Wright Loaned to Coachella Valley for “Conditioning”

Photo: Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times via AP

After playing seven games and being healthy scratched for 11 games– including the last five straight games, Shane Wright has been moved to the AHL for a conditioning stint with the Coachella Valley Setlist– errr– Firebirds. For me, this is reminding me of something that happened back in 2008. 

Back when Steven Stamkos entered the league, then Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Barry Melrose didn’t play the former 1st overall pick because he felt Stamkos wasn’t ready for the NHL yet. This is after the Lightning had a “Seen Stamkos” campaign hyping up their young star in the making. In Melrose’s disastrous 16 games (5-7-4) in Tampa, he played Stamkos in all those games with Stamkos playing under 10 minutes five times in that stretch and with two goals and two assists. 

It seems like Hakstol is feeling the same way about Wright that Melrose felt about Stamkos. The difference is that the Kraken have a decidedly better record (10-5-3) than what the Lightning did at the time, so not playing Wright seems like the correct decision since his absence isn’t something that has seemed to be a big factor. NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman said on the Jeff Marek Show that “Unless Hakstol was forced to play Wright more, he isn’t going to play very much in Seattle” and a move to the OHL could be looming. 

Granted, this decision probably won’t sit well with Kraken fans, as they feel Wright is a big part of the team going forward. Hard to argue when you use the fifth overall pick to snag what many people believed would be the player going first overall in the draft. But, again, the record indicates he’s not needed as much because he’s direct involvement isn’t affecting too much of the result. 

My biggest issue is what’s going to happen if he’s sent to the OHL and loses interest in that because he feels he’s outgrown it?? He was brought into the league with exceptional status granted. Even missing a year for COVID, he racked up 94 points in 63 games last season and his rookie OHL year he had 66 points in 58 games. There’s not much more for him to accomplish out there in major junior; unless it’s winning an OHL title and Memorial Cup. It’s hard to think that he needs to be there for improvement and he could even get disenchanted with the notion and regress a bit while then feeling vindictive against the Kraken for sending him down there. 

Some people claim he might have an attitude problem due to him excelling at every level and thinking he’s owed things. Some people claim he’s just not NHL ready with his play and he needs to get stronger and have more ice time elsewhere before making the jump. It’s kind of a shame that the CHL has a deal with the NHL for players with junior eligibility, because Wright could very well excel in that climate against other prospects while also not taking two steps backwards by going back to juniors. 

At the end of the day, Kraken fans are left wondering if they’ll ever see Shane at all the rest of the season.

Unique 3ICE Starts First Summer Loop

In case you didn’t notice– 3ICE started up this weekend. The summer 3-on-3 hockey league started in Las Vegas this weekend and thanks to the CBS Sports Network, you could have watched. If you don’t know about the league, it’s a summer league with various minor leaguers playing All-Star formatted 3-on-3 in a different city each week. They have former NHLers as coaches and it’s a good ol’ time.

While it’s a gimmick league, it is impressive this first-year league got a TV deal and it’s fun to just sit and watch a lot of goals and wide-open hockey. This league is tailor-made for skilled players who have just what it takes to have a clip of theirs go viral. It’s a short game with two halves, some interesting rules like penalties and icings are served as breakaways, music playing throughout, playing the puck after it hits the netting, goalies can go anywhere.

It’s as if roller hockey and box lacrosse had a baby and shipped it to the tundra.

Conceptionally, it’s not terrible. I’m not one for the NHL All-Star format, but a casual fan might enjoy all the back and forth and offensive chances. It could be a gateway drug for people to get more into hockey– outside of this 3-on-3 league. Plus, it gues some guys who were fringe pros in North America a spotlight on a bigger stage than they might have from other 3-on-3 leagues like Da Beauty League or other one-off summer tournaments.

For me, the biggest issue off the hop for me is that the back numbers and nameplates are the same color of the jersey, making it impossible to know who is who. That’s another thing, for a league just starting up with guys not many people know– little to no indication who these players on the ice are, making it hard to get any kind of connection to people watching at home. Some times the rules were a bit hard to figure out, though the chyrons were solid to explain it on screen.

