2016 NHL Off-Season Thread

[Totems!!]

5 hours ago, jmac11281 said:

This sounds like a line from a movie in the 1930s or 1940s. Seriously who says this??

Evander Kane. 

[NYUNDERDOGS]

Quebec is not getting a team so still how can we know what city will will get a nhl team.

[NYUNDERDOGS]

On 7/21/2016 at 5:36 PM, 2001mark said:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-07-21/nhl-s-islanders-said-to-weigh-queens-move-with-mets-help

 

Islanders thinking about moving to Queens, next to Citi Field, probably to go in on the zone with the Mets to develop.  Well, good, because Barclay's does not work & they couldn't get anything done in Uniondale for decades yes?

I would love this. This would mean I would be in islanders home territory and I would try to get in more games.

 

[BeerGuyJordan]

The Islanders are at an interesting point. Their numbers in Long Island were very low, and almost necessitated leaving the location (even with their TV deal). Their first season in Brooklyn wasn't encouraging, only the Coyotes and Hurricanes had worse attendance. Sure they have a sweet gig in Barclays, but if the numbers drop off further, it's within the realm of possibilities that they'll pull the plug early.

 

It looks like they have the potential to jump around boroughs for a few years before being moved off in a relocation. 

[RyanMcD29]

21 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

The Islanders are at an interesting point. Their numbers in Long Island were very low, and almost necessitated leaving the location (even with their TV deal). Their first season in Brooklyn wasn't encouraging, only the Coyotes and Hurricanes had worse attendance. Sure they have a sweet gig in Barclays, but if the numbers drop off further, it's within the realm of possibilities that they'll pull the plug early.

 

It looks like they have the potential to jump around boroughs for a few years before being moved off in a relocation. 

Because they :censored:ing sucked for the longest time until the final year at the Coliseum. How hard is this to understand every time we bring up the Islanders' attendance woes at the Coliseum? Brooklyn I see the point with the transportation issues. But the final season at the Coliseum was the first one where the team was consistently good since 2001-02 and what do you know, the attendance figures were much higher that year than years past

[BeerGuyJordan]

12 minutes ago, RyanMcD29 said:

Because they :censored:ing sucked for the longest time until the final year at the Coliseum. How hard is this to understand every time we bring up the Islanders' attendance woes at the Coliseum? Brooklyn I see the point with the transportation issues. But the final season at the Coliseum was the first one where the team was consistently good since 2001-02 and what do you know, the attendance figures were much higher that year than years past

I'm sure that played into it, but their last season in LI only saw an average 600 person attendance spike, over the previous season. Higher, yes, but it still only put them 25th in attendance,when they were 26th the year before. That doesn't qualify as "much higher."

 

In comparison, the Florida panthers saw an average attendance jump of 4,000 this past season, when they turned their performance around. They also jumped from dead last to 24th in attendance.

 

The Stars were 28th three seasons ago. When they started winning more, they jumped from that to 19th, with an average attendance spike of 2,500.

 

Is your argument valid? Sure, but it isn't nearly as strong as you make it out to be.

[RyanMcD29]

54 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

I'm sure that played into it, but their last season in LI only saw an average 600 person attendance spike, over the previous season. Higher, yes, but it still only put them 25th in attendance,when they were 26th the year before. That doesn't qualify as "much higher."

 

In comparison, the Florida panthers saw an average attendance jump of 4,000 this past season, when they turned their performance around. They also jumped from dead last to 24th in attendance.

 

The Stars were 28th three seasons ago. When they started winning more, they jumped from that to 19th, with an average attendance spike of 2,500.

 

Is your argument valid? Sure, but it isn't nearly as strong as you make it out to be.

I do see that, and the capacity percentage only bumped around 1.2 percent, but do keep in mind that's for the entire season. From February on forward they were selling out or close to selling out every game. Now is part of that due to fans wanting to go to the Coliseum one last time before it closed up? Sure. But once the team developed into a winner as the season progressed, the fans showed up. Still, I think the fact that the Islanders had all of 2 seasons 7th or better in the conference standings in the last 22 seasons at the Coliseum played the biggest part in attendance issues

[BeerGuyJordan]

1 hour ago, RyanMcD29 said:

I do see that, and the capacity percentage only bumped around 1.2 percent, but do keep in mind that's for the entire season. From February on forward they were selling out or close to selling out every game. Now is part of that due to fans wanting to go to the Coliseum one last time before it closed up? Sure. But once the team developed into a winner as the season progressed, the fans showed up. Still, I think the fact that the Islanders had all of 2 seasons 7th or better in the conference standings in the last 22 seasons at the Coliseum played the biggest part in attendance issues

People make this argument like it should exempt the Islanders (and the Devils) from relocation talks.

 

I understand the factors at play, and that many markets get better attendance when they're winning. The Islanders are a storied franchise with some great history, but that doesn't change the fact that they are trending right to a point where they are no longer viable, as a franchise.

