Matchsticks and Gasoline: FanPosts

Jarome Iginla: An Spoiled Hockey Fan From Pittsburgh Says "Thank You."

2013-05-11T00:38:30Z

Hey there Matchsticks & Gasoline. I hope that you don't mind a post from a Penguins fan, even though Pittsburgh faithful don't have a great history with teams who wear red. Of course, actual flames can also be orange, but that honestly just makes it worse. Colors aside, I joined M&G when I saw the Iggy Game Day threads. That idea seems to have fizzled, but with the way the Penguins played in Games 2, 3, and 4...well, I understand. I had a hard time watching myself.

With the trade just over a month old, I wanted to say that I'm thankful for the chance to watch #12 skate for the team that I love. At first there were double takes (Whoa, that's Jarome Iginla!) because in my mind I could not divorce his face from the sweater he'd worn for 16 years. During those early games I would watch him in his new uni, half expecting the Pittsburgh gold to bleed away revealing a deep Calgary red underneath. That would look more suitable, I thought. Now the colors have grown more familiar, and there is no way to overstate how great it feels to have him in Pittsburgh.

I don't actually live in Pittsburgh anymore, but here are some things that you might already know about your average Pittsburgher. We're ridiculous homers (about our city and our teams). Our players are either the very best or the very worst, because the center of the sporting universe has no use for nuance. We think that everything worth doing can be done with hustle and hard work, and if you lose, you probably didn't hustle or hard work enough. We're football first (I know, I know), and we're not really convinced that there's hockey west of the Mississippi River (Sorry). We blame the goalie (I know) and we yell "SHOOOOOOT!" on the power play all the time. (I know. I'm so sorry.)

Don't get me wrong. We do a lot of good stuff too. We take care of our friends and neighbors. We'll help you change a tire in the rain. We like to work for what we get, and all that homer pride, if nothing else, comes from an honest place. There is no posturing here. Still, it's pretty easy to understand why other fans might think we're entitled.

That said, a great many of us also know what it's like to love a team that kills us. To go from making the proudest history to the most embarrassing. To lose stars. To be picked apart like a scrap heap K-car by better, smarter, and richer franchises. If you think I'm talking about the Rico Fata powered Pens of the early 2000s, I'm not. Not. Even. Close.

I suppose this brings me to my real point. While I obviously want the Pens to win the Cup, I hope that Calgary "wins" the trade. I hope that Hanowski and Agostino become good, productive players who are fun to watch and easy to root for. I hope that the #1 pick turns out to be a star who is winning games for Calgary long after Iginla has retired. I hope that the fans who lost an icon can someday look back and say, "Sad, but worth it."

I don't know if the Pens will play 2 more games this post season or if they'll play 22. Nor do I know if #12 will come back to Pittsburgh. I hope they ask him, because that means he's got more to give. I hope he wants to, because that means we treated him right. But whether the run ends this Sunday or at the end of June, please know that at least one entitled homer Pittsburgher appreciates this unexpected gift- the privilege of cheering for a unique legend. We'll never be able to claim Iggy as our own, but hopefully we can give him enough that he'll remember us fondly as the second-best hockey town he ever played in.

Best of luck, Calgary Flames. Make more like this one. Can't wait to see you back on top.

Should the Flames trade up for a franchise player?

2013-04-26T17:43:27Z

Based on how the standings are, and the percentages of the flames not landing the 1st overall pick from the lottery, should they consider trading up to get MacKinnon?

The consensus is that Seth Jones will go first overall, and based on who ends up with the 1st overall pick, second pick might be willing to part with their pick for the next stud defenceman on the depth chart and some additional picks. Just look at the shape Edmonton is in after becoming greedy and taking yet another all star forward over a stud defenceman, leaving their defence in shambles, tanking for yet another season. Colorado, Tampa, Carolina might be some of those teams interested in moving a higher pick, as they already have very strong forward prospects in their systems.

Living in Halifax, i have the luxury of being able to watch Drouin and MacKinnon play, so i may be slightly biased in my reasons for the move. But i'm interested in seeing what everyone else thinks the Flames should do. They do have Baertshi, Backlund, Horak, and even Gaudreau in the system, so its not necessarily critical that they make a big move like this. However MaKinnon is a franchise player, with the potential to become a great power forward in the NHL, and any team would benefit with him in their lineup, with the added benefit of potentially being NHL ready as early as next season.

Do you think Feaster should make a move at the draft?

Based on how the standings are, and the percentages of the flames not landing the 1st overall pick from the lottery, should they consider trading up to get MacKinnon?

Do you think Feaster should make a move at the draft?

Who Plays Goalie for Calgary Next Season?

2013-04-13T08:18:31Z

Hey guys. I'm a Sports Journalism student and they really would like us to start blogging online and gaining an audience. I started mine tonight and wrote my entry about the Flames goaltending situation.

http://bluelinebabble.wordpress.com/

I'm from Tennessee.. I'm a Predators fan. Why is my first story about the Flames? I have no clue. But if you would read and comment on it, that would be fantastic and we could be friends forever and always.