Sure, the Orleans Arena wasn’t sold out for it and it remains to be seen if the in-person crowd or TV crowd pick up. It’s rough with the Stanley Cup Final going on to get much of a ground-swell going, but there were enough outlets to pick-up and hype-up the league that there’s a hope that it’ll gain in popularity. As the NHL winds down and more people see some highlights and the big goals that happen– it could bring about more attention as the season continues. Just have to hope the in-person crowd can pick-up and give it a bigger feel for this league.

Helmet Ads Are Here and They’re Fine

Photo via Washington Capitals

Stop bitching about company logos on helmets. Stop bitching about the idea of company logos on jerseys. This is the 21st Century and it’s an inevitability it was going to happen in hockey– so just sit back, grit your teeth, and let it take you in. The NHL is going from ads on practice jerseys to helmets and it’s just another evolution of the sports business. You’re not a traditionalist, calm yourself.

The Washington Capitals announced they’ll be one of the first teams to have sponsors on their helmet, with Capital One on their helmets. The New Jersey Devils also announced they will have Prudential on their helmets. Both of those sponsors are the sponsors of the team’s arenas.

The minor leagues have done this for decades and it’s what has kept them alive. Many minor league hockey fans may not even notice them today because they’ve been such a part of the uniform. Some junior league teams have ads on jerseys to help off-set costs and get their name out there more in the community. It’s how brands do things and it’s just a small part of how sports are done masquerading as a game and being more open about being an actual business– if you hadn’t figured it out before.

Nathan Fournier of the Lewiston Sun-Journal made mention of NASCAR drivers and if those fans were pissed off when company logos were displayed on cars and fire-suits for the first time. I counter with the fact they probably weren’t mad; but felt closer to the driver and team because they bought the certain sponsor or ate at the restaurant on the fire-suit.

Yes, the European sports leagues have logos every which way but loose, though that’s more of a situation where sports aren’t the big moneymaker there and the teams need everyone dollar to pay the players and survive from year to year. North America doesn’t necessarily have that problem, so they can make small patches doable. Of course, you’ll have people out there trying to make a mountain out a mole hill claiming traditionalism and the sanctity of the sports– but it’s a business. It needs to make money to survive. Until capitalism dies, this is how it’s gonna be. I will say, I don’t think the NHL is as stupid than to make their member teams have their crest be dwarfed by a sponsor on the jersey. They’re silly geese in the NHL offices, but not that silly.

The NBA has made plenty of money with it and the MLB have tried to dip their toes into the waters, why shouldn’t the NHL; especially considering the times we’re living in and the unknown of when they can have full arenas of people– not only by lifting of restrictions, but people’s willingness to spend money they may not have budgeted for and go out in public during a pandemic.

Your team is going to have the same color and pattern to their jerseys, they’re going to still have the same players out there, there’s just addition Hockey Related Revenue on their person to make the game more profitable, which raises the salary cap, which allows more players to get paid, which allows less transactions due to a stagnant salary cap.

To quote Gandhi (or was it Ric Flair), “Whether you like or don’t like it, learn to love it, because it’s the best thing going today. WOOOOOOOOOO!!”

Pretty sure that was Gandhi.

More Timelines Coming Into Focus for Hockey Season 2020-21

As leagues start to set their target dates for their own reboot, John Hoven of SiriusXM dropped a little tidbit about the AHL that kind of caught my eye and it wasn’t until a second reading that it struck me.

An opt-in/out deadline.

It’s not insane to think of this being a thing, especially since we’ve seen that traveling for sports hasn’t paid off the best dividends so far. However, the biggest thing is the chain reaction this could make overall for teams and their affiliates.

As it stands, about one-third of the AHL is independently owned from their NHL affiliate, so those would be the ones that would be hurt the most with no fans in the arena, which could mean they would be more apt to opt-out for the season rather than take a bigger financial loss by operating without any money to counteract it.

