A happy lockout memory

NHL lockouts are miserable if you’re a fan.  If you have a job in this realm fueled by disposable income, they can have an even greater negative impact on your life.  To most NHL fans, lockouts are miserable because you lose faith in your team and the sport.  But once in a great while, a feel good story will emerge from a lockout.  Marooned players will drop in on a Pee-Wee practice.  Some will use their celebrity status to play in games and events for charity that may otherwise have never happened.  But every once in a while, something special happens at random out of nowhere that one day you will be able to tell your grand kids about – this piece is about one of those stories.

It was October 2004 and the NHL lockout was in full effect.  Players who needed cash were already looking to head overseas to play.  Players that were more financially secure and had kids in school tended to stay put in their NHL cities.  Each NHL team had a group of 8-10 NHLers that stayed in town and worked out together, often renting ice at local rinks a couple times a week.  Columbus was no different as a group of players that included Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Luke Richardson, Jody Shelley, Todd Marchant, Geoff Sanderson, and Scott La Chance would skate a couple mornings a week at the Dublin Chiller to keep in on-ice shape.  These players would reach out to former college and pro players in the area and invite them to participate in these morning skates to keep the competition level as high as possible.  One might image it would be a little more difficult in Columbus, OH to field 30 former NHL, College, and Pro players for a pickup game twice a week.  Well it was, so enter yours truly.



Yes, that's right.
 I lock you out then you have to skate with Morgan.



The wife of one of the CBJ players was on my B league men’s team – she was the right winger on my line, known as the ‘9-1-1 Line.’  If you needed a goal ‘STAT’, you called us.  Back then, I was a B-league stud, much like Jared Boll is today.  6 years removed from competitive play and 5 years before my metabolism would betray me, I still had the goods.  When these NHL pickup games started in October of 2004, pickings were slim in Columbus for talent to fill out these NHL pick-up games. At the time, I didn’t know they existed.  One night after a men’s league game we were having a couple of drinks.  My right wing mentioned to her husband that he should have me come out to their morning skates as the talent was a little lacking.  He, having seen me play, thought it was a good idea.  So a couple days later, after emailing the event’s organizer and making arrangements with my boss to come in a little late the next few Tuesday and Thursdays, I walked into the Dublin Chiller to skate with local NHL’ers for the first of several sessions.

At the time, twitter uber-optimist @johntkemp and I were co-workers.  I had to tell somebody the cool news and told John – he was my E-league prodigy at the time.  Our place of employment was about one mile from the Dublin Chiller.  Word got out to a small group of hockey enthusiasts at work that I was “skating with the Jackets.”  There was more disbelief from these folks than admiration – I guess that’s what happens to a soul when it’s never loved something more than itself.

I am not a star struck person, and while sounding narcissistic, this was not the first time I had stepped onto the ice with NHLers, but it felt kind of cool none the less.  On that first morning, this was just any other session of pick up hockey to me as I walked into dressing room 8.  I plopped my bag down to find Geoff Sanderson and Todd Marchant were getting dressed too.  A couple other guys I didn’t know where in there getting dressed to, their gear subtly hinting at being former pros.  I kept my mouth shut other than to comment on the bionic-like knee brace Todd Marchant wore under his right shin guard.  As I got dressed, Marchant noticed that I wasn’t wearing shoulder pads.  He looked at me and asked, “you don’t wear shoulder pads?”  “No,” I said, “I hate them.”  He said “Well, you may want to wear them, we’re skating against the defensemen” he said as he walked out of the dressing room.  So I pulled off my jersey and put on my decade’s old Cooper Techniflex shoulder pads, completely oblivious to the “we” that Todd Marchant had just said.

I walked out of the dressing room and onto the ice.  It was warm-ups just like before any other game.  I headed over to the bench to drop off my extra stick and water bottle.  Geoff Sanderson had just finished stretching and took a warm-up slap shot from the top of the circle that missed the net high.  “No Slappers!” Marchant yelled over to Sanderson like he had just done something illegal.  Marchant skated over to Sanderson and said, “We couldn’t get the (normal guys) to play in net this morning.  These guys are men’s league goalies. One guy is a doctor that played in college, the other is a fireman.  No slap shots today.”  Obviously, an NHL slap shot was a bit much for these guys.  There were a couple other guys out there taking slap shots on the goalie, none very hard.  I get to a spot on the ice, touched off a slapper into the far corner and I hear, “Morgan!  NO SLAPPERS!”  That was probably the best compliment that I’ve ever gotten.  I still have that shot, I bust it out in the C-league every now and again much to my teammate’s surprise.  Black and Tan till I die, yo.