You could even tell me how much you hate it. How inaccurate I am. But anyway, thanks for reading.

http://bluelinebabble.wordpress.com/

You could even tell me how much you hate it. How inaccurate I am. But anyway, thanks for reading.

The Flames' Next Captain

2013-04-02T04:33:30Z

Who should be Jarome Iginla's successor? After trading away the best player in team history, future hall-of-famer, and longtime captain, someone is going to have HUGE shoes to fill. Who can handle the duties? If the choice was mine, I would sew the C on the jersey of Mark Giordano. With Bouwmeester now playing in St. Louis, he has had the "A" longer than anyone in our roster. Other likely candidates include our other alternate captains, Cammalleri, and Glencross, But coach Hartley has also been been throwing the names Stempniak and Stajan in the mix. What do you think?

My Iggy Moment: Everything

2013-03-30T16:51:01Z

I was sitting here reading the great moments you guys put up in great detail...and I started thinking to myself, I don't have one moment I can put my finger on that defines my memory of Jarome.

Maybe it's the numerous brain cells I've killed along the way, but the thing I remember more than anything is everything.

I remember Iggy being an absolute force. He was the guy who would bang it out in the corner, find an open area in the high slot and wire a one-timer top shelf past a helpless tender. The guy who, if the team found themselves being pushed around, would answer the bell and go with anyone on the other team...50 goal hands be-damned.

I remember Iggy being someone who was greater than the Calgary Flames allowed him to be. How the fuck we did not get this man a true center to play alongside, will eat at me forever. At each Olympics, he skated with the best players this nation had to offer and shone.

I remember the smile. You know the one. That almost childish grin that showed a true love of the sport. It seemed as if no matter how bad it got, he was still happy to be playing the game.

I remember the love. There was a time, before he got a little older and the franchise's prospects started to go downhill, that he was everything good about our hockey team. He was our Stevie Y, our Burnaby Joe, our motherfucking Jarome Iginla. I hope we can all remember how important that was to us.

But above all, I remember my favourite goddamn hockey player of all time. For all the reasons above, and so many more, I will always feel grateful and blessed by the hockey gods that this was a man we could call the Captain of the Calgary Flames for so many years.

I was sitting here reading the great moments you guys put up in great detail...and I started thinking to myself, I don't have one moment I can put my finger on that defines my memory of Jarome.

Maybe it's the numerous brain cells I've killed along the way, but the thing I remember more than anything is everything.

I remember the smile. You know the one. That almost childish grin that showed a true love of the sport. It seemed as if no matter how bad it got, he was still happy to be playing the game.

Sweet Jesus.

2013-03-29T04:11:24Z

Guys, can we all chill the fuck out a bit. Please?

Yes, it sucks Iginla is gone and the return seems underwhelming at this point. But what the hell were we expecting?

Feaster was over a barrel here as Iggy could choose his destination and once Pittsburgh was the selection, it didn't exactly give him much leverage. I would have loved to have gotten more. But as we've seen, Shero is pretty goddamn shrewd and an exceptional GM. He had to have a sense that Iggy wanted to go there, so he probably played hardball.

The deal with the Bruins seems, on paper, as if it would have been better. However, Khokhlachev has yet to prove himself beyond the junior ranks and while he seems to have a higher upside...who really knows?

What we got are two of the best scorers in American high school history and while they haven't posted huge numbers in college, not a lot of guys really do.

Hanowski was the captain of his team and from what I've been able to gather about him from reading his previews and watching some clips on youtube, he looks like a Matt Frattin type...not too bad.

As for Agostino, haven't got a sense of his game and can't really comment too much on him.

The good news is that we have another first round pick.

I think we're still going to scrape together a few wins before the season is out and end up around 8-12 range when it all settles out. That first could be very valuable ammunition to move up the board on Draft day and grab one of the elite prospects.

If the Iginla trade ends up with us getting Drouin or Barkov instead of a lesser prospect...does that make up for it?

At the end of the day the decision was made to move Iginla and he was able to choose where he wanted to go. You may consider his actions classless or selfish, but who the fuck wouldn't want to go play with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and go chase a cup if given the opportunity.

One thing I heard over and over before the Iginla trade was..."If we trade him, I hope he goes somewhere where he can win a Cup." Well, that's exactly what happened.

He chose the destination that would give him the best possible chance of getting something he truly deserves, his name on hockey's Holy Grail.

Jus' saying.

