Tag Archives: hockey

The Day After

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By Jason Menard

I woke up this morning. The sun continued to shine. The birds continued to chirp. Armageddon didn’t come as expected.

Yes, the world continues to spin on its axis, even though the Hartford Whalers won the Stanley Cup.

Even though the Whalers departed the insurance capital of Hartford, Connecticut for the sunnier climes of South Carolina back in April of 1997, the team’s theme song Brass Bonanza continues to bore a hole in my consciousness. And despite the apocalyptic hyperbole from so-called hockey purists, the fact that the Stanley Cup remains in the Southern United States isn’t such a horrible thing.

Life goes on, hockey continues, and the sun continues to shine as we gear up for the NHL draft, training camp, and the start of yet another season in just a few short months.

While Carolina and Tampa Bay may not be the first places you think of when discussing hockey hotbeds, the fact of the matter is that the sport continues to grow in hot-weather climates. Success like these two can only help to build a foundation for the fastest game on ice in the land of NASCAR and cigarettes. And if, as Canadians and self-proclaimed custodians of the game, we’re truly concerned about the league’s future, we should be happy that the league will garner some attention in non-traditional markets.

After all, if the cup only rotated between Montreal, Edmonton, and Detroit, it would be hard to build up interest in other cities, now, wouldn’t it?

In fact, Carolina isn’t the oddest team name to grace the Cup. The bustling metropolis of Kenora (population approximately 16,000) won the cup back in 1907. Thankfully, they didn’t engrave the city’s original name on the Cup – Rat Portage makes Carolina look high-class in comparison.

Since then, the Cup was shuttled through the Original Six (even Toronto, although the last reference may be fading by now), residing most of the time in Montreal either with the Canadiens, Maroons, or Wanderers. It’s only been in the past few years that non-traditional markets have been allowed into our club.

Sure, Edmonton’s a newer club, but really is there any place more hockey than frozen Alberta? Same thing for Calgary. The Islanders mini-dynasty put the Cup back in the New York area carved out by the Rangers, and the Penguins back-to-back championships was accepted due to the city’s lunch-bucket mentality (and proximity to Philadelphia).

But Carolina? Tampa? Perish the thought.

If hockey fans are anything, they’re snobs. They may call themselves purists, but really it’s nothing more than elitism masking as concern for the game. Even though history will show that the recent rules changes will be responsible for making the game more exciting and dynamic than ever, “purists” were sitting there acting all curmudgeonly and bemoaning the bastardization of “our” game. Instead of embracing change, instead of welcoming new people to the club, these so-called purists are doing everything they can to keep people out of their self-created exclusive club.

Soccer, a sport with arguably more history and a greater entrenchment in the societies in which its played, constantly fiddles with the rules, their interpretations, and even the equipment used. Heck, in this World Cup – the pinnacle event for soccer fans globally – the powers-that-be have introduced a new, lighter ball to improve scoring.

Do we hear soccer purists complaining about the bastardization of the game? Do they look upon this year’s tournament with any less validity than those past? No, they’ve learned that the game must move forward and adapt to remain relevant. Simply doing things because that’s the way they’ve always been done isn’t good enough. Smart organizations – whether they’re in business or in the business of sport – know that constant re-evaluation of accepted business practices is the key to maintaining position in the marketplace.

There are no hockey gods coming down etching the rules of the game on frozen tablets for all to follow. The game has adapted. Remember the rover? Goalies without helmets? No? Probably because the game changed with the times and refined its rules to meet the changing tastes of its clientele. Change is good. Expansion into new markets is good. Closed-minded protectionism is what will kill the very sport these so-called fans claim to love.

After all, Carolina won the Cup and the world continues to spin. Thankfully though, the team-formerly-known-as-Hartford refrained from playing Brass Bonanza for old time’s sake, and scarring another generation of children for life.

2006© Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

Stevie a Wonder of Loyalty

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By Jason Menard

You don’t need to be a Red Wings’ fan to appreciate the team’s captain — you just need to be a fan of the game itself. But his appeal is not restricted to his on-ice talents, his longevity will come from being an icon of the game as we want it to be.

Following Detroit’s unceremonious ouster from the National Hockey League playoffs, the expectation is that Steve Yzerman will finally hang up his blades and move off into retirement. But as superlative as his efforts were on the ice, what most hockey fans love about Yzerman is that he represents an iconic presence to which we want all players to look up to.

Free agency has brought many good things to the league and its players. In fact, it can be argued that fans also have benefited in knowing that their team is just a few savvy signings away from contention. However, the one thing that free agency has taken from the game is the sense of affiliation between a player and their team.

The game is a business and longevity is but one factor in a player’s decision to stay with any franchise; family, location, taxes, and ancillary opportunities all play a part. That’s why many of us look to Yzerman as a throwback to years gone by.