 

Fair-weather attendance is a problem that affects many sports franchises. The Islanders are not alone in this. They are different from the other bottom-five franchises in the NHL, this past season, due to their TV deal. Even that has its limits.

 

The commute to Brooklyn will wear down some of the LI crowd. The novelty of hockey in Brooklyn will wear off for some, in that borough. The Islanders made the playoffs, and still saw a significant drop in attendance. They need to find a way to connect with Brooklyn hockey fans, or prepare to find a borough where they can be viable.

 

Are there currently stronger candidates for relocation? Absolutely, but that doesn't change the fact that, when talking about franchises with troublesome attendance, and whose future viability is in question, the Islanders should be part of that dialogue.

 

This is a league where gate sales make up more of the revenue stream than the other three of the Big 4 (though the gap is closing). This is also a metro market with 2 other teams. I don't think the League is going to bend over backwards to keep the Islanders where they are, like they did (against all reason) for Phoenix.

[habsfan1]

It's been a month since the PK Subban trade. Am I over it. Not in the least bit. It sends a bad message to the fanbase, when the upper office echelon is willing to flip the bird to an entire community for questionable and petty reasons, by trading the top star/top merch seller.

 

So when Montreal finally gets a new superstar to replace PK Subban, are they gonna find some petty-@$$ reason to trade him too in his prime?? I support the players and all personnel who do anything to contribute positively to the organization, on or off the ice. I won't abandon my team because Subban made the wrong people feel butthurt. But I don't support these types of low ball moves.

 

It's no surprise Marc Bergevin made his arguments in a room full of...nobody. No one was there during his initial press conference, expect some casual female reporter and the camera dude. No surprise.

[2001mark]

1 hour ago, habsfan1 said:

It's been a month since the PK Subban trade.

He's hosting(?) JFL Montreal I see.  I'm sure he's got no jokes lined up.

[habsfan1]

43 minutes ago, 2001mark said:

He's hosting(?) JFL Montreal I see.  I'm sure he's got no jokes lined up.

 

I won't be going. But I'll definitely catch some bits of Youtube. He's gonna do great.

[T-ROY]

Update #3 (it's a big one)

 

[Sport]

Sam Gagner's #89 is going to look awful in the Blue Jackets alternate jersey font. 

[JayMac]

19 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

Sam Gagner's #89 is going to look awful in the Blue Jackets alternate jersey font. 

This is true but Sam Gagner is a good pickup. He was often overlooked last year on the Flyers. He provided some lower line value.

[CS85]

2 minutes ago, jmac11281 said:

This is true but Sam Gagner is a good pickup. He was often overlooked last year on the Flyers. He provided some lower line value.

 

They got him for a pittance, too.

[charger77]

The Leafs still don't have Auston Mathews listed on their roster with a number on their website... its like they don't want to start selling jerseys and player tees.

[BeerGuyJordan]

Some highlights of PK poking fun at the Habs. The article says he "destroyed" them, but it really wasn't that bad. It was the only article I could find with that many quotes.

 

http://fansided.com/2016/08/01/p-k-subban-destroyed-canadiens-organization-montreal/

[habsfan1]

4 hours ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

Some highlights of PK poking fun at the Habs. The article says he "destroyed" them, but it really wasn't that bad. It was the only article I could find with that many quotes.

 

http://fansided.com/2016/08/01/p-k-subban-destroyed-canadiens-organization-montreal/

 

It wasn't aimed towards the team. From what I read so far, it was aimed towards the GM, the coach, and Molson, mostly for trading him when he wanted to stay. He didn't hold anything back. They allowed him to say what he wanted, lol.

 

The crowd gave him a standing ovation at the end.

[BeerGuyJordan]

8 minutes ago, habsfan1 said:

 

It wasn't aimed towards the team. From what I read so far, it was aimed towards the GM, the coach, and Molson, mostly for trading him when he wanted to stay. He didn't hold anything back. They allowed him to say what he wanted, lol.

Yeah, I don't think he's had anything but good to say about the fans. When I said Habs, I meant the organization, more than the players. 

 

It looked like he initially was going to avoid joking about the trade, or his time with the team, but I think it's good for him to vent some of the frustration, publicly. Roasting the management seems like a great place to do it, plus, it's all for a great cause.

[habsfan1]

3 minutes ago, BeerGuyJordan said:

Yeah, I don't think he's had anything but good to say about the fans. When I said Habs, I meant the organization, more than the players. 

 

It looked like he initially was going to avoid joking about the trade, or his time with the team, but I think it's good for him to vent some of the frustration, publicly. Roasting the management seems like a great place to do it, plus, it's all for a great cause.

 

Agreed.

 

Your team is very fortunate. I'll be rooting for the Preds in the playoffs, if the Habs are out.