Hockey News

I was able to watch the Stars and Blackhawks game last night. To be honest, I was a lot more impressed with the Hawks game than I expected to be. I’m kind of excited to see if this is what things will really be like under Savard. Of course, Dallas helped them a lot. From Modano going down due to a puck in the skates in warm up to the horrendous number of give-aways Dallas made, it’s a wonder the score wasn’t a lot worse. You can read the take from Sports Illustrated. Over all, I didn’t see the game that way. On the down side, I saw a lot of individual effort by various hawks, which is probably what saved Dallas from a really disgraceful night. On the upside, I saw more spectacular moments of brilliance from the Hawks than I did from Dallas—especially from Hamilton’s line. The question really boils down to is this coaching change enough to bring the team together?

Meanwhile, the league has announced New Uniforms beginning next season. How exciting! Attendance is down across the league. Even Canada has suffered a drop in audience. And, the best they can do is show off new uniforms? They even scheduled the All Star Game for a Wednesday!?! I’m not seeing much to encourage me about the league. My real hope remains in the fact that hockey is THE MOST awesome game.
(…if they play…the people will come…Hey! I can dream can’t I?...)

And, as I’ve said before, the league would be really strange without the Penguins in Pittsburgh. And, it all comes down to a gambling license. It’s a heck of a deal if it goes through:

Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. has promised to build a $290 million arena to replace 45-year-old Mellon Arena, at no cost to taxpayers or the team, if awarded the license. The other two applicants are expected to provide money toward an arena, but neither would fully fund a new building.

I bet the city of Pittsburgh is thrilled with the idea of no money needed for a new facility. The city is putting together an alternate plan for a new arena. So, I guess we’re really going to see just how bad they want to keep the Pens in town.