Yzerman was a player who spent his entire career with one team, growing with it through the “Dead Things” bad times, taking a leadership role during the glory years, and playing the role of elder statesman as the transition to a new generation took place. For 23 years, no matter what else happened in the league, you could be certain that Yzerman would be pulling on the Red Wings’ jersey.

His career stats speak for themselves and manage to spell out Hall of Fame on their own: 1,514 games played, 692 goals, 1,755 points, and a career +/- of +202 attesting to his commitment at both ends of the rink. Add to that 185 points in 196 playoff games and you’ve got the statistical embodiment of an all-around star.

The Red Wings’ first-round choice in the 1983 Entry Draft paced the three players taken before him in career points combined (Brian Lawton’s 266, Sylvain Turgeon’s 494, and Pat LaFontaine’s 1,013). And while LaFontaine watched his number rise to the rafters earlier this year in Buffalo, Yzerman continued to pull the number 19 over his head 61 more times in the regular season.

But beyond everything on the stats sheet, Yzerman embodies loyalty. While Colorado’s Joe Sakic has also spent his career with one franchise, the fact that it’s been in two cities confuses the issue. And Stevie never signed a loaded offer sheet from another club designed to force his team’s hand into retaining his services. We, as people, understand the business aspect. We, as fans, applaud loyalty.

Loyalty is the tie that binds fans to their teams, despite the unbelievable gap of salary and lifestyle. It’s what makes the average Joe scrimp and save to take the family to a game, or buy a replica jersey. It’s what makes people far and wide live and die with every flickering image on a TV screen. And when you have a player that displays the faithfulness and loyalty that Yzerman has shown during his Red Wings’ tenure, then that sense of validation is palpable.

Of course, it’s easier to be loyal when you reap the rewards that Yzerman’s been able to during his career. In addition to always receiving a salary befitting his status, the Red Wings’ captain has hoisted Stanley Cups and worn Olympic gold. And he’s earned the respect of hockey fans far and wide. Yet, while stars are often polarizing by nature, it’s hard to imagine one person who wouldn’t wish that Yzerman suited up for their favourite squad.

Fittingly, Yzerman passes the torch to a new game, with a new collective bargaining agreement that goes a long way into stemming the mercenary nature of the sport and assuring that teams and core players will have the ability to grow and develop together.

As a 20+year with one franchise player, many looked upon Yzerman as being the last of a breed. However, as he passes the torch to new players in a new game – with a collective bargaining agreement that goes a long way into stemming the mercenary nature of the sport, thereby assuring that teams and core players can grow and develop together — Yzerman may, in fact, go down as the bridge between eras.

And, in the end — even though we may not be Detroit fans — we’ll remain faithful to him because he always remained faithful to us.

2006© Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

Fortune or Foresight? The NHL’s Winning Formula

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By Jason Menard

The NHL not only managed to slip its head out of its self-imposed noose, but the league appears to have found a winning lottery ticket on the way down the ladder.

All the public hand-wringing and doomsday scenarios cooked up by the pundits have been put on ice, as the National Hockey League has rebounded nicely from its lockout to boast improved attendance numbers, a better product, and a future that’s so bright Gary Bettman’s gotta wear shades.

The league released its attendance figures, clocking in a 91.7 per cent capacity over the year, league-wide. Now, some may snicker at that number considering that some of those 20,854,169 reported attendees arrived dressed as empty seats. But regardless of how many fans walked through the turnstiles, a 2.4 per cent increase in tickets sold is nothing to sneeze at – especially in light of the potential damage the lockout could have caused.

Luckily for the NHL, common sense combined with serendipity to provide an exciting, dynamic year that gave the fans a reason to come back.

It’s not surprising that Montreal was able to set a team record for season attendance. They were able to sell out all 41 home games in the cavernous 21,273 Bell Centre. In fact, it’s no surprise that Canadian hockey fans were ready to come back in droves – the surprise was that there was no drop-off in U.S. fan support.

Realizing the precipice upon which they were perched, the league finally listened to its legion of constructive critics and implemented a host of rule and stylistic changes designed to speed up the game, let the skill players display their talents unimpeded by lumbering goons, and add goals to the game. Most importantly, they ensured that each game would end with a winner and a loser.

Part of the joy of being a hockey fan comes from experiencing the highs and lows of the season. However, it’s hard to ride that emotional rollercoaster when it’s stuck in neutral – and that’s what happened in the past as so many teams were playing not to lose and we more than content with a tie and the point it provided. The addition of the shootout, gimmicky as some may think it is, gets the butts out of the seats, brings back the breathless anticipation that hockey is known for, and gives fans back the opportunity to experience the depth of disappointment that accompanies a loss. However, that feeling also allows them enjoy the adrenaline rush that a win brings with even more passion.

