The Washington Capitals had a busy time at the trade deadline, adding toughness to the front and back lines. Carolina defenseman Joe Corvo (pictured above) is heading to Washington for Brian Pothier and prospect Oskar Osala. The Capitals also picked up Hurricanes forward Scott Walker in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2010 draft. Washington also nabbed Wild center Eric Belanger for a 2010 2nd round pick. And in a surprise move the Blue Jackets' Milan Jurcina will be returning to Washington. The Caps traded Jurcina and Chris Clark to Columbus earlier this season for Jason Chimera. The blueliner played for Team Slovakia in the Winter Olympics.
More trades at the deadline:
Sabres forward Clarke Macarthur to Thrashers for 3rd and 4th round picks
Blue Jackets forward Raffi Torres to Sabres for defenseman Nathan Paetsch and 2nd round pick.
Ducks goalie Vesa Toskala to Flames for goalie Curtis Mcelhinney.
Lightning forward Jeff Halpern to Kings for forward Teddy Purcell and 3rd round pick.
Canucks defenseman Mathieu Schneider to Coyotes for defenseman Sean Zimmerman and 6th round pick.
The Ducks nabbed Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward in exchange for goalie Justin Pogge and a 2010 or 2010 4th round draft pick.
Defenseman Derek Morris is returning to Phoenix as the Bruins traded the player to the Coyotes for a 2011 fourth-round pick. The Bruins then replaced Morris by picking up defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and a prospect from the Panthers in exchange for Craig Weller, Byron Bitz and a second-round draft pick.
The Blues nabbed forward Matt D'Agostini from the Canadians for Aaron Palushaj.
Well it didn't take long for the Isles' Andy Sutton to find a home -- and it isn't with the Capitals. The Ottawa Senators acquired the veteran defenseman in exchange for a 2010 second-round pick that formerly belonged to the San Jose Sharks.
The Atlanta Thrashers have signed 48-year-old defenseman Chris Chelios. The three-time Stanley Cup winner would be the oldest NHL player if he returns this year. The deal is for $700,000 and Chelios will stay with the Chicago Wolves minor league team unless he is claimed on waivers.
Right hip injury sidelines Flyers goalie Ray Emery for the season.
The Sports Network is reporting that a deal is in place to trade Toronto forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to Pittsburgh for prospect Luca Caputi.
Could the Tampa Bay Lightning be the next troubled NHL franchise following the Phoenix Coyotes saga?
According to multiple reports, ownership group OK Hockey has defaulted on its loan payments and the National Hockey League had to bail them out to make payroll.
In addition to the league advancing the team money for January's payroll, the reports say the Lightning also received a $2 million advance from Sun Sports to make the final payroll of the 2008-2009 season.
With the sale of Palace Sports a possibility, the sports & entertainment company may want to drop the Lightning from their assets list.
Therefore, their could be an ownership change in the future for the franchise. The search for new ownership/investors has been fruitless so far.
Look for the financial situation of the Tampa Bay Lightning to possibly become a major issue this offseason.
But the bigger underlying issue with franchises such as Phoenix and Tampa Bay is the failure of ice hockey taking off in some warm weather climes such as Florida and Arizona.
The southern trend started with Wayne Gretzky moving from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988, instantly putting hockey on the Southern California map and paving the way for the Sun Belt relocation frenzy.
Commissioner Gary Bettman's southern strategy has had mixed results. While franchises such as the Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks have prospered, other teams like Tampa, the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes have struggled.
Perhaps these franchises will eventually move back north to cities like Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hamilton, Kansas City, Salt Lake City or Seattle.
In the meantime the NHL should look to emulate the success of the California teams. After all, they are living proof that hockey can thrive in places with palm trees.
Hollywood certainly believes hockey can be lucrative -- at least on the bigscreen. "Tooth Fairy," starring Duane Johnson as a tooth-busting hockey player sentenced to be a real tooth fairy, is expected to do big business at the box office this weekend.
The film was shot at the Great Western Forum using real L.A. Kings players.
There are sure to be many seats filled at the cinema with moviegoers in places such as Phoenix, Tampa Bay and South Florida. Maybe after seeing this movie they will want to attend an actual real hockey game and in the process support these struggling Sun Belt franchises.
Haiti is only 681 miles from Miami, Florida, which is a little more than half the distance it took the visiting Capitals to return to D.C. following their 5-4 shootout victory over the Panthers Wednesday night at BankAtlantic Center.
Given the proximity to South Florida and the many Haitian-Americans living in the region, the Panthers collected donations from fans before the game for the countless victims of the devastating 7.0 earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince on Sunday, Jan. 10.
Panthers fans will also have the opportunity to donate to relief efforts at the Lightning game this Saturday.
