Monday, November 30, 2009
Ovechkin Hurt Himself
Monday, November 16, 2009
On Ottawa and the NHL
So I was at the Rangers 2-1 SO Win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday afternoon inside Scotiabank Place. Ottawa is great, and even though the arena is in Kanata (about 10 minutes outside the city), there is plenty to do around Kanata as well.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Re-Grand Opening: What a Pass
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
I Thought You Quit.... Phoenix Coyotes Links
- A solid summary by James Mirtle (From The Rink).
- The NHL is apparently really pissed off about this and this will all be heading to court (Mirtle - From The Rink). A couple of things about this...
I received the email he mentioned to by their marketing team, which kind of shocked me that I was considered a "popular hockey blogger." Still, that only shows that I can't do this daily because I was so far behind on the news that by time I read my email the news was a day old.
But more importantly is the power battle that is going on between the NHL and Basillie. Basillie has a little bit of leverage here because he has offered to pay certain debts (already), and has essentially put in the hands down best offer for the club with a clause that they have to move to Southern Ontario. BUT... the NHL has the legal rights to the club when Jerry Moyes basically gave up a couple of months ago. And there is no chance the courts will turn against that. This should be fun to watch...
- A Coyotes Call to Arms at Five For Howling.
- A small timeline of all that's gone on with the Coyotes since January (Puck Report)
- The official news release that I received (Canadian Press). Still can't believe they sent it to me.
So that's that. I'm considering a comeback now (it always seems to work this way, doesn't it?) for something small, but I would have to figure out how much time I could dedicate. You'll know by Sunday.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The End (?) of Puck Money
I am sorry to say that I will not continue this blog beyond this day. It has been four months of fun and I have learned a lot about the Business of Hockey, but I am unable to fully commit to writing this blog daily, which makes it unfair to you guys to keep it going. I am not deleting the site in case anyone needs my statistics and such, but this will most likely be the last post unless I for some reason revive it in the unforeseeable future.
This blog did allow me to improve my writing skills and get noticed for a new gig (New York Ranger analysis at Blueshirt Banter). For that I am grateful. Thanks to all the commenters, and if anyone needs anything feel free to email me.
Here's to Northern Relocation and the NHL growing in general,
Rob Luker - Puck Money.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Coyotes Living Off NHL Funds
The day after the team agreed to loan terms Feb. 24 with the NHL, it paid Glendale nearly $351,000 in overdue arena rent payments that dated to late summer 2008. The money also likely was used to meet player payroll.Good and bad. Bad obviously because the league and other successful franchises are supporting the Coyotes in this horrid economy. Good because now this gives the NHL leverage to find a new owner or (preferably) move the Yotes out of Arizona.
The loan, for an unknown amount, gives the NHL more control over the future of the Coyotes - including the possible relocation of the team. The Coyotes have never made money since owner Jerry Moyes became an investor in 2001, and annual financial losses have exceeded $20 million during his tenure.
And exactly how deep were the Coyotes in before this loan?To get money from the league, the team pledged all of its assets, including its management agreement of Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, as collateral, according to financial records filed with Maricopa County Recorder's Office. Glendale officials had no comment.
The league's investment ultimately could give the NHL leverage to move the team, according to one sports business expert.
Public records do not indicate how much money the NHL loaned the Coyotes. The team already had borrowed at least $57.5 million since December 2003 from affiliates of MSD Capital, records show.My emotions as I write this consist of rolling my eyes and just having my face in my palms. The NHL needs to figure this out in the long term ASAP, and I don't think keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix is a viable option.
- Enjoy another Hockey Falls commercial, where analysts go to get ideas apparently:
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Relocation Issues and a Panthers Merger?
- The NHL and NHLPA are butting heads over a possible second franchise in the Toronto area via Relocation (Globe and Mail):
The square peg into a round hole analysis is a perfect way to put it. I've never been a big fan of the southern movement to being with, but I'm all for sticking with the ones that have worked relatively well so far."With a handful of Sun Belt teams struggling to sell hockey, NHLPA director of player affairs Glenn Healy believes the timing could not be better for the NHL to seriously look at transferring a second team to the Toronto area.
He also stated that, in addition to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and a group that wants to bring a team to Vaughn, Ont., there are at least two other factions interested in landing another NHL team for Southwestern Ontario.
"They have been trying to fit a square peg into a round hole for a lot of years," Healy said yesterday, in reference to the failure of the Sun Belt teams in the NHL. "They have tried everything in the world to sell the game, market the game, put fans in the seats and it doesn't work for a lot of reasons."
- Speaking of the Southern movement, the Florida Panthers are the subject of merger talks (Sports Business Journal):
As a franchise, the Panthers have struggled from poor on-ice performance, but the BankAtlantic Center books over 200 events per year, which most likely means a nice profit in general. The merger would probably help a lot with any Panther debt that is lying around."The Florida Panthers are in negotiations to merge the team, its arena management company and rights to the real estate surrounding BankAtlantic Center with Sports Properties Acquisition Corp., a public-stock company formed last year, sources said.
The potential deal values the assets at $230 million, including debt, with the plum in the talks a planned mixed-use development around the south Florida arena, the sources said. The negotiations have been taking place over the last several weeks, the sources said."
- That's all I got for today, but I found these commercials on YouTube the other day and I cannot believe I forgot about them. "Clement Clement, hands of Cement" haha, enjoy: