Official 2007-08 NHL Thread

[Immortalfire]

Dude, chill and take it a tad slower.

 

[Alex The Great]

yes sir

 

[E. Nygma]

What about Iginla?

Well when talking about trying to have hockey grow in America, i'm talking about finding star black hockey players from big city urban areas. As ludicrous as this sounds, Baseball was once very similar to the NHL in regards to diversity. Now i'd argue it's one of the most diverse sports. Although there are many less African Americans than Latin Americans.

 

[Batman713]

I say trade the talent away, blow up the team. Get a crap load of prospects and draft picks, maybe even challenge for #1 draft pick. Rebuild from the young talent and smart free agent selections. Look at Chicago and Pittsburgh. They had to rebuild with the draft. Look at the moves the Flyers did through trading. They finished last and now are in the middle of the playoff pack with plenty of young talent.

That's the move that'll never happen, although most of us Leafs fans are hoping for it. Too bad the Leafs are run by a dumbass organization that controls a stupid manager who can't manage a team to save his life.

 

[Shifty]

That's the move that'll never happen, although most of us Leafs fans are hoping for it. Too bad the Leafs are run by a dumbass organization that controls a stupid manager who can't manage a team to save his life.

Blog: Ferguson on borrowed time
Bob McKenzie
TSN.ca
1/11/2008

Amid all the obvious and raging speculation on the future of John Ferguson Jr. with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the truth is it looks as though he has been working on borrowed time for quite some time.

Even before the Leafs plunged back into the abyss – losing 10 of their last 12 and failing to win a game in regulation time since Dec. 14th – the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment board of directors have been engaged in activities that can only be construed as laying the groundwork for life after JFJ.

Back in late November, around the time when the Leafs were skidding out of control – punctuated by a horrific 5-1 loss to the Coyotes in Phoenix on Nov. 24 – sources say the folks at MLSE commissioned a detailed evaluation of not only Ferguson's work as GM, but the work of all 30 GMs in the league.

Ironically, the Leafs went on to win six games in a seven-game stretch shortly after that, but sources say the same executive search firm that the Leafs engaged in the off-season to hire a “mentor” or senior advisor to work with Ferguson was asked to do a league-wide evaluation of each team's top hockey executive.

Sources say MLSE wanted to gauge where Ferguson fit in amongst his peers in terms of performance, on everything from drafting to trading to free agency. But it can also be construed as an exercise in determining which NHL GMs are the most proficient and which, if any, of them could be enticed to come to the Maple Leafs in the same fashion that MLSE wooed Toronto Raptor GM Bryan Colangelo away from the Phoenix Suns.

Also, while the Leafs were in the midst of their surge of six wins in seven games, and while the league-wide study of the GMs was being conducted, sources tell TSN that member(s) of the MLSE board were directly contacting some hockey people to find out if: a) they might be interested in the Leafs' general manager job; and/or b) to get input on who would be a good choice.

Now that the Leafs are on a free fall, the speculation on the future of Ferguson has naturally hit a crescendo. The Globe and Mail reported on its website today that, for all intents and purposes, Ferguson is finished as GM of the Leafs and obliquely suggested he could be relieved of his duties as early as next week, when the MLSE board will convene in what appears to be a response to the plight of the team.

A cynic would suggest Ferguson has been toast since the loss to Phoenix in late November and that the MLSE board is either incapable of putting together a plan to replace him in the short term or is waiting on the executive search firm's league-wide evaluation of the GMs.

In any case, it's a mess.

The team is in a death spiral on the ice. They are led by a lame-duck GM whose focus and philosophy has been on building a team that can compete for a playoff spot and were it to get one, make some noise in the post-season. This effort has been done at the expense of the future, trading away significant chunks of the team's future. Now, as it becomes apparent the playoffs are but a pipe dream, the recognition is settling in that the Leafs have no choice but to start a massive rebuilding program that would include trading any veteran assets that might be moved, from captain Mats Sundin on down.

But if that's to be done, it must be done in the next six weeks, before the Feb . 26th trade deadline, which would mean that unless there is a dismissal, the same GM who supervised the building program that has ultimately failed will be charged with overseeing the re-building program.

Either that, or the Leafs will continue to muddle on with the status quo.

What was obvious in late November is even more obvious now – the MLSE board is paralyzed to act because it doesn't know where to turn, how to turn or whom to turn to.

Logic would suggest that is likely to change soon enough, but that is not to be confused with having a well thought out succession plan.

Pat Quinn didn't help either during his GM run. Trading draft picks to pick up talent at the trade deadline. As an Ottawa fan its great to see the Leafs fall apart.

Red Wings vs Senators tonight!

 

[E. Nygma]

Flyers lose in OT to the Bruins 4-3.

They fought back down 3-1 mid way through the 3rd to tie it and had Boston on the ropes. But in OT Nittymaki came out of the net to get the puck away and really didn't get back into position in time before the Bruins won.

 

[Fran]

Red Wings play sloppy. Again.

Still the NHL's best at least.

 

[Immortalfire]

Thrashers win over Pittsburgh, 3-2 in a shootout. Kovalchuk gets #37, and Lehtonen stops Crosby and Malkin in said shootout.

 

[Ironfan72]

Jackets win 2 in row over Divison rivals Blues 6-4 and Predators 2-1 s/o. Huge wins if we are going to make a playoff run.

 

[Shifty]

Red Wings play sloppy. Again.

Still the NHL's best at least.

The NHL really needs every team playing each other twice a season.

Sens are now without Heatley for 4-6 weeks. Shoulder injury. So someone else will get to replace him at the All-Star Game.

 

[E. Nygma]

With Heatley out a month, it might be time for the rest of the east to catch up and help even out the conference.

I'd look out for the Devils.

 

[Shifty]

With Heatley out a month, it might be time for the rest of the east to catch up and help even out the conference.

I'd look out for the Devils.

The club has lost Spezza for stretches in the past and done very well. We'll see.
Glad I picked up Mike Fisher.

U.S. hockey viewership shows signs of life
by WILLIAM HOUSTON

After two lean, postlockout years, the NHL is beginning to make gains in U.S. television.

Hockey audiences won't challenge the numbers produced by football, baseball and basketball any time soon, but the bleeding caused by the cancelled 2004-05 season has stopped.

At the midway point of this season, national audiences on Versus are up 32 per cent from this time last year.

Versus is drawing numbers comparable with ESPN2's viewership in 2003-04, which was the last year of its deal with the NHL.

Regionally, the audiences on Fox Sports Net have increased 25 per cent. FSN, which airs regional telecasts in 14 markets, has seen huge increases for the Minnesota Wild (114 per cent), St. Louis Blues (103 per cent) and Detroit Red Wings (50 per cent).

On the downside, audiences for the Atlanta Thrashers have dropped 50 per cent. The Phoenix Coyotes numbers are down 35 per cent. Viewership for the Tampa Bay Lightning has declined 31 per cent and the Dallas Stars are in the hole by 29 per cent.

All of these results reflect team performances, the one exception being the Stars, which are second in the Western Conference but, nevertheless, losing viewers.

In the season of 2003-04, before the lockout, FSN earned an average rating of 1.1 (percentage of the potential audience watching) for its hockey telecasts. After the lockout, in 2005-06, the rating dropped to 0.96. Then it climbed to 1.0 in 2006-07. If the audience trend continues, FSN will be back to a 1.1 by the end of this season.

The NHL telecasts on Versus are drawing an average audience of 261,406, which is well above the 209,000 who watched the telecasts on ESPN2 in 2003-04.

However, when ESPN2 was airing games, the telecasts were blacked out in the local markets. Versus has the advantage of going into the local markets.

A TV source said the improved NHL numbers should be viewed cautiously.

"The hockey audiences are teeny to begin with," he said. "But, any time you increase an audience by a third or 25 per cent, you've got to be happy with it."

Why are the numbers up? The absence of prime-time content, as a result of the Hollywood writers' strike, is driving audiences to sports programming. Versus showcases Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby at every opportunity.

John Shannon, the NHL's head of broadcasting, feels the league's competitiveness has helped improve viewership.

Shannon also believes the buzz created by the outdoor Winter Classic in Buffalo on Jan. 1 has helped spark U.S. interest.

NBC's overnight rating of 2.6 for the outdoor game telecast has been downgraded to a national rating of 2.2 (or 3.8 million viewers), but it still ranks as the largest NHL rating in the United States since Fox's 2.2 for Wayne Gretzky's final game on April 18, 1999.

Going head to head against NBC's outdoor game telecast, the Gator Bowl on CBS earned a 2.6 rating and the Capital One Bowl on ABC a 9.1.

Two dummies

Golf Channel commentator Kelly Tilghman uttered the first completely idiotic remark of the 2008 sports broadcasting year when she suggested young players on the PGA Tour should "lynch" Tiger Woods "in a back alley" to gain a competitive advantage. Tilghman was suspended for two weeks. The channel apologized "to anyone who was offended." Anyone? How about everyone.

On the same list, Tilghman is followed by former Philadelphia Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke, who gave his approval to Steve Downie of the Flyers for sucker-punching Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake, who had condemned Downie's attack on Dean McAmmond of the Ottawa Senators. "When he went after Blake, I loved it," said Clarke, appearing on TSN.

Writers help sports

The Hollywood writers' strike, now in its third month, is increasing the size of sports audiences in Canada. On Wednesday, TSN drew 310,000 viewers for an all-U.S. NHL matchup involving two non-playoff teams, the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche. A year ago, the same game would have pulled in about 210,000 viewers.