Guys, can we all chill the fuck out a bit. Please? Yes, it sucks Iginla is gone and the return seems underwhelming at this point. But what the hell were we expecting? Feaster was over a barrel here as Iggy could choose his destination and once Pittsburgh was the selection, it didn't exactly give him much leverage. I would have loved to have gotten more. But as we've seen, Shero is pretty goddamn shrewd and an exceptional GM. He had to have a sense that Iggy wanted to go there, so he probably played hardball. The deal with the Bruins seems, on paper, as if it would have been better. However, Khokhlachev has yet to prove himself beyond the junior ranks and while he seems to have a higher upside...who really knows? What we got are two of the best scorers in American high school history and while they haven't posted huge numbers in college, not a lot of guys really do. Hanowski was the captain of his team and from what I've been able to gather about him from reading his previews and watching some clips on youtube, he looks like a Matt Frattin type...not too bad. As for Agostino, haven't got a sense of his game and can't really comment too much on him. The good news is that we have another first round pick. I think we're still going to scrape together a few wins before the season is out and end up around 8-12 range when it all settles out. That first could be very valuable ammunition to move up the board on Draft day and grab one of the elite prospects. If the Iginla trade ends up with us getting Drouin or Barkov instead of a lesser prospect...does that make up for it? At the end of the day the decision was made to move Iginla and he was able to choose where he wanted to go. You may consider his actions classless or selfish, but who the fuck wouldn't want to go play with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and go chase a cup if given the opportunity. One thing I heard over and over before the Iginla trade was..."If we trade him, I hope he goes somewhere where he can win a Cup." Well, that's exactly what happened. He chose the destination that would give him the best possible chance of getting something he truly deserves, his name on hockey's Holy Grail. Jus' saying.

How Should The Flames Rebuild?

2013-03-14T06:38:16Z

So the skuttlebutt all around town now is that the time has come for the Flames to get serious about re-building the team. It's widely accepted now that it would be best if the Flames traded Jarome Iginla, but who else might, or should be on the trading block?

Here's a breakdown of some names that have been thrown around recently, and whom of those that I think the Flames should trade and who they shouldn't trade, and the reasons why.

Alex Tanguay:

Alex is Iggy's biggest fan-boy, to the detriment of himself and also the entire team. He's always looking to set up Iginla even when it's the wrong move, and even though he has the most accurate shot on the team. He's getting long in the tooth and likely would be lost without his hero, so if Iggy is to go, then Tanguay should go as well.

Curtis Glencross:

Although not as old as Iggy or Tangs, Curtis has been around for a long time and is part of the old core. He's talented but lacks leadership qualities, so there's no reason to think he'd have much of an impact on a new core of players. He'd also fetch a decent return in a trade, so I'd say move him out as well.

Mikka Kiprosoff:

Although Kipper's numbers have slipped this season, he didn't have many games to get in top form before he got injured, and still could put together a decent season. I'm still convinced that he's one of the top five goaltenders in the NHL. It would be tempting to trade him since his value would be high in a trade, but the time without him has shown that the Flames are woefully unprepared to move forward without him. While I would not be against a trade if the Flames were to get a workable replacement in return along with some prospects and/or picks, perhaps it would be best to take advantage of the remaining year of his contract, and use that time to better groom a young replacement.

Jay Bouwmeester:

Although it's also tempting to consider trading Jay Bouwmeester because so many teams are desperate for solid defensemen, to do so would leave a huge hole in what is already a very thin D corps. J-Bo is our most reliable guy on defense day in and day out, and I don't think he gets enough credit for that. It would be exceedingly difficult to get a satisfactory replacement in return for him. I think the cost of dealing him in terms of how it would weaken the D-line is not worth the potential gains that trading him may bring.

Mark Giordano:

Not sure why so many people think that the Flames should trade Mark Giordano. Yes, he's had a bit of an off-season, but he's still a very good defenseman and works his guts out each and every night. He hasn't been around long enough to be considered a part of the older core (at least in my opinion), and at 29, he is still relatively young for a defenseman. I think he has several quite serviceable years left in him, and has valuable leadership qualities that the team will need down the road, especially if they bring in younger players. In fact, Mark Giordano would be my first choice for the captaincy of the new, Iggy-less Flames. I think to trade him would be absolute folly.

Mike Cammelleri:

Although this is Mike's second go-round with the Flames, he is not a guy who has been here long-term, so he is not a part of the older culture of the team. He is a very talented guy who has shown that he can work well with a lot of different players. After a slow start and an injury, he is now starting to show what he can do for the team, and I think he could be a valuble asset down the road for the Flames. I'd take advantage of the one more year that he is signed for, and see how he fits in with any new aquisitions. They can then assess whether they should extend his contract or trade him next season, based on his performance.

Lee Stempniak:

Lee has been one of our better offensive players, and at a bargain salary of 2.5 m/year. Although he is up for free agency, it's unlikely he would command much more to re-sign. I think the Flames should keep him, and try to sign him for at least three more seasons. No brainer.