We started separating into different sides and got ready to start playing.  I looked around the ice and noticed a couple of ex-Columbus Chill guys as well as a couple ex-OSU guys.  I had my custom made pair of Vapor XX skates that sported some crazy flop to go with my contra ban Tampa Bay Lightning game jersey.  I at least looked the part, whether I would embarrass myself was just a puck drop away. There were also a couple people on the ice that had no business being at a normal drop-in game, let alone with current and former pros.  But, like earlier stated, skilled players were on short supply at the NHL pick-up game in Columbus, OH.  I was channeling my former AAA stud self from the early 90’s, hoping that I wouldn’t be a total joke out there as the ‘starting five’ from each side took the ice.  I was one of those five for our ‘team.’  I looked up in the stands to see a couple of my co-workers and Kempy standing there looking down at me in dis-belief – “Gooner” as they called me around the office was on the ice with 6 NHL players.  I really wasn’t paying attention while looking up into the stands, the play started and I found myself back on defense with the play coming into my end.  I was able to win the puck in the corner from an ex-OSU guy and make a breakout pass to Marchant on the half boards, and got the hell off the ice.  I didn’t want to get stuck out there on defense, not at this pick up session. 

Sanderson and Marchant came off the ice about a minute later and sat next to me on the bench. Marchant looked over at me and said “You’re skating with Sandy and me.”  Without even realizing it, I went into that familiar feeling of relief knowing I wasn’t going to be playing with a bunch of slow guys during pick up.  It was that warm pick-up hockey feeling knowing I was playing on a line with skill.  Not that I was skating with two of the fastest skaters in the NHL, but that that my linemates weren’t going to be total hacks.  In retrospect, I’m proud of myself for thinking that.  I was happy to be playing with good skaters and not gushing over who they were.  I am not wired for fandom, but I did relish that first session.

I remember four distinct plays from that very first morning.  The first distinct memory is the ‘quickness’ that Sanderson and Marchant possessed.  I, until very recently, had very good speed and it was largely undiminished in 2004.  On the breakout and entering the zone, I kept up with a hustling Marchant and Sanderson.  But when the play switched from offense to defense on the fore check, those guys were in their spots before I knew the puck had been turned over.  I had speed, they had all-world quickness.  Given the difference in quickness, I found myself in the high slot as they pounced on the puck in the corner waiting to start the cycle.  This led to my second distinct memory from that first morning patrolling the high slot – I was completely snake bit my first several shifts.

You can't have full extension without full recovery.

I picked the wrong morning to pull at Trevor Letowski and not be able to hit the net.  In two consecutive shifts, Marchant hit me with two beautiful passes in the high slot – two of which I ripped wide, two of which I completely shanked.  I still had ‘pick up’ hockey mentality going and thought ‘great, now these guys are never going to pass to me.’  We got to the bench after that second lousy shift, Sanderson sat down next to me, and with a grin said, “Why don’t you stand in front of the net and I can shoot them in off of your shin guards.”  I laughed, he smiled, and it lightened the mood after two lousy shifts.  If nothing else his quip raised my confidence – setting the stage for my third distinct memory; and possibly the dumbest thing I’ve tried on the ice.

A few shifts later, we were breaking in on Luke Richardson and J-L G-P.  I was over on the left side, and Marchant put a beauty of a pass on my tape at the offensive blue line.  In front of me was a mountain of a man, Luke Richardson.  I thought for the briefest of fleeting moments that I could beat Richardson wide.  And why not, he had only played in like 1200 NHL games to that point.  It looked like he was waiting for me to cut to the middle being a right shot on the left side, so naturally I thought I had him.  At the top of the circle I threw a head fake to the middle and went to pull the puck wide.  Before I could even finish my head fake, he stepped into me, threw his arms and shoulder into my chest, put me into the glass, and smeared me for what felt like 7 miles.  I was easily four feet in the air the entire time I was in contact with the boards. My body made contact with nothing but glass – my skates may have touched the top of the dashers as Richardson used me as mortar to fill the gaps in the glass.  The puck dribbled into the corner and Richardson turned to get it – Red Bull sponsored my subsequent return to earth.  I got up to fore check, but not after I looked to the stands to be certain my co-workers had left.   Thankfully they had left and weren’t there to witness me getting plowed into the glass by an NHL defensemen.  I believe you can still see the 25 foot long smear on the glass in chiller 2 just before the Zamboni doors.

Undaunted, I kept skating hard the next few shifts.  I certainly didn’t belong in the NHL, but there wasn’t any reason to think I couldn’t be out there with those guys this Tuesday morning.  My moment of confirmation came two shifts later.  Again, the crafty Marchant hit me with a beauty of a pass breaking up the right side crossing the blue line.  As I crossed the blue line, Scott La Chance was stepping across to challenge me before the top of the circle.  This time I was going to keep my speed.  La Chance stepped up on me before the circle and I was at his 10 o’clock.  As he stepped up, he lifted his stick and opened his legs ever so slightly.  I poked the puck between his legs leaned left, stepping under him and flew by.  The puck was back on my tape at the dot, with La Chance draped on my back hip.  The play happened so quick the goalie was still coming from the other post a little slow to react.  I pulled the puck back and went to tuck it high corner on the short side.  Somehow, in a Cechmanek/Brouder like post-to-post move, the goalie, in a pure act of desperation, got his glove on the puck just enough to deflect the shot over the net.  La Chance had let out an “Ohhh!” as the goalie made a great save, but not before I wrestled the puck form between his feet behind the net to try and salvage the play.  He had the humility to give me an “atta boy” look as we skated off the ice.  I had cleanly, legitimately, and intentionally beaten an NHL defenseman one-on-one.  But like my co-workers will wryly say, “Any defenseman Morgan can beat isn’t long for the NHL.”  Scott LaChance had played 819 games in the NHL before I was able to sneak around him that Tuesday morning.  Some people say La Chance never lived up to his potential, and maybe that’s true.  But he did spend 819 games doing something right and few play in that many games.  As it turns out, those Tuesday mornings would be fleeting for him also - he never again made an NHL roster and retiring from pro hockey 3 years later.