* TSN hockey anchor James Duthie's suggestion to organize a shootout competition for the NHL all-star weekend has been picked up by the league.
* Peter Mansbridge, anchor of The National on CBC, spoke at a reception in Winnipeg this week honouring network sports broadcaster Don Wittman, who is fighting cancer. Mansbridge and Wittman worked together years ago.
* The CBC will give tomorrow night's Red Wings-Senators game full national distribution, except in Quebec, which will get the Montreal Canadiens-New York Rangers game.
* TSN's Mike Milbury took a run at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chief executive officer Richard Peddie this week. He said Peddie, who accompanied the Leafs on the current trip to the U.S. West Coast, should limit his club involvement to selling tickets and popcorn.

Wittman is one of my favourites. Always enjoyed him doing analysis on Jets radio games and HNIC games with John Davidson. No one should be surprised about Clarke's comments.

Don't know why Stars and Coyotes telecasts would be down, they're doing much better this season. Hopefully the growth continues and doesn't stall.

 

[E. Nygma]

Did anyone really expect someone as physical as Bobby Clarke not to enjoy rough play from Steve Downie, as cheap and dirty as it was?

If the NHL had games that weren't on versus, a channel many people dont even know existed, they'd be drawing ratings a hell of a lot better than the disappointing ones that they are.

 

[Shifty]

Did anyone really expect someone as physical as Bobby Clarke not to enjoy rough play from Steve Downie, as cheap and dirty as it was?

I think what bothered people was him saying that Downie's first suspension was way too long.

 

[Dark Donnie]

The club has lost Spezza for stretches in the past and done very well. We'll see.
Glad I picked up Mike Fisher.

I didn't have the roster room at the time He's a good player though.

 

[Shifty]

I didn't have the roster room at the time He's a good player though.

You and Themanofbat both dropped him within days, wondering why he was available.

 

[Alex The Great]

so....what in the blue hell is up with the leafs? sure i despise them but wut the hell?

 

[Dark Donnie]

You and Themanofbat both dropped him within days, wondering why he was available.

I didn't have a available RW for the week, and a ton of C's...kinda wish I dropped Brind Amour instead looking back but oh well. I only started to really look into my lineup everyday in about the last month. My team is starting to pick it up.

I also had Semin for the longest when he returned and did nothing now he has like 6 goals in 10 games

 

[E. Nygma]

I think what bothered people was him saying that Downie's first suspension was way too long.

Yeah well with some of the stuff the 70's and 80's Flyers teams and players got away with i wouldn't expect Clarke to want players suspended for anything.

 

[Fran]

Those viewer figures make me wish even more that the NHL would return to ESPN

 

[E. Nygma]

Those viewer figures make me wish even more that the NHL would return to ESPN

me too

but hey, the Flyers won again today over the Caps. Mike Knuble with a solid two goal game. He had two goals in the first and has never had a hat trick. Amazing. I thought he might get it today.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Heatly out for 4-6 weeks. Huge blow to Ottawa.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3194542

 

[Shifty]

Leafs ask Fletcher about interim GM job
Bob McKenzie

1/14/2008 7:29:31 PM

The beleaguered Toronto Maple Leafs are taking steps to try to replace general manager John Ferguson Jr.

Sources tell TSN that the Leafs have contacted a number of hockey management types to gauge their interest in the job, which is currently held by Ferguson, and, in fact, have asked former Leaf GM Cliff Fletcher if he is interested in taking over as interim GM of the NHL club.

Cliff Fletcher could not be reached for comment. Fletcher remains under contract to the Phoenix Coyotes even though he is no longer working for the organization.

When asked to comment on TSN's report that Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) has contacted Cliff Fletcher to see if he has interest in the role of interim gm, MLSE president and CEO Richard Peddie responded, "As I have said to everyone I am not talking about management changes. If and when they happen I will talk to the media then."
Related Info

Sources tell TSN the Leafs' plan is to launch a full-scale job search this summer for a fulltime GM but in the meantime are exploring their options to replace Ferguson with an interim GM who would oversee Leaf operations for the balance of the season and beyond, until a new fulltime GM can be hired.

It never ends. JFJ Jr. should just quit.

 

[Fran]

Cujo gets signed by Calgary.

I never blamed him for the Wings choking. He was very good with us.

 

[Watson]

That's the move that'll never happen, although most of us Leafs fans are hoping for it. Too bad the Leafs are run by a dumbass organization that controls a stupid manager who can't manage a team to save his life.

Preach it brother!

It never ends. JFJ Jr. should just quit.

He would save some face if he resigned. IMO though he's always just been more of a yes man. He will only leave when told so.