The Kitchener Predators?

So Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has bought, or at least signed a letter of intent to buy the Nashville Predators. Balsillie the inventor of the Blackberry had already tried to buy the Pittsburg Penguins this year when he backed out because the NHL said that if he bought the team he was not allowed to relocate them. However, things in Nashville are a little different. Here’s why

1) The Predators actually have an out in their lease agreement that if they do not average 14,000 paid attendance a game the owner is allowed to relocate for 18 million dollars

This past year they were 25^th in the league with an average attendance of 14,428. However, as the Hockey News Points out that in the attendance with the freebie tickets thrown in. The actually paid attendance was around 12,000.

2) The Kitchener – Waterloo area is just outside of the Toronto Maple Leafs territorial rights. If he moved them to Hamilton or anywhere near Toronto you actually have to pay the Maple Leafs to set up shop there. Yet, they would be close enough to possible draw some fans from the area

3) The Predators are having an exceedingly tough time selling their game not only to the fans but to the corporate sponsors that are in Nashville. Corporate sponsors are some of the largest contributors to NHL sporting franchises. If you look at Edmonton one of the main reasons that they want or need a new building is so that they can have more companies buy the luxury boxes. Nashville has a nice arena; however, some of their luxury boxes are actually empty because they can not sell them.

I think that the NHL should hopefully right some of the wrongs that have been done in the past. Approve the sale to Balsillie. Let him take advantage of the lease agreement in Nashville and then move the team north of the border where the game actually matters to the fans.

Money Honey

Today my sturdy walls of reality crumbled and I am left alone and uncertain of my own perception and -lets be honest- my own sanity. Punjaboil over at HF found a gem of a link from the globe and mail that was leaked. It shows actual hard financial figures about NHL game profits. And the results? The Edmonton Oilers are one of the richest teams in the NHL. We have the 5^th highest ticket prices in the league, and have the 8^th highest gate receipts. These are startling facts considering that the Oilers have always been considered the financial underdog. 22 teams make less money on tickets than the Oilers, and this isn’t including concessions etc. Ryan Smyth was not traded because we didn’t have the money, he was traded because we didn’t want to spend the money (which I defend). We as a collective fan base need to raise our expectations of the Oilers ability to financially compete against any team in the NHL, we are one of the top dogs. There could obviously be other factors contributing to some free agents not signing here, but I never want to here money as one of them. Now the financial info from the NHL only shows ticket prices and gate receipts, but the league relies heavily on this income. Television contracts are at a low in many markets, and do not provide a large income directly to teams. Our dollar is higher than its been in decades, and with a recent playoff drive (at a 2.5 mill profit per game for the team) the money is flowing in. The Oilers are rich, and need to spend the money to compete for top flight players.

I never want to here another cash call, money cry from this team again. This city supports them like no other, its time for them to support the city.

But he explains it better than I can. The thread.

The Agitator

I think that we can all agree that the goon is now gone from hockey. However, one position that has flourished in the new NHL is the agitator. I would have to say that currently the best agitator in the game would go to Darcy Tucker, Matt Cooke, or Sean Avery (because he is so hated).

Zack Stortini, who was a mid-season void filler, has attempted to fill this position on the Oilers roster since the day he arrived at the airport. I would have to admit that I believe that he did a decent job in the roster spot. Hey he had more points that JFJ.

However, my one pet peeve of this guy is his yap factor. If Stortini is out and a whistle is blown you can guarantee that he will go and yap/push with who ever will listen or take part. Stortini has to realize that is not what makes you an effective agitator. When I watched him play in the last 20 games of the season it was nice to see the intensity that he was trying to bring to the game. However, Stortini has to realize although it will bring some intensity to the Oilers the consistency of it also shows a great deal of disrespect and just gets plain annoying to watch.

Stortini does need some work, but, I could see him in a year or two be mentioned with the guys from the first paragraph.

*Aside* something that I learned today. If you type Zack Stortini into the address bar on your browser the NHL futures site of Zack Stortini opens up. Crazy.