"This was a tragic and devastating event for the citizens of Haiti, as well as the numerous South Florida residents that have family members residing in the area," said Florida Panthers President & COO Michael Yormark. "We encourage our fans to help support this worthy cause and help the victims who are suffering from this unfortunate tragedy."
Also, yesterday the NHL announced it was donating $100,000 to UNICEF for Haiti relief.
"The catastrophe in Haiti requires an urgent response from the National Hockey League family," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "The victims need food, water, temporary housing and basic medical supplies, and the emergency effort by UNICEF is helping to provide those critical commodities to communities in desperate need."
To donate and find out more information about the earthquake visit www.unicef.org.
Here is a brief video of Panthers fans dropping off donations before the game:
As the National Hockey League skates into the second decade of the new millenium, a recap of the Oughts is in order -- both the highlights and lowlights.
Overall the NHL is on a positive track as profits are up, the game has never been more exciting to watch and technological innovations are changing the way fans view and interact with their favorite teams. But there are also some financially failing franchises, injuries are on the rise and professional hockey is still a distant fourth behind the NFL, NBA and MLB in Americans' sporting passions.
Just some of the many trends and moments worth examining.
WHAT RECESSION? Despite the global financial crisis, the NHL had its most profitable year in 2008-2009 and team values rose $3 million with revivals in Chicago, Washington and Pittsburgh leading the charge and new deals with companies such as Honda and Cisco providing a boost.
LOCKOUT LOW POINT Remember the 2004-2005 lockout? I know, it has faded from memory as fast as a Joe Thornton slap shot. But this was no doubt the lowest point for the league in the past decade. The NHL earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first North American professional sports league to cancel an entire season. It is nothing short of a miracle the NHL was able to survive and now thrive after the devastating "lost season."
NEW RULES: THE GOOD In an effort to woo back disaffected fans following the lockout, the NHL instituted new rules to make the game more exciting to watch. Perhaps the most significant change was cracking down on the neutral zone trap defense, which was made famous by the New Jersey Devils. While the Devils had much success with this style of play, they were widely criticized for making the game boring. New rules that opened up the neutral zone took effect such as doubling the width of the blue and red lines, lifting the prohibition on two-line passes and vigorously enforcing obstruction penalties such as hooking and holding.
Another significant rule change was instituting the shootout if an overtime regular season game ends in a tie. While some argue that the shootout is a cheap gimmick, I would argue that it has made the game more exciting by showcasing the skills of shooters and goalies and preventing teams from settling for a tie because there is always two points on the line.
NEW RULES: THE BAD Automatic "no-touch" icing was initially going to be part of the new rules but it wasn't adopted. Bad decision. Injuries due to players racing for the puck is a major concern that could be alleviated by automatic icing. Also, that funny-looking trapezoid zone area behind the net should be eliminated. Restricting the area where a goalie can play the puck is unfair and unnecessary.
THE RISE OF THE EUROS The influx of European talent has enhanced the NHL's international appeal and made the game more fun to watch. The Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals are prime examples. In 2008 Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup when Detroit downed Pittsburgh. The Caps are bursting with European talent such as Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Tomas Fleischmann and Simeon Varlamov just to name a few. Plus, the NHL has moved some of their regular-season openers to Europe. This season games were played in the Czech Republic and Sweden. Expect many more games played overseas in the next decade.
WINTER CLASSIC The now annual New Year's Day outdoor game has been a great success by turning historic venues such as Wrigley Field and this year Fenway Park into ice hockey rinks and airing the game to a national TV audience on NBC. The inaugural game in 2008 at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium broke the NHL attendance record (71,217) and the Wings-Hawks game at Wrigley last January had the highest TV ratings of any hockey game in 33 years.
VANCOUVER OLYMPICS The upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver is going to be an amazing showcase for the NHL's best players representing their countries. The fact that it is in North America is a huge bonus because the games will be shown in prime time. Could Team Canada and Sidney Crosby play Team Russia and Alex Ovechkin for the gold medal?
THE COYOTES CONUNDRUM The fate of the Phoenix Coyotes was one of the biggest question marks heading toward the end of the decade and was a black eye for the league. The saga in Arizona started when the Coyotes filed for bankruptcy on May 5. Since then, there have been a circus of potential owners -- some wanting to keep the team in Phoenix and others wanting to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. On Dec. 18, Ice Edge Holdings purchased the team and are expected to keep the franchise in Phoenix.
AN UP AND DOWN DECADE ON TV The decade started on ABC and ESPN and is ending on NBC and Versus. While many fans including myself have been critical of the NHL's contract with Versus, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel because of the NBC Universal-Comcast deal.
The reason I believed the NHL should have stayed on ESPN, despite its anti-hockey bias, had to do with leveraging matchups such as Pens-Caps from last year's playoffs in order to reach the maximum audience. Versus (formerly the Outdoor Life Network) has always been a niche channel with limited reach. Thus, one of the greatest playoff series in recent memory was not hyped as it should have been.