The session soon ended and we headed back to the dressing rooms to shower and change.  I did take a moment to savor this time on the ice.  I had a lot of fun skating with Marchant and Sanderson – who wouldn’t.  It felt good to know I held my own with some speedy skaters. I will always remember Luke Richardson as a machine who methodically tried to integrate me into the glass. Jean Luc Grand-Pierre, if possible, has like negative 8 percent body fat.  Jody Shelley looked huge out there on the ice and was a nice guy.  I was able to make it out there for a couple more NHL pickup sessions, but those kind of blend into one big memory, but I distinctly remember that first day. After those first few sessions, I asked my boss if I could come into work an hour later and stay and hour later every Tuesday and Thursday to skate for the next couple months, he shot down the idea.  Kempy knew my boss at the time and will attest, he was clearly the kind of guy who wouldn’t give you an hour to do something cool like that. You could beat the quarterly goals he set for you, and he would find a way to cut you down while handing you a bonus check.  He was that kind of guy. 

No sir, not found in Columbus.

When I got back to the dressing room after that first session, my “linemates” were undressing.  I was stuffing my equipment into my bag whining to the guys how I had to go to work next.  Marchant then asks Sanderson what he was doing the rest of the morning.  Sanderson replied, “I’m going to go workout for a couple hours.”  My jaw dropped.  We just had a hard skate for 90 minutes and he was going to go workout for a couple hours.  Wow.  It was those words that have stuck with me the most.  I have been around pro athletes all my life.  But Sanderson, during a dismal lockout, skated for 90 minutes and then wanted to go work out for two hours.  He was looking for a contract pending a waiver claim, and even during a lockout, was committed to staying in shape.  That kind of dedication was rewarded unjustly.  Once the lockout ended he was signed to a contract, then he was traded to Phoenix two games into the upcoming season.  No loyalty, no reward for the hard work – that was the front office culture.  The Jackets weren’t very good then, but I wondered how the Blue Jackets could ever remain competitive if they were willing to ship off a work ethic like that.  8 years later, the Blue Jackets are looking to bring that kind of attitude back to the dressing room.  Go figure…

Phoenix via Colmbus #TrendSetter

     

Previewing Buckeyes vs Spartans

Freshman Colin Olson usually starts the Saturday Night Game

Tomorrow night, the Ohio State Men's Hockey Buckeyes take on the Spartans of Michigan State, televised at 8 PM on the Big Ten network.  The Buckeyes, currently tied for second in the CCHA, and nationally tied for 8th in defense, are holding opponents to 2.08 goals per game.  In CCHA play, the Buckeyes are holding opponents to 1.62 goals per game.  In the games I've seen, the Buckeyes have played a good, tight checking game.  They minimize space on the ice, and are backed up by pretty solid goal tending.

The Michigan State Spartans are tied for ninth in the CCHA with 10 points (compared to OSU's 15).  According to this real nice article by Neil Koepke, the Spartans have struggled to score 5 on 5.  However, their power play is scoring at a red hot 29% clip, so the Buckeyes will have to play a disciplined game.

Sophmores Tanner Fritz (12 GP, 2-9-11, +3) and Ryan Dzingel (12 GP, 5-5-10, -2) are on 5 game point streaks and look to lead the Buckeye offense.  Senior Goaltender Brady Hjelle, third in the NCAA with a 1.45 GAA and a save percentage of .950, and CCHA Goaltender of the week last week, should get the net Friday.  In the Alaska and Northern Michigan games, Freshman Collin Olson got the net on Saturday night in home games.  He struggled on the road against Lake Superior State last weekend, and Hjelle entered the game in relief during the first period.  Coach Mark Osiecki will have some tough choices to make.

All in all, this should be a really good test for the Buckeyes.  They will look to hold pace or advance in the CCHA standings, while the Spartans are looking to climb.  I think both teams will look to play tight defensively, and capitalize on the other team's mistakes.  This is a game Hitch would love.  No dangling.

GO BUCKEYES!!!

(Editor's Note: I am not an NCAA hockey expert. I used this OSU site and this really detailed release from Ohio State Athletics Communications as sources.)

