When a hockey player wins the Stanley Cup and gets to hoist the greatest trophy in all of sports, their mind is flooded with so many thoughts. Memories of skating on frozen ponds when they were kids. Dreams they had to win it all when they were growing up. The countless number of times their
The Business of Hockey
Picture a scenario. Your local NHL team is playing a nationally-televised game. It’s on NBCSN, which you access through an app because you don’t have cable or satellite. You’re excited to watch it, but when you turn it on, you’re denied because of a tv blackout based on your location. Another scenario. You live in
It’s no secret that the National Hockey League and other major professional sports leagues have lost and are losing money as a result of the pandemic. Commissioner Gary Bettman has come out plainly stating that the league will lose more than $1 billion during the 2020-21 season; going as far as to say that the
The Winnipeg Jets’ Friday waiver claim of Anton Forsberg has highlighted the unique challenges of building and maintaining a roster and taxi squad this season, and has shown even something as seemingly simple as depth-goalie pickup causes complications in the NHL’s COVID-shortened season. Forsberg’s Whirlwind Week The Jets are Forsberg’s third team since last Sunday.
NHL players are extremely well known to fans. Even many coaches and general managers are recognized by those who watch the game. But what about the owners? The people who finance your favourite team aren’t as easily recognizable despite having huge impacts on the team and the league as a whole. To better understand the
The shortened 2019-20 season and the unique format of the playoffs due to COVID-19 showed financial issues for all of the NHL’s 31 teams. Forbes recently ranked the Los Angeles Kings as the sixth most valuable NHL team, as one of only two teams that ranked within the Original Six. Even outside of COVID-19 related
Attend any NHL game today and you’ll be bombarded by colorful ads from large corporations. From arena sponsorship signage to dasher board and on-ice advertising, there’s no avoiding it; and there’s more every year. Ads on the boards are as common and accepted as goal celebrations. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) There’s a long
Over the past few weeks, stories about the worries of NHL attendance have been drastically overstated. It all started with a Canadian Press article that claimed NHL teams were worried fans would rather stay home and watch the games in lieu of going to the arena. The Associated Press cited the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings
The Delaware North Group that owns both the Boston Bruins and their home arena TD Garden is completing a major $100-million expansion on the arena. The 50,000 square foot expansion has encompassed many areas of the venue including the upper and lower bowl seating. Boston’s iconic Black and Gold seats had been replaced with an
Compared to other major North American sports, college hockey lacks influence and attention, as the sport’s top talents are already either playing professionally or in a multitude of major-junior leagues. College hockey may not carry the same weight as college football or college basketball in developing their sport’s next young stars, but a good portion
NEW YORK — The NHL has announced it will not exercise its option to re-open the current collective bargaining agreement early. The league had the right to re-open the CBA until Sunday. It advised the NHL Players’ Association of its decision on Friday. “Based on the current state of the game and the business of
report this ad Jonathan Toews says he just wants his contract to be worth what it says on paper. Right now, it’s not that simple. Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, NHL owners and players divide hockey-related revenue 50/50, and if player salaries exceed that split a certain percentage is withheld in escrow to
report this ad NEW YORK — Martin Brodeur has been back with the New Jersey Devils for eight months and only walked by his statue once. It’s harder to avoid his banner hanging from the arena rafters. Brodeur returning to the place he spent the majority of his career sparked a recent run of executives
report this ad NHL players, with few exceptions, are paid fixed salaries regardless of their performance and are not allowed to be financially incentivized to win. This is true even in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where most players earn far less than they do in the regular season. http://gty.im/155359972 How are NHL Players Paid? The reality