The Wednesday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

Yes, I'm still around. School is winding down (one paper, two finals to go) so I will start thinking about my little corner of the Internet here instead of school so much (who needs it, right!?). Here's some headlines...

- The Columbus Blue Jackets have generated over $2 Billion of economic impact in Columbus since their conception in 2000 (Business First of Columbus):

"Among the study’s findings are:

• More than $850 million in spending in Central Ohio has been directly attributable to the Blue Jackets, Nationwide Arena and Columbus Destroyers, the city’s You can watch up to ten companies at a time.

" width="13" height="13">Arena Football League franchise.

• An estimated $160 million in indirect spending at hotels and restaurants can be attributed to out-of-town visitors attending Blue Jackets games and other events at the arena.

• Approximately $4 million in local income tax revenue has been generated by the Jackets and Destroyers since fiscal year 2002.

And more..."

Can the Thrashers boast this? At least they have a "green" arena...

- What the Lighthouse on Long Island project and Kellogg's Nutra-Grain bars have in common (Let There Be Light (house)).

- Game 3 of Caps/Rangers was the highest New York area rated game in 12 years; watched by 2.72% of NY area homes (Puck The Media). God I feel bad for everyone that wasted their time, I wish I had my three hours back of that game.

- Finally, Versus has put out some sick ads this year for the playoffs:

Come on back tomorrow, should have more than just headlines.

I Have an Opinon on The Acutal Game, Too...

As you guys know if you read regularly, I am a Rangers fan. I was five in 1994, and it is one of my first and greatest memories waking up to see Messier lifting the cup. I've also played for 15 years now with a semi-successful high school career and have coached when possible throughout college around home. So as much as I sit here in my little niche of the hockey blogging world, I do have an opinion on something many have opinions about; the actual games.

I was asked to write an analysis/opinion on the Rangers-Caps series coming up tommorow for the Bleacher report which can be found if you click the following:

Mistake Free Hockey Will Be Key for Rangers, Caps.

I'll jump to the juicy end of the article, which sums up my overall opinions:

So do you want a prediction? Well lets put it this way. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rangers go down here. They made me proud in fighting for a playoff spot and coming through in the clutch recently, but they have been an inconsistent hockey club all year and have been a disappointment overall.

At the same time, the Rangers can beat Washington, and I think the key to that will be making less mistakes than the Capitals. The Rangers play such defensive and safe hockey sometimes that when they make a mistake it is blatantly clear what happened and who is to blame. The Rangers are the underdog alright; but sometimes that is exactly where you want to sit.

Please let me know what you think if you feel like it. Thanks for reading as always.

The Tuesday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

- The Nashville Predators will in fact reach the 14,000 paid average attendance mark for revenue sharing (The Tennessean):

"That's big news for management, because it likely will mean more than $10 million dollars to help the franchise remain financially competitive with larger-market teams."

- Playoff tickets that went on sale yesterday for the Penguins we're snatched up quickly (Penguins.com). From the gist of the article, it seems as all the playoff tickets are sold.

- Former Canadiens Captain and GM Serge Savard says he plans on making a bid for the Canadiens if they do in fact get put up for sale (The Gazette):

“If George Gillet clearly says that the Club de hockey Canadien is for sale, then, if that’s the case, me, I’m ready to do the deal,” Savard told the Montreal newspaper La Presse this morning. “I can complete the deal and buy the club.”

- Gary Bettman said yesterday while in promoting the NHL Awards Show that arena issues are the main hurdles for Las Vegas getting any franchise, but at the same time the NHL has no plans to expand (Yahoo). I also found this little gem involving revenue:

“We have no plans to expand, and I don’t think anybody does in this time frame based on the economy,” he said.

Bettman said the NHL is in sound financial shape, and he expects to see league revenues to increase 5 percent this season. He said that playoff ticket sales and season ticket sales for next season were fine, based only on anecdotal evidence."

5 %? Where did the conservative 1% bet go from the All-Star weekend? That would put the league around an HRR (Hockey Related Revenue) of $2.74 Billion. Wheres the escrow news? Hopefully more on this later.

- Phillips Arena (Home of the Atlanta Thrashers) gets a coveted award for their environmental practices (NHL.com).

- The Lighthouse Project on Long Island took a stumble last week, getting to political to keep it short. But with public outcry heard, the Project is gaining momentum as opposition is dropping (Let There Be Light (House)).

- Finally, the classic Verizon Wireless maternity ward spot:



More later.

The Monday Memo (2 PM Update)

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

- The Carolina Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot Saturday night, which means playoff tickets will go on sale Tuesday at noon to the public (Bizjournals).

- The Blue Jackets neared there all-time TV Ratings record last Tuesday, drawing a 3.9 with their win over the Predators on FS Ohio (Sports Media Watch). The Blackhawks ratings are surging as well, reaching a high of 2.1 on CSN Chicago with their win on Friday, March 27th against the Devils.

- It seems like a slow day business-wise, but two teams have finished their home-game schedules, which means fresh attendance statistics are in. For now, until the off season, I'm going to keep it simple with this table (click to enlarge):



As you can see, Dallas and Washington are the two teams that have no more home games for the remaining week of the regular season. If I had to describe Dallas' season this year in one word, it would be disappointment. They dropped almost 2% from their average attendance last year, which had risen every season since the lockout. If Dallas had played to their potential this season, they could have neared pre-lockout highs of an average of 18,532.

Washington, on the other hand, might have made the biggest improvement in the league. Up nearly 15% from last season and over 23% from two years ago, the Capitals are the face of the "New NHL" and Ted Leonsis has to be smiling ear to ear. Next season the Caps will have people on a waiting list for season tickets for the first time, so I expect this trend to continue, but just not at such a huge rate like 15% (the Verizon Center capacity is 18,277).

EDIT: All figures that do not have the differences next to them like Washington and Dallas are figures as of today. Those teams all have home games left, which is why I have not calculated the differences yet.

- Finally, don't mess with Eric Lindros' lucky jersey:



That is all for now, more later.

- Update, 2:00 PM EST:

- More TV Ratings news, as NBC's Game of the Week between the Wild and the Red Wings drew a 0.9/2 overnight (Puck The Media). The Blackhawks/Red Wings game from the same weekend drew a 0.6, so the 0.9 is actually an improvement.

- Are the Dallas Stars in serious financial trouble? (Globe and Mail):

"Even though Stars owner Tom Hicks went into default on $525-million (all currency U.S.) in loans, the NHL claims it is not worried about the future of the team. Hicks said there is no chance his sports teams — the Stars and baseball's Texas Rangers — will be taken over by creditors."