I Knew that Meditation Thing Wouldn't Work

Due to an inability to actual address the core issues that separate them, the NHLPA and the NHL called off the mediation efforts as reported by Puck Daddy.  This doesn't bode well for the possibility of a settlement.

Just a reminder that the Ohio State Men's Hockey Team takes on Michigan State at 8:00 PM on Friday, being aired on the Big Ten Network.  Go Buckeyes!

The Power of the Big Ten Network

Tanner Fritz of the Ohio State Buckeye Hockey Team

In a busy holiday weekend on the road for the Ohio State Men's hockey team, the Buckeyes gained a split with Lake Superior State in CCHA hockey action.  Capping a weekend that left the Bucks in a 3 way tie for second in the CCHA with Notre Dame and Ferris State, Senior Goal Tender Brady Hjelle was named Goaltender of the week.  At 15 points, one point behind first place Miami, the Buckeyes are in a good position as the season advances.

On Friday the Buckeyes won 4-1 up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.  Maintaining steady scoring pressure, the Bucks scored one in each of the first two periods, and finished off the third period by scoring two goals.  Opening the scoring was 5-10, 195 lb Sophomore Matt Johnson (12 GP, 4 G, 1
A, 5 Pts, +6), with assists to 5-10, 175 lb Sophomore Chad Niddery (5 GP, 0-1-1, +1) and 6-3, 200 lb Junior defenseman Curtis Gedig (10 GP, 0-2-2, +5).    The second period goal was scored by Ryan Dzingel, the 6-0 185 lb Sophomore who has been mentioned in this space more than once.  Dzingel (12 GP, 5-5-10, -2), currently tied for third in scoring in CCHA play was assisted by 5-10, 166 lb Freshman Tyler Lundey and 5-9, 175 lb Junior Alex Szczechura (9 GP, 1-2-3, -1).

The first third period goal was scored by 5-11, 200 lb Sophomore Tanner Fritz, pictured above.  Fritz (12 GP, 2-9-11, +3), one those currently tied at third in CCHA scoring, was assisted by 6-3, 200 lb Sophomore Darik Angeli (6 GP, 1-1-2, +0).    Late in the third period Lake Superior State scored a goal, only to be answered again by the Buckeyes when 6-1, 193 lb Junior Chris Crane (12 GP, 3-2-5, +1) scored an empty net goal, assisted by Tanner Fritz.  Goaltender Brady Hjelle stopped 30 of 31 shots he faced.

What does all this have to do with the Big Ten Network you ask?  Well, I'll get to that, but I also want to take some time getting the links and descriptions of the Buckeye Hockey players down so we could start to get to know them.

Oh! Mediation!

Donald Fehr contemplates Nirvana

Today, the NHLPA and the NHL agreed to meditation to try to solve their differences in negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement.  Yogi Bikchk Swami Win Bhurds has agreed to lead them through his 12 step program of flexibility, focus, and meditation.  It is thought that the use of this program will allow the two sides to see through their differences to a level of total consciousness that will dissolve all barriers to feeding the frenzied masses the hockey that they long to see.

Gary Bettman drinks in the beauty of cost certainty

The use of meditation to solve a labor dispute is a novel approach, yet the sides resolved to 'disregard all earthly bonds in the pursuit of a more perfect existence'.  In the last lockout, the parties were unwilling to take such bold steps towards a more enlightened condition, resorting instead to a mundane, non-binding federal mediation.

Oh!  Wait!  Maybe I misunderstood that tweet!

Oh well.  The NHLPA and NHL agree to federal mediation.

GO JACKETS!!

The Curse of Elmo

Elmo gazes malevolently down from the rafters of
Nationwide Arena

He first appeared late in the 2008-09 season, after a CBJ road trip.  A production of Sesame Street had been in Nationwide Arena while the Columbus Blue Jackets were on the road, and at the next home game we looked up from our seats in Section 207 and saw the Elmo balloon, looking down at us.

Elmo watched the Jackets struggle through the end of 2008-09, dropping from a 6 seed to an 8 as they staggered through the rest of the season after clinching their only playoff birth.  He watched the most amazing sporting event ever to occur in Nationwide Arena, the rollicking thunder of that playoff Game 4 where the CBJ finally shed the shackles of tentativeness, but too late.  He presided over the shower of beer cans that saluted an untimely 'too many men' penalty in a year when the eventual Cup Champion Penguins were allowed to skate an entire shift with too many men.  And thus, the first ripples of a virulent curse were vibrated through our collective consciousness.

Since that time this Elmo balloon has stared  down at the high, but ultimately crushed hopes of four seasons.  He has inspired December collapses in multiple, years, finally advancing his influence to October, and ultimately, to September of this year, when we didn't even get a chance to start the season.  He has seen a franchise spiral from a playoff team, to a dead last finish in a short 4 years, which includes two coaching changes.  And now, he has managed to even get the All Star Game cancelled from his lofty perch in the rafters.  Yes folks, it is the curse of Elmo that is driving all of our hockey woes.

