NHL is Back

News came on Wednesday that the players and owners had tentatively agreed to a new deal, following all-night negotiations. But are they the only two sides involved? What about the fans? Even if both sides ratify the deal and return to the ice this fall, disillusioned fans may opt to stay home.

Are you still an NHL fan? What should the league do to win back SportsNation? And is Sidney Crosby, pictured above, the player to save the sport?

Who's Sidney Crosby? I guess he doesn't get my vote as a savior. Then again, part of the charm and part of the problem with hockey is that it's a total team sport that doesn't favor the presence of superstar power as much as in other sports. Selfish basketball teams can win and draw lots of ratings. Selfish hockey teams lose.

I think changing the rules to open up the offensive game will help people get hooked on the game. Once people are hooked, I don't think low scoring games are that big of a problem because you learn to appreciate the strategy and defensive game just as much.

Then again, maybe they don't need a rule change and just need to be as strict on cracking down on obstruction as they said they'd be.

Of course, I'd like to see ticket prices lowered too. We might actually be able to afford tickets then!

I don't think low scoring games are that big a problem. I actually think that, this way, it's a much bigger deal when someone finally scores - it's much more exciting!

I think it's exciting after you get to understand the game, but when you're an occasional watcher or at your first game, a low scoring games probably looks like a bunch of people skating around in circles colliding with each other for 3 hours just for the hell of it.

The other part of the scoring issue that I see is that there are teams that are so good defensively that they're willing to sit on a 1-0 lead in the third period. Of course, they're also waiting for the other team to make a mistake so they can make it a 2-0 lead, but if they go into the "protect our win" mode too early in the 3rd period, it makes for a lot of time in which people just skate around the neutral ice while the puck gets poked around, dumped in, and fired back out again and again. All of this happening with very few offensive chances for the team that's down.

I'm ok with the rules the way they are, but I think for the sake of the sport's future, the rules need to be less conservative.

Sidney Crosby 17-year-old forward from Cole Harbour, N.S., is a virtual lock to be the No. 1 selection in the draft, which is expected to be held in late July or early August.

Reports are that the draft lottery will give every team a chance to pick first overall, but some teams' chances will be weighted.

Under the NHL's previous collective bargaining agreement, one of the bottom five teams in the league, via a lottery, would have the chance to win the first overall selection.

According to the great one, Sidney is supposed to the be the next big hockey player.

NHL board of governors likely to approve CBA

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/3771310

Players approve labor deal with league

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-n...ov=ap&type=lgns

In all honesty, I want hockey to come back but after hearing everyone bicker about money last year the last thing I want to do is fork out a ton of cash to see a game.

This year it would be great if the NHL did a lot to bring back the fans - they could take a few clues from minor league baseball teams that do so much for their fans. At a minor league game a few weeks ago (San Jose Giants), it was all about the fans and how appreciative the team was that we were there - what a thrill!

I am excited to have hockey back but am completely over their money woes and bickering. Any talk on money, etc and that will be the last game I attend - I really don't want to hear about it anymore - I just want them to play!!!

NHL ENACTS RULES CHANGES,
CREATES COMPETITION COMMITTEE

http://www.nhl.com/nhlhq/cba/rules_changes072205.html

Red Wings to shed veteran trio

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2116061

San Jose Sharks

http://www.nhl.com/teams/san/schedule.html


LET'S GO SHARKS!!!!

Lower ticket prices are nice and might draw back some fans initially, but in order to keep the fans in the long run, the nhl has to deliver a fast, fun, exciting game.

I think all the new rule changes will certainly open up the scoring, but none of them will make much of a difference until the refs start to consistently enforce hooking and obstruction.

The better enforcement of the hooking & obstruction penalties would be good, but I think it could also have the unintended side effect of breaking the flow of the game with too many play stoppages. A lot of commentators say that one reason for increased clutching and grabbing is due to there not being enough talent to stock all the NHL teams in today's expanded league with true NHL caliber players. If some players are doing it because it's the only way they can compete at the NHL level, a deterrent to play the way they do may not be fully effective.

Goodenow stepping down as head of NHL players' union

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-g...ov=ap&type=lgns

Which October/November game are you most excited to see?

Columbus 10/12
Chicago 10/15
Calgary 10/29
Dallas 11/12
Detroit 11/26


I am definitely excited about seeing Calgary. They just got Tony Amonte. Will all the free agents floating around it has been interesting who gets picked up by which teams.

NHL offseason transactions

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=nhld...ov=st&type=lgns

Training camp for the 2005 season will begin in early September at Logitech Ice at San Jose, the official training facility of the Sharks.

"State Of The Sharks" Is Aug. 16

The defending Pacific Division champion San Jose Sharks will hold the annual “State of the Sharks” on August 16 at HP Pavilion from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

In attendance will be Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson, Head Coach Ron Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Jamison and Sharks All-Star Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. The event, which will be open to the general public, will provide a forum for Sharks fans to ask questions directly to members of the organization as the team gears up for the 2005-06 season, which will commence on Oct. 5 at Nashville.