But Comcast owns Versus and the hope is that there will be more cross-coverage and promotion with NBC and that Versus and its hockey coverage will benefit from the power of NBC. So while the past decade has been mixed on television, the future certainly looks bright. Also, the NHL Network, NHL GameCenter Live on NHL.com and the NHL Center Ice package have given more options to watch out-of-market games.
NHL BECOMING MORE DIVERSE Despite the stereotype of NHL players being as white as the ice they play on, the NHL has quietly become more colorful as the decade has progressed. There are currently 26 blacks, nine Asians, six Hispanics and eight Jews playing in the National Hockey League.
The National Hockey League has crowned the Kings as host team for the 2010 entry draft -- the first time in the event's 46-year history that it will be held in the state of California.
The draft will take place from June 25-26 at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
And as an over eight-year resident of the Golden State, I say it is about time the league acknowledged its importance to the future of professional hockey.
There is a popular perception of California as some sort of hockey hinterland with all the sunshine and palm trees being more conducive to surfing than skating. And there is a trivializing of California hockey fans as too casual in some quarters of the Northeast.
That is simply unfair and the NHL knows it. That is why they chose L.A. for the draft.
Here are five reasons why -- besides the obvious influence Wayne Gretzky had on developing hockey here -- that California is the hottest spot for the coldest sport:
• The rise of the Los Angeles Kings is one of the best stories of the season so far. This young, exciting team with loads of talent, such as scoring leader Anze Kopitar, is second in the Pacific Division and is poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. And goalie Jonathan Quick put in one of his best performances of the season last night by making 26 saves in a 2-1 win at home over the Flames.
• The rise of the area around the Staples Center nicely coincides with the resurgent Kings. The L.A. Live complex includes ESPN's new West Coast studios, the Nokia Theater, restaurants, nightclubs, a movie theater, a Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriot hotel opening in February and other entertainment options that are turning the area into a West Coast Times Square.
• The Anaheim Ducks, despite their mediocre play this season, brought the first Stanley Cup to the Golden State in 2007 and turned a team based on a Disney movie into one of the most respected franchises in the NHL.
• The San Jose Sharks are one of the elite teams in the league and, despite a disappointing first-round playoff exit last year, won the President's Trophy as the the team with the best regular-season record. And this year they are on pace to win it again (they will have some competition from the Caps though -- after last night's victory over the Lightning the Capitals overtook San Jose for the overall points lead with 44, one point ahead of the Sharks).
• Hockey at the grassroots level continues to grow in California. According to NHL.com, since 2001 only five states have had more players in the NHL entry draft than California.
Montreal Canadiens fan Ryan Stotland, 22, is bringing his Le Tricolore (3 Colors) jersey and his bike to South America on a 12,000 kilometre (7.5 thousand mile) journey to raise awareness and funds for two causes -- climate change and skin cancer.
His four-month, seven-country expedition, which has already raised over $110,000 and is currently rolling through Ecuador, has been recognized by the Habs in a video message endorsing his charitable efforts.
The Habs are making news themselves with the announcement today that the storied franchise's sale to the Molson family has been approved by the NHL Board of Governors.
The ownership change comes the same week Montreal celebrates its 100th anniversary, culminating with Friday's game against Boston at the Bell Centre.
Hopefully, Ryan will be able to watch his Habs celebrate their 100th season wherever he will be in South America.
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has been suspended two games by the NHL for a knee-on-knee collision with Carolina's Tim Gleason during Monday's 3-2 Caps victory in Raleigh.
Ovechkin exited the ice with a sore knee following the hit and the MRI results have not yet been made available to the media so he is officially listed as day-to-day.
I attended the Caps-Sabres game at Verizon Center last week in which Ovechkin received a game misconduct and was ejected from the game after a hard check on Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta.
According to the NHL rulebook, a total of three game misconducts in the general category during the regular season results in an automatic one-game suspension. The general category includes charging (Buffalo game) and kneeing (Hurricanes game) so it wasn't a given that Ovie would have been suspended.
Here is the Game Misconduct rule:
23.1 Game Misconduct Penalty - A game misconduct penalty involves the suspension of a player or goalkeeper for the balance of the game but a substitute is permitted to replace immediately the player or goalkeeper so removed.
23.3 Fines and Suspensions – General Category - In regular League games, any player or goalkeeper who incurs a total of three (3) game misconduct penalties in the “General Category” and exclusive of other designated categories, shall be suspended for the next League game of his team. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game. For each suspension of a player or goalkeeper, his Club shall be fined one thousand dollars ($1,000).
OTHER NEWS:
• New Jersey Devils radio color analyst Sherry Ross made history last Wednesday by becoming the first woman to provide play-by-play of an entire NHL game in English.
• The NHL Network is currently previewing on The Dish Network. It is available to basic cable subscribers on channel 403, but not in HD. The promising network provides nightly highlights, live look-ins, full game broadcasts and expert analysis.
• Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, the longtime former home of the city's NHL team, is being renovated after 10 years of neglect. The $57 million facelift will transform the historic arena, which opened in 1931, into a retail and recreation complex.
The Chicago Blackhawks are hitching onto the popularity of the Chicago Bears and the NFL franchise is riding the winning ways of the NHL team.
The Bears and Blackhawks have entered into a marketing partnership, reports ESPNChicago.com. The deal will include commercials, appearances at United Center and Soldier Field, and other cross-promotional activities.
Blackhawks stars such as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will join Bears players such as Jay Cutler and Devin Hester in the spots.
Quebec City is making an aggressive push for an NHL franchise.
Mayor Régis Labeaume recently announced the city is building a new arena to lure a team and the NHL's top brass are taking notice. Both commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly have both stated that a new arena will help Quebec City's cause in its competition with Kansas City and Las Vegas for a team.
The city lost the Nordiques to Denver (Colorado Avalanche) which could hurt its cause, but it also could be a positive as Daly stated: "Both Winnipeg and Quebec have already done that (supported an NHL team). We'll see how things evolve."
The sad story of professional sports pricing out the average fan is well documented.
ESPN.com recently ran an Outside the Lines feature story on the sparsely populated Legends Suite at the new Yankee Stadium. It turns out Wall Street hucksters aren't even willing to spend the $1,200 in this down economy to get so close to the field they can see the brand of sunflower seeds being spit out of Derek Jeter's mouth.
So it is with some NHL franchises. According to the New York Times' SlapShot blog , by the time a family of four buys tickets, parks and eats at Air Canada Center for a Toronto Maple Leafs game they will have spent a whopping $585.57. The Leafs raised their ticket prices by 10.2 percent followed by Pittsburgh at 8 percent and the Rangers at 7.1 percent.
This with the United States unemployment rate at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent and 7.2 million jobs lost since the recession began in Dec. 2007. The unemployment rate in Ontario is down slightly but still at 9.2%. And while Pittsburgh's unemployment is better than the national average at 7.8 percent, the state of Pennsylvania is at 8.6 percent. And the epicenter of the financial crisis -- New York City -- experienced a 10.3% unemployment rate in August mostly due to all the layoffs on Wall Street.
So how can the Leafs, Penguins and Rangers justify their ticket price increases? They can't. Thankfully those three franchises don't reflect the whole picture of NHL ticket prices. The cost of admission overall stayed level at an average of $51.41 for non-premium seats -- only 0.3 percent higher than last season.
Still, even with NHL ticket prices stabilizing this year, it is still too expensive for many fans who are financially suffering right now.
So what is a poor puckhead to do? The options for watching games on television and the internet either got a whole lot better this year or will improve soon.
DirecTV dropped Versus in September due to a carriage dispute and so far there has been no progress in adding the channel, but hopefully this will change soon. However, Dish Network added Versus for three months and possibly longer. To demand DirecTV add Versus immediately call 1-800-531-5000. To thank Dish Network for adding Versus and ask them to make the channel permanent, call 1-888-686-2388.
All of this would change of course if Comcast, which owns Versus, buys NBC Universal from General Electric. The cable giant is close to a deal with GE to merge with the TV and movie studio. And according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Comcast is very interested in expanding their sports programming to compete with ESPN. A partnership with NBC would mean Versus would instantly up its game through NBC's NFL, NHL and Olympics coverage. Versus would no longer be seen as a niche channel but part of powerhouse NBC Sports. That means more hockey coverage and that also means Dish Network and DirecTV will be forced to carry Versus on basic cable. All great news for hockey fans.
But right now the best option for hockey fans on a budget is NHL GameCenter Live on NHL.com. The website really upped their game this year, providing a great deal for twenty bucks a month or a one-time payment of $160.
NHL GameCenter Live offers all the out-of-market games not nationally televised on Versus or NBC. The best thing about the subscription is how portable it is -- you can log on from any computer with internet access anywhere in the world to watch games.
New features include an adaptive video option which automatically controls the bitrate of the video quality depending on the connection speed to prevent buffering and choppiness.
Also, DVR functionality offers the opportunity to rewind and fast forward by 10 seconds at a time to see that amazing goal again if you missed it. After replaying the game you can switch to live mode at any time.
The picture-in-picture function places another game within the frame of the larger game and multiview allows up to four games to be watched simultaneously.
Archived games are also available to watch so if you miss the game live you can check back the next day and watch it.
But perhaps the best feature is that it is commercial-free. NHL GameCenter Live does its best to cut off advertisements before they start airing so it is only the action on the ice that you get to see.
