops and NASCAR for sticks and pucks?
Thought you should know, they're averaging 14,700 fans a night.
The Hurricanes fell three wins short of the Stanley Cup last spring. Their attendance is 1,800 fans per evening lower than that of the Calgary Flames who haven't made the playoffs in seven years.
Let's put this another way. The last time the Flames played a post-season game, the Carolina Hurricanes were the Hartford Whalers.
This suggests two things.
1. Martin Gelinas, who came to Calgary from Carolina over the summer, has a secret charisma and a really, really, really big family.
2. It's time someone started reconsidering the game's wavering hold on sports fans south of the 49th.
The great lie about the National Hockey League is that it's a league in which American teams prop up Canadian clubs.
It's more like the other way around.
Yes, it is simplistic to tie a club's financial health to attendance numbers so highly fudged you have to brush your teeth after repeating them. The league quietly mandates at least 500 freebie tickets a night and that number can often swell to 2,000 or more against a poor opponent.
And yes, American teams operate differently than Canadian clubs.
The Hurricanes, for example, have a sweet lease deal in which they garner revenues from other events staged in the RBC Center, formerly the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
TESTIMONIAL
But attendance does say an awful lot about local interest and that, in turn, speaks volumes about long-term prospects. There is no finer testimonial than bums in the seats.
The U.S. may have 10 times the population, but Canada has a whole lot more hockey fans.
Take a look around the NHL.
They are wringing their hands in Ottawa, where sluggish ticket sales dropped the Sens' average attendance down to 14,847. That's an 11% decline from last season.
The Senators still average more patrons a night than the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New Jersey Devils. Their visibility in their home city dwarfs that of the U.S. clubs and their 8,500 season tickets would be looked on by team executives in those U.S. burgs as a wonderful number.
Imagine Sens owner Rod Bryden in handcuffs. The equivalent happened in Buffalo to former president John Rigas.
Without an owner and with a colourless, predictable team, the Sabres are playing in front of as many empty seats as occupied ones.
Buffalo is averaging 11,518 over four dates. That's a 29% drop from last season.
When the Ducks and Florida Panthers entered the league, NHL types salivated at the thought of aligning themselves with the likes of Blockbuster Video and Disney. It turns out 30 guys in Edmonton can do a much better job of running a hockey team. Who knew?
In Pittsburgh, current home address of the greatest player in the game, the Penguins announced 1,649 empties for their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In Mario Lemieux's home town of Montreal, the Canadiens have averaged 20,048, or 5,000 more a night than in Pittsburgh.
WAKE UP
Don't worry about the Senators, a team situated in the Canadian city hit hardest by the high-tech meltdown.
Worry, if you must, about Chicago, where the Blackhawks had one announced crowd of 10,192, most of whom came in the same bus. On many nights, the actual gate is closer to 8,000.
And in Ottawa, unlike Chicago, if your car breaks down en route to the game you still get to live.
Hey, Canada, wake up. The Vancouver Canucks are a better draw than the Los Angeles Kings.
Four thousand more fans a night go to a hockey game in Edmonton than in Nashville. The Predators are down 8% and their announced gate of 10,123 against Phoenix was the lowest in the team's history -- by more than 2,000 fans.
The Oil, by comparison, are up 9% and boast nearly 15,000 season tickets.
Overall, league attendance is virtually identical to last season's pace. For that fact, the boys in New York can thank the patrons of the frozen North, where the game matters and, if you don't mind me saying, where it always will.
(Contributed by Kellie, hockey-fan-in-the-making!)
The NHL's going south
By MIKE ULMER -- Toronto Sun
Remember those plucky Carolina Hurricanes, the team that would induce the locals to forsake college hoops and NASCAR for sticks and pucks?
Thought you should know, they're averaging 14,700 fans a night.
The Hurricanes fell three wins short of the Stanley Cup last spring. Their attendance is 1,800 fans per evening lower than that of the Calgary Flames who haven't made the playoffs in seven years.
Let's put this another way. The last time the Flames played a post-season game, the Carolina Hurricanes were the Hartford Whalers.
This suggests two things.
1. Martin Gelinas, who came to Calgary from Carolina over the summer, has a secret charisma and a really, really, really big family.
2. It's time someone started reconsidering the game's wavering hold on sports fans south of the 49th.
The great lie about the National Hockey League is that it's a league in which American teams prop up Canadian clubs.
It's more like the other way around.
Yes, it is simplistic to tie a club's financial health to attendance numbers so highly fudged you have to brush your teeth after repeating them. The league quietly mandates at least 500 freebie tickets a night and that number can often swell to 2,000 or more against a poor opponent.
And yes, American teams operate differently than Canadian clubs.
The Hurricanes, for example, have a sweet lease deal in which they garner revenues from other events staged in the RBC Center, formerly the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
TESTIMONIAL
But attendance does say an awful lot about local interest and that, in turn, speaks volumes about long-term prospects. There is no finer testimonial than bums in the seats.
The U.S. may have 10 times the population, but Canada has a whole lot more hockey fans.
Take a look around the NHL.
They are wringing their hands in Ottawa, where sluggish ticket sales dropped the Sens' average attendance down to 14,847. That's an 11% decline from last season.
The Senators still average more patrons a night than the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New Jersey Devils. Their visibility in their home city dwarfs that of the U.S. clubs and their 8,500 season tickets would be looked on by team executives in those U.S. burgs as a wonderful number.
Imagine Sens owner Rod Bryden in handcuffs. The equivalent happened in Buffalo to former president John Rigas.
Without an owner and with a colourless, predictable team, the Sabres are playing in front of as many empty seats as occupied ones.
Buffalo is averaging 11,518 over four dates. That's a 29% drop from last season.
When the Ducks and Florida Panthers entered the league, NHL types salivated at the thought of aligning themselves with the likes of Blockbuster Video and Disney. It turns out 30 guys in Edmonton can do a much better job of running a hockey team. Who knew?
In Pittsburgh, current home address of the greatest player in the game, the Penguins announced 1,649 empties for their home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In Mario Lemieux's home town of Montreal, the Canadiens have averaged 20,048, or 5,000 more a night than in Pittsburgh.
WAKE UP
Don't worry about the Senators, a team situated in the Canadian city hit hardest by the high-tech meltdown.
Worry, if you must, about Chicago, where the Blackhawks had one announced crowd of 10,192, most of whom came in the same bus. On many nights, the actual gate is closer to 8,000.
And in Ottawa, unlike Chicago, if your car breaks down en route to the game you still get to live.
Hey, Canada, wake up. The Vancouver Canucks are a better draw than the Los Angeles Kings.
Four thousand more fans a night go to a hockey game in Edmonton than in Nashville. The Predators are down 8% and their announced gate of 10,123 against Phoenix was the lowest in the team's history -- by more than 2,000 fans.
The Oil, by comparison, are up 9% and boast nearly 15,000 season tickets.
Overall, league attendance is virtually identical to last season's pace. For that fact, the boys in New York can thank the patrons of the frozen North, where the game matters and, if you don't mind me saying, where it always will.
(Contributed by Kellie, hockey-fan-in-the-making!)
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