Free Parking will be available in the main lot adjacent to the HP Pavilion and attendees are asked to enter through the North doors, located near the rear of the building. Doors open at 6:30 pm and light refreshments will be served.

For more details, please call 408.999.5757.

You going Piglet? If you are, tell us how it went!

The Sharks seem relatively unchanged in comparison to some of the other teams and I guess that's not a bad thing when you've got a good supply of rising young stars and a very solid goaltender.

Star power wasn't all what it was cracked up to be in the old NHL, but I wonder if the rule changes will give star power more room to flash their skills.

QUOTE (Sheldon @ Aug 11 2005, 09:47 AM)

You going Piglet?  If you are, tell us how it went!

Am I going to the meeting on the 16th? Not sure yet.

I am definitely going to training camp though.

The Sharks will swing right into their 2005 Training Camp, held at Logitech Ice. Veteran players are scheduled to arrive on Sept. 12 and will hit the ice for drills and workouts on Sept. 13.

The Sharks first preseason game will be Sept. 18 vs. the Kings at HP Pavilion.

On Sept. 7-11, Logitech Ice at San Jose will play host to the third annual �Pacific Division Shootout� featuring prospects from the Sharks, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. This event is a chance for fans to see the future stars of the NHL as they compete against their own peer groups. The tournament will consist of two games each day (except Friday, Sept. 9), highlighted by the Consolation and Championship Games on Sunday, Sept. 11

A limited number of general admission and standing room only tickets will be available to the general public beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 29 at Logitech Ice�s main counter for $10 per game. Due to an extremely limited number of available spaces, there is a two ticket limit per person for the entire tournament. For example, fans can buy two tickets to one game or one ticket to two games.

http://www.sjsharks.com/Ticket%20Fact%20Sh...0-%20sharks.doc

This post has been edited by piglet18 on Aug 23 2005, 01:29 PM

NHL Releases National TV Schedule

On Wednesday, the National Hockey League and its national broadcast partners, NBC and OLN, released their national television schedules. Sharks games were selected five times, with four allocated to OLN and one to NBC.

The five games, added to the scheduled 70 contests carried on FSN Bay Area, will provide Sharks fans with 75 telecasts via over-the-air or cable outlets

The complete FSN Bay Area schedule will be announced in the near future.

San Jose�s national schedule includes the following contests:

Tuesday, December 6 vs. Atlanta at 7:30 p.m., OLN
Monday, January 16 vs. Tampa Bay at 5:00 p.m., OLN
Saturday, January 21 at Los Angeles at 6:00 p.m., NBC
Monday, February 6 vs. Calgary at 7:30 p.m., OLN
Monday, April 17 vs. Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m., OLN

Sharks Family Packs
You�ll get 4 great seats, 4 hot dogs, 4 ice cold Pepsi�s and 4 pretzels starting as low as $60!

Look for the Sharks Family Pack coupon in the sports section of The Mercury News, download it from the newspaper�s website at mercurynews.com or visit Ticketmaster.com to purchase your ticket package online (see below for on-sale dates).

2005-06 Sharks Family Pack Schedule

Saturday, October 15 vs. Chicago Blackhawks 7:30pm - On Sale 9/24
(Coupon available in The Mercury News Sports Section on 9/20 & 9/23)

Saturday, November 19 vs. Phoenix Coyotes 7:30pm � On Sale 10/29
(Coupon available in The Mercury News Sports Section on 10/25 & 10/28)

Friday, December 23 vs. St. Louis Blues 7:30pm - On Sale 12/3
(Coupon available in The Mercury News Sports Section on 11/29 & 12/2)

Saturday, February 4 vs. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 7:30pm � On Sale 1/14
(Coupon available in The Mercury News Sports Section on 1/10 & 1/13)

Saturday, March 11 vs. Nashville Predators 1:00pm � On Sale 2/18
(Coupon available in The Mercury News Sports Section on 2/14 & 2/17)

*All on-sales begin at 10:00am.

For more information, please call 408.999.5757.

Training camp

The rest of the week has more of the same type of split practices for the Sharks. Starting on Thursday, squad A will play the B squad in a series that will run until Saturday. On Sunday, both the Sharks and Future Sharks will be playing the Los Angeles Kings and the Future Kings in their preseason opener.

All practices are open to the public. The intersquad games start at 11 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and are all played on the North rink. Tickets for Sunday�s preseason opener go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the HP Pavilion box office and all Ticketmaster locations.

Oct 5, 2005 Sharks vs. Predators 8:00 PM

This will be on FSN. I know what I will be watching next wednesday.

http://www.nhl.com/features/preview05/seas...gins100505.html


GO SHARKS!!!