Hello again hockey fans,
This is the final weekend of action before the NHL takes a break for All-Star weekend & there are a few things around the league that have caught my attention.
1. All-Star captains named:
As I touched on briefly in the Power Poll on Monday the NHL revealed the list of players that would be participating in this year's All-Star game.
When the new format was announced a few months ago speculation was that Sidney Crosby & Alex Ovechkin would be named the two captains for the All-Star Game. On Tuesday the NHL chose Nicklas Lidstrom from Detroit & Eric Staal from Carolina as the two captains from the All-Star Game.
Crosby has been battling a concussion since taking a hit from David Steckel during the Winter Classic and looks likely to miss the All-Star game so I wasn't surprised when he was not chosen as a captain.
Ovechkin not being named an All Star was a decision some people found to be a little baffling. After all he is one of the two biggest stars in the NHL & one of their most marketable players. Off the top of your head it would make sense that he would be one of the captains.
However after hearing the decision I have no problem with Ovechkin not being named a captain and here's why.
Nicklas Lidstrom's credentials speak for themself. He has played in the league for 19 seasons & has made the playoffs every year. He has won four Stanley Cups including being the 1st European player to captain his team to a Stanley Cup.
He has won six Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenceman and is the closest thing to Bobby Orr the league has seen. If it was my choice I would have chosen Lidstrom over Ovechkin as well. (And, yes I am a little biased)
Most people thought the choice of Eric Staal as the other captain was due to the fact the game is being played in Raleigh where Staal plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. While I'm sure that has something to do with it if you look closer you can make a good case for Staal.
Like Ovechkin, Staal is the face of the franchise he plays for but unlike Ovechkin he has won a Stanley Cup, a Gold Medal & he was the MVP of the 2008 All-Star game. He may not get the same exposure as Ovechkin but his credentials are just as strong.
As for Ovechkin not being a captain, it shouldn't be a big deal. He is going to be showcased whether or not he is wearing the C on shoulder. Hockey fans are going to watch regardless & the casual fan could care less who the captains are.
But for those people who are still upset about this I'll ask this question, Who were the captains of the last NHL All-Star Game?
Go on, take your time, I'll wait.
The answer is Alexei Kovalev & Joe Thornton.
I'm a big hockey fan and even I didn't know that.
My point is while it is nice to know who the captains are it not a big deal. My guess is Ovechkin will do something amazing that people will be talking about and a year from now no one will remember who the captains were.
2. Comcast merges with NBC:
So why is a deal like this being mentioned in a hockey column?
Because Comcast owns Versus which is the cable home of the NHL. NBC is the over-the-air holder of the NHL TV rights & both deals expire after the season.
Now a lot has been made about the last TV contract the NHL signed shortly after the lockout so I won't rehash that.
What I will say is that Versus has carved a nice little niche for itself & has done a decent job covering the NHL considering where they started back in 2005.
Speculation is Versus will re-brand itself once again now that the merger has been approved. The presence of NBC sports merging with Versus should only make the channel stronger & give ESPN a legit sports channel competitor they haven't seen.
The timing of this couldn't be better for the NHL with the TV rights up for negotiation. ESPN was expected to make a bid for the NHL because it possible there could be a work stoppage in the NFL & NBA next season.
ESPN would need to fill programming and let's face it, you can only show so much College Basketball & Poker on TV.
While Versus has had the rights since 2005-06 it was mainly because the NHL had nowhere else on TV to go when ESPN walked away from negotiations.
Critics will say Versus isn't a well known brand for sports programming & isn't available in as many homes as ESPN. I won't argue that but I'll also say that TNT was in the same situation when it debuted in 1988 & had the rights for the NBA.
Having NBC & Comcast merging can only help Versus in their bid to keep the NHL.
3. Donald Fehr named head of the NHLPA:
Speaking of work stoppages, Right before Christmas Donald Fehr was named the head of the NHL players association.
I find this significant for two reasons.
1. He is known for being the head of the MLB players association from 1986-2009 & led the players during the 1994 baseball strike which cancelled the World Series.
2. He is the 5th person to hold the job since Bob Goodenow resigned following the lockout in 2005.
The hiring of Fehr gives the players hope that he will provide the solid leadership the NHLPA has lacked since the lockout.
Among hearing the news of the hiring some hockey fans were worried that we may be headed for another lockout when the current CBA expires after next season.
While Fehr made a name for himself by using hardline tactics in MLB I'm not convinced he will be able to do the same in the NHL.
The owners seem to be more unified in the NHL than they were in MLB. Plus after surviving one lockout I can't imagine the NHL would put themselves through that once again.
My guess some tweaks will be made to the next CBA and there won't be a work stoppage. Things are going well on the ice with the NHL right now. I can't see one man stopping that.
That's all for today. The Game of the Week returns on NBC this Sunday with the Philadelphia Flyers taking on the Chicago Blackhawks in their 1st meeting since the Stanley Cup Finals last year. Puck drop is at 11:30 AM.
Thanks for reading & enjoy the hockey.
No comments:
Post a Comment