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  • October 17, 2007 09:07 PM ET

ELITES OF FANNATION: You are the commish of the NHL, how do you get the NHL to compete with the NFL, MLB, and NBA?

Steelercooz (53-12-2) vs pecotafreak (71-23-5)
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It's certainly a tall task, I'll give you that. Since the marketing firm of Steelercooz Inc. decided making all eastern European players take more American-friendly names was voted down (Yvgeni Johnson and Sergei Jones have nice rings to them, don't they?), we decided to try something else.

In the first part of our three-pronged plan, obviously, the TV deal. Now, it's nice and all that I have been able to FIND the Versus Network on my channel listings now, the fact is, you gotta get the brand if you want to sell. Get on ESPN. Take a Randy-Moss-like one-year deal, betting the farm on the NHL's ability to gain enough popularity in that year to ink a multi-year deal after the season.

This is absolutely critical. Any good sports fan knows the advent of HD TV should benefit hockey more than any other sport. Personally, I find watching sports on TV now are better than watching them in person. This is partly because I'm lazy, and mostly because the action is so incredibly well-defined on screen, I can't possibly get that kind of quality live. SELL TO THAT! Versus is currently showing TapOut re-runs. Hmmm...quality.


I'm not the biggest hockey expert, but here goes nothing.

Unlike you, I have not been able to find the VS. Network on my TV, so the odds of me being able to watch a hockey game this season are slim to none. I agree a new TV deal is needed, but there are a few other approaches they can take as well.

1. Ditch the point System: Do any of the big three(MLB, NFL, NBA) use a point system to decide playoff teams? Of course not, because it is just silly. They NHL got rid of ties, so the next step is to stop giving them points for going into overtime, and simply deciding playoff teams by those good ol' won-loss records. Could you imagine if NFL teams got points every time they went into overtime?

2. More youth leagues- The NHL needs to shell out some dough to put up more youth leagues throughout the country. Honestly, I have no clue where the nearest Ice-skating rink is to my house, and I don't really know anyone who plays ice-hockey. If they could build more arenas, fund leagues, and get the youth involved, their fan base would increase. And with more young kids playing, there will be more talent eventually coming into the NHL.

3. Like you said, get a freakin better tv deal.


So you can't find Vs. in your cable package. I'll trust you can flip channels as well as every American male, so that really only says you don't have it. Under-exposure.

Under-statement: No one can watch the sport if they don't have the channel. And while starting a youth movement is idealistic, it already exists. There's the concept of under-exposure again. No one knows about it.

It won't matter at all if you don't sell the pro league to the kids...

Part II of the plan: you need an international superstar. The NHL has done this before.

How big was the NHL in the U.S. before Gretzky came to L.A.? Smaller than it is now. I'm not suggesting there will be another Great One, but how much publicity could be generated if they hyped it on the bigger network?

Crosby/Ovechkin should be on Primetime every time they play, and tease their games with stats of those two compared to past greats. Get them on camera donating money, or holding free hockey camps. Make them into the greatest young men alive.

The one market the NHL could compete with the Big Sports: character players. Combine it with the drama of an intense and physical game, that's good television.

In HD, too.


If the Versus Network is missing from my cable box, it's missing from nearly every cable box in Maryland, as the popular choice of cable is Comcast On Demand. If that is the case, the NHL needs to chain their doors shut forever.

While a youth league does exist, they need to spread it out farther. Hockey is big to the youth mainly in the Northeast area, while the rest of the countrys' youth are left out in the cold(woot woot). They need to provide sticks, jerseys, rinks, and whatever is needed to get the youth involved. They could make Ice Hockey into Little League Baseball if they went at it with the right approach.

*It would also be a good idea to get more high school's involved in the Hockey scene. If there were more high school teams, it would almost certainly attract more teenage fans to the NHL.

2. Crosby IS going to the biggest thing to ever hit the hockey world. If there was one thing hockey needed, it is a player like him. He has the skill to challenge all of Gretzky's records and he will bring so many fans into the stadium all by himself.


Vs. is only standard in primary hockey markets.

You brought up youth sports again, ya got anything new?

We've got a TV deal with a higher ceiling, we're putting marquee names in the real spotlight...now, we gotta improve the rest of the game.

I won't divide fans over the issue of purity vs. shootouts. We mistake the score for the problem. It's HOW they score that captures our attention. The quality of the game is paramount. It comes down to dollars. Problem is, people think the NHL dollar is dead in Canada. Completely false.

Look at attendance in 2006. There are six Canadian teams - all of them are in the top half of the league. Five in the top 10, MTL led the league with 21k fans/game.

While the fans are in Canada, the money is here. Since the Canadian gvmt taxes the Lemiuex-sus out of people, players pay more there. $100 in Canada is far less than $100 here.

Equalize it, Mr. Bettman. Set a tax cap to help Canadian teams compete with the U.S. This helps them spend more money, but more importantly, make them not be able to spend so little.

Drive Northern spending, re-establish Canadian fan bases, and balance the two like the glory days of the NHL.


While I agree a tax cap would help the Canadian teams, something would have to be done to equally help the American teams. Otherwise, there could be a number of lawsuits involving the American teams vs. the NHL. Why would the American owners accept this tax cap if it was only beneficiary to the Canadian teams?