How to share the Fans' money

2012-09-13T21:06:12Z

Share and share alike. Seems to make some sense doesn't it ? The owners have proposed that they get a larger portion of the pie when it comes to the NHL revenue, starting with their offer of 43%, now at 46% of revenue to the players. Since the players are currently at 57%, there is some symmetry to splitting the whole thing right down the middle at 50/50. So lets be optimistic and say we get there. While we are at it though, why don't the owners show the way by sharing the precious HRR (Hockey Related Revenue) 50/50 with one another. Let's explore how that would look.

A Complex Arrangement

First, lets acknowledge that this whole thing is not like a regular labour negotiation. Normally a business or public service is for the most part a single entity with one revenue stream and one paymaster. They negotiate with a union for the services of labour ( who get different salaries relative to their positions). There is one employer, not 30, and there is no individual negotiation between labour and management. In the NHL scenario, the League and the Players Asssociation ( Union ) are negotiating a deal, but then they have all 700 members in turn negotiate with 30 semi independent management groups on a case by case basis. It's kind of like a provincial government trying to strike a deal with a teachers or nurses union, then allowing each board or region to offer whatever they can afford to attract talent. In a case where some regions have 3 times the money that others do, ( as is the case in the NHL) this means the rich regions would get the talent and the poor ones would get screwed, or go bankrupt just to keep their schools or hospitals open.

Really ? We have a problem ?

I have to admit, I was pretty complacent until a few weeks ago about the potential for a lockout. I mean

the 57% share that the players are currently getting is a number that the League pretty much mandated last time, sacrificing a whole year to get cost certainty. Revenues have grown since, and one potential sore spot ( Atlanta) has been upgraded to Winnipeg, so I thought things were going to be OK. My line of thinking, as I am sure it was for many fans was how does a party in a negotiation get exactly what they want, that is 43% of revenue on $2 billion coming out of the last lockout, and now a mere 7 years later, after 50% growth in revenue, can't make it on 43% of $ 3 billion ? As it has become clearer that the owners are going to pretty militant I have gotten kind of angry, surely to goodness the fixed and administrative costs haven't gone up that much. Even if they have gone up 50%, shouldn't the bottom line be the same ?

As James Mirtle pointed out in the Globe a few weeks back this isn't about the overall numbers, but the fact that some teams still make no money at all, and the few rich guys hiding behind the weak sisters so that they can make even more. Under a $70 m cap the Islanders and the Coyotes are never going to make any money, in fact they won't make any at the $54 m floor either. The Forbes report says the Islanders had $63m in revenue and Phoenix $70. Mirtle's article suggested that the owners were telling the players that there are $35 m in expenses per team not related to players ( Again this seems alot to me since the owners were happy to accept less than $29m per team to cover both operations and profit coming out of the last lockout) . Even if you cut the players by 20%, and have a $56 m cap and $45 m floor, you would have at least 10 teams who would not make a profit at the salary floor !

At the other end there are 5 teams who according to Forbes have revenues of $150 or more so $70m in player costs is really nothing to them. The Leafs have $193 in revenue, so with $35 of operations and $70 of player costs, the Leafs stand to make $88 million under the current system. That's some serious profit over sales, and a tremendous return on investment.

The title of the Forbes article written last November ironically was: "Team Values Hit an All Time High". There are 7 teams whose marked value exceeds $300 million. It doesn't seem that long ago and the NHL was selling franchises for $45m ( Ottawa and Tampa ), and now every team in the league - even if they are not making money are valued at least $150 million. So even if teams aren't making alot of money they are appreciating in value. Nashville paid $80 million to get in 12 years ago and now the team is worth $160m. Doubling value in that period of time is a 6% annual growth rate, so even if you haven't made any money your asset is appreciating at a pretty decent rate.

My favourite example of how owners have made a ton. Peter Pocklington paid $7.5 m to get the Oilers in to the NHL and paid what, a million for Gretzky ? He sold Wayne for $15 m 10 years later, and when the court ordered the Oilers put up to cover Peter Puck's other debts and the team was sold off for a sum approaching $100 million. Talk about a return on investment ! From less than 10 to over a 100 in 20 years, never mind the money that he made along the way.

Shoot yourself in the foot

The problem, as I see it, is the willingness of some owners to circumvent their own system with guaranteed bonuses and bogus contract lengths in order to get an advantage. What is aggravating is that after they cheat their own system then they have the gall to come back to the players for an across the board cut. The contracts deemed legal by the League, of Parise and Suter amount to almost $40 million in cap circumvention by one team in the next 10 years. Both of those guys signed 13 year $98 m deals, with $95 of it in the first 10 years. You know that they are really only 10 year contracts, those guys aren't playing for a million a year at ages 38-40 after making nearly $10m per year. So they should have cap hits of $9.5 m, instead they are at $7.53, and therefore they are cheating by nearly $2m each every year. So when the owners are asking for 12 or 14 million in rollbacks per team, perhaps Suter and Parise's 21 team mates should be asking why they as a group should agree to that and essentially subsidize the superstars with their pay cut.