Viewers are certainly catching on as orders for NHL GameCenter Live are up 70 percent compared to last year at this time.
Title: NHL 2K10
Rating: E 10+
Price: $49.99
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Visual Concepts
Platforms: Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2
Trailer:
Title: NHL 10
Rating: E 10+
Price: $59.99
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Canada
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Trailer:
Both games reviewed on Xbox 360
Ice hockey video games have come a long way since the 1979 release of "Hockey!/Soccer!" for the Magnavox Odyssey² console, as this screen shot proves.
Thirty years later the video game industry "is all growns up," to borrow a quote from Vince Vaughn in "Swingers." Remember the scene when Trent and his buddies are playing "NHL 95" on the Sega Genesis? That was a big deal for a game to be featured in a major motion picture. Now, games such as "Halo 3" and "Guitar Hero" have a bigger budget then some indie films and according to market research firm NPD Group, game sales reached $21 billion in 2008.
Two companies have come to dominate the sports videogame market -- EA Sports and 2K Sports -- and both have rival releases on shelves in anticipation of the NHL season beginning in October. Electronic Arts has eight years on 2K in making hockey titles and it shows. "NHL 10" is quite simply not only the best hockey game ever but one of the greatest sports games period. That is to take nothing away from "NHL 2K10," which is a solid title. But "NHL 10" is superior in nearly every aspect, and while both titles are worth the purchase price, spending ten more dollars on "NHL 10" is a good investment.
MARKETING
2K Sports nabbed the greatest hockey player in the world as their cover athlete -- Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin (they also scored Kobe Bryant for "NBA 2K10"). But they didn't just slap him on the cover.
At the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, Ovechkin participated in a motion-capture session for the trailer. If there is an award for videogame trailers then this one should win -- the trailer magnificently captures perhaps the greatest goal ever scored -- Ovechkin's "The Goal" against Phoenix. We also get to see Ovie's controversial too-hot-to-touch stick celebration after scoring his 50th goal last season at Tampa Bay. And the tagline for the game plays on Ovie's Russian-inflected English -- "Is Party Now."
Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane is the cover athlete for "NHL 10." The slogan? "Is punch cab driver now."
Advantage: NHL 2K10
GAMEPLAY
"NHL 10" offers agile and realistic gameplay, with a helpful tutorial to adjust to the controls. A new function which works very well is the ability to pin a player to the boards on defense and kick-passing the puck along the boards and out of trouble on offense. Also, if the controls are too complicated, gamers have the ability to play with simpler pass and shoot controls and even use the original "NHL 94" controls. The in-game action feels realistic in the way the players skate, stick handle, shoot, pass and play defense.
The gameplay is the weakest part of "NHL 2K10." One wishes the developers spent as much time on the controls as the bells and whistles during the pre-game warmup. The playability actually took a step down from "NHL 2K9," as the players are sluggish in this version. It can be frustrating when the players skate around so slowly because it is hard to set up plays. Even Ovechkin doesn't skate fast. The deke moves aren't very effective, and tend to slow down the players even more. There are also too many penalties called for infractions like boarding and hooking, which slows the pace of the game down even more. Plus, there is too much lag time between faceoffs and sometimes the instant replays will drag on after the action ends.
Advantage: NHL 10
GRAPHICS
Visually both games are stunning. "NHL 2K10" enhanced their arena introductions and each venue looks spectactular with attention paid to details and vivid colors. The ice also looks amazing, with the crisp reflections of the scoreboard and the realistic wearing down of the surface as the period goes on. While the inside of the buildings look great, there isn't enough detail in the crowds or the players. The camera always keeps somewhat of a distance from the crowd and even the players on the ice.
This is in contrast to "NHL 10," which zooms in on the crowd and the players often, which in turn makes the game more compelling to play. The fans are drawn out realistically, for example there are even visiting team jerseys scattered throughout the stands, and the crowd cheers at the appropriate time. And the details on the players down to the stubble on their chins is amazingly realistic, making the instant replays a joy to watch.
Advantage: NHL 10
SOUND AND MUSIC
Veteran commentators Gary Thorne and Bill Clement provide insightful analysis and play-by-play coverage for "NHL 10," while San Jose Sharks commentators Drew Remenda and Randy Hahn are the voices again for "NHL 2K10." Remenda and Hahn do an excellent job with the material they are given. And that is the problem. Their commentary is too generic and repetitive, which after a while gets to be annoying. And sometimes they will send it rink side to John Shrader where he will say something like "I just finished talking with the coach of the Washington Capitals and he wants to see more forechecking" or some other generic statement.
On the other hand, Thorne and Clement are a pleasure to listen to, as they provide historical context to a rivalry, pepper in some color commentary about the host city, or talk about a player's stats from last year. In other words, it is way more specific to each team, each player and even each matchup.
