Ryan Miller...the savior of the NHL?

[inkman]

Given the "star" treatment Ryan Miller has received after the Olympics, some national pulications have intimated that he could be the sports savior. My initial reation to this is, WTF? Hockey is a regional, niche sport that will never be more than what it is right now. Trying to expand into non-traditional hockey markets has been disasterous at best.

 

Bloomberg

 

What, if anything, can make Americans care about hockey more than once every four years?

 

Well, now we have an answer.

 

It’s Ryan Miller

 

 

Not to mention, while I appreciate Miller's candor, I don't feel that he is a tremendously charasmatic individual. The player in the sport with the most charisma is Alex Ovechkin, a guy whose English is barely discernable. The NHL will never be more than it is today.

[Calvin]

Here's the Vanity Fair piece on him

[Stoner]

Agree, ink. It's just a little bump in the road. There's nothing to see here.

[bunomatic]

What a lot of people fail to realize is that the N.H.L. does'nt necessarily need places like the southern states.Expanding there has been a disaster.If and when the league expands again it will be into european markets where the people have a huge appreciation for the sport.It will also go back into places like Quebec city where waiting lists for season tickets will be the norm,much like in Toronto and Vancouver.Before expansion can happen the league will have to loose some of its current teams that exist in places like phoenix.The owners in most Canadian citys have to be getting tired of propping up failing American franchises with the league mandated welfare that exists now.

[nobody]

The owners in most Canadian citys have to be getting tired of propping up failing American franchises with the league mandated welfare that exists now.

 

 

When the Canadian dollar was in the tank compared to the US dollar the US owners were thinking the same thing about the Canadian teams.

 

 

 

What a lot of people fail to realize is that the N.H.L. does'nt necessarily need places like the southern states.Expanding there has been a disaster.If and when the league expands again it will be into european markets where the people have a huge appreciation for the sport.It will also go back into places like Quebec city where waiting lists for season tickets will be the norm,much like in Toronto and Vancouver.Before expansion can happen the league will have to loose some of its current teams that exist in places like phoenix.

 

 

While there may have been some logic to thinking that all of the North East state ex-pats who moved to the South would support teams the league forgot to remember that even in the cold states only a small percentage of the population follows hockey to the level that they would become season ticket holders.

 

You will probably get another couple teams put back into Canada at some point. I do agree that the next key to growth are the European markets. Once the world economy improves it will be a question of will the NHL or the KHL (the Russian league) get into the area first.

[NowDoYouBelieve]

While Miller may very well be one of the NHL's best PLAYERS...he's no savior.

 

But here's my question...why is Ovechkin not the savior?

 

1. He's the best player in the league

2. He plays for the best team

3. He's got that cocky douchebag vibe that most sports fans just eat up (Kobe, Brady, T.O, Bonds...a lot of people hate these guys, but they get the most attention don't they?)

4. He plays in a huge market

5. He's got a natural foil/almost-as-good rival in Crosby

 

So why hasn't this attracted more national attention to the NHL? Is it really just because he's Russian?

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

As long as we get the NHL off of VS/NBC onto someone that will really cover the sport the NHL will remain as it is. Also putting teams in florida, arizona and other hot beds for ICE hockey has not been a wise move.

[nobody]

While Miller may very well be one of the NHL's best PLAYERS...he's no savior.

 

But here's my question...why is Ovechkin not the savior?

 

1. He's the best player in the league

2. He plays for the best team

3. He's got that cocky douchebag vibe that most sports fans just eat up (Kobe, Brady, T.O, Bonds...a lot of people hate these guys, but they get the most attention don't they?)

4. He plays in a huge market

5. He's got a natural foil/almost-as-good rival in Crosby

 

So why hasn't this attracted more national attention to the NHL? Is it really just because he's Russian?

 

 

As Ink said: "The player in the sport with the most charisma is Alex Ovechkin, a guy whose English is barely discernable."

[nobody]

As long as we get the NHL off of VS/NBC onto someone that will really cover the sport the NHL will remain as it is. Also putting teams in florida, arizona and other hot beds for ICE hockey has not been a wise move.