The problem in the NHL ultimately lies in the marketability. Currently, there isn't much of a "face" to the NFL. No iconic players, no big time sports announcers or legendary coaches. What they need now is sponsors. Nike, gatorade, and other high influential companies need to start getting the NHL on the map, and it could start with little more than a commercial featuring Sidney Crosby. I bring in big time companies on a short term deal for a small asking price, and once the game starts booming, I sit back and reel in the dough.

Comments (44) Add A Comment

October 17, 2007  09:07 PM ET
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Please don't vote until both sides have made an argument. Gracias.

October 17, 2007  09:19 PM ET
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no problemo senor.


I'm in AP spanish

October 17, 2007  09:24 PM ET
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God, spanish was horrible. I remember how to say chicken. El pollo. That's all I remember.

This is a great TD idea.

October 17, 2007  09:24 PM ET
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^Good job with that Nomarfan...>_>

October 17, 2007  09:34 PM ET
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Thank you Coletrain I thought of it.

October 17, 2007  09:35 PM ET
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Should be an interesting throwdown.

October 17, 2007  10:40 PM ET
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vote awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

October 17, 2007  10:47 PM ET
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Great debate lads great debate!!

one thing though...having a great TV deal does nothing to actually increase the popularity of the sport. I think TV is a reflection of the population's choice, not the other way around.

So Iike Heroin Bob's comment...you gotta get a grassroots movement to get young people into hockey. This means more youth leagues, CHEAPER equipment and more readily available ice time. RIght now it's too expensive and inconvenient to get into hockey as a sport!

October 17, 2007  10:48 PM ET
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Pecotafreak, it is (to my knowledge) channel 2 and channel 43 on Comcast.

October 17, 2007  10:49 PM ET
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^Versus (VS) that is...

October 17, 2007  10:50 PM ET
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On my comcast channel 43 is espn2, but it is possibly channel 2

October 17, 2007  10:59 PM ET
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you dont...NHL will never get as big as NFL or MLB...You should sell all the rights to Canada and move teams...ratings will then go u!p those canooks live for hockey

October 17, 2007  11:16 PM ET
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Get rid of pucks, sticks, jerseys, and ice and add 100yd fields, a football, 11 guys on both sides of the ball, and kickers. There you go; an instant success.

October 17, 2007  11:23 PM ET
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"...canooks..."

No, it is Canucks...but anyway, that is not the point of the throwdown (directed at both Big M and Steveo). It is to address different ways and strategies of making the NHL a competitive business with the NFL, MLB, and NBA. No one said it would be or even is equal to ANY of the big three and it isn't even competitive with them at the moment. This throwdown is to discuss (and/or argue) ways to make it COMPETITIVE with those three NOT to make it BETTER (but you would of course WANT it to become better, but for the sake of this throwdown that is NOT the point).

October 17, 2007  11:33 PM ET
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im not sure anything would have to be done. it seems like both of you have more knowledge than gary bettman, so its already a positive haha

October 17, 2007  11:46 PM ET
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The 2nd bullet point from pecota pushes him over the edge. Good thinking outside the box.

October 18, 2007  12:20 AM ET
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1. Stop pipe-dreaming that Americans need to be exposed to the game more. Americans have seen the NHL for more than 40 years!! Get. Over. It. Chicago has hockey fans- too bad they're all at the Stadium- how on earth can there be tv ratings when all the (urban) fans go to live games??

2. Move Florida to Quebec City. Move Nashville to Winnipeg.

3. Play fewer divisional games, revert to divisional playoff rounds (not intra-conference), & play each team at least 2 times (1 home & 1 away)

4. Make goalie equipment smaller. Saves are no longer being made, getting in the way of the puck is the new 'skill'

5. Fighting, Roughing, Misconduct in the final 4 minutes of a game- the team begins their next meeting shorthanded.

6. Scrap the instigator rule- guys are gonna die soon

October 18, 2007  12:21 AM ET
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Neither one of you came up with the best idea. Scantily clad Cheerleaders in very thin tops on center ice every 5 minutes. Oh, and nightly drawings on who gets to take the cheerleader home that night. Short of that? No chance the NHL ever comes close to competing with the big three.

October 18, 2007  12:26 AM ET
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CCC, they haven't even gotten into the meat of this throwdown...


TorFan, you probably stole some ideas from these two, but it's all good.

 
October 18, 2007  01:22 AM ET
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hahah Big Ben you re- re..i wasn't talking about the hockey team.... it was slang for a Canadian...hahahaha


No, it is Canucks...but anyway, that is not the point of the throwdown (directed at both Big M and Steveo). It is to address different ways and strategies of making the NHL a competitive business with the NFL, MLB, and NBA. No one said it would be or even is equal to ANY of the big three and it isn't even competitive with them at the moment. This throwdown is to discuss (and/or argue) ways to make it COMPETITIVE with those three NOT to make it BETTER (but you would of course WANT it to become better, but for the sake of this throwdown that is NOT the point).

I dont know how its not about making it better but rather making it more competitive with NFL NBA MLB? Isn't that the same thing? For it to become more competitive it needs to get better...and that can only happen by moving it to Canada and still broadcasting it in America...there no other way people will watch it more down here in the states....so yes just because I don't want it here in the states doesn't also mean that it's an invalid argument...

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