That’s what common sense brought: the knowledge that hockey was a game with untapped potential that was being impeded through clutch-and-grab tactics. Desperation is the mother of invention and to reaffirm their place in the professional sporting mosaic, the NHL had to make changes.

The serendipity came with the fact that so many teams from non-traditional markets were in contention for playoffs right down to the wire. How much was fan interest buoyed in Atlanta thanks to the fact that the Ilya Kovalchuk-led Thrashers were in it right down to the final weekend? Did the Carolina Hurricanes’ success have anything to do with their 27 per cent increase in fan support? What about Nashville’s unexpected performance? Do you think that may have helped the team improve attendance by 10 per cent? Did Joe Thornton’s arrival and subsequent sparking of the San Jose Sharks playoff drive matter to the fans? A six per cent increase says yes.

Like the increase in fan support in Montreal, NHL markets are notorious for supporting their teams win or tie. The fact that so many non-traditional market teams were playing games that mattered only gave a bigger stage to display the changes that were made on the ice.

All the talk about fan revolt dissipated when we realized that it wasn’t just the NHL that was back – it was the NHL game of our youth that was resurrected. Just as Wayne Gretzky made his return to rinks behind the Phoenix Coyotes bench, the style of game that he enjoyed in his heyday was back in fashion.

While it’s hard to say that losing a season of one’s favourite sport is ever a worthwhile venture, the bitter pill fans were forced to swallow has gone down much easier with the sweet changes made to the current game. Now fans have to hope that the league has finally cured what ails it and commits to ensuring its long-term health.

Whether it was foresight, serendipity, plain dumb luck, or a combination of all three, the NHL has stumbled across a winning formula – and it’s the fans who are the biggest beneficiaries.

2006© Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

CBC Olympic Coverage On Target

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By Jason Menard

Oh, the pundits are out in force, suggesting that the CBC has been too hockey-focused throughout this Olympic Games. But, really, is there any reason to argue with giving the viewers what they want – and what they’ve proven to want in the past?

How have those competitive luge ratings been over the past three years? And what were the overnights on biathlon from 2005? Oh, non-existent, OK. Pass the microphone back to Mr. MacLean now.

If the CBC wanted to dedicate all of its programming to the men’s Olympic hockey tournament and only run a crawl of the other events along the bottom of the screen, would there really be any reason to complain? These same columnists, pundits, and talking-heads – have they used their valuable air time and ink to promote these same sports that they’re now lamenting as suffering from a lack of coverage?

No. The point is, in large part, we don’t really care about these secondary sports. Some of us will jump on the old Olympic bandwagon and take some undeserved pleasure from our dedicated Canadian athletes bringing home medals. Those same fans will be the first ones to lament the loss of a medal from an athlete of whom they previously hadn’t shown any interest in.

But hockey, ah… there’s the rub. It’s the reason why the CBC clings so tenuously to the rights to broadcast these games. There’s gold in them thar rinks and, whether or not it hangs from the necks of our players, as long as the pros are playing in the Olympics it will be ringing in the national broadcaster’s coffers from Turin to Vancouver.

The hand-wringing over the CBC’s men’s hockey obsession is just a small part of the greater, unsaid debate about the broadcaster’s mandate. If we look at the broadcaster as an advocate for fair public representation responsible for showing the depth and breadth of the Canadian experience, then coverage should be meted out equally for every event and every athlete. We can let everyone have their 15 minutes of fame and then all get together at the end of the day for a big group hug.

But the CBC is hesitant to fully embrace their role as a public broadcaster – especially if tightening that grip means they have to loosen their grasp on the ideal of commercialism.

The CBC isn’t at this time just a northern PBS, preparing quality programming without being concerned about ratings. It isn’t a channel that’s dedicated to quality and diversity just for quality and diversity’s sake. It’s a network competing with others like CTV and CanWest Global for advertising dollars and viewers’ eyes. If, for the past three years, viewers have shown a marked apathy for watching non-marquee sports, why change a programming focus when the goal is to get the remotes clicked to your stations?

The simple answer is, there is none. Life isn’t fair and while bobsledders, ski jumpers, and biathletes work and train as hard, if not harder and in far less luxurious conditions, than their professional hockey counterparts, the simple fact of the matter is that those sports just don’t seem to resonate with the fans.

As a competitive broadcaster, the CBC has to dedicate air time to the events that will bring in the ratings. However, wearing its public broadcaster’s hat, it has a responsibility to help build an audience for other sports and highlight the complete mosaic of Canadian athletes. CBC hasn’t exactly blacked out these other sports and has given its viewers an opportunity to experience a wide variety of events, competitions, and disciplines. But now it’s time for the average citizen to vote with their wallets and their support.

