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NHL Season 2019-20

#821
I HAVE been thinking of hockey throughout this quarantine. During this break, my regional sports channels have been showing re-runs of fan favorites. I am from Texas, so, the Dallas Stars big seasons from the early years in Dallas, (after leaving Minnesota), have been on all spring. In those years, they won just about everything, Stanley Cup, Presidents Trophy, Vezina trophy, Conn Smythe, conference & division championships, etc. It was a lot of fun for me to see those again, since a lot of them were only available on radio back in those years! (late '90s - early 2000's) Texas was not used to having a hockey team back then, and a lot of Texans didn't even know we won a championship! The sports channels have gone out of their way to do interviews via Skype with the former players and coaches, and making special programming. It's been a lot of fun. Have any other regional TV markets been doing this for your home teams? Or was this just in Texas?
 
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#822
A little off-topic...man, I did not fully appreciate how much I have missed watching golf on TV! I haven't had a real Sunday afternoon nap for what seems like weeks. Rewind to last Sunday and there it was on the tube and a rainy day to boot!
I don't think that I watched two complete holes being played before I was out cold on the coach, just like "the good ole days"! Bliss!
Fishheadjoe
 
#823
Guild B301 said:
I HAVE been thinking of hockey throughout this quarantine. During this break, my regional sports channels have been showing re-runs of fan favorites. I am from Texas, so, the Dallas Stars big seasons from the early years in Dallas, (after leaving Minnesota), have been on all spring. In those years, they won just about everything, Stanley Cup, Presidents Trophy, Vezina trophy, Conn Smythe, conference & division championships, etc. It was a lot of fun for me to see those again, since a lot of them were only available on radio back in those years! (late '90s - early 2000's) Texas was not used to having a hockey team back then, and a lot of Texans didn't even know we won a championship! The sports channels have gone out of their way to do interviews via Skype with the former players and coaches, and making special programming. It's been a lot of fun. Have any other regional TV markets been doing this for your home teams? Or was this just in Texas?
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About 15 years ago my son played travel hockey, and we always had at least one tournament per year in the Dallas metroplex. This was 2004-2006, so the Stars had been there a while, but still I was impressed by how much the Stars had integrated into the community there. Lots of publicity, advertising, lots of interaction/sponsorship, Stars Dr Pepper Centers, etc. Dallas will always be a football-first city, but at least the Stars were proactive in making their mark and their presence felt.

On the other hand, here in the desert the Coyotes are still lost in the shuffle, with even less marketing and outreach than before. Yes, youth hockey caught on, and during those first 10 years here it literally exploded, but the team itself was not a presence as it could have been and should have been. Even last season when the Yotes were having their best season in a decade and fighting for that final wild card spot, there was virtually nothing on the local news or sports talk radio. The Cardinals dominate both of those media outlets (even in the off-season), followed by the dysfunctional and embarrassingly awful Phoenix Suns, the ASU Sun Devils, and U of Arizona Wildcats. Then high school basketball, etc. The Yotes rarely even get a mention here, and usually only when it's another management/ownership change.

So, to answer your question, No, this regional market hasn't done a thing. :thumbsdown: And it's sad, because there are a lot of die-hard hockey fans here. Many (like me) are transplants from other cities back east who, despite still supporting their hometown teams, have also latched onto the local team. A lot of potential goodwill being passed over.
 
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#824
dwm74 said:
About 15 years ago my son played travel hockey, and we always had at least one tournament per year in the Dallas metroplex. This was 2004-2006, so the Stars had been there a while, but still I was impressed by how much the Stars had integrated into the community there. Lots of publicity, advertising, lots of interaction/sponsorship, Stars Dr Pepper Centers, etc. Dallas will always be a football-first city, but at least the Stars were proactive in making their mark and their presence felt.

On the other hand, here in the desert the Coyotes are still lost in the shuffle, with even less marketing and outreach than before. Yes, youth hockey caught on, and during those first 10 years here it literally exploded, but the team itself was not a presence as it could have been and should have been. Even last season when the Yotes were having their best season in a decade and fighting for that final wild card spot, there was virtually nothing on the local news or sports talk radio. The Cardinals dominate both of those media outlets (even in the off-season), followed by the dysfunctional and embarrassingly awful Phoenix Suns, the ASU Sun Devils, and U of Arizona Wildcats. Then high school basketball, etc. The Yotes rarely even get a mention here, and usually only when it's another management/ownership change.

So, to answer your question, No, this regional market hasn't done a thing. :thumbsdown: And it's sad, because there are a lot of die-hard hockey fans here. Many (like me) are transplants from other cities back east who, despite still supporting their hometown teams, have also latched onto the local team. A lot of potential goodwill being passed over.
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Well, I'm not from back east. My family have been in Texas for 8 generations. Rodeo was always our sport. But we LOVE hockey! All of my extended family like hockey now. Texas never had hockey on tv, until the Houston Aeros had Gordon Howe and his sons on that team in the 70's. I am from Austin, but you are right - when the NorthStars moved to Dallas they made a huge effort working with the other Pro sports teams to promote the Stars. Bob Gainey deserves a lot of credit for that, because he tried to recreate the kind of fanbase he was used to in Montreal. I have always been surprised that hockey hasn't taken off in AZ. Apparently even Gretzky couldn't even create enough interest. I don't understand it.
 
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#825
Yeah, you'd think having Gretzky associated with the team would have gathered some interest, but bottom line is no one pays to watch the Coach coach. And let's be honest, he wasn't a good coach. He simply hired FOW's (friends of Wayne) and delegated most of the duties. How he hung on for four years as the head coach is a joke, but he was part of the ownership group and nobody wanted to be the one to tell the Great One to step down. Don't misunderstand me, nobody is a bigger fan of #99 as a player than I am, but as coaches go, he was a great player. :smug:

Just my two cents, but I was hoping longtime assistant coach Barry Smith would have taken over when he was here. That guy's hockey knowledge is surpassed by very few men.
 
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#831
Getting a bit optimistic that this experimental format to complete the playoffs is going to happen. The league seems to be making strides toward a solution, and considering the variable logistics that may possibly interfere I'm hoping it can work. Still a couple of roadblocks to overcome, but at least it's an actual plan in motion.
 
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#836
It IS an absurd number of teams... but at least critics can't complain it's a money grab with no fannies in the seats.

Getting ahead of things, but another thing about this plan is the intent is to play a full 82-game season for '20-'21...but with next season potentially delayed until a January 2021 start it's gonna be another nightmare schedule and timeline. It may take several seasons to return to normalcy.
 
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#840
MJ5150 said:
Eh, let it go NHL.
Start fresh on the normal schedule next year.
I'm well past the phase of missing NHL hockey at this point. But hey, this if just one fans opinion.

-Mike
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Given my teams half century of futility, I will take this play-off format happily. We obviously aren't capable of winning under normal circumstances, so we'll take this format, begin lighting candles and praying to the play-off gods.
Fishheadjoe
 
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