 

 

You can't really get a better network then VS to cover the NHL. But they need to continue to increase the cable companies that carry them.

[inkman]

So why hasn't this attracted more national attention to the NHL? Is it really just because he's Russian?

As Ink said: "The player in the sport with the most charisma is Alex Ovechkin, a guy whose English is barely discernable."

Yep, and outside of him, who is there? The guys who get the most press are the clowns/thugs. Avery, Bertuzzi, McSorely...the stars are boring and quite frankly, if you don't love the sport, the games can be uneventful if not downright unwatchable.

 

As much as they try to sell the "Winter Classics", I couldn't even find the gumption to watch when Buffalo wasn't involved. I think I chose Mythbusters, College Bowl Games and the NBA over the Winter Classic.

[shrader]

The average american loves flashy things. Goalies aren't flashy. ######, Hasek is the only flashy goalie who was ever any good. The only thing that will ever "save" the NHL is another Gretzky. This one needs to be north american too.

 

If the NHL really wants to attract the average american, all they need to do is polish up their car keys and rattle them around in front of that intented viewer.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Miller polls well with people that own cats.

 

 

Anybody want to buy 1,000 Michael Phelps Wheaties boxes? I'll give you a good deal.......

[eball]

Yep, and outside of him, who is there? The guys who get the most press are the clowns/thugs. Avery, Bertuzzi, McSorely...the stars are boring and quite frankly, if you don't love the sport, the games can be uneventful if not downright unwatchable.

 

As much as they try to sell the "Winter Classics", I couldn't even find the gumption to watch when Buffalo wasn't involved. I think I chose Mythbusters, College Bowl Games and the NBA over the Winter Classic.

Choosing the NBA over ANYTHING brings your credibility into question. ;)

[inkman]

Choosing the NBA over ANYTHING brings your credibility into question. ;)

You know, ten to fiftenn years ago I would have completely agreed, but I find myself more and more drawn to it. The games are much more wide open and the skill level has increased ten fold. The league used to be defined by self absorbed ball hogs like Iverson and Marbury. With players like LeBron, Carmelo, Dwayne Wade, and Dwight Howard leading the way (I left Kobe out on purpose, hate him), the game has gotten back to more fundamental basketball.

[NowDoYouBelieve]

The average american loves flashy things. Goalies aren't flashy. ######, Hasek is the only flashy goalie who was ever any good. The only thing that will ever "save" the NHL is another Gretzky. This one needs to be north american too.

 

If the NHL really wants to attract the average american, all they need to do is polish up their car keys and rattle them around in front of that intented viewer.

 

Funny thing is, the goaltender position can actually be very exciting. To me, it's the most impressive position in all of sports to excel at...and if you put together a highlight reel of a single NHL season, most of the truly awe-inspiring plays will be great saves.

 

Unfortunately though, your point about the average American is correct. Everybody seems to equate excitement with lots and lots of scoring. Me? I love low-scoring battles in any sport, so long as it's because of high-quality defensive play and not pathetic offensive play. I prefer pitchers' duels to games with 8 home runs. I prefer 10-7 games of football in the rain and the mud to 35-31 shootouts in a dome. I especially love 1-0 games of hockey where both goaltenders stood on their head (but I hate when its decided in a shootout). I'll admit that a low scoring basketball game is boring to me, but basketball just sucks in general anyway.

[cdexchange]

Funny thing is, the goaltender position can actually be very exciting. To me, it's the most impressive position in all of sports to excel at...and if you put together a highlight reel of a single NHL season, most of the truly awe-inspiring plays will be great saves.

 

 

 

I gotta go with NFL QB here, and NHL goalie would be close behind, but that's another discussion for another thread.

[Sabre Dance]

While Miller may very well be one of the NHL's best PLAYERS...he's no savior.

 

But here's my question...why is Ovechkin not the savior?

 

1. He's the best player in the league

2. He plays for the best team

3. He's got that cocky douchebag vibe that most sports fans just eat up (Kobe, Brady, T.O, Bonds...a lot of people hate these guys, but they get the most attention don't they?)