For an entire season, a bubble situation doesn’t seem very viable, as the logistics as it is for the playoffs is pushing the capacity of the ice makers– albeit summer is much different than winter for humidity and all of that. Still, the availability of a location and the stir-craziness that could come from that would most likely be detrimental to the players for an entire season.

There’s plenty of iron out in a short time as they have a week before a vote is put forth, if we are to believe this timeline is true. With the SPHL announcing their plans to restart, you have to think that the rest of the minor leagues will start to make moves– especially with the NHL putting their timeline out there and now the AHL kind of lining up with the same; the ECHL will probably be in that same boat. Should be interesting to see in the next coming weeks.

Fair Thee Well, 2019-20 AHL Season

The AHL did what they should have done a while ago with the rest of the minor leagues and closed up shop on the 2019-20 season and playoffs. What along wild ride it was and it’ll be remembered throughout the annals of time. And with it, we’ve got some loose ends to tie up and away we go.

Happy Trails, David Andrews: Since 1994, Andrews has been the face of the AHL. In that times, he’s made the AHL the only AAA-level minor hockey league, he’s seen the absorption of the remaining successful IHL teams, he’s help the league move out west to get a reach into the pacific time zone, on top of getting 31 teams to match the 31 NHL franchises. Attendances has been a big boom under Andrews thanks to more markets, but also the media presence with TV in North America has been a big marker left by Andrews. His successor, Scott Howson, will have big shoes to fill– but he’s left with a great start from Andrews’ legacy.

We Hardly Knew Ye, San Antonio Rampage: The team that was partial owned by the NBA’s Spurs has been sold and will move to Henderson, Nevada to become the Golden Knights affiliate. The Rampage only had four playoff appearances with only one going past the first round, but they were a successful franchise off the ice with over 6,000-people in average attendance; a huge thing to do for a minor league team in a bigger market with plenty to do around it. Especially for not getting to the playoffs frequently, it’s a huge feat. Some notable players came out of the Rampage system like Rocco Grimaldi, Gregory Campbell, David Schlemko, and Keith Yandle.

Maryland’s Scoring Champ: Despite it ending early, Potomac, Maryland’s Sam Anas locked up the scoring title with 70 points (20g, 50a) in 63 games for the Iowa Wild. Having the chance to talk to Anas before the season, he seemed hell-bent on making the most of his off-season and getting more consistent with his play. Being an unrestricted free agent, Anas should have plenty of options come his way. The question is whether or not he wants to keep going with the Wild organization or go to a place that might give him a better chance to play at the NHL level.

Low-Key Solid Keeping: Three goalies in the AHL had sub-2.00 GAAs– Dan Vladar (Providence), Igor Shesterkin (Hartford), and Connor Ingram (Milwaukee)– while Kaapo Kahkonen in Iowa lead the league in wins with 25. The biggest thing is whether these guys will make the jump. We’ve seen Shesterkin move up to the Rangers, but the other three could be a part of the numbers game. Kahkonen is behind Devan Dubnyk and Alex Stalock; Ingram behind Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros; and Vladar behind Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. While Kahkonen and Vladar are RFAs, odds are their teams will try to keep them for an insurance policy moving forward and place them in their future plans…as they should.

Oh Admiral, My Admiral: It’s a shame the Milwaukee Admirals couldn’t finish out their season. Leading the league with 41 wins and 90 points, the Admirals could have had a record season with 15 games remaining. They have posted 49-win seasons twice in franchise history, but the way they had been paying, 50 wins was well within reach, as was the 108-point plateau they had in 2005-06 and was their AHL franchise best. Of course, the playoffs seemed to be the great equalizer, as the Admirals haven’t made it out of the first round since 2011, but with this determined squad– anything could have happened.

On the Topic Of Leagues Shutting Down

The SPHL is over. The ECHL is over. Given the CDC’s suggestion of two months being the earliest this dystopian, confined atmosphere can maybe move toward living normally again– we could probably see the AHL and possible NHL do the same thing.