The underlying problem is the revenue disparity. Gary Bettman called revenue sharing a distraction, but it is in fact the solution. The 12 teams with revenues under $90 million can not make money under the current system even if they only spent to the floor. Cut the players by 20 % and these teams might feel like they are competitive for a while, but they still wouldn't make money if they tried to spend to the new cap. As the big teams make more money and league revenue goes up, pressure goes back on the weak teams as the cap will increase again.

How to solve it

To me a league of anything means that you are aligned with a group of people with similar interests. The teams need to start acting like they are really working together and they could do that with meaningful revenue sharing. You are never going to change the fact that Nashville could match Toronto and New York with revenue, but you could close the gap considerably with all teams contributing and withdrawing from a revenue sharing pool. Instead of a complex system that pays only the weak teams from the strong ones how about a 50/50 split of all revenues ? The principle of this is pretty simple, every night there are 2 teams playing and they should essentially split the gate. This would transform and stabilize the game.

Under this system, using the Forbes numbers the top revenue Leafs would contribute $96.5 million to the pool and withdraw $52.5. At the other end the Islanders would contribute $31.5 and get the same $52.5 out of the pool. Team revenues, instead of ranging from $63 to $193, would be now $84 to $149. Every team in the league could make money at a $45 m salary floor and over half would make money spending to the cap.

The secondary problem is not the current cap but the floor. If you dropped the floor from the projected $54.5 to $45 and froze the cap at last years $65 I think you could proceed without a player salary cut at all.

You could freeze the cap for an additional year, until player costs get down to the 50%. Essentially on revenues or $3.3 B, which is the number I heard yesterday. 50% is $55 m per team. If you had 6 or 8 at the new floor, you'd almost be there right away.

Team	Revenue	Kept	Shared	From Pool	Total	Operating cost	Floor $45	Cap $65	Team Value	ROE Floor	ROE Cap
NYI	63	31.5	31.5	52.5	84	35	4	-16	149	2.68%	-10.74%
Phoenix	70	35	35	52.5	87.50	35	7.5	-12.5	134	5.60%	-9.33%
Winnipeg	71	35.5	35.5	52.5	88.00	35	8	-12	164	4.88%	-7.32%
St Louis	78	39	39	52.5	91.50	35	11.5	-8.5	157	7.32%	-5.41%
Columbus	80	40	40	52.5	92.50	35	12.5	-7.5	152	8.22%	-4.93%
Florida	81	40.5	40.5	52.5	93.00	35	13	-7	162	8.02%	-4.32%
Carolina	81	40.5	40.5	52.5	93.00	35	13	-7	169	7.69%	-4.14%
Nashville	82	41	41	52.5	93.50	35	13.5	-6.5	163	8.28%	-3.99%
Colorado	83	41.5	41.5	52.5	94.00	35	14	-6	198	7.07%	-3.03%
Anaheim	84	42	42	52.5	94.50	35	14.5	-5.5	184	7.88%	-2.99%
Tampa	87	43.5	43.5	52.5	96.00	35	16	-4	174	9.20%	-2.30%
Buffalo	87	43.5	43.5	52.5	96.00	35	16	-4	173	9.25%	-2.31%
Dallas	90	45	45	52.5	97.50	35	17.5	-2.5	230	7.61%	-1.09%
Washington	94	47	47	52.5	99.50	35	19.5	-0.5	225	8.67%	-0.22%
Edmonton	96	48	48	52.5	100.50	35	20.5	0.5	212	9.67%	0.24%
San Jose	96	48	48	52.5	100.50	35	20.5	0.5	211	9.72%	0.24%
Minnesota	97	48.5	48.5	52.5	101.00	35	21	1	213	9.86%	0.47%
Ottawa	100	50	50	52.5	102.50	35	22.5	2.5	201	11.19%	1.24%
New Jersey	100	50	50	52.5	102.50	35	22.5	2.5	181	12.43%	1.38%
Los Angeles	101	50.5	50.5	52.5	103.00	35	23	3	232	9.91%	1.29%
Calgary	105	52.5	52.5	52.5	105.00	35	25	5	220	11.36%	2.27%
Pittsburgh	110	55	55	52.5	107.50	35	27.5	7.5	264	10.42%	2.84%
Chicago	118	59	59	52.5	111.50	35	31.5	11.5	306	10.29%	3.76%
Boston	125	62.5	62.5	52.5	115.00	35	35	15	325	10.77%	4.62%
Detroit	127	63.5	63.5	52.5	116.00	35	36	16	336	10.71%	4.76%
Vancouver	146	73	73	52.5	125.50	35	45.5	25.5	300	15.17%	8.50%
Montreal	165	82.5	82.5	52.5	135.00	35	55	35	445	12.36%	7.87%
NYR	169	84.5	84.5	52.5	137.00	35	57	37	507	11.24%	7.30%
Philadelphia	170	85	85	52.5	137.50	35	57.5	37.5	290	19.83%	12.93%
Toronto	193	96.5	96.5	52.5	149.00	35	69	49	521	13.24%	9.40%

You will note that 20 of 30 teams increase their revenues as a result of this system

As revenues grow, in whatever market they are in, all teams benefit. This would motivate the League to get out of dead markets as soon as possible.