The music soundtrack is good in both games, with the usual pop punk and hard rock suspects. An odd selection in "NHL 2K10" however is the inclusion of hip-hop song "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco and Matthew Santos. It is perhaps more appropriate in a soccer or basketball game. The "NHL 10" standout is "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day.
Many NHL franchises and sports venues are getting on board the green bandwagon by taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
This trend encompasses all of professsional sports, as The New York Times noted in a recent article titled "Getting Sports Events to Go Green," which focused mostly on Major League Baseball's efforts to green the game. For example, the Boston Red Sox use solar panels to heat water at Fenway Park.
So what has hockey done to lessen waste and pollution when thousands of fans pack arenas across North America? One initiative is called NHL Green -- a partnership between the league and GreenLife with technical guidance from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NHL will use this alliance to develop a league "Green Plan." But what are individual teams doing right now to reduce their carbon footprint?
Here are the greenest NHL arenas based on factors such as easy access to public transportation, energy efficiency, eco-friendly construction materials, recycling options and other environmentally friendly aspects.
Arena: Consol Energy Center
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Neighborhood: Downtown
The Stanley Cup champs are moving into a shiny new venue after waddling in the decrepit Mellon Arena -- the oldest and lowest capacity arena in the NHL. And what an arena it will be! The Consol Energy Center will not only help the Penguins in Pittsburgh, but the real penguins in the rapidly melting polar ice caps. When the arena opens for the 2010-11 season it aims to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified NHL arena. The Consol Energy Center will feature a gigantic glass atrium facing downtown that will bring in more natural light, lots of green space around the building, environmentally friendly paints, alternative energy sources and locally purchased construction materials. Plus easy access to public transportation allows fans to take the subway or bus to the game instead of driving.
Arena: General Motors Place
Team: Vancouver Canucks
City: Vancouver, Canada
Neighborhood: Downtown
Vancouver aims to be the greenest host city ever when the 21st Winter Olympic Games head to British Columbia in February, 2010. In June of 2006 the Vancouver Organizing Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that the hockey games would be played on NHL-sized rinks so there would be no environmental impact by expanding the ice size at GM Place (to be called Canada Hockey Place for the Olympics) and UBC Thunderbird Arena. GM Place is serviced by the SkyTrain "Stadium-Chinatown" station. SkyTrain is Vancouver's elevated rapid transit system.
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Team: New York Rangers
City: New York City, New York
Neighborhood: Chelsea
It's hard not to be green when garden is in your name and you are situated atop the busiest train station in North America -- Penn Station. Thus, "the world's most famous arena" makes the list for being so damn accessible without a car.
Arena: Pepsi Center
Team: Colorado Avalanche
City: Denver, Colorado
Neighborhood: Downtown
The Pepsi Center is not only retrofitting their building to make it more environmentally friendly, but also is taking the initiative to educate visitors about the importance of energy conservation. The arena teamed with Xcel Energy to launch a website with tips on how Colorado residents and businesses can save money and energy by going green. The Pepsi Center also features the Power Zone where kids and adults alike can play interactive trivia games, learn about wind and solar power, and more. The venue has also installed solar panels and designated hybrid-only parking spaces and a no-idling zone. The Pepsi Center is serviced by bus and Denver's light rail system. The closest station is Pepsi Center/Elitch Gardens on the C and E lines.
Arena: Philips Arena
Team: Atlanta Thrashers
City: Atlanta, Georgia
Neighborhood: Downtown
The 2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak caused minor exterior damage to the Philips Arena. Since then it has been only good news. The arena not only survived the tornado but is thriving -- Pollstar recently named Philips Arena the No. 1 U.S. venue for the first half of 2009 and earlier this year the arena became the first existing NBA or NHL arena to achieve LEED certification. The arena is also served by mass transit. The Philips Arena/CNN Center subway stop is an easy walk to the venue.
Arena: Staples Center
Team: Los Angeles Kings
City: Los Angeles, California
Neighborhood: Downtown
The Staples Center makes the list simply for trying to get car-centric Angelenos out of their leased luxury SUVs and onto the subway to see a game. The L.A. Metro recently released the above video advertisement to encourage fans to take the Blue Line light rail to the Staples Center. The Kings offer ticket discounts to metro riders and the venue provides secure bike racks. Other green initiatives include a dynamic recycling program, low-energy lighting, green cleaning chemicals, waterfree urinals and 1,727 solar panels installed on its rooftop.
Arena: TD Garden
Team: Boston Bruins
City: Boston, Massachusetts
Neighborhood: Downtown North section
The future just got brighter for Boston and the planet because TD Garden recently installed an energy-saving LED lighting system that will light up the arena's exterior at night. According to the website GreenSportsVenues.com: "The project provides a 60% decrease in kilowatt consumption over the previous equipment." The lighting system also automatically shuts off at 2 a.m. to save energy. The lighting changes colors depending on the team playing, so for example when the Bruins hit the ice the color will be yellow. And to celebrate a victory the lights can even do the wave with special effects.
