pk500 wrote:F*ck. And double f*ck. Roli is done for the series, MacT just said in the postgame press conference.
My hockey heart just sank.
Take care,
PK
PK
Welcome to the club, these injuries suck, but still nothing compared to what the Sabres had to overcome.Maybe they can rally behind the injury and win the next one.
I am really wondering if Carolina is the luckiest team to possibly win the cup(if they do).Every team they played in the playoffs were dealt with a devestating injury or injuries.
I still don't think they would have got past Buffalo if they were healthier,and Edmonton is the better team with a Healthy #1 goaltender.
Funny you mention this. As soon as MacT announced that Roli was done last night, I muttered to myself, "Now I know what it's like to be a Sabres' fan."
To be fair, Carolina has been without Erik Cole for the entire playoffs. So it's not like it has been injury-free.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
tjung0831 wrote:The Canes were at the top of the NHL standings almost all season long. It really shouldn't be a suprise to anybody that they are where they are. They've played well the whole season and they are mega deep at forward even without Eric Cole. Hopefully Edmonton will manage to win at least one game, because the Canes and their fans deserve to win this thing on home ice.
Do you mean the fans that can't even sell out their playoff games until gameday.I beleive the Edmonton fans are much more deserving of a cup.
Funny you mention this. As soon as MacT announced that Roli was done last night, I muttered to myself, "Now I know what it's like to be a Sabres' fan."
To be fair, Carolina has been without Erik Cole for the entire playoffs. So it's not like it has been injury-free.
Take care,
PK
Hasn't Cole been out much longer than that.That is the equivilant of the Sabres losing Connolley.Then add four defenseman to that injury and it becomes devestating.
Yeah, Cole has been out longer. He was hurt during the regular season.
Tim, I have to agree with Marino about Carolina's fans. They don't deserve a Stanley Cup -- the team does. Carolina filled only 83.3 percent of the capacity of the RBC Center during the regular season. Only seven teams in the entire 30-team NHL had lower percentage of capacity filled during the 2005-06 regular season.
In contrast, Edmonton fans filled 98.4 percent of Rexall Place during the regular season.
Much like 2002, only a small part of the Triangle has jumped on the playoff hockey bandwagon. I have a friend who lives in the area, and he says the buzz isn't even palpable outside of Raleigh.
Here's a pretty telling column by Bonami Jones of Page 2 at ESPN.com:
pk500 wrote:Yeah, Cole has been out longer. He was hurt during the regular season.
Tim, I have to agree with Marino about Carolina's fans. They don't deserve a Stanley Cup -- the team does. Carolina filled only 83.3 percent of the capacity of the RBC Center during the regular season. Only seven teams in the entire 30-team NHL had lower percentage of capacity filled during the 2005-06 regular season.
In contrast, Edmonton fans filled 98.4 percent of Rexall Place during the regular season.
Much like 2002, only a small part of the Triangle has jumped on the playoff hockey bandwagon. I have a friend who lives in the area, and he says the buzz isn't even palpable outside of Raleigh.
Here's a pretty telling column by Bonami Jones of Page 2 at ESPN.com:
tjung0831 wrote:There are a good 15k faithful fans there that deserve it. They have their hardcore faithful just like every other city.
You're missing my point. The "hardcore faithful" in Carolina are among the softest fan base in the NHL if they can only fill the RBC Center to 83 percent of its capacity during the regular season.
I can think of about 22 NHL fan bases that deserve a Cup more than Carolina, which puts the "Caniacs" in a pretty sh*tty light when you consider there are 30 NHL teams.
Finally, why does a franchise with such a supposedly loyal fan base need to use the slogan "HERE TO PLAY. HERE TO STAY." as its catch phrase to sell tickets for the 2005-06 season? Something tells me that teams like the Rangers, Canadiens, Senators, Flyers, Oilers, Leafs, Canucks, Stars and Avalanche don't have to reassure their fans that the franchise isn't moving at the start of the season.
Buffalo has their work cut out for them this summer. They only have 3 guys under contract for next season. Sure, they can extend qualifying offers to some others (Briere, Afingenov, Campbell, Miller to name a few), but they'll surely request a hefty raise.
Success goes straight to a player's head, making him think he's an important asset to his team's success. It should be interesting to see how Regier handles the situation.
ScoopBrady wrote:So you're sick of hearing the term "small market" yet teams with a smaller fanbase don't deserve their team to hoist the cup?