Skeleton or Snowboard Cross pique your interest? Then spend the intervening three years between Olympics going to local competitions, supporting the athletes, and watching it on TV. If an event isn’t televised, contact your local affiliate or the broadcasters themselves and say that you, as a viewer, are interested in these events and would like to see more air time dedicated to their coverage.

That way, the next time around, when a broadcaster goes about defining an on-air schedule, they’ll know that there’s value in dedicating resources and assets to events that previously may not have warranted as much attention.

After all, while the Olympics are all about gold, silver, and bronze, for the broadcasters the only colour they care about is green. And the viewers’ eyes and the advertisers’ dollars are the only groups that they’re interested in soliciting.

2006© Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved

New/Old Hockey Makes the Grade

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By Jason Menard

It was inevitable, of course. The whispers of discontent regarding the new version of hockey are slowly working their way up to a dull roar. But the danger is that we’re not seeing the forest for the trees – and clear-cutting the whole region is not the answer.

You put certain media types together in a confined space and the cynicism comes out. In their hypercritical, hyperbole-friendly manner of existence sports reporters – especially the bad ones – tend to go overboard in their reactions either one way or the other. That’s why it comes as no surprise that a pair of reporters covering a recent London Knights contest were trying to outdo each other in their negativity.

“So much for that crackdown on holding,” says Mr. Cynic.

“Yeah, it was just a matter of time,” replies Mr. Curmudgeon.

“Look at that – that hook would have got you two minutes at the beginning of the season,” opines Mr. Cynic.

“Yep, it’s back to the old hockey,” concurs Mr. Curmudgeon.

Now, let’s rewind to the beginning of the year when the complaints would have been like this:

“Wow, he just tapped him with the stick and it’s a penalty,” Mr. Cynic notes.

“Yep, you can’t even breathe on a guy without getting sent to the box,” Mr. Curmudgeon replies.

“How can you play defence like this? What’s next, looking at a guy’ll get you five?” retorts Mr. Cynic.

“Yep, this new hockey’s basically pond hockey with boards,” concludes Mr. Curmudgeon.

So you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. But beyond the hypercritical who see every missed hook and every minor hack that gets ignored as evidence of a return to the dark ages, today’s game is better than it was just two years ago (well, for the NHL – last year for everyone else.)

After an early feeling-out period where defenders were overcompensating for the stricter enforcement of obstruction-type penalties, players, refs, and coaches alike appear to have come to terms with the new NHL. Refs may not be so quick with the whistle, but that’s in large part to the better mutual understanding of the game.

What we have is a faster-paced game, with more offence. Defence is still a part of the game, but it has to be based on intelligence and positioning, not just goons getting their big meat hooks into approaching attackers. We have games where fans know that even if their team is two or three goals down in the third period, there’s still the opportunity to come back. We have more end-to-end rushes and more counter-attacks. We have, in essence, the game for which we’ve been asking for the past few years.

So why the complaints? Why the grumbling? Simply put, fear. We’re afraid of letting the game deteriorate to the point that it was two years ago. We let the game deteriorate on our watch, and we’re wary of letting it happen again.

What’s worked? What hasn’t? It seems that listening to fans, players, and general managers paid off for the NHL brass. Shocking that those most directly involved in the game would have the most insight into how to fix it.

Simply put, the NHL has scored on most fronts: the elimination of the centre red line has opened up the flow of the game and eliminated the countless – and pointless – offside calls. The restriction on the size of goalie equipment has not turned all goalies into human sieves, nor has it unnecessarily put their lives at risk. Even the contentious no-goalie zones in the corner of the rink has worked out, reducing, but not banning goaltender involvement in puck control. Best off all, we’re enjoying a faster game without having to impact the size of the ice surface. The game got faster without the rink getting wider, so purists – and money-conscious owners – are happy.

Overall the game is faster, the skill players are showcasing their wares, and fans are being treated to a level of hockey they haven’t seen since the late 80s/early 90s. The old/new NHL is working – but it’s not time to rest on its laurels.

The league must do something about making visors mandatory. Fans pay good money and invest in their heart and souls in these players – the least they could to is protect themselves. As well, something has to be done to encourage hitting. While speed is a big part of the game’s resurgence, the body check should not be phased out as a result. Because of overzealous refs and a lack of understanding about how the rules would be enforced, many players shied away from laying the body. But that has to change.

Hockey at its best is fast-paced, hard-hitting, and intense. We’re part of the way there – it’s not time to stop now. For the first time in year’s the NHL is creating a buzz. Now they just have keep on keeping on, and not ruin the momentum.

But for a league that’s long been known to shoot itself in the foot, will reaching this successful height prove to be too dizzying? Fans everywhere are holding their breath (but not their opponent’s stick!) in anticipation.

2006© Menard Communications – Jason Menard All Rights Reserved