Best Quote(s) of the 2006-2007 season

There were a couple of really good quotes to do with the NHL this year. However, after looking through some of the better ones I have decided that the two best ones come from a verbal sparing match between Robert Esche and Ken Hitchcock. Enjoy.

Monday October 16, 2006

Robert Esche’s take on Ken Hitchcock

(When) asked Monday about Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock's decision to start him against the Sabres, Esche said, "I don't try getting in his head, that's for sure. It's an empty place.”

Tuesday October 17, 2006

Post game comments from Ken Hitchcock on Robert Esche’s performance that night

“Robert Esche played great. He played great in the first period, he played great to keep it where it was, he did a great job.”

Keep in mind this quote comes after a game that the Flyers lost 9-1 in Buffalo, surprising enough Mr. Esche let in all 9 Buffalo goals and Ken Hitchcock did not pull him during the game.

My honorable mention would have been when Craig MacTavish dropped the r-bomb on Mick McGeough's call against Dallas

CBD's third round predictions

Getting it in just under the wire. So here it is:

Josh:

Ottawa in 7
Anaheim in 6

Jon:

Sabers in 6
Anaheim in 6

Bethany:

Sabres in 5
Detroit in 6


Coin Flip:

Ottawa in 6
Detroit in 4

Just to mention that overall the standings are as follows:

1. Bethany (4-0)
2. Jon (3-1)
2. Josh (3-1)
4. Coin Flip (0-4)


Previous prediction can be seen here

Standings without the Shootout

The shoot out was brought into the NHL to pressure teams to go for the win in overtime and to make sure that there is a clear cut winner of every game. However, I was looking at the Eastern Conference standings and wondering if the shoot out had not been implemented would the standing have been that much different? As well would the playoff match ups been that different.

So let’s take a look

Standings with the shoot out

Team	PTS
1. Buffalo *	113
2. New Jersey *	107
3. Atlanta *	97
4. Ottawa	105
5. Pittsburgh	105
6. NY Rangers	94
7. Tampa Bay	93
8. NY Islanders	92
9. Toronto	91
10. Montreal	90
11. Carolina	88
12. Florida	86
13. Boston	76
14. Washington	70
15. Philadelphia	56

Team	PTS
1. Detroit *	113
2. Anaheim *	110
3. Vancouver *	105
4. Nashville	110
5. San Jose	107
6. Dallas	107
7. Minnesota	104
8. Calgary	96
9. Colorado	95
10. St. Louis	81
11. Columbus	73
12. Edmonton	71
13. Chicago	71
14. Los Angeles	68
15. Phoenix	67

So now say that every game had ended before the shoot out and teams did not get the winning points. Here is what the standings would look like.

Team	PTS	PTS diff	Position move
1. Ottawa *	103	-2	+3
2. New Jersey *	97	-10	0
3. Atlanta *	90	-7	0
4. Buffalo	103	-10	-3
5. Pittsburgh	95	-10	0
6. Carolina	88	0	+5
7. Toronto	87	-4	+2
8. NY Rangers	85	-9	-2
9. Montreal	84	-6	+1
10. Florida	84	-2	+2
11. NY Islanders	84	-8	-3
12. Tampa Bay	83	-10	-5
13. Washington	69	-1	+1
14. Boston	67	-9	-1
15. Philadelphia	55	-1	0

Team	PTS	PTS diff	Position move
1. Detroit *	111	-2	0
2. Anaheim *	106	-4	0
3. Vancouver *	100	-5	0
4. San Jose	105	-2	+1
5. Nashville	104	-6	-1
6. Dallas	98	-9	0
7. Minnesota	94	-10	0
8. Calgary	93	-3	0
9. Colorado	90	-5	0
10. St. Louis	75	-6	0
11. Edmonton	68	-3	+1
12. Columbus	68	-5	-1
13. Chicago	65	-6	0
14. Los Angeles	64	-4	0
15. Phoenix	62	-5	0

So what we can see is that the Western Conference would have changed very little and there would have been not match up changes for the playoffs.

