Generic Off Season Thread

[French Rage]

Jeebus.  Stop all this bickering!  I hate coming to the forum in the offseason and seeing 32 new posts!  There's never any good news in the offseason...  ::help::

There's one topic that always gets beaten to death at this time of year that hasn't popped up at all! Maybe it's because we beat Michigan and exceeded expectations?

Yeah, I'm still waiting for the annual "Fire Schafer" post.

Bonus points if the poster starting it tells us he knows all about hockey and none of us understand it.

[CAS]

To maximize attendance, why not bring ECAC tourney to NYC metro area - Barclay's, Izod, or Pru Center?

[Beeeej]

To maximize attendance, why not bring ECAC tourney to NYC metro area - Barclay's, Izod, or Pru Center?

That's been suggested in other threads - I think the main reasons are 1) unusually expensive hotels, 2) difficulty traveling to NYC via car (plus the expense of safe parking), and 3) we'd probably get lost in the noise.

[CAS]

All true Beeeej, but think of how many alums of the ECAC schools live/work in the area and wouldn't need to travel at all.  If Cornell can bring 12K fans to MSG, how many would attend an ECAC tourney game which is played in/near NYC?

[ugarte]

To maximize attendance, why not bring ECAC tourney to NYC metro area - Barclay's, Izod, or Pru Center?

That's been suggested in other threads - I think the main reasons are 1) unusually expensive hotels, 2) difficulty traveling to NYC via car (plus the expense of safe parking), and 3) we'd probably get lost in the noise.

On March 16, the Knicks had a home game. On March 17, the Nets, Devils and Rangers were all at home. With all of the teams in the NY area, you can't expect a weekend where all teams that play in a venue are out of town on both days. The Nassau Coliseum was open for the weekend but I doubt that the arena would be willing (even if permitted) to tie the hands of the NHL schedulers by making a multi-year commitment to an event that will probably leave the arena half-empty at best (they already have to do that for the Islanders).

[Trotsky]

Jeebus.  Stop all this bickering!  I hate coming to the forum in the offseason and seeing 32 new posts!  There's never any good news in the offseason...  ::help::

There's one topic that always gets beaten to death at this time of year that hasn't popped up at all! Maybe it's because we beat Michigan and exceeded expectations?

Yeah, I'm still waiting for the annual "Fire Schafer" post.

Bonus points if the poster starting it tells us he knows all about hockey and none of us understand it.

It also has to be couched in terms of "maybe you all are satisfied with the current performance, but I think we should aim higher!" puffery.  Bonus points if the poster has a Boston team in their sig.

[Josh '99]

I just don't think it's practical to hold a championship in a remote location and expect to grow interest in the event beyond the hard core "I'd follow my team russia" type fans.

I fail to see a problem with selecting a venue to cater specifically to us.  :-D

[Josh '99]

Jeebus.  Stop all this bickering!  I hate coming to the forum in the offseason and seeing 32 new posts!  There's never any good news in the offseason...  ::help::

That's not true, Union and Colgate both lost top-line forwards to the pros.

[Beeeej]

All true Beeeej, but think of how many alums of the ECAC schools live/work in the area and wouldn't need to travel at all.  If Cornell can bring 12K fans to MSG, how many would attend an ECAC tourney game which is played in/near NYC?

Frankly?  Probably a lot fewer.  Cornell has by far the biggest alumni base of the twelve schools, and certainly the most NYC-centric.  In a year Cornell doesn't make it (if such a year ever exists again, he said, knocking on wood), I suspect NYC would have worse attendance than Lake Placid or Albany, not better.

Red Hot Hockey is special because it's against an old rival, and because it's on Thanksgiving weekend when a lot of kids are home anyway - the ECACs don't always fall during spring break, and spring break isn't always spent with Mom & Dad the way Thanksgiving usually is.

Plus, I think a good 40% or so of the fans at Red Hot Hockey have been BU fans.

But ugarte's point is probably a more important one.

[CAS]

Remember the Barclay and Pru Centers each have only 1 tenant next year.  Izod has zero.  You think an ECAC tourney in the NY metro area, with Cornell involved, will draw fewer than 5-6K?  If fewer than half the Cornell fans for Red Hot Hockey attend, and none from the other 3 schools, attendance would be higher.  The games should be played where the fans are!

[Beeeej]

Remember the Barclay and Pru Centers each have only 1 tenant next year.  Izod has zero.  You think an ECAC tourney in the NY metro area, with Cornell involved, will draw fewer than 5-6K?  If fewer than half the Cornell fans for Red Hot Hockey attend, and none from the other 3 schools, attendance would be higher.  The games should be played where the fans are!

So get NYC to bid on it.  I guarantee you I wouldn't complain about being able to take a ten-minute subway trip from my home to the ECACs.  I just don't think it's as practical as you do.

[jtn27]

Since this is a generic offseason thread and this debate is pointless and somewhat boring, here's an article by Ken Dryden about the violence in the first round of this year's NHL playoffs.

[Jim Hyla]

Remember the Barclay and Pru Centers each have only 1 tenant next year.  Izod has zero.  You think an ECAC tourney in the NY metro area, with Cornell involved, will draw fewer than 5-6K?  If fewer than half the Cornell fans for Red Hot Hockey attend, and none from the other 3 schools, attendance would be higher.  The games should be played where the fans are!

Lynah!

[adamw]

OK - so, not No. 1 most of the year.  Close enough for government work.  As we've seen, my recall isn't great ... but ... I don't recall 2002 having such a buzz that it should've bumped Lake Placid's attendance accordingly.

NYC is a non-starter -- for all the reasons mentioned, and for another reason not mentioned ... It would cost the ECAC a lot of money to get into one of those buildings. Not gonna happen. Also, no building there has ever bid.

If the hotel issue is resolved - would that help?

I'll be interested in what the coaches say upon return from Naples.

@Judy -- no problem, but you have to drive yourself to Philly-ish first

I am not getting in a steel cage match with Beeeej. He's bigger than me. And angrier

[Beeeej]

If the hotel issue is resolved - would that help?

It would certainly help if they didn't have their draconian seven-day cancellation policy, but that's not the entire problem.  As someone else mentioned, the halfway-decent places are also quite expensive - and there aren't enough rooms in town, so if you're not quick, or if you can't afford the in-town ones, you're in Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Keene, or Wilmington (or that awful hostel in North Elba), and you have to find a place to park once you get into town.

I am not getting in a steel cage match with Beeeej. He's bigger than me. And angrier

YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!