For the lower minor leagues, it’s understandable with the uncertainty of the ever-changing guidelines in the face of this whole ordeal. Add that to players visas, travel of teams and players over the border, availability of arenas that they don’t own; it was a perfect storm for these leagues to get shuddered early.

ECHL players get their last paycheck today, which is on average $600 a payday. Players are obviously panicking for money like everyone else who has their places of business shut down or reduced hours. Teams are also going to have plenty of losses with home games being removed, thus lost revenues and all of that. It’s a bad time all around.

And in all honesty, I wouldn’t hate it if the NHL and AHL shut down for the year. Would it suck for no Cup to be awarded?? Absolutely. As a Caps fan, would it suck for Alex Ovechkin not getting 50 goals despite being so close?? Most definitely. But for the greater good and not to rush a season in a half in what amounts to a calendar year– losses should be cut and then move on from there as a people into the next season.

For the players and for the fans, it’s the best to end it now and not give false hope when there’s other things to be concerned with. It would give one less financial burden for fans to worry about, it wouldn’t rush the players back into an important game-state after a long layoff, and it would reset the clock with the Draft and then into free agency.

Like I’ve said prior, shit’s crazy right now. The hope and the hype is all over the place. Common sense fails all of us right now and while sports are a nice distraction from it all– the best way is to throw it all out and start anew in October. It’s not just the staying away from people portion, it’s the matter of money is going to be very tight and the last thing people need to worry about is paying for playoff tickets and the other items that come when you go to a game in an arena.

Step off the ledge, everyone; breathe, and let’s get back at ‘er sooner than later, but not too soon to set people back more.

Media Access, COVID-19, and You

We are all mind-numbingly aware of the COVID-19 virus (I’m only going to call it C-19 moving onward) and we know what it’s done to the social landscape of the world. Obviously, sports is put into this and has led to leagues shutting down their locker room access and even possibly playing in front of empty arenas (although the AHL already did that).

My opinion is good. While it might be an overreaction, you rather err on the side of caution rather than have to clean up the mess that comes from not taking the right moves in the first place. Playing catch-up is never fun, especially in a wide-spread illness.

But seeing media people hem and haul about the shutting down of locker rooms and access to players and give a vague threat to the leagues bascially saying, “This better be temporary,” makes me tilt my head. As someone who has pieces of laminated paper saying I’m part of the media, I’ve never once thought that locker room access is needed to have a good story. Hell, at the University of North Dakota games; all the interviews for the masses are done in a scrum style with two or three players and head coach Brad Berry. We all get our stories, we all move along. Brad Schlossman is one of the finest writers in hockey and he rarely gets the locker room access some of these reporters in sports get, but he’s still churning out bangers week after week.

Does that help with some stories and such?? Sure. Is it a necessity?? That’s a hard sell for me. Does it equate to better stories?? I’m sure it does. Ken Rosenthal thinks it does (subscription because innovation). To a point, it can be true because access and having a good standing with the players can lead to things down the line and becoming an insider. Also, the point that it’s making the media members look petty because they’re getting singled out and other groups aren’t.

But, when the Colorado Avalanche have a sign reminding media members not to hug players or sit at stalls seems more to me like writers are mad because they can’t be buddy-buddy with some players. There’s not many other entertainment industries that allow people to be as tight-knit as the sports community. It can be considered both awesome and invasive all in one.

If you’re a good reporter, you’ll find a way to get the story without having to make brunch plans with the top-line guys or deal with the stench of equipment by your nose when you sit down in one of their stalls. People’s story writing abilities aren’t tied to all-access approaches in locker room settings. Yes, it makes a story better…but there’s tons of people out there writing quality stuff without having a fraction of the access or really needing it– but they’re still getting respect from people who enjoy the content they put out– access or not.

If worst comes to worst– everyone is connected. If you have a good relationship with a player now and need access to the room without getting access to the room– you should have their number. Text them, call them, email them– if they’re really your buddy, they’ll find a way to make time for you either in-person or virtually. Does it tell the whole story you’re looking for?? No, because it doesn’t have those subtle nuances of a locker room…but it’s still better than no access at all.

