The Tuesday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

Somewhat of a slow day today, Playing Below Capacity will be coming up soon.

- An update/collection of all the ticket pricing news from the NHL and NBA (Sports Business Journal). They made this handy-dandy chart:



- An opinion piece where Shane Morin-Farraway wants four teams to be contracted from the NHL (Bleacher Report).

"Which leaves us with four possible candidates for retraction: Atlanta, Florida, Nashville, and Phoenix.

Although it could be argued that these teams have a chance to succeed in their respective markets, tradition dictates otherwise. The NHL, when all has been said and done, have failed in their Southern ventures."

Personally, four is too many. That robs the NHL of perfectly good revenue. If I had my way, Atlanta and Phoenix would be gone, and Florida would be moved. But lets save those rants for the long summer days of the off season.

- Another opinion piece by Sean Paddison where he is looking for coaches and managers of the future (Bleacher Report). One part I liked:

"Modern technology and research techniques allow coaches to develop solutions to help them beat previously-unbeatable teams. The Penguins record this year is a strong example of what happens when coaches have enough time to learn how to beat other teams."

Very true.

- Finally, a classic Nike Hockey promo:



This could be updated later so check back.

- Update, 12:30 PM EST:

The Mayor of Nashville is asking Gary Bettman to hold the 2015 All-Star game in Nashville (Tennessean):

"(Mayor Karl) Dean used the proposed new downtown convention center to make his pitch when Bettman visited on Feb. 19, said David Freeman, who leads the group of investors who bought the Predators in 2007. Previous inquiries about hosting the All-Star Game have fallen flat because the city doesn't have enough convention space or hotel rooms to accommodate the fans, media and others who would be here for the game and related activities, Freeman said."

Hey, I think they deserve it. Why not.

- Update, 2:05 PM EST:

The Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, might get a big boost in value soon as $33 million of loans might be wiped clean in an effort by the city of St. Paul to line up funding for another ice rink to be built across from the Arena (Star Tribune).

"The idea is to provide a place for the Minnesota Wild to practice, to host amateur ice hockey and figure skating events, to handle overflow from Xcel Center events and to give downtown visitors another reason to hang out and spend time and money."