Follow me on Twitter
Detroit so far - 18-27-9
2 games remaining
My prediction from January - 19 wins
Current place - 28th
First round pick without lottery win - between 4 and 6 *Seattle will have a pick, possibly in the top 3. This could push Detroit back one more spot
Bobby Ryan wants another shot in the winged wheel. After Ryan signed on for this shortened season, there was a lot to like on the line with Fabbri and Zadina. I’d love to see him get another shot. There could be a small exodus of veterans (Filppula, Helm, Nielsen buyout,) and Ryan has a lot to share with guys who wants to score in this league.
It’s hard to believe that in just over 24 hours, the season will be over. An insane amount of hockey was played in the condensed season. Injures piled up (as many were concerned they would) and the Red Wings and Blue Jackets will limp over the finish line. Guys are playing for pride (and for jobs). I do expect to see some good energy over the next two.
In the past 4 days off, Detroit was passed by a few teams in the standings. Assuming that Vancouver can win 3 of their final 6, a Detroit split in this series would still see a potential bottom five finish. New Jersey has found some wins, so has Columbus. Finishing the season in the bottom three, while painful, would at least be a top 5 or 6 pick (depending on Seattle).
With the season wrapping up, if you subscribe to the NHL app to watch games, you may want to cancel. They’re showing games for free now to boost the partnership with ESPN3 (AKA Disney) and I assume the playoffs will all be available on streaming again. NBC Sports has walked away from the picture (Eddie O looks to be moving over to ESPN) and TNT will also be showing games next season. Things are changing.
For whatever nagging reason, it feels like pre COVID NHL life is forever changed. There’s a lot of lost revenue, players are dealing with intense amounts of depression with the season bubble rules, and another playoff bubble seems to be on the way. Between lost $, frustrated players, fan falloff and massive streaming changes, something has got to give.
I don’t know what the offseason will bring. It just feels like the “high point” of the last decade of the NHL is well over and some sort of restructuring is on the way. Detroit has tons of cap space and couldn’t have picked a better time to be rebuilding. Some players are considering heading overseas for a multitude of reasons. Things just seem very unsettled, and I have a feeling we’ll see several organizations shedding expenses as soon as they are done playing.
More than anything, professional hockey in North America is clearly built on trickle down economics based on the NHL. ECHL teams, AHL teams, OHL teams, college programs (even the newer women’s league) saw a lot of revenue disappear and some small teams have closed their doors. Teams are relocating and changing ownership to be closer to the parent franchises. Call ups for Canadian teams with American minor leagues are basically next to impossible right now.
It doesn’t seem like a ton of money, but jr teams get 30-40K for players drafted and signed into the NHL. (European teams get money for players who leave and sign as well). The small market teams use every bit of that money to keep the door open. The NHL’s high water mark was 5 billion, and this season could be less than 2. The cap is still based on 5 billion, with player salaries around the 3 billion mark (hence endless escrow) you can see where the trouble is. Even at reduced rates, salaries eclipsed the 50% mark of the CBA and may end up having taking 90% or more of all incoming revenue.
Without fans in the seats in every market, the formula just can’t work. Half of the revenues for that 5 billion are ticket/concessions. The new major tv deals, at maximum, add up to 660 million for the US broadcasting. That’s a long way from 2.5 billion.
Where do you see things going? Are the bottom earners who are reporting negative revenues (FLA reported -28million in on site revenue for last season. This season was worse) in danger of closing? Will the closed border regular season continue for another year? Let me know how you feel about what’s going on, and what will happen when the regular season shuts down.
Check out my previous blogs:
Bobby Ryan not ready to retire
Svechnikov Mic’d up
The Final Stretch
Wings vs lightning post game
Wings vs Lightning Pregame
Detroit vs Carolina Post game 
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»