The Weekly Faceoff is a regular column talking about all things Tongues, in and around the AIHL.
The Thrashers are no more, fresh teams go for Stanley and the newest AIHL team make a coastal appearance.
NHL Hockey Returns To Winnipeg After 15 Years
NHL Hockey Returns To Winnipeg After 15 Years
Period 1: Winnipeg Get The NHL… Again
The biggest news in the hockey world this last week has to be the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers to and the impending move to Winnipeg, Manitoba. First of all, congratulations to all the hockey fans in Winnipeg who have been wanting the NHL back since they lost the Jets. Of course, to have a winner there must be a loser, and commiserations must be given to the Atlanta fans who have now lost an NHL team… or should I say, a second NHL team. For those who don’t remember, Atlanta had already lost an NHL team when the Flames moved from there to Calgary. Lesson here… don’t put a team in Atlanta! Hopefully the club will do much better in Winnipeg.
Period 2: Stanley Cup Fever
Isn’t it great to have a fresh set of faces playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup? No Detroit Red Wings, no Pittsburgh Penguins… in fact, the 2 teams in the finals are both ending a drought to be there. The Vancouver Canucks, arguably one of the best teams in the league over previous years are making their first appearance in the finals since 1994. Their last visit ended badly when the New York Rangers beat them in 7 games. The Boston Bruins, steeped in an incredible history were last in the Stanley Cup final in 1990/1991 where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in 5 games. The Canucks took game 1 yesterday, but the Bruins put up an incredible battle, so the series could be one to watch!
Period 3: Mustangs Make Gold Coast Appearance
The AIHL’s newest team, the Melbourne Mustangs finally make their first league appearance on the Gold Coast this weekend, June 4/5. The Stangs are a tough team and have done far better than many had expected this season, so the Tongues are going to have a very tough time getting past them. Saying that, the Tongues always play well at home and they are desperate for a win, especially over the newest team in the AIHL. Injuries to key players has made room for Tom Letki to return to the Tongues lineup, and for Alex Boyd to make his first return after playing rugby overseas.
Overtime: Merchandise Prices
A hot topic at Tongues games this season has been that of club merchandise, namely the most sought after item; Jerseys. the general consensus is that people WANT to own a Blue Tongues jersey, but the current jerseys for sales are allegedly not those the players wear and the cost at $150 is simply overpriced. I’m unsure what the quality of the jerseys are, so wont comment on this, but the pricing issue is definitely one that pops up most games. I’m curious though, what do other teams charge for team jerseys?
“In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL, who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck,” Judge Baum wrote on Wednesday.
Balsillie said he would not appeal the decision. In a statement, Balsillie said, “nobody can deny that we are now a big step closer to having a seventh NHL team in Canada. It doesn’t matter who owns that team. When that day comes, I will be the first in line to buy a ticket to the home opener.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank my family for all their love and support. I also want to thank the more than 200,000 fans who supported the bid online and the countless others who contacted me personally to show their support. This bid always was about the game we all love,” said Balsillie.
Judge Baum threw out the $242.5 million (US) bid by Balsillie, saying it could not work because he could not properly satisfy the NHL’s rights regarding relocation. “In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and (Balsillie),” he ruled.
He then ruled that the NHL’s bid of $140 million would not work because it allows the league to specifically select which of the creditors will be paid. The NHL said it would pay all their creditors in full – with the exception of former head coach Wayne Gretzky and majority owner Jerry Moyes.
“There has been no determination that the Moyes and Gretzky claims are not ‘legitimate creditors.’ It would be inherently unjust for this court to deprive them of their possible rightful share of any proceeds without first providing all involved a fair trial on their claims.”
Baum’s 28-page ruling says the Balsillie bid was denied “with prejudice,” which means he cannot come back with an amended bid. As far as that bankruptcy court is concerned, it is done with him. The NHL offer was denied “without prejudice,” meaning that the door is open for league to come back to the court with an improved offer.
“We are pleased that the Bankruptcy Court has confirmed the League’s rights to select its owners and the location of its franchises,” Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement regarding today’s ruling. ”We are reviewing the opinion and considering how we can best address the Court’s concerns regarding our offer to purchase the Coyotes. It remains our goal to secure the long-term stability of the Coyotes in Glendale.”
Judge Baum noted in his ruling that the Coyotes have total losses of over $390 million between 2004-08. He wrote that “the Coyotes have not been a particularly successful team on the ice having never won a playoff series since moving to Arizona. More importantly, from a bankruptcy perspective, the Coyotes have lost money every year since moving to Arizona.”
The Coyotes originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 5, opening the door for Balsillie to make an offer to buy the club. The initial offer of US$212.5-million was made, conditional on the team moving north to Southern Ontario.
The NHL quickly responded, claiming they had been in control of the franchise since November 2008. The league insisted that because they were running the team, majority owner Jerry Moyes did not have the right to file for bankruptcy.
A week later, Hamilton’s city council approved a lease deal that would leave the door open until October, for the Coyotes to call Copps Coliseum home. The NHL contended that that territory belonged to the league, making it impossible for the Moyes/Balsillie deal to be completed.