Yes, because there's absolutely no correlation between small markets and small fanbases. Take a look at the top five home draws in the NHL this season, in terms of capacity filled:
1. Calgary 112.4 percent
2. Ottawa 105.3
3. Tampa Bay 103.8
4. Toronto 103.2
5. Minnesota 102.8
Of those five markets, only Toronto is considered a "big" or "major" market.
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks play in the third-largest market in the NHL and are dead last in home capacity filled, at 65 percent. Then again, it's tough to be a Blackhawks' fan.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
tjung0831 wrote:There are a good 15k faithful fans there that deserve it. They have their hardcore faithful just like every other city.
You're missing my point. The "hardcore faithful" in Carolina are among the softest fan base in the NHL if they can only fill the RBC Center to 83 percent of its capacity during the regular season.
I can think of about 22 NHL fan bases that deserve a Cup more than Carolina, which puts the "Caniacs" in a pretty sh*tty light when you consider there are 30 NHL teams.
Finally, why does a franchise with such a supposedly loyal fan base need to use the slogan "HERE TO PLAY. HERE TO STAY." as its catch phrase to sell tickets for the 2005-06 season? Something tells me that teams like the Rangers, Canadiens, Senators, Flyers, Oilers, Leafs, Canucks, Stars and Avalanche don't have to reassure their fans that the franchise isn't moving at the start of the season.
The thing you have to remember that this is a smaller area. Hockey is still relatively new here. It will become bigger . Youth league participation is growing exponentially. It will take some time, but if the Canes can put a competitive team on the ice, I think it could thrive here.
Also, the population in the area is ever-increasing. Many people who are moving here are coming from the north. With them comes interest in hockey. While many of them may not become Hurricanes fans, many of their kids will.
This is still college basketball country. Always has been, always will be. It will always be king here. I do think that hockey has an opportunity to thrive here, however.
And who deserves the Cup? I'm sick of hearing someone deserves the Cup. If Carolina wins it, they definitely deserve it.
pk500 wrote:
And for the umpteenth time, <b>hockey is a niche sport in the U.S.</b> Always has been. Probably always will. Remember, the "Gretzky final" between L.A. and Montreal drew a 1.5 rating on ESPN in 1993. The X Games draw higher ratings than that, and poker draws comparable ratings.
Even Game 7 between the Rangers and the Canucks in 1994, with Messier, the mega-market Rangers going for their first Cup in 54 years with <i>Sports Illustrated</i> adorning hockey as "hot" and the NBA as "not" on a cover that spring, drew a 5.2 rating on ABC.
Hockey is my favorite sport. It might be a niche to America, but it's not to me. And that's all that really matters, especially since I don't work in the NHL front office or for one of its teams.
Take care,
PK
So true. Whenever I have a trip to the south of the border and want to fix my Hockey drug I want to watch any hockey game, whether it's ST Louis vs PITT or OTT-DET. Something. Instead World Championship Poker always seem to take a front seat ahead of hockey.
And as I mentioned on the other thread, with all these new rules this year, if the US audience is not going to embrace the coolest game on earth, it'll never will...
Oh, that series between the Canucks-Rangers in 94 was the best Stanley final in years. I could watch it all over again, despite the outcome, it was a pure joy to watch and experience.
tjung0831 wrote:There are a good 15k faithful fans there that deserve it. They have their hardcore faithful just like every other city.
You're missing my point. The "hardcore faithful" in Carolina are among the softest fan base in the NHL if they can only fill the RBC Center to 83 percent of its capacity during the regular season.
I can think of about 22 NHL fan bases that deserve a Cup more than Carolina, which puts the "Caniacs" in a pretty sh*tty light when you consider there are 30 NHL teams.
Finally, why does a franchise with such a supposedly loyal fan base need to use the slogan "HERE TO PLAY. HERE TO STAY." as its catch phrase to sell tickets for the 2005-06 season? Something tells me that teams like the Rangers, Canadiens, Senators, Flyers, Oilers, Leafs, Canucks, Stars and Avalanche don't have to reassure their fans that the franchise isn't moving at the start of the season.
You're missing my point....i never said that the Canes fans deserve the cup more than any other team, i said their fans deserve to see the cup ceremony on home ice. The hardcore faithful are there every game and support the team regardless in good times and bad.
fightingcamel wrote:And who deserves the Cup? I'm sick of hearing someone deserves the Cup. If Carolina wins it, they definitely deserve it.