It is time, oh yes it is time, for the game ops folks to rise up, and unseat this icon of ill-luck and channel of negative karma.  I don't care how many pellet gun shots, or lifts of scaffolding it takes to get him down, but before the puck drops again in Nationwide Arena, this evil force must be removed!!

GO JACKETS!!

2013 NHL All-Star Game cancelled

Nope...not gonna happen.  (Ever?)

Yup, it's done: The 2013 NHL All-Star Game weekend has been cancelled.  Here's a link to my DBJ Plus reproduction of the letter from CBJ President Mike Priest to ASG ticket holders.

I note that no promise has been made to hold a future All-Star Game weekend in Columbus.  This is in stark contrast to the immediate awarding of the next Winter Classic to cancelled 2013 location Detroit/Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Appreciating that an All-Star Game needs an actual batch of regular season games to conduct roster balloting and the other procedural necessities related to a game, there is room for a reasonable person to ask whether the NHL knew what they were doing to Columbus - both the team and its host community - in cancelling the event.

Worse yet...if they did know, there's even more room to ask if the NHL cared.

---

UPDATE: Well whaddya know, the NHL says that they care.

ASG Down!

As expected today, the NHL canceled the 2012-13 All
Start game scheduled to be held in Columbus.  Puck Daddy has a pretty good write-up of this here.  I really don't mind this.  The ongoing lockout had rendered the notion of an All Star Game in January a mockery of all involved.  It is the right thing to do to cancel it at this point.  The NHL held on to it longer than they reasonably should.

Next up is an NHL Board of Governors meeting scheduled for December 5.  Two things can happen here.  The owners can direct Bettman to settle, or they can cancel the 2012-13 season.  There have been rumblings that the NHLPA will be considering a move to decertify, and thus attempt to move the dispute to the courts.  Cancellation of the 2012-13 season would prememptively nullify the contracts in dispute.  So if the NHLPA tries to move this to the courts, a past Fehr strategy, the NHL is in a position to question exactly what it is we are arguing about.  I expect cancellation of the season for these types of reasons.  My biggest fear is for the 2013-14 season.

Let's get that 2015 ASG scheduled right away, and give hockey fans everywhere SOMETHING on the schedule to look forward to enjoying.

GO JACKETS!!

Give Thanks!

From all of us here at the Dark Blue Jacket, we wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!  In spite of the gloom of the lockout, we have much to be thankful for, and its good to be reminded of that at times.

I am thankful that we have the privilege of having an NHL franchise in our town.  That's not all roses, I understand, and there are some teeth grinding bush league moments about the whole thing, but in the end, we are part of a long stream of history that stretches back as long at least as the NFL.  That is something no one can take away from us, and we are far from the worst team in NHL history, regardless of the statements of the internet trolls.

There are the historic exploits of the Rocket Richards of the league, and the hope for heroic exploits by Blue Jackets that have yet to pull on the sweater.  The history of hockey is a long flowing continuum, and we are already indelibly woven into its fabric.  That is something for which I am very thankful.

I am thankful that my colleagues in this endeavor have had this lockout time for their successful recruiting efforts.  We welcome the Dark Blue Twins to the fold, as well as Morgan's Raider (this will become more evident over time, trust me on this!).  The 2030 NHL entry draft promises to be a family affair!

Take the time to say a prayer of thanks to our soldiers who go into harm's way to keep us safe.  Remember  those who have paid the ultimate price in our defense.  Yes, Specialist Levi Hoover.  I'm talking to you.  Thank you.  Well done lad.  Well done indeed.

Hold your mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, and all who are near you this day in your heart, and give thanks that we are all part of this great nation.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  GO JACKETS!!

Fifty Percent With A Ratchet

The NHLPA made the comprehensive proposal today that the NHL asked them to make.  The players insist they have made concessions and their proposal does indeed contain the words 'fifty percent'.  It also contains a ratchet that ensures that the dollar amount the player receive can never be less than the year before.  If in year three, all the big money teams pull a CBJ and start 0-9-1 and revenue comes up a bit short, no matter, the dollar amount the players get never goes down.

As a fan of a small market team there are some things I really hate about this proposal.  Right now there is a +/- of 8 million around the midpoint of revenue that sets the cap minimum and the cap maximum.  The players proposal wants to change that to +/- 20%.  Goodbye competitive balance, hello New York, Detroit, and Toronto budget busting deals that the CBJ won't be able to compete with, a situation that will get worse over time.  Revenue sharing won't cover the kind of gaps this proposal creates.

The offer changes the retirement plan from a defined contribution plan to a defined benefit plan.  That will save the owners a lot of money.  (Editor's note: sorry, I forgot to use the sarcasm font there) .The players propose to deal with front loaded contracts.  Of course, their proposal only deals with contracts longer than nine years, which means it deals with a handful of contracts.

Under the guise of 'making concessions', this offer is as draconian as some of the stupid stuff the owners have put forward.  Had the players seriously negotiated a deal around the owners proposal to play an 82 game season that started on November 1 we could have had a season, and they would have got their full pay for the season.  Meanwhile, Don Fehr is still trying to find ways around the salary cap.

