Shannon on NHL Around the league

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Taking a look at Mario Lemieux’s comments after the Penguins-Islanders fiasco in Long Island.Well, an owner has finally spoken out. Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux made comments about the 346 minutes of penalties after all the brawls in Long Island. cheap NHL jerseys Unfortunately, Lemieux made no comment on Matt Cooke’s suspension of four games or Brent Johnson’s knockdown of Rick DiPietro. There is part of me that applauds Lemieux for the outburst, but there is part of me that suggests he should probably be working with the other members of NHL ownership to change the tone of the game. You have to wonder if he is just frustrated that his team isn’t playing well. As one member of the board told me Sunday, “If he wants to change the game, he should come to the meetings.”There is no question that it will be the topic du jour for a few days, at a time when Gary Bettman and John Collins are trying to sell the game to Madison Avenue,NFL Baltimore Ravens Jerseys, and the television networks in the United States. The comments, to say the least, are polarizing. It will be interesting to see if anyone speaks up against Monsieur Lemieux.
The game has been on a pretty good roll with the HBO project, growing revenues and better TV ratings. As the NHL starts to negotiate new deals in America, I would think there would be some optimism in signing a larger contract with NBC and/or Versus or ESPN. But when the top 25 markets in the U.S. only see the Bruins/Canadiens brawls or Penguins/Islanders fights, and never see the highlight reel goals or saves, it can only hamper the ability to grow the game. wholesale NHL jerseys Again, I know most ################ fans in both countries understand how these fighting games are played, but these types of events won’t help grow the game with new fans, and every good business requires some level of growth.I also feel that Lemieux is too conflicted to make these remarks publicly.Every night on Hockeycentral, we’ve been joking that it must be a longer than usual full moon with all the brawling that’s been going on. What I didn’t realize is that, while fighting is down more than 50 per cent over the past three decades, and more than 60 per cent of NHL games have no fighting penalties assessed, the games played between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 during the past five seasons have an increase of fighting by 30 per cent … Here are the numbers, compared to the first three months of each season:
So I asked a few colleagues, ‘Why?’ There wasn’t much consensus. Some thought it was scheduling (return grudge matches), others thought it was young players trying to prove their worth (and avoid being sent back to the AHL), while a couple others just thought the playoff races were heating up early. One senior guy even suggested that it was residue of the salary cap, where teams are forced to fill their rosters with less skilled players.The latter may be true, but not for the Bruins. In the last 10 days, they played five games, winning two and losing the other three. In the two victories, they scored 14 goals, and filled the penalty box with three fights in the first four seconds of one game (vs. Dallas) and had 192 penalty minutes in the other (vs. Montreal). In the three losses? No fights and three goals.
Ownership in the NHL
While there are still plenty of teams for sale, the Buffalo Sabres’ sale will be done in its entirety by Feb. 21 at the latest. The NHL Board of Governors will approve Terry Pegula as the team owner by then. The first order of business will be to hire a President of Hockey Operations. It’s a position similar to what John Davidson does in St.Louis and Kevin Lowe in Edmonton. With former Penguins executive Ken Sawyer helping with the purchase, don’t be surprised to hear Craig Patrick’s name at the top of any list.In Phoenix, while there is little question that the deal will go through; the City of Glendale is still working through a few small lease issues. NHL jerseys The bond issue that was rumoured to be dead recently, will go up for sale within the next 10 days, and Matt Hulsizer’s group will be fully vested by mid-March. Next up for the Coyotes will be finding a full-time CEO. While Mike Neely has filled in admirably, there is an expectation that the group will hire a high-profile name to run the franchise and the arena. Meanwhile, Don Maloney will remain the point man for the hockey operations..I have been rather hard on Maple Leafs’ coach Ron Wilson of late. The sad part of it is, I like the guy. Being involved in sports as an occupation has been a real thrill for me for over 30 years. I tell people all the time that we are “playing in the sand box of life”. Just imagine if we had real jobs! And while I understand the pressure to win is intense, Wilson just needs to lighten up! He works in a city where everyone is hockey crazy, and the fans are just praying he can do a good job with the Leafs. He is the key spokesman for the club. If it ever came across in interviews or scrums, that he enjoyed his job or loved the game or respected the person asking the question, people just might cut him a little bit of slack. As it is, he will never get the benefit of the doubt in Toronto, and the fans will return his contempt with cries of “fire the coach!”