Arena: Verizon Center
Team: Washington Capitals
City: Washington, D.C.
Neighborhood: Gallery Place/Chinatown
The "Phone Booth" has turned Gallery Place/Chinatown into the hottest neighborhood in the nation's capital while doing its part to cool down the planet. When former Caps owner Abe Pollin decided to replace the U.S. Air Arena in Landover, Maryland he significantly reduced the carbon footprint by locating the new arena above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station -- making the arena easily accessible via subway for fans in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs. The Verizon Center was also the first indoor venue to install a high-definition LED scoreboard. Light-emitting diodes are significantly more energy efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs.
Honorable Mentions:
Honda Center -- Anaheim Ducks
Large recycling program and locally grown produce used in restaurant.
Air Canada Centre -- Toronto Maple Leafs
Located next to Union Station so easy access to public transit.
Bell Centre -- Montreal Canadians
Located in the heart of downtown, the arena provides easy access to public transit.
Xcel Energy Center -- Minnesota Wild
Recycling program, green cleaning products, low-energy lighting, low-flow water in restrooms, bike racks and bus vouchers for employees, education zone display with info on renewable and alternative energy.
Prudential Center -- New Jersey Devils
The newest arena in the NHL is also one of the most accessible via public transit -- the facility is located two blocks from Newark Penn Station.
Could the rivalry between North America's National Hockey League and Russia's Kontinental Hockey League escalate into hockey's new cold war?
That remains to be seen. For now, to many observers the KHL is the equivalent of Major League Soccer -- a growing organization able to nab a star player once in a while such as the L.A. Galaxy's David Beckham but no legitimate threat to the powerhouse leagues in Europe who have the money, history and fanbase to attract the world's top players.
Still, with the report today that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told local sports newspaper Sovietsky Sport that he hopes the KHL expands into central and western Europe, the budding league is certainly giving notice to the executives at NHL headquarters in New York City.
After all, the league is only two years old and seems to have no shortage of rubles to snatch big-name talent from the NHL. With the Kremlin behind the league and Gazprom -- the world's largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company -- as its biggest benefactor, the KHL has already nabbed Jaromir Jagr and is making a play for another Czech -- Jiri Hudler.
However, the fate of Hudler is still up in the air because the NHL is arguing that even though he signed with Moscow Dynamo of the KHL, his election to file for salary arbitration obligates him to play for the Detroit Red Wings. A hearing is set for July 30 in Toronto. Also, the KHL experienced a tragic setback last year when New York Rangers' first-round draft pick Alexei Cherepanov died after an Avangard Omsk game.
But back to Putin's comments. He said the KHL should expand beyond the Former Soviet Union (currently teams are in Russia, Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan) and "become a pan-European league" with clubs in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland possibly joining.
If this expansion takes place, the KHL could become a formidable foe to the NHL in terms of the top talent, particularly from Russia and the rest of Europe. Perhaps that is one reason why the NHL is taking a stand in the Hudler case. It is one thing when veteran players like Jagr and Sergei Federov defect to the KHL, but a player in his prime such as Hudler?
For hockey fans such as myself who have enjoyed the renaissance the NHL has enjoyed of late thanks to the many skilled players from Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and other European and Former Soviet Union countries, I hope the NHL does everything in its power to retain these players who favor finesse over fighting.
Otherwise, no offense to Don Cherry, but without Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin and Henrik Zetterberg and players of their ilk the NHL will regress back to the boring North American style of the past.
A new cold war on ice? Not yet. But the Kontinental Hockey League has proven it is here to stay.
The National Hockey League lags behind baseball, football and basketball when it comes to television ratings and national attention, however, when it comes to ESPN The Magazine's seventh annual Ultimate Standings, the fastest sport in the world simply dominates.
Many hockey fans will be pleasantly surprised as they read the latest issue of "The Mag," which hit newsstands on July 13. That's because five of the top 10 teams are from the NHL out of 122 professional franchises ranked from the NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA.
The teams are ranked based on eight major categories -- wins vs. ticket prices, fan relations, ownership, stadium experience, players, coaching and championships won or soon to be won.
The Carolina Hurricanes (2), Detroit Red Wings (4), Washington Capitals (6), Pittsburgh Penguins (8) and St. Louis Blues (10) are the five teams in the top 10. The Anaheim Ducks are ranked 11th.
There are only two NHL teams in the bottom 10 -- the New York Islanders (115) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (120).
The Islanders should be able to reverse their fortunes by recently signing No. 1 draft pick John Tavares to a 3-year deal and starting construction soon on their new arena, dubbed "The Lighthouse Project."