If Snider, Jacobs and the like can't stomach giving 50% in to the revenue sharing pool, how about a third ? Here is what the numbers look like for that.

Team	Revenue	Kept	Shared	From Pool	Total	Operating cost	Floor $45	Cap $65	Value	ROE Floor	ROE Cap
NYI	63	42	21	35	77	35	-3.0	-23.0	149	-2.0%	-15.4%
Phoenix	70	46.67	23.33	35	81.67	35	1.7	-18.3	134	1.2%	-13.7%
Winnipeg	71	47.33	23.67	35	82.33	35	2.3	-17.7	164	1.4%	-10.8%
St Louis	78	52.00	26.00	35	87.00	35	7.0	-13.0	157	4.5%	-8.3%
Columbus	80	53.33	26.67	35	88.33	35	8.3	-11.7	152	5.5%	-7.7%
Florida	81	54.00	27.00	35	89.00	35	9.0	-11.0	162	5.6%	-6.8%
Carolina	81	54.00	27.00	35	89.00	35	9.0	-11.0	169	5.3%	-6.5%
Nashville	82	54.67	27.33	35	89.67	35	9.7	-10.3	163	5.9%	-6.3%
Colorado	83	55.33	27.67	35	90.33	35	10.3	-9.7	198	5.2%	-4.9%
Anaheim	84	56.00	28.00	35	91.00	35	11.0	-9.0	184	6.0%	-4.9%
Tampa	87	58.00	29.00	35	93.00	35	13.0	-7.0	174	7.5%	-4.0%
Buffalo	87	58.00	29.00	35	93.00	35	13.0	-7.0	173	7.5%	-4.0%
Dallas	90	60.00	30.00	35	95.00	35	15.0	-5.0	230	6.5%	-2.2%
Washington	94	62.67	31.33	35	97.67	35	17.7	-2.3	225	7.9%	-1.0%
Edmonton	96	64.00	32.00	35	99.00	35	19.0	-1.0	212	9.0%	-0.5%
San Jose	96	64.00	32.00	35	99.00	35	19.0	-1.0	211	9.0%	-0.5%
Minnesota	97	64.67	32.33	35	99.67	35	19.7	-0.3	213	9.2%	-0.2%
Ottawa	100	66.67	33.33	35	101.67	35	21.7	1.7	201	10.8%	0.8%
New Jersey	100	66.67	33.33	35	101.67	35	21.7	1.7	181	12.0%	0.9%
Los Angeles	101	67.33	33.67	35	102.33	35	22.3	2.3	232	9.6%	1.0%
Calgary	105	70.00	35.00	35	105.00	35	25.0	5.0	220	11.4%	2.3%
Pittsburgh	110	73.33	36.67	35	108.33	35	28.3	8.3	264	10.7%	3.2%
Chicago	118	78.67	39.33	35	113.67	35	33.7	13.7	306	11.0%	4.5%
Boston	125	83.33	41.67	35	118.33	35	38.3	18.3	325	11.8%	5.6%
Detroit	127	84.67	42.33	35	119.67	35	39.7	19.7	336	11.8%	5.9%
Vancouver	146	97.33	48.67	35	132.33	35	52.3	32.3	300	17.4%	10.8%
Montreal	165	110.00	55.00	35	145.00	35	65.0	45.0	445	14.6%	10.1%
NYR	169	112.67	56.33	35	147.67	35	67.7	47.7	507	13.3%	9.4%
Philadelphia	170	113.33	56.67	35	148.33	35	68.3	48.3	290	23.6%	16.7%
Toronto	193	128.67	64.33	35	163.67	35	83.7	63.7	521	16.1%	12.2%

So even pooling 1/3 of HRR allows everyone except the Islanders to make money at a $45m floor. 13 teams could make money spending to the cap. This is based on $3.15 B total revenue from the November report, so it would be better at $3.3. Many teams would have revenues very close to what they would now get, only the bottom 6 end up with more than $8 million more.

Other Alternatives

Contraction

Why not contract the League by 2 teams instead ? The League already owns Phoenix anyway, and the Islanders aren't getting a new arena. Pay Mr Wang $150 m for the Islanders and fold up the Coyotes and suddenly $70 million in annual losses disappears. Do a dispersal draft and have some amnesty buyouts. Recoup the $150 later in expansion fees, but make sure the applicant has a solid buisness plan !

