NHL Off-Season Discussion - Page 7

roberts · #91 09-13-2021, 05:16 PM

ESPN should be solid with Sean McDonaugh, Bob Wischusen and Steve Levy handling the bulk of the play-by-play with Melrose, Kevin Weekes, DiPietro and Chelios (among others) as analysts. Eddie O and Joe Micheletti will be missed, esp. Micheletti, who sees the whole ice and calls it as he sees it.

Dru Edwards · #92 09-14-2021, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roberts

ESPN should be solid with Sean McDonaugh, Bob Wischusen and Steve Levy handling the bulk of the play-by-play with Melrose, Kevin Weekes, DiPietro and Chelios (among others) as analysts. Eddie O and Joe Micheletti will be missed, esp. Micheletti, who sees the whole ice and calls it as he sees it.

I remember Sean McDonaugh when he broadcast the Red Sox games 15 years ago. You never forget a broadcaster's voice, and I liked his.

Great to see ESPN with the NHL!

Lkristians · #93 09-15-2021, 10:14 AM

Mark Messier is also in the ESPN lineup. Not too shabby!

Dru Edwards · #94 09-15-2021, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lkristians

Mark Messier is also in the ESPN lineup. Not too shabby!

They should hire Don Cherry! I'm sure he would ruffle some feathers but ratings would go up during Coach's Corner.

Lkristians · #95 09-16-2021, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

They should hire Don Cherry! I'm sure he would ruffle some feathers but ratings would go up during Coach's Corner.

Ha! That would certainly raise a lot of eyebrows, Dru!

roberts · #96 09-16-2021, 11:25 AM

Laughing at the thought of Bettman hearing the news of Grapes joining broadcasts

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Dru Edwards · #97 09-16-2021, 01:26 PM

ESPN could go after Ron MacLean from Hockey Night in Canada. He's beloved. I looked up his salary, $450k CAD. ESPN could offer far more. Guessing he wouldn't be interested but a $1.5M US offer with travel provided to the games might peak his interest. I have no idea what the top ESPN NHL broadcasters are making though so that may be terribly out of range.

For those who don't know, the current exchange rate is $1 US = $1.27 CAD.

roberts · #98 09-16-2021, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

ESPN could go after Ron MacLean from Hockey Night in Canada. He's beloved. I looked up his salary, $450k CAD. ESPN could offer far more. Guessing he wouldn't be interested but a $1.5M US offer with travel provided to the games might peak his interest. I have no idea what the top ESPN NHL broadcasters are making though so that may be terribly out of range.

For those who don't know, the current exchange rate is $1 US = $1.27 CAD.

Not gonna happen. Though it would be nice to have a nothing-but-hockey guy at the mic. McDonagh is a baseball voice. Levy and Wischusen came out of sports talk in NY and do NFL nationally. ESPN is going to do their ****est to market hockey to the US audience and I hope they retain some guys who remember the names and culture and can tell the stories.

Dru Edwards · #99 09-16-2021, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roberts

Not gonna happen. Though it would be nice to have a nothing-but-hockey guy at the mic. McDonagh is a baseball voice. Levy and Wischusen came out of sports talk in NY and do NFL nationally. ESPN is going to do their ****est to market hockey to the US audience and I hope they retain some guys who remember the names and culture and can tell the stories.

Yea, I figured bringing in a Canadian maybe wouldn't work but Ron would be the guy that held everything together. He's not a play-by-play guy (although I'm sure he could) but he facilitates the group discussions among the panels before the game and during intermission.

Dru Edwards · #**100** 09-18-2021, 01:22 PM

Zdeno Chara signs with the Islanders. When Mike Milbury's was GM of the Islanders he traded Chara, Muckalt, and a first round pick (who would end up to be Jason Spezza) to the Senators for Alexei Yashin. One of Milbury's many moves that did (edit) NOT end up the way he wanted it to.

Marc-Andre Fleury in Blackhawks colors:

roberts · #**101** 09-18-2021, 03:02 PM

I think you meant to say the Yashin trade did NOT work out for Milbury. While his numbers were respectable, he was often injured and never turned into the superstar the Isles thought they were getting. Chara adds his 6’9” to that already imposing back line.

Dru Edwards · #**102** 09-18-2021, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roberts

I think you meant to say the Yashin trade did NOT work out for Milbury. While his numbers were respectable, he was often injured and never turned into the superstar the Isles thought they were getting. Chara adds his 6’9” to that already imposing back line.

Thanks for the note - corrected to be "did not". Chara's family still lives in Boston so it's relatively close to NY.

roberts · #**103** 09-19-2021, 08:46 AM

Hey Dru - Up where you are who do folks root for? Are they just NHLers who follow the whole league, is it regionalized toward Leafs/Habs, are there provincial rivalries. Hope this doesn't come across as a really dumb question.

Dru Edwards · #**104** 09-19-2021, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roberts

Hey Dru - Up where you are who do folks root for? Are they just NHLers who follow the whole league, is it regionalized toward Leafs/Habs, are there provincial rivalries. Hope this doesn't come across as a really dumb question.

It's a great question. In the four Atlantic Canadian provinces (NS,NB,PE,NL) it's mostly split between Toronto and Montreal. I would say that the most popular US team is Boston, which isn't surprising given it's an Original 6 team and the proximity. Crosby has a strong following as well so Pens fans too.

One you get into Ontario, the Maple Leafs / Senators have a strong rivalry. It's only 250 miles down the highway. Out west, as you know, Calgary/Edmonton have always have a great rivalry and it's only 190 miles down the highway.

I see you're in the Garden State. I was on assignment in NYC in 2007/08 for work. I bought NJ Devils seasons tickets for the 2007-08 season, which was their first year in the Prudential Center. I've always been a huge Brodeur fan and it was great to see him play.

Acousticado · #**105** 09-19-2021, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

It's a great question. In the four Atlantic Canadian provinces (NS,NB,PE,NL) it's mostly split between Toronto and Montreal. I would say that the most popular US team is Boston, which isn't surprising given it's an Original 6 team and the proximity. Crosby has a strong following as well so Pens fans too.

One you get into Ontario, the Maple Leafs / Senators have a strong rivalry. It's only 250 miles down the highway. Out west, as you know, Calgary/Edmonton have always have a great rivalry and it's only 190 miles down the highway.

I see you're in the Garden State. I was on assignment in NYC in 2007/08 for work. I bought NJ Devils seasons tickets for the 2007-08 season, which was their first year in the Prudential Center. I've always been a huge Brodeur fan and it was great to see him play.

And of course, there’s the Province of Quebec which as you’d expect are overwhelmingly Canadiens fans. That said, when Les Nordiques (based in Quebec City) were in the league, most Quebecers in that region became their fans, but not all. When the Nordiques franchise moved to Colorado, many became fans of the Avalanche. Likely, they’ve long since returned to their Canadiens roots...still longing to have a Quebec City based franchise again...which they should get, imo.

BC has their Canucks. I wouldn’t be surprised if some BCians become Kraken fans.