And yet, the story the writers are really missing are the impact around the games. The fans who may have taken a vacation to see a game, but will have to wait because the game was shuddered down to fans. The impact this will have on local businesses on top of the impact of non-gameday happens with this panic. The workers inside the venues who are going to be losing money and might already be on a tight budget as it is.

But no, let’s talk about the locker rooms shutting down. Let’s talk about the lack of access being the reason some can’t create a good story. There’s stories to be had out there that don’t require direct player access. You just have to be good enough to find it.

Everything That’s Awful in Hockey This Week

In what could be a semi-regular gimmick– here’s a bit of a list of things that I feel are awful in hockey this week.

The Stadium Series Uniforms: With the reveal of the Avalanche helmet, the horrific uniform for Colorado is complete. The plot has long gone away from the Stadium Series jerseys when it comes to “Turning Ahead the Clock” gimmick. Any designer claiming it’s their passion and then shows these things off is not a good look on the company whose name is on it. The Stadium Series jerseys were bland at first, but now they’re way too out of left-field. I’d almost rather unoriginal designs than the polar opposite of it– which are these jerseys.

Nick Kypreos Ending People’s Careers: Former Sportsnet insider Nick Kypreos caused a stir on Wednesday, saying the injury that Shea Weber had suffered was not only season-ending, but possibly career-ending from his surgically repaired foot. Then the Canadiens came out saying it’s an ankle injury and it’ll be 3-6 weeks. Kypreos is standing by his story, so we’ll see what happens. But for a former TV guy to still try to run down a story, only for it to really backfire on him is very irresponsible and Kypreos should know better than that.

Losing a Hockey Team: With the Vegas Golden Knights buying the San Antonio Rampage to move them to Henderson, Nevada; it’ll end a long-standing independent team with a fairly consistent following. Sure, hockey is a business, but you have to feel for the supports of San Antonio, the staff there, and everyone else associated with the team. They were a nice change of pace from the Spurs and helped grow more hockey fans in nontraditional markets. We’ll have to see if there will be a new minor league team to go there or if they’ll go the USHL or NAHL route should they want a new team.

The Jay Bouwmeester Incident: This is only horrible because a premier athlete had a cardiac episode and almost had their life cut short. The good news is that the training staff on both sides worked super quickly, as did the medical personnel there, so Bouwmeester is still with the living. Plus, reports that Bouwmeester is in good spirits while recovering is always a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see what the causation was and if it’ll force him to retire.

Too Much Hype for Back-ups: With Jack Campbell winning a game, the Maple Leafs faithful exalted him as their new leader and savior. The say that they did with Curtis McElhinney and Garret Sparks before him. The fact the Toronto fans go this overboard for a back-up goalie is beyond fanatical. Some people might think it’s a great story and something that could be a turning point; but it won’t be. It’ll just be another case of hockey fans looking at Toronto doing this and shaking their heads in disappointment because we all know how this ends– with no Stanley Cup this season.

Minor League Silly Season: Vegas Leaving Chicago, Richmond Back at It, ECHL in Quebec??

Photo via Vegas Golden Knights website

One of the bigger stories that broke for this week in the NHL/AHL landscape was the note that the Vegas Golden Knights are looking to buy an AHL team in order to move them to the Orleans Arena in Vegas to get their prospects close. It would be in line with what other Western Conference teams have been doing. Currently, the Chicago Wolves are the Knights affiliate, which is quite the ways away from each other. And in reality, that’s probably the only reason why the Knights want to leave.

As an independent team, the Wolves are one of the most successful on and off the ice in the AHL. They want the player’s best and want to win at the box office as well, to which they have been successful despite the cluttered market in the Chicagoland area. However, this news of a chance doesn’t come as a shock to Wolves Chairman Don Levin, telling the Chicago Sun-Times, “The Chicago Wolves will be here next year, we just don’t know who we’ll be affiliated with. There’s no scenario at all the Wolves will be affiliated with Vegas. We knew that before. Our affiliation would be over at the end of the year.”