Premier League

Or, why don't we scrap the whole thing and make a Premier League and a secondary league. No salary cap or floor, teams can sell their players off like assets as happens in European football. One draft so the weak teams in the second division could draft and develop the top guys, and then sell them off to richer teams. Start with 20 teams in the Premier League, and the 4 who fail to make the playoffs get relegated to Division 2. Expand Div 2 to at least 12 teams, maybe 16, with the final 4 getting pushed up every year.

Under a system such as this there is no telling how much the Leafs or Flyers would spend on payroll, or how much they would be willing to subsidize the weaker teams by buying the contracts of star players. Two teams would become champions every year one in each division, and the teams with weaker revenues could be competetitve in the secondary division and the occasional foray in to the Premier league.

Jarome at 35 years

2012-08-30T05:45:53Z

Assuming there will be hockey, how many goals will Jarome Iginla score in this his 35 year old season ? Maybe 30, but not many more if history is any kind of a teacher.

Looking at the 35 year old seasons of the top 30 goal scorers of all time gives us this kind of number. I looked at the 34 players that currently stand ahead of Jarome on the career goal list. 4 had to be removed from the numbers (Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Michel Goulet, Dale Hawerchuk) because they had retired by the time they reached 35 ( one to later unretire- Lafleur). I adjusted the seasons of Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard to reflect an 82 game schedule as opposed to the 70 they played. The other anomalies were Bobby Hull's 53 goals in the second WHA season and Mario Lemiuex's ridiculous 35 in 43 games in his specatacular unretirement after 4 years away. I did not make any adjustments for those last 2.

The overall average for these 30 of the 34 best goal scorers of all time was, in their 35 year old season 29.8. If you factored in the 4 retired guys the average drops to 26.3.

One has to factor in the goal scoring eras as well when looking at these numbers. I used last seasons numbers to make a correction factor for the data. 2011-12 was a reasonably low scoring year with each team scoring an average of 2.735 goals per game. Of the 30 seasons measured 23 were higher scoring and 7 lower. I multiplied the players goals by the percentage that 2011-12 was relative to the season they were 35. For example Brendan Shanahan scored 25 in 03-04 when teams averaged only 2.58 GPG, so his equalized number would be 6 % higher or 26.5 goals (incidentally Iggy tied for league lead at 41 in this super low scoring year). At the other end of the scale, Marcel Dionne's 28 goals at 35 came in 86-87 when teams scored an average of 3.67 gpg, so his number is reduced to by a factor of 0.75 or 21 goals.

On average the 30 seasons ( some seasons repeated by players of same age), there were 2.989 goals scored per team, so an average 8% more prolific than last year's NHL. Taking the player average of 29.8 and multiplying by 92.47 % leaves us with a number of 26.5 goals.

So if Iggy is to be average among the best 30 goal scorers of all time, adjusted for today's NHL then expect 26 or 27 goals. This of course does not allow for the team mates factor, which I would argue that for the most part Iggy is severely handicapped relative to this group, and your expectations should drop.

The big outliers in this group. Bucyk's 51 in 71. For Iggy to match that he's have to score 40 since the league average was 3.12 gpg in 70-71 and that is the factor I used to compare , however the Bruins were one of the most dominant in history that season , themselves averaging 5.11 GPG! If Jarome had Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito feeding him the puck, 40 would be cake.

Messier's 47 goals in 95-96 is also very impressive. Goals were going in at a 15% higher rate that year, but it still adjusts to 41, and you only have to look at his peers in the same year; Gretzky 23 goals, Gartner 35 and Kurri just 18 to know that Messier still had a ton of game at 35.

The only other 40 goal season was by Selanne in the first year post lockout when scoring was up to 3.09 GPG, so equivalent to a 35 goal season today.

In short, anything over 20 is probably a pretty decent season. If he gets to 30 it proves again, that despite the lack of quality team mates, and playing in a low scoring era that Jarome's place on the goal scoring ladder is well deserved and probably he needs to be considered much higher than his actual placement.

