Moving Matches

The unfortunate fact that there will be no NHL dates filling the calendars at area arenas anytime soon shouldn't stand in the way of there being hockey played there. All three of the metro franchises have AHL affiliates nearby, affiliates that they own. So once the NHL season is officially scrubbed, why don't they relocate a few minor league games to the major league ice?

It is certainly not like the minor league teams are exactly packing them in in their minor league towns either. The average attendance over 38 home games last season for all three was under 5,000. It would be easy to make any Islander joke right here, but restraint is a virtue. Plus, their AHL side actually had the highest attendance of the three - the Sound Tigers filled 4,875 seats out of the 10,000 at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, good for 20th in the league. In Hartford the Whale's attendance ranked 23rd they had 4,573 out of the XL Center's 16,294 seats filled. The little Devils, well, they were dead last in the AHL. Albany's Times Union Center received an average of 3,435 (out of a possible 14,236).

For the Islanders and the Devils, there is very little standing in the way of hosting AHL games in their NHL arenas - both have done it before. The Rangers would have a more difficult time, with MSG being a union shop and thus a far more expensive endeavor. But let's face it, the Blueshirts can easily cover the tab and they should want to show off the latest stage of renovations.

Hell, all three should do it and make the games free for season ticket holders (of both the NHL and AHL clubs) and sell the rest of the tickets off for charity. They would still collect considerable concessions and would keep their product on the market - something valuable in today's current A.D.D. society with it's plethora of entertainment options.

So which games should go? Weekend games are the lifeblood of minor league life so let's look past those. Another criteria for the kid league is rivalry games, as bigger crowds congregate when there is a little hate involved. So what selections are left?

For Hartford (with affiliate franchise and key players in parentheses):

Wednesday, December 12th v. Worchester (Sharks - where Tim Kennedy ended up)

Wednesday, January 23rd v. Adirondack (Flyers - Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn)

Tuesday, February 5th v. Albany 

Wednesday, February 20th v. St. Johns (Jets - Alex Burmistrov and Carl Klingberg)

Tuesday, March 5th v. Portland (Coyotes - Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Andy Miele and Chad Dos Nueve, who is now wearing #30 actually)

Thursday, March 28th v. Worchester

For Bridgeport:

Wednesday, December 19th v. Albany - Forget the Coliseum, hell, the franchises owe the Barclays Center an exhibition game and the Brooklyn arena just happens to be empty that night ...

Tuesday, January 8th v. Hershey (Caps - our pal Braden Holtby in net)

Tuesday, February 12th v. Springfield (BJs - Tim Erixon and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault)

Tuesday, March 12th v. Springfield

And for Albany? Pretty much any game of theirs can go, last place in the league and all. They outright scheduled four of the Sunday games in Atlantic City, so that leaves 34 others that can be welcomed to the Rock and similarly ignored by New Jersey hockey fans.

If the owners do truly care about their public image, moving some matches would go a ways towards alleviating the hatred. And, certainly, free tickets for those matches would go even further ... but let's not get too crazy here - ownership's greed is why there are empty arenas in the first place. Let's drop the puck already!

No NHL? No Problem

As it seems like midnight is certain to mark the start of yet another NHL lockout, it is time to look at other options for live hockey; gotta feed the addiction somehow and not everyone can take the ice themselves.

Sure it won't be the Blueshirts but that isn't a bad thing - I've found that less emotional involvement often equals more fun (surprise, surprise). There are many other teams out there at various levels of play and they are far more affordable than the NHL. Road trips are always delightful, but for now let's just focus on the tri-state area:

KHL:
Should the lockout stretch into the New Year, you can catch a pair of regular season KHL games at the new Barclay's Center. Dynamo Moscow will face SKA Petersburg, which could mean Ovechkin vs Kovalchuk.

AHL:
Connecticut Whale - The Rangers' AHL affiliate is just a two and a half hour drive from MSG. Brooksie tweeted that Kreider is the only kid off the NYR roster that will be allowed to play there but Future Blue will still be well represented - Bourque, Miller, Thomas, etc. Plus Jeff Beukeboom is now an assistant coach!

Bridgeport Sound Tigers - One of, if not the most convenient franchise to get to from NYC as Metro-North lets you off just blocks from the arena. For Long Islanders, it is an easy ride on the Port Jeff ferry - leave your car in Port Jeff, take the hour-15 cruise and walk two blocks to the arena. And they then hold the last ferry back until just after the game. It is entirely possible that the Isles will reschedule a few of the cats' games for the Mausoleum, as they did during the last lockout. It's not like they will be using that dump for anything else.

Albany Devils - Another two and a half hour drive from MSG, but a team not really that interesting. The only baby Devil worth watching will likely be Keith Kinkaid, the possible heir to Mmmaaaaaaaaaarrrttyy. Like the Isles with the Sound Tigers, the Devils could resched a few of Albany's games for the Rock; they are already set to play four games down in Atlantic City which might make for fun trips.