Until the players tell Don Fehr to get a deal done, he will keep dancing around with offers that the owners can't accept, because they would be stone cold fools to accept them.  And the window keeps closing on guys like Derek MacKenzie and Roman Hamrlik.  I know that this sounds like I am being an apologist for the owners.  I'm not.  But I'm a fan of a small market team, caught between a NHLPA rep who thinks the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox outspending everyone else is a good system and to h*** with the small market teams, and the owners of the big market NHL squads who want the throw their cash around, but can't because of the salary cap.

For more details on the players proposal, Porty has a good write up over on Puck Rakers.

If both sides can find something that they can negotiate around, and hammer this out, that would be a good thing.  But will someone tell me what is Don Fehr's incentive is to do that?

UPDATE: Twitter feeds are saying the NHL Board of Governors is scheduled to meet on December 5.  Methinks this means the plug is getting pulled.  Good by season.

GO JACKETS!!

FSO fires up “Slap Shots in 60”

A release received today from FOX Sports Ohio:

FOX Sports Ohio and the Columbus Blue Jackets are pleased to introduce “Slap Shots in 60”, a series of 60-second vignettes highlighting Blue Jackets activities.

“Slap Shots in 60” is hosted by Dave Maetzold and Natalie Taylor, and will feature various news, relevant topics, and events surrounding the Jackets.

Fans will see “Slap Shots in 60” running throughout FOX Sports Ohio programming beginning Tuesday, November 20th.

I know, I know...the FSO Blue Jackets blogger is out there hyping FSO Blue Jackets programming.  Guilty as charged.  

At the same time, let's recognize this effort for what it is: In the middle of a mind-numbing lockout, the Blue Jackets' television broadcast partner is still trying to create meaningful content about a team that - with the exception of hiring a new top dog in hockey operations - doesn't have much happening at the NHL level.  And "doesn't have much happening" is being generous.  So good on FSO for green-lighting this project.

Lastly, I'll note that FSO has Dave Maetzold and Natalie Taylor as their on-air talent.  I am not particularly close with either (they could be great folks for all I know, but circumstances have never allowed) but greatly respect their broadcast skills and dedication to the Blue Jackets.  Mega-kudos to FSO for helping them continue to work on the beat they clearly enjoy so much, helping keep their broadcast team in the fold while we all wait out this lockout.  

Buckeyes Post 4-2 Win

Buckeyes facing off against NMU

As the football Buckeyes were wrapping up an overtime win against Wisconsin in Madison, the hockey Buckeyes were squaring off against the Northern Michigan Wildcats at the Schott.  Saturday's game showed much more flow from the start than the Friday version, and was a very entertaining hockey game.  The Buckeye power play got running enough to allow them to climb back into the game, and they went on to overpower the lesser opponent.

Ryan Daugherty got Northern Michigan on the board early by blocking a shot at the blue line, which deflected back past the Buckeye defender, and sent Daugherty in on a nice breakaway on the Buckeyes Freshman Goal Tender Colin Olson.  Daugherty made a nice move to finish, and put Northern Michigan up 1-0 with 10:17 left in the opening period.  The Buckeyes kept the pressure up, out shooting the Wildcats 13-4 in the first period, but were unable to put one in goal.

Buckeye Shutout, CBA Armageddon?, Money Ball

OSU taking on Northern Michigan

Last night Senior Goal Tender Brady Hjelle pitched a shut out against Northern Michigan as the Buckeye Defense stifled the Wildcats, limiting them to 1 (one) shot on goal in the first period, and 20 shots in the entire game. The Buckeyes were paced by a first period goal by 5-10, 185 lb Junior Travis Statchuk with the assist to Ryan Dzingel, and a third period power play goal by Max McCormick, with assists by Tanner Fritz and Ryan Dzingel.  The Sophomore Dzingel, a 7th round pick by Ottawa in the 2011 NHL entry draft seems to show up on the Buckeye score sheet with regularity.  Hitch would have loved this game.  Not a lot of dangling going on, just solid defensive hockey.

With all that said, this game left a little room for hockey related discussion, and our topics ranged far and wide.  One observation my buddy Bill made was that it looks like the time for meeting in the middle on the NHL collective bargaining agreement is rapidly drawing to a close.  Should that window close, then the outcome of the negotiations will end up being cast in terms of 'winners' and 'losers'.  Frankly, I don't see either side getting to that point without jettisoning the 2012-13 season.  And, I submit to you, that the players didn't hire Don Fehr to 'meet in the middle' or to 'lose'.  Part of the question I have in my mind involves whether the 2013-14 season would also need to be sacrificed to determine 'winners' or 'losers'.  If the owners cave to Fehr, he is going to own them like he has baseball owners for years to come.  But right now if Fehr is telling the players that the longer you wait, the better the deal, he is right so far, with the owners softening their stance on many issues.  I don't really care who 'wins' or who 'loses', but if we go back to a Don Fehr utopia where Detroit and New York have 90 million dollar payrolls, and the CBJ have a $28 million dollar payroll, I have to wonder how long I would remain engaged in the sport.  If Don Fehr is the 'winner' he needs to make it his business to take care of the small market teams.