However, let’s look at the Eastern Conference, without the extra shoot out point the standing would look much different. Tampa Bay and The New York Islanders would not have made the playoff. While the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs would have joined the quest for the holy grail of hockey. As well, the match ups would have looked quite different.

Ottawa vs. New York Rangers

New Jersey vs. Toronto

Atlanta vs. Carolina

Buffalo vs. Pittsburg

It is interesting to see what the standings would have been if the NHL had not adopted the shootout. However, after seeing these results I am glad that we have the Shootout if not only for the excitement, but, it also kept the Maple Leafs from being in the playoffs.

Edit to post: I used the NHL.com tie breakers to find standings after new point calculations and I used the NHL.com shoot out list to take points away to calculate the new standings

Everyone in the front seat, no one in the back

So today in the Journal Jim Matheson reported that the oilers will likely sign Mikhnov to a 1 year contract. This makes things interesting in the top 6. On the left side you have him, Torres (thought a solid 3rd line may be in order), and highly possibly Sykora, then Horcoff and Stoll down the middle, and Hemsky, Lupul, Pisani (3rd with torres?) on the right side.

So what am I getting at? That is the EXACT SAME LINE UP that was last in goals for in 06-07. I know everyone crys about lack of a great puck moving defenceman but how much does that really account for?

There is going to be a least one big trade this summer from Lowe's perspective and it will involve one of the previously mentioned players (aside Mikhnov, Hemsky, Stoll), along with one of our forward prospects (who all need top 6 ice to flourish, which cramps up the top even more).

Torres was offered to Columbus for Zherdev (which was countered by Columbus asking for Lupul instead, and then declined) so I'm giving him the best odds to be out the door. Its too bad because i think he can be a decent 25-20 guy who throws half a dozen huge hits over the season.

Look for Torres, a F prospect, and the NYI 1st to someone deep with defenceman. Maybe Cam Barker + ?

Stoll Lookin' Good

"When you're out for two months, it crosses your mind that this might be career-ending. But it's something that you can't let it get you down mentally. You have to get it in your head that you're going to get better, you're going to feel better and that you just need time"

So apparently Jarret Stoll will fully recover from his concussion and be good to go for TC in the fall. This was a huge loss to the Oilers in a couple areas. First of all his leadership on the ice was huge for us, he hit, scored goals, and consistently played well more than anyone else. He also brought things to the game that no other player did such as a heavy right handed shot on the PP and an ability to make Raffi Torres a player. Not to mention on a purely asset basis to lose an NHL calibre centerman would be hard on this team. But replacing him in the lineup would not have been that troublesome. That is a spot I see Marc Pouliot playing in the very near future, leaving questions about what to do with Stoll.

We all know I would drive Horcoff to the airport and push him under the plane, but I don't think Stoll is ready to carry the team offensively against the other teams toughest opposition. We have to admit Stoll has been successful as the second line center playing soft'er' minutes.

But I guess we will see what kind of player the new Jarret Stoll is.

Cogliano Signs

Today the Oilers announced Andrew Cogliano signed a 3 year contract. A relatively average heralded (i'm starting my own grammar dictionary) player who was drafted 25th overall in 2005.

He was drafted out of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and many criticized his numbers because a lack of decent competition. After being drafted Cogs went on to play for the Michigan Wolverines. In his freshman season he got off to a torrid start, but cooled considerably after the World Jrs due to admittedly being very tired. But this season he corrected himself and put up even better numbers after the break. Even with a great sophmore campaign in college (he was second in sophmore scoring in the nation to Ryan Duncan) his play at this years World Jrs raised questions. He won a couple player of the games but never really put up many points as the teams top line center.

Nevertheless a very interesting player, and it will be good to see what he can accomplish in Springfield next year. Heres hoping for 60 pts from the kid. A very good signing by the Oilers. Alot of offensive centers in this organization with no clear cut #1. It will be fun to watch him battle it out for a roster spot over the next couple seasons.