Also reachable by car are the other upstate franchises: the Binghamton Senators, the Rochester Americans and the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa's new affiliate (meaning most players won the Calder Cup last year in a dominating performance with Norfolk). The Providence Bruins also aren't too far and they will be hosting the AHL All Star Game at the end of January.

ECHL:
Elmira Jackals - If you are road tripping up to Binghamton, Elmira isn't too far away and the Jackals were the ECHL's regular season champs last year. The Craig Rivet-captained squad is an affiliate of the Ducks and Sens and they play in an old, quaint arena that is easy to get tickets to. The Rangers' E affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors, will be there on October 13th and November 21st.

Trenton Titans - One of the closest teams to NYC at just over an hour drive, but not in the nicest neighborhood (or so I've been told) and the worst team in the E last season. Greenville visits the Flyers' affiliate on October 12th and November 24th. (Thanks to MNYR for the correction.)

FHL:
Danbury Whalers - Sadly the Brooklyn Aviators are no more, leaving Danbury as the easiest Federal League option. It is reachable via Metro-North - a two hour ride - and they have some raucous fans. Interesting note, Mike Rupp played in Danbury during the last lockout, with the UHL's mob-connected Trashers.

NCAA Division I:
The Frozen Apple - There will be hockey at MSG this fall, that is for certain: the annual college game around Thanksgiving. Cornell will face Michigan on November 24th, allowing Ranger fans to watch this summer's second round pick Boo Nieves in maize and blue.

There are many other D-I collegiate options in the tri-state area, including Army, Canisius, Clarkson, Colgate, Niagara, Princeton, Quinnipiac, RIT, RPI, Sacred Heart, St. Lawrence, UConn, Yale, and Union. Wish I could expound upon them further but have yet to go to a single game at any of them - this lockout should afford me the opportunity to change that.

How are you going to get your fix?

Odds & Ends

Apologies for not posting since the Rick Nash deal but, frankly, haven't been all that inspired. It's been bloody hot outside and not a whole helluva lot is happening in the NHL hockey world ... well, except the slow death spiral towards a lockout. And that is as depressing as the stifling heat and humidity.

Some random topics and random thoughts:

*RIP Bones Raleigh, one of the overlooked all-time Ranger greats. Stan Fischler, of course, knew him and wrote a nice piece that is worth checking out. It is a shame so many terrific players bled Blue and were all but lost in a history that the Rangers have chosen to ignore. You know, 1994 was amazing and all but the team did play 84 other seasons ...

*The news came out that that NBC will pay for this season no matter what, and if there is a lockout then extra year is added onto deal for no rights fee. Interesting. No word on if that means they get days, weeks, months back as well. If so, it may actually behoove the NHL to postpone the start of the season until just before the Winter Classic - that way, on the back end of the deal they have the Winter Classic in their pocket as negotiating power for a new deal. NBC would start the 2021-22 season, and be even more pressured to pay up if they want the sponsor-friendly outdoor game.

*Stop being furious at Gary Bettman. Yes, he is a smug, sleazy, smarmy former lawyer who lies to your face. But he is just a puppet of the powerful NHL owners. Ed Snider, Jeremy Jacobs, Jimmy Dolan - those are the true villains in this labour battle. They are blaming others for their financial mismanagement and capitalizing upon our everlasting passion for pucks to ensure they get away with it. Boardroom typical.

*Several pieces came out about the impact of a lockout on front office employees and on the Winter Classic. But also keep in mind the ancillary impact: spoke to the owner of a MSG-area bar the other day and the thought of losing Ranger fan income is driving him to drink (well, more than usual). After an anemic summer because of the renovation - no concert cash - losing the True Blue boozers could really hurt his business. While his particular pub could/should survive thanks to being in New York, you'd have to imagine other establishments in other cities may not be as fortunate.

*One good thing about a lockout - me looking on the bright side! - is it would give everyone the opportunity to expand their fandom internationally, even if the NHLers aren't allowed to steal jobs (the Elitserien has said no-go). Been to the Scandinavium twice so Frolunda is a certainty in Sweden, loooooved being in Zug (Zurich and Bern, notasmuch) so despite the Rangers losing to them, EVZ ole! Kings Park's Bobby Goepfert plays on the DEG Metro Stars in Germany so that's my DEL team. No love for the Czech league or the KHL, so that pretty much leaves England, Italy and Finland left for me to find teams. Puck around the planet!

*Still really, really hate the Arron Asham signing. Not for hockey purposes - the team needs someone who can and will fight for his teammates (Rupp sure as hell hasn't) but just because he is Arron Asham. It is not quite as egregious as Donald Brashear becoming a Blueshirt, but close.

*Del Zaster wants more than $2.5 million a year. Ha bloody ha.

*It's tough but try to temper your expectations for Chris Kreider this coming season, or whenever they play next. The kid showed he has serious talent, but now teams have seen him and his tendencies against NHL level defenders so they will be more prepared. It will be interesting to see how he fares, especially alongside Nash on the power play.

Wanted to unveil a feature this Friday but it looks like it will take at least another week, so stay tuned.