There's no business like No Buisness.

The NHL is in yet another lockout seven years after it lost a season.  Last time, the owners pretty much got everything they wanted, and the players got reduced salaries but the slight majority in HRR, Hockey Related Revenues.  Fast forward to this lockout, and the only thing the players ‘won’ last time is the sticking point for this lockout, HRR - if you don’t count the contract length, the 50’s era free agency rules, and the absence of arbitration.  Fans don’t seem to get why this lockout is taking so long, there is no easy answer as to why.  From a players standpoint, imagine your job, where every 7 years you hear that your employer is having financial troubles and the only way to fix it is for you, the employee, have to give back 25% of your salary, pay a portion of what’s left into escrow that you may never see again, then essentially cap what you are able to make for the next 7 years based on revenue, not margin, then have it taken away because margin is poor. (Holy run-on sentance batman!)  For the owners, well, maybe these metrics will help you figure it out.  They aren’t doing well and to be honest, I don’t know that they ever will.

In this piece I will divide the NHL teams into four “Eras” and take a 35,000 foot view how the teams from each era are doing financially and professionally.  The four eras as pretty easy to digest: “The original six” then the “Expansion Era” thirdly “The Merger Era” and finally the Clinton Era, er, I mean “Entitlement Era” teams for lack of a better term.  I will look at the teams from each era is: 1)Number of cups the team has overall, 2) the average annual operating income since the last lockout 3) number of playoff appearances the last seven years 4) and cups won the last ten seasons.  Teams bolded in black have relocated at least once since their inception.  The purpose is to show through playoff appearances and cups won the last few years how 'competitively relevant' each team is today coupled with how they are doing financially.  I consider a team 'competitively relevant' if they have made the playoffs 4 of the last 7 seasons.

 

One country deeply loves Hockey, the other country is pretty
much just  Facebook friends with it.

 

The Original Six – these teams were the foundation of the NHL from its popularly recoginized beginning in 1942.  The league went 25 years without expanding, lets take a look at how these storied franchises do today.

Orignal Six	Cups Won	Avg Operating income since 06		playoff app since 06		Cups last 10 yrs
Toronto Maple Leafs	13	$60 million	0		0
Montreal Canadiens	23	$35.7 million	5		0
Boston Bruins	6	$3 million	5		1
Chicago Black Hawks	4	$8 million	4		1
New York Rangers	4	$30.7 million	6		0
Detroit Red Wings	11	$15.4 million	7		2

Ok, not too many surprises here.  However, it’s worth noting the Bruins have had two money losing seasons since the last lockout and the Hawks had one – the year they WON the Stanley Cup.  No other original six team has had a money losing season since the last lockout.   The Maple Leafs seem to be the only team without any competitive relevance the last 7 years, and their team is literally an ATM for ownership.  No co-winkee-dink that these are also the six teams with the highest net worth.

The Expansion Era – This started in the 1967 season when the league doubled in size from 6 to 12 teams as the WHL (not WHA) was challenging to compete with the NHL.  It also saw a playoff format where a certain number of expansion teams were guaranteed to make the playoffs.  I also lump all the tumultuous 70’s era expansion in here as well. Teams seemed to move around often, and ownership groups only went a few seasons before moving to a different city.  It was in the 70’s that NHL used expansion to keep the WHA from taking market share.

Expansion Era	Cups Won	Avg Operating income since 06	playoff app since 06	Cups last 10 yrs
Los Angeles Kings	1	$3.2 million	3	1
Philadelphia Flyers	2	$4 million	6	0
Pittsburgh Penguins	3	$3.2 million	6	1
Dallas Stars	1	$8.7 million	3	0
St Louis Blues	0	(-$4.1 million)	2	0
Vancouver Canucks	0	$15.5 million	5	0
Buffalo Sabres	0	(-$4.6 million)	4	0
New Jersey Devils	3	(-$2.9 million)	6	1
Washington Capitals	0	(-S3.8 million)	5	0
New York Islanders	4	(-$7.9 million)	1	0
Calgary Flames	1	$2.3 million	4	0

 

About half these teams struggle financially today since the last lockout.  Almost all of the teams created to combat the WHA struggle financially to this day – if they still exist (Capitals, Islanders, Devils, Sabres) .  I’m surprised at how little operating income the Flyers generate being a traditionally competitive team.  I am also shocked at the amount of money Dallas makes in a non-traditional market.  They did lose money for the first time in 2011, which I attribute to missing the playoffs 3 straight years.  Of the first six expansion teams, 4 of the surviving franchises do ok with income, if you consider 4 million dollars a year a worthwhile return on a 200 million dollar investment (hello NBA!).  What really sticks out to me though is most of these teams are regularly competitive making the playoffs, and half the teams haven’t been profitable since the last lockout.