I never questioned if the Canes deserved the Cup. I do question the passion and dedication of the fan base, though, especially when compared to more loyal fan bases in cities that haven't been in the Final in a long time or never have won a Cup.
If Carolina is only filling 83 percent of its building despite having a damn good team during the regular season, what's going to happen when the team has a down year?
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:
Tim, I have to agree with Marino about Carolina's fans.
I agree. I dont think most of them know what offsides is. They seem to get upset at some pretty obvious calls more than normal fans do.
i live here. lived in NH and PA..played college hockey...
and i totally AGREE.
every f***in call they freak out....blatant s*** too.
there are a TON of people here who can play (transplants) and i have been to games in a ton of NHL cities and each one has a number of f***in morons who don't know the game and are just idiots. i do f***in cringe each time i see
1. the rick flair woooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooo thing
2. signs that say "redneck hockey"
3. that f***in pig mascot.
fightingcamel wrote:And who deserves the Cup? I'm sick of hearing someone deserves the Cup. If Carolina wins it, they definitely deserve it.
I never questioned if the Canes deserved the Cup. I do question the passion and dedication of the fan base, though, especially when compared to more loyal fan bases in cities that haven't been in the Final in a long time or never have won a Cup.
If Carolina is only filling 83 percent of its building despite having a damn good team during the regular season, what's going to happen when the team has a down year?
Take care,
PK
it happened the last time they had a cup run....they came out the next year...sucked....and the base was gone....i went to games at the end of the year...really empty up top.
but look at pittsburgh....they don't go there anymore either...i could NEVER get tix when i lived up there...
Last edited by Sudz on Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
pk500 wrote:Yes, because there's absolutely no correlation between small markets and small fanbases. Take a look at the top five home draws in the NHL this season, in terms of capacity filled:
1. Calgary 112.4 percent
2. Ottawa 105.3
3. Tampa Bay 103.8
4. Toronto 103.2
5. Minnesota 102.8
Of those five markets, only Toronto is considered a "big" or "major" market.
You can't even begin to compare Carolina with that list. Let's see how they stack up if they win the cup this year. Tampa Bay was very similar to Carolina until they won the Cup 2 years ago. This is the first season since they won the Cup so there's no surprise that their attendance is so high. Couples in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, and Minnesota do it doggie-style during hockey season so they can both watch the game so there's no surprise that their attendance is so high. I know first hand what winning a championship will do for attendance figures. The White Sox have struggled with attendance since the last strike year but after winning the World Series last year they've been selling out just about every night this year. You can't tell me the White Sox fans didn't deserve a championship last year despite drawing low for a majority of the season.
pk500 wrote:Meanwhile, the Blackhawks play in the third-largest market in the NHL and are dead last in home capacity filled, at 65 percent. Then again, it's tough to be a Blackhawks' fan.
Take care,
PK
There's a large number of Blackhawk fans just waiting for Bill Wirtz to die. Unlike Cubs fans, Hawk fans know how to send a message that they want their team to win. It's such a shame what has happened to the Blackhawks. And you're right, it's damn tough to be a Blackhawks fan. During the playoffs this season I damn near cried thinking about the old times and wishing that the Hawks would make the playoffs consistently again.
I am a patient boy.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
ScoopBrady wrote:You can't tell me the White Sox fans didn't deserve a championship last year despite drawing low for a majority of the season.
Why not? If the fans were loyal, they would have been there, good times and bad.
Teams don't deserve titles just because they haven't won one in 90 million years. The Red Sox and New York Rangers Nations were examples of fan bases that deserved titles, as both teams have enjoyed big support even when they sucked.
I'm not a Browns' fan, but I would love to see Cleveland win a Super Bowl some day for that very reason.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
You also can't discount the fact that when the Hurricanes first came to NC, they had to play in Greensboro (which is 1 1/2 hours away from Raleigh) for a while the new arena was being built.
Car is staying put, G. Bettman should have never expanded the NHL as fast as he did with MINN being an exception since their true fans follow their mediocre team year after year playing that trap crap style. What if they started winning pretty with a totally different gameplay? With players like Gaborik, maybe they should, fans deserve it there.
During the playoffs this season I damn near cried thinking about the old times and wishing that the Hawks would make the playoffs consistently again.