The issue that arises is the need to Vegas to get an independent team to sell to them. There are some that have contracts coming up like Hershey, Grand Rapids, and Milwaukee– but all of them are in good spaces right now and won’t sell because their markets are strong. Rockford has been brought up as a selling mate because they have dropped in their attendance over the last five years. We could definitely see the IceHogs move west before the puck drops next season.

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Richmond has been endorsed by the ECHL to get a hockey team with a proposed arena popping up in the Navy Hill district. Richmond has Richmond was a long-standing member of the ECHL from 1990 until 2003 as the Renegades, with the UHL having the RiverDogs 2003 until 2006, and then the Renegades name popped up again, this time in the SPHL from 2006 until 2009.

All this, of course, hinges on getting an arena in the $1.5B project which would see many restaurant and shopping areas, akin to what many cities have done with stadiums and arenas in the past. The team also has an owner ready to go and with an understanding of the ECHL structure in Fred Festa– former owner of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

It would be great to see Richmond back in hockey, though in this landscape, especially in the ECHL with rivals in Norfolk and Wheeling already slotted in. Now, it’s just a matter of getting the project approved and then getting the money to get the team into the new arena.

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A few weeks back, the push to bring the ECHL to Trois-Rivieres, Quebec seems to have hit a road block. In an interview with SB Nation’s Montreal Canadiens blog, Dean MacDonald– the lead in bringing an expansion team into Trois-Rivieres– made a point to say that there was a lot of miscommunication between many parties and it seemed that the Mayor of the city was more focused on getting the University team into the fold rather that the ECHL and cohabitation is something they didn’t want to do. Not to mention, they would need the Canadiens to be in the fold in order to make it work.

The last part is pretty easy, as the Habs don’t have an ECHL affiliate right now. That said, the government being very indecisive and kind of throwing the expansion group curveballs doesn’t show a lot of confidence that the city wants a team there. It would be a nice fit and go with the Montreal-Laval connection already, plus adding another Canadian team to the ECHL fold; though you can’t really force yourself into that spot if the city is unwilling to have you.

Not to mention, you have to wonder if the QMJHL will see all this and try to get back into the Trois-Rivieres fold since it seems like a hot ticket to be at. If that Major Junior money gets in there, then the ECHL bid may have a bigger hill to climb.

AHL Lands in Palm Springs

Photo via TheAHL.com

It was shortly rumored, but Palm Springs, California will be the 32nd franchise in the AHL starting in 2021-22. They will be the affiliate of the Seattle Your-Name-Heres and will play in a brand new arena.

The biggest question I have is not if the Palm Springs area can support a team, it’s more a matter of if the AHL will actually make the Pacific Division play a full 76-game schedule rather than the 68-gamer they play now. It makes sense when you have eight teams in your division now, you should be like the rest of the league and not try to hold said league hostage to get what you want like a petulant child. I mean, the Texas Stars and San Antonio Rampage still have to play a full 76-game slate despite their division counterparts having eight games less.

When they news came out that the AHL was basically bullied by those Western teams to have a 68-game season or they’ll start their own league— the smart play would have been to let them go with their own league and let them flounder a bit before absorbing them. But I guess you gotta play nicey-nice when it comes to those teams because they have some money and some influence. At the same time, you really could’ve been an ass to them and actually forced them to play by your rules and not their own.

Though it’s not all great when it comes to the smaller schedule. Since they’ve come into the league in 2015, none of the Pacific teams playing a smaller schedule have made it to the Calder Cup Final. The rest doesn’t help for the conditioning, I suppose.

We’ll have to see what becomes of the Palm Spring team, it’s a good add to a California market that desperately wants hockey…though Palm Springs isn’t the bustling metropolis I would think for a hockey team. They haven’t had one in the history of hockey that’s been recorded– but I guess it’s a market ripe for the picking.