 

No NHL hockey makes even the most chipper fans sad.

 

The Merger Era – these were the four strongest teams when the WHA ceased operations and were (eventually) absorbed into the NHL.  Think the owners are babies today, check this out.  There is a case for fan pressure I guess.  Occupy Molson.

 

Merger Era	Cups Won	Avg Operating income since 06	playoff app since 06	Cups last 10 yrs
Edmonton Oilers	5	$11.2 million	1	0
Carolina Hurricanes	1	(-$5.8 million)	2	1
Phoenix Coyotes	0	(-$15 million)	3	0
Colorado Avalanche	2	$4.4 million	3	0

Here we see hockey start to struggle in non-traditional markets – not at the time of expansion, but after their relocation.  Hartford and Winnipeg relocated because of arenas, and Quebec relocated because they were tired of taking in Canadian revenue and paying salaries at a 20% premium in US dollars.  Edmonton weathered the storm, but only seems to win draft lotteries as of late, and makes good money now that the USD is devalued.  Not much competitive relevance here, no team with a 50% average of making the playoffs the last 7 seasons.  One Stanley Cup win in the last 10 years between the 4 teams.

The Clinton Era – Nobody really thought of the consequences of making it easy to get credit and a mortgage, I mean an NHL franchise.  Only being able to get an NHL franchise in a market where hockey is typically played was discriminatory!  Need 20% down before you can get a mortgage, discriminatory!  Early in this era we see surviving WHA franchises relocate. In the latter half of the era, hotbeds for hockey like Nashville and Miami get expansion teams.  Remember when Starbucks had a store on every corner?  Not so much anymore…

 

Clinton Era	Cups Won	Avg Operating income since 06	playoff app since 06	Cups last 10 yrs
San Jose Sharks	0	(-$3.3 million)	7	0
Tampa Bay Lightning	1	(-$1.9 million)	3	1
Ottawa Senators	0	$2.4 million	5	0
Anaheim Ducks	1	(-$0.25 million)	5	1
Florida Panthers	0	(-$8.1 million)	1	0
Nashville Predators	0	(-$5.0 million)	6	0
Atlanta Thrashers	0	See Winnipeg Jets	1	0
Winnipeg Jets	0	(-$5.5 million)	0	0
Minnesota Wild	0	(-$0.5 million)	2	0
Columbus Blue Jackets	0	(-$7.9 million)	1	0

 

No rocket surgery required to make conclusions here.  However, I am seeing a trend which I will discuss in the conclusion section below.  Two Stanley Cups have come from this group of teams, yet only 4 of these 9 teams have been competitively relevant the last 7 years.  Oh, only one team has made a profit since the last lockout and it's in Canada.  I bet this group of owners like things just the way they are and are in no way motivated to see a profitible return on their 100 million dollar investments.

Conclusions:  Looking over these metrics two things stick out to me, one of which I wasn’t expecting.  The surprise to me was winning doesn’t fix everything.  Toronto and San Jose are polar opposites in the realm of competitive relevance the last 7 years and Toronto rakes in piles of money; San Jose bathes in red ink.  New Jersey regularly competes for Stanley Cups and can’t make money.  Anaheim makes the playoffs, wins a cup, and can’t make a steady profit.  While Nashville seems to make the playoffs playing 'small ball' it can't make money.  It leaves those of us in Columbus with the depressing thought, "What if winning doesn't solve everything?"

The second thing that sticks out to me, and is really no surprise, is that NHL teams in cities like Miami, San Jose, Nashville, Phoenix, Northern California, Tampa Bay, Raleigh, NC; and Columbus, OH struggle to make money.  I don’t understand from a dollars and cents standpoint how these cities got a HOCKEY franchise (I’m am very happy that Columbus did though).  I guess expanding into these markets sounded like a good idea, so did opening a Rax franchise at one point in the 80’s. 

 15 teams have made a profit since the last lockout, 15 teams haven’t.  There has been no expansion since the last lockout and one team relocation.  There is no easy answer as to what it will take to end this lockout, but I’m fairly certain this won’t be the lockout to end all lockouts.  The players are tired of having to always give back to the owners.  The owners locked out the players, the players want an opportunity to get their lost money back - considering this will be the most money they will likely ever make.  The owners, well, the owners aren’t all on the same page.  Anyone who tells you they are all on the same page has the power to fine them $1 million bucks for saying otherwise.  It's kind of sad that one half of your league loses money playing hockey, the other half loses money by not playing hockey. 

 

While it sounds like I blame expansion, you have to expand in order to grow your business - that is for certain.  However, there has to be tangible demand and real underlying economic factors driving that growth and expansion.  Sadly, I don’t see either of those since the Clinton Era NHL expansion– and these metrics support that conclusion.  I for one wish this would get settled once and for all.  Writing about NHL lockouts is not very fun.

 

Speaking of Metrics, I have a huge crush on Emily Haines.