As Balsillie’s group pushed forward, they announced Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware as corporate sponsors if and when the team made its way to the Steeltown.
The NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball all voiced their support behind the NHL’s stance regarding ownership transfer and relocation. Each league provided documents urging the courts to help them set a precedent in these matters. Judge Baum ordered Moyes and the NHL into mediation to establish who was in charge of the team.
In late May, Balsillie filed an application to the NHL Board of Governors, asking them to approve him as a potential owner of the Phoenix franchise. Balsillie also announced a $150-million renovation plan for the aging Copps Coliseum, to upgrade the facilities.
While no resolution had determined, in June, Judge Baum stated that the NHL had a right to demand payment for a team moving into the territory of Southern Ontario.
By the end of July, the NHL Board of Governors had voted unanimously (26-0) to reject Balsillie as a potential owner.
As the issue hit a fever pitch, Balsillie requested that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court probe the reasoning as to why the NHL owners’ determined he was unfit to own a franchise in their league.
The league put their support behind the bid of Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in late July, but the bid was withdrawn on August 2. The NHL stepped up with their own bid of $140-million and another group, Ice Edge Holdings, also made a bid of $150-million.
The Ice Edge bid was short-lived and was withdrawn on September 9, after the group announced it was unable to work out a new arena lease with the city of Glendale.
As the date of the auction drew closer, Balsillie raised his bid to $242.5-million.
On the first day of the auction, Judge Baum told both bidders he might not award the team to either party.
Day 2 saw both sides make alterations to their respective bids. Balsillie adjusted his bid to ensure Glendale would receive $50-million if he was awarded the team and removed a deadline of September 21 for the sale to be completed.
The NHL changed their bid around so that $14-million of the money would be split between Moyes and Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky.
At the conclusion of the auction, Judge Baum made it clear he would take time to make his ruling. He said he wanted to word his decision clearly for the next court under the assumption the ruling would be appealed regardless of what it turned out to be.
The Coyotes opened camp on September 12, but Gretzky was not there due to uncertainty with his contract.
Phoenix was 36-39-7 last season and finished 13th in the Western Conference last season.
Source: TSN
The dos and don’ts of the rink
Ice hockey is one of those sports that have a lot of tradition surrounding it. Just like the State of Origin brings to mind visions and memories of pies and beer, face paint and curly, ridiculous wigs in your state’s colours and more screaming than the world’s worst horror flick, ice hockey too has it’s own etiquette that fans the world over adhere to.
While Boondall Iceworld is a far cry from the (some would say) hallowed halls of Rexall Place, or any other ice rink that houses an NHL team for that matter, it is still the stomping ground of our beloved Blue Tongues. So when a single, echoing voice can be heard cheering on the boys when they’re skating their hearts out, something seems – to any die hard hockey fan who’s had the luxury of attending a game in the best hockey league in the world – a little out of place.
Fans cheer themselves silly at the football – why not at the ice hockey as well? The acoustics, it would stand to reason, be better for it considering the echo inside the rink. It’s one thing to have three or four people starting a chant, but how electrifying is it when the entire crowd gets going? It can only add to the atmosphere – as well as fire the team on to put in the hard yakka, even when their legs are turning to jelly from being on the ice for so long.
Hockey fans are expected to make noise. And not just a little. They’re expected to take the roof off the rink their team skates on. There is nothing more exciting than 300 fans, all together giving their team a standing ovation, cheers, screams and clapping hands echoing around the room as the boys in blue celebrate yet another goal. There is nothing more inspiring for the team, than the chant of “Blue Tongues… Blue Tongues… Blue Tongues…” when they need that extra boost of support and energy from their home crowd. Chants, clapping, heckling the opposition – that’s sledging for the cricket fans – it’s all expected when you attend a hockey game.
Do you feel silly just yelling out into that echo? Feel free to bring along noisemakers instead! A horn or clappers are great for generating some noise without straining the voice box. Whistles though are probably best left at home unless you want to end up confusing the team while they’re on the ice!
Then there are the more respected traditions. When a player scores a hatrick – the crowd throws their hats onto the ice. Well… unless you’re a fan of Detroit. They tend to throw Octopi onto the ice. If you want to know why… find a Detroit fan. Until then, let’s stick with the hats and beanies! This is a long standing tradition, to celebrate a momentous occasion. And for those who aren’t sure, yes you will get your hats back at the end of a Blue Tongues game! (You wouldn’t at an NHL game – they get the player to autograph them and auction them off for charity.)
Okay, so noise is expected, and don’t forget to bring your hat incase the guys decide to do another game like the one against Canberra on July 8th and score a hatrick or two. What else can the everyday fan do? Bring a sign! Banners, signs, rally towels, anything you can think of to show your support to the boys is welcome at every home game.
In short… think of a hockey crowd as you would a football crowd. It’s no different really! It’s just in enclosed in a very cold room. So c’mon Brisbane, let’s get out there and show our boys how much we love and support them! MAKE SOME NOISE!!
