So much percolating in hockey on and off the ice, so some thoughts!
TSN'S JUNIOR HOCKEY COVERAGE
Despite the fact that there may be more prominent news items from the hockey world to muse about, I'm going to start with the CHL, given that I call junior hockey. At least, I think I call junior hockey. My season ended on April 1st so I've been on the sidelines for a while.
TSN has picked up their CHL coverage in the finals, covering Games 3-7 of the league finals, and then the Memorial Cup. Boy, have they been lucky. Two of the first three games they covered went to overtime and the third game featured three goals in 45 seconds by the home team. Plus, they've been blessed with great junior hockey markets in the finals. In the OHL it's London and lets face it, everyone has an opinion about London, and outside of London it's not favorable. Still, they draw the best crowds, have a high level of success and are co- owned and coached by the villainous Dale Hunter who saves his best smiles for the misfortune of others. In all seriousness, if there was a London team to appreciate, it's this years. They've lost their starting goaltender Brett Brochu and are starting a rookie in Zack Bowen, and still are competing in the OHL final. This is not the star-laden London team we've come to expect, but is a good sum of its parts that made smart trades. Their opponents are the Peterborough Petes, an historical franchise written about in a couple of books. The Petes loaded up at the trade deadline but then stumbled their way to mediocrity in the regular season. But in the playoffs, they've eliminated the #1 and #2 seeds in Ottawa and North Bay. Plus they've got a 2-1 series lead after a 6-5 OT W in Game 3. The QMJHL final features the two biggest markets in Halifax and Quebec city, and both buildings have been sold out. Quebec has the outstanding Videotron Centre which seats well over 18000 while Halifax has Scotia Bank Arena and crowds in excess of 10000. For the WHL it's Seattle vs Winnipeg. Winnipeg, while not a traditional big market given they play in a building that doesn't seat 2000, have become a big market team as they're playing out of the MTS Centre for the finals.
It got me thinking and wishing that TSN could consistently cover more junior hockey games than they do. They do have some Friday night games, but then they sit largely dormant until the finals and the Memorial Cup. I know that ratings and production cost play a large role but I think theme weekends like rivalry weekends across the league, as well as other top programs and game coverage with draft eligible players could really tie together their World Junior and draft coverage. However, TSN also had a ton of NHL regional coverage with the Jets, Senators, Canadiens and half the Leafs schedule and finding time on the calendar will be hard. Add in the Raptors, CFL and NFL games and it is downright impossible. Is it more idealistic than realistic to get more coverage? Absolutely. But there is potential, should they pick up the right matchups and right game stories, along with their other tremendous draft coverage.
IS THIS FINALLY THE END OF THE ARIZONA COYOTES SAGA?
Another potential solution for the permanent residency of the Arizona Coyotes fell by the wayside as the proposal for an entertainment district, including an arena was rejected in a voter referendum. This leaves the beleaguered franchise hanging in the balance beyond the short term. It's a saga that has been going on since their 1996 inception. From playing in a basketball arena to having Wayne Gretzky as their coach to the whole Glendale saga and rumored relocation to any number of cities and finally to playing in a 5000 seat NCAA arena. The team has always been fighting some sort of rising tide of uncertainty, which is a real shame for the dedicated fans of the team. The next chapter will be interesting. Reporter Craig Morgan has an outstanding summary of the possible options but in his release Gary Bettman was very non-committal, a surprise given the commissioners previous strong support for the market. Houston, Kansas City, Quebec City and others wait in the wings.
Craig Morgan's Story: https://twitter.com/CraigSMorgan/status/1658837621383069698?s=20
IS THIS BEGINNING OF THE LEAFS SAGA
The Maple Leafs offseason will make for fascinating theatre this off-season with the number of moving pieces in the front office, the coaching staff and the current roster. Breathless and endless takes have been written by a number of credible, and well, not so credible sources and having read a lot of this coverage, there really has been no consensus on what to do on and off the ice. If there so much diversity of opinion in the media, I can only ascertain that it is ten-fold at MLSE given that Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas are tasked with crafting a roster, or are they? They could be shown the door, and it was certainly curious that only Dubas spoke on locker clean up day while Shanahan was conspicuous by his absence. When the Leafs had their success in the 90's it was largely off the back of bold moves such as acquiring the likes of Dave Andreychuck, and Doug GIlmour which led to back to back final 4 appearances but also shipping off Wendel Clark at his peak as part of the deal to acquire Mats Sundin. That resulted in missed playoffs and playoff failures until the late 90's when Pat Quinn came aboard and Curtis Joseph was acquired. Is there a bold move to made with the big four forwards? Time will tell.
JOE BOWEN AND JIM RALPH
Another situation to pay attention to surrounds legendary radio announcers Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph. Their five year contract expired at the end of last year and has not been renewed. I do not like to engage in speculation but I think that another five year deal is not a consideration. How Buffalo handled the exit of Rick Jeannerett could serve as a blue print with a contract featuring a gradual lessening of duties over the next couple of years. The thing is that Joe Bowen has not lost a step at the age of 71. The pipes are still booming and Ralph still plays an admirable foil as colour commentator. RJ had a couple of health scares that hastened the decision to reduce his games. It's another layer to the off season with MLSE.
QUICK QUIPS
- Picking Peterborough, Quebec City and Winnipeg to join host Kamloops at the Memorial Cup
- Remember when Alek Manoah had swagger and success? This year he can't find the plate and looks lost, walking almost 4x the batters he had last year
- The Jays as a team have not looked impressive at all this year. Too much inconsistency to be a true contender
- The NFL and their schedule release day and content raises the bar for other leagues. Some real clever content from the teams, especially Tennessee
- Scott Radley of the Hamilton Spectator had an article saying Disney on Ice had a date booked at First Ontario Centre in March 2024, which is curious given the Hamilton Bulldogs could have played almost their full season of OHL hockey instead of being booted to Brantford. Predictably there has been not much comment
- Picking a Carolina/Vegas Stanley Cup Final, which seems really strange to write
Until next time
Steve Clark
Opmerkingen