Name	Goals	35 yr season	GPG	2012 factor	Adj Goals
Wayne Gretzky	894	23	3.145	86.96%	20.0
Gordie Howe	801	30	2.755	99.27%	29.8	corrected to 82 game
Brett Hull	741	24	2.745	99.64%	23.9
Marcel Dionne	731	28	3.67	74.52%	20.9
Phil Esposito	717	38	3.295	83.00%	31.5
Mike Gartner	708	35	3.145	86.96%	30.4
Mark Messier	694	47	3.145	86.96%	40.9
Steve Yzerman	692	18	2.755	99.27%	17.9
Mario Lemiuex	690	35	2.755	99.27%	34.7
Luc Robatille	668	30	2.62	104.39%	31.3
Jaromir Jagr	665	25	2.785	98.20%	24.6
Teemu Selanne	663	40	3.085	88.65%	35.5
Brendan Shanahan	656	25	2.58	106.01%	26.5
Dave Andreychuk	640	15	2.635	103.80%	15.6
Joe Sakic	625	32	3.085	88.65%	28.4
Bobby Hull	610	53	3.64	75.14%	39.8
Dino Cicarelli	608	22	3.145	86.96%	19.1
Jari Kurri	601	18	3.145	86.96%	15.7
Mark Recchi	577	26	2.57	106.42%	27.7
Mats Sundin	564	27	2.945	92.87%	25.1
Joe Nieuwendyk	564	25	2.64	103.60%	25.9
Mike Modano	561	27	3.085	88.65%	23.9
John Bucyk	556	51	3.12	87.66%	44.7
Ron Francis	549	21	2.635	103.80%	21.8
Maurice Richard	544	38	2.69	101.67%	38.6	corrected to 82 game
Stan Mikita	541	16	3.41	80.21%	12.8
Keith Tkachuk	538	27	2.945	92.87%	25.1
Frank Mahovolich	533	38	3.275	83.51%	31.7
Bryan Trottier	524	11	3.48	78.59%	8.6
Pat Verbeek	522	22	2.745	99.64%	21.9
Averages		28.9	2.989	92.47%	26.5

Michael Ferland Charged

2012-08-09T04:59:39Z

Why is it that whenever a well-known athlete is involved in a bar fight, they're often the only ones charged? Who remembers the Al McInnis incident at the Whiskey night club in Calgary? Sounds hauntingly familiar... famous athlete involved, pleading his innocence, cops overreacting with charges.

How many of us here have either seen or been involved in a similar sort of fight at one time or another? Sometimes a person gets hurt, maybe an occasional bone gets broken, but rarely does it end up in criminal charges unless knives or guns are involved. This sort of thing goes on in countless night clubs, night after night in most Canadian cities. Usually the worst thing that comes out of it is someone spending the night in the drunk tank, not an "aggravated assault" charge.

The Calgary Herald quoted the bar manager of Cochrane's Stageline Saloon, Lyndie Sundby, saying:

The normally quiet tavern was flooded by "drunk cowboys" after a local rodeo wrapped up. Bouncers worked to keep the alcohol-fuelled crowd under control as the bar filled to capacity with a couple hundred patrons, Sundby said. "It was madness."

Given that, it's highly likely that there was a lot of confusion that night. It sounds a lot like the staff lost control of the situation. How is it that one person can be singled out in a big melee like that for charges? One has to wonder if the charges are more because of who Michael Ferland is rather than what he actually did.

The Calgary Herald quoted the bar manager of Cochrane's Stageline Saloon, Lyndie Sundby, saying:

The normally quiet tavern was flooded by "drunk cowboys" after a local rodeo wrapped up. Bouncers worked to keep the alcohol-fuelled crowd under control as the bar filled to capacity with a couple hundred patrons, Sundby said. "It was madness."

Getting to Know the Flames

2012-06-18T11:32:34Z

Hi everyone. My name is Andi and I'm a staff writer for Mile High Hockey, the Avs SB Nation blog. This summer, I'm hoping to run a series of stories focusing on getting to know the other 29 teams in the league from the perspective of their fans. However, since I don't known the Flames nearly as well as you do, I was hoping you could help me out by answering some of these questions. I'm just here to learn a little more about your club, so any opinions or information you'd be willing to share would be great!

1. In 3 words, how would you sum up your team?

2. What is your team's preferred playing style, and what do they look like when they're "playing their game"?

3. Why are you a fan of the Flames? Is it because of their playing style, current players, history, location, or something else?

4. Which position is your team the deepest at? Is there one that one that still needs to be improved?

5. Who's your most underrated player and which players are the biggest fan favorites? On the other side, is there a player that just kinda irritates you for whatever reason?

6. If you could magically acquire any player in the league, who would you choose and why? Is there an Avalanche player you'd not mind seeing on your roster?

7. Do you have any prospects in your system that you're really excited about?

8. How good of a job is your GM is doing? What about your coaches and scouting/player development staff?

9. What is the biggest issue you'd like to see your team address either this off-season or early next year?

10. What do you think your lines are going to look like opening night?

11. As a fan of another team that sees us six times a year, how would you describe the Avalanche? When you look at your schedule and see that you're playing us, what sort of a game do you expect (besides knowing that Glencross will score and you'll probably win because for whatever reason you seem to have our number)?

12. Are there any teams and/or players in the league that you just can't stand?

13. Finally, it's no secret that your team is one of the.... shall we say, most veteran?... in the league. It has been 3 years since you last qualified for the playoffs, so is it time to think about rebuilding? If so, do you think keeping or trading Iginla is the way to go?

Oh, and due to popular demand on our blog (mostly from non-Avs fans, actually), I should probably include this question from Avalangelist as well:

Last question, and I can’t understate how important this is: why aren’t you rooting for the Avalanche yet?

Really, that’s all I want to know…

Thanks for your time and good luck at the Draft!