4. He plays in a huge market

5. He's got a natural foil/almost-as-good rival in Crosby

 

So why hasn't this attracted more national attention to the NHL? Is it really just because he's Russian?

 

Being a "foreigner" is part of it, but I think mostly it's because he occasionally acts like a self-centered jerk (on and off the ice) and takes occasional games off. (He was barely visible in the Olympics.)

 

I don't know if the NHL or hockey in general needs a "savior". What they need is to trim the league down to a manageable number of teams. This will have the positive effect of increasing the number of talented players on each team, improving play. Add a few things like no-touch icing, reducing the size of goalie's equipment, banning head shots, etc. and then you would be on the right track...

[inkman]

...but I think mostly it's because he occasionally acts like a self-centered jerk...

Michael Jordan

Larry Bird

Ty Cobb

Joe Dimaggio

Kobe Bryant

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Babe Ruth

Dominik Hasek

Jim Kelly

Jim Brown

Pete Rose

 

...just to name a few athletes who'd like to disagree...

[Kristian]

Given the "star" treatment Ryan Miller has received after the Olympics, some national pulications have intimated that he could be the sports savior. My initial reation to this is, WTF? Hockey is a regional, niche sport that will never be more than what it is right now. Trying to expand into non-traditional hockey markets has been disasterous at best.

 

Bloomberg

 

What, if anything, can make Americans care about hockey more than once every four years?

 

Well, now we have an answer.

 

It’s Ryan Miller

 

 

Not to mention, while I appreciate Miller's candor, I don't feel that he is a tremendously charasmatic individual. The player in the sport with the most charisma is Alex Ovechkin, a guy whose English is barely discernable. The NHL will never be more than it is today.

 

If it means the league, translating down to the on-ice officials, start kissing the Sabres collective @ss like they're doing Crosby, then I'm all for it.

[static70]

While there may have been some logic to thinking that all of the North East state ex-pats who moved to the South would support teams the league forgot to remember that even in the cold states only a small percentage of the population follows hockey to the level that they would become season ticket holders.

 

You will probably get another couple teams put back into Canada at some point. I do agree that the next key to growth are the European markets. Once the world economy improves it will be a question of will the NHL or the KHL (the Russian league) get into the area first.

The European market is not realistic with the current game scheduling structure the NHL employs. There is no easy answer to this one as well. You would need to extend the season to a time frame reasonable enough to allow travel (which isn't going to happen since the season, including playoffs already amounts to 9.5 to 10 months) or you would have to decrease the amount of games played to allow for the necessary travel time (not realistic either, since this would impact the bottom line for individual owners). We won't even touch on the cost of the travel, in case your wondering, jet fuel isn't cheap and these are long flights for multiple teams, all which impact the bottom line, not to mention the periphal costs.

 

It sounds like a great idea, but when you begin to look at the logistical nightmare, it becomes bogged down. Some very hard decisions would have to be made to implement such an expansion. Not to say it could not be done, the most reasonable expectation is to see a decrease in the amount of games per season. Most likely from 82 down to 60 to 65 games. Take into account how much lost revenue that is for the current North American franchise owners combined with the reduced salary cap due to reduced revenue and even the players will be saying no to this one.

 

These are just a couple of the issues that will have to be over come with "realistic" solutions, not speculation or fantasy land.

[Stoner]

It's kind of funny to see comments like "Savior of the league," "Attention-starved NHL" and "Unloved league" and realize that Miller makes $6.5 million a year. Someone must love this game.

[inkman]

It's kind of funny to see comments like "Savior of the league," "Attention-starved NHL" and "Unloved league" and realize that Miller makes $6.5 million a year. Someone must love this game.

...but we aren't "in love" with hockey, we just love it. B-)

[Two or less]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304575110002746460166.html

 

Miller article/video from wall street journal...

[nobody]

The European market is not realistic with the current game scheduling structure the NHL employs.

 

 

I would expect they would go with a European conference that pretty much just played themselves. Then you would have to figure out the playoffs. Do you have the best NA play the best Euro for the Cup? Do you have the top few Euro teams come over to NA and play in some rinks that are not being used by their NA team?