As for long-suffering Leafs fans? Maybe new president and GM Brian Burke can help bring the team back to its glory days just like he brought a Stanley Cup to Anaheim as GM of the Ducks.
Getting to the playoffs would be a nice start. While the Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup in 41 plus years, it's been four years since they skated into the postseason.
Washington Capitals star and NHL 2K10 video game cover athlete Alex Ovechkin was obviously disappointed his team didn't advance further in the Stanley Cup playoffs, losing to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in a seven-game Eastern Conference quarterfinals thriller. Ovechkin didn't watch the Pens win the Cup in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last Friday: "It was too hard for me to do that. But I say congratulations Pittsburgh," he told the National Post.
But for at least a few days in Las Vegas, Ovechkin gets to let loose and possibly collect some consolation hardware at the 2009 NHL Awards.
Tuesday night the Hart and Pearson trophy finalist participated in the first ever outdoor motion capture for publisher 2K Sports' fall release at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. And the perpetual showman didn't disappoint the curious spectators surrounding the hockey rink. From the Las Vegas Sun:
As for the simulation of their scoring skills Tuesday, however, the highlight came when Ovechkin, skating to the chants of 'Ovi, Ovi, Ovi' from beyond the iron fences, performed his much-maligned 'burning stick' routine after scoring from up close (pictured above).
After scoring his 50th goal of the season in March, the 23-year-old Caps winger put his stick down on the ice and pretended to warm his hands over it as if it were on fire.
It will look identical when NHL 2K10 is released, patented gold laces and all.
So while Ovechkin is once again the favorite to repeat as the league's regular-season MVP and as he experiences his first trip to Sin City, there is little doubt he would give up all the individual accolades to trade skates with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin who will be sipping champagne all summer from the Stanley Cup.
The NHL Awards show takes place this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. in Las Vegas) at the Palms. The ceremony will be televised live on Versus.
Here is the nominees list:
Hart Trophy (MVP to his team): Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Alex Ovechkin (Washington), Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh)
Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Steve Mason (Columbus), Bobby Ryan (Anaheim) and Kris Versteeg (Chicago)
Norris Trophy (top defenseman): Zdeno Chara (Boston), Mike Green (Washington) and Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit)
Vezina Trophy (top goaltender): Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota), Mason (Columbus) and Tim Thomas (Boston)
Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year): Claude Julien (Boston), Todd McLellan (San Jose) and Andy Murray (St. Louis)
Lady Byng (most gentlemanly player): Datsyuk (Detroit), Zach Parise (New Jersey) and Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay)
Selke Trophy (top defensive forward): Datsyuk (Detroit), Ryan Kesler (Vancouver) and Mike Richards (Philadelphia)
Masterton Trophy (dedication and perseverance): Chris Chelios (Detroit), Steve Sullivan (Nashville) and Richard Zednik (Florida)
Mark Messier Leadership Award: Chara (Boston), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) and Jarome Iginla (Calgary)
Friday night's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC was the most-watched NHL game in 36 years with an average of 8 million viewers.
The network's press release said the previous mark was a 1973 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 between Montreal and Chicago on NBC which drew 9.4 million.
The game earned a 4.3 rating, the best for a series-ending Final game since Anaheim-New Jersey's 4.6 rating in 2003.
NBC Sports' broadcast finished No. 1 for the night in every category including viewership and household ratings.
The closing minutes of the game, which saw Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury make a spectacular last-second save to preserve the 2-1 win (pictured above), drew about 10 million viewers.
These figures are likely higher because Nielsen only reports home television sets tuned into the program and since the game was on a Friday night there were many sports bars, airport lounges and hotel rooms tuned into the game.
Also, when CBC's Canadian coverage is factored in, plus international broadcasts in hot spots such as Russia and Sweden, the total audience grows even bigger.
The deal should hopefully include all seven Stanley Cup Finals games on NBC. Also, when the contract with Versus expires in 2011 the NHL should not renew but instead air regular season and playoff games on one of NBC Universal's basic cable channels, the most obvious fit being USA Network.
My colleague at Variety, ratings reporter Rick Kissell, emailed me the Nielsen viewer figures for the first three games of the Stanley Cup Finals and predictably the ratings dropped considerably for game 3 on Versus:
Game 1 (Saturday on NBC) 4.36 million
Game 2 (Sunday on NBC) 5.39 million
Game 3 (Tuesday on Versus) 2.96 million
Thursday's Game 4 on Versus should see another slide in viewers because Game 1 of the NBA Finals starts on ABC.
I will update the ratings numbers after the game. I'm also working on a post about why the NBC Universal-owned USA Network might be a good fit for the NHL. The model could be the successful partnership between the NBA and TNT as well as the cross-media coverage on ABC and ESPN.
NBC already uses the USA Network to supplement its Olympics coverage so it would perhaps be a natural fit for professional ice hockey.
Arena: Consol Energy Center
