The Swamp

It's official.



Playoffs



List of critical dates

Santa Clara County is shut down through at least January 6th (probably longer). I assume the Sharks will follow the 49ers’ lead and set up shop out of state (Arizona?), at least for training camp, if not longer. Of course, my season ticket group now needs to sort things out.

Eta: Training camp is in Arizona.
ETA more: They are deferring all season tickets to 2021-2022.

So how soon until they trade with the Rangers and get Buchnevich and the best prospect in the deal for a package of prospects Gorton overvalues?

One way to solve cap problems.

Degen, others, you around today? Want to start a dedicated thread for the World Juniors? Is there enough interest this year?

Sure! It's always huge in Canada. USA vs Russia tonight!

Great! I'll wait until you work your thread-starting magic, then post my thoughts.

In the mean time, to make this sort of an NHL post, I'll just say that I'm looking forward to seeing Dominik Kahun in Edmonton this year. And Taylor Hall in Buffalo! But I'm still skeptical enough that I won't let myself get excited until the puck drops.

Chara just signed for the Caps. That's gonna be wierd.

Well, the season is nigh, and my Sharks will probably be bad. But, worse than that for this fan is that Joe Thornton is no longer on the team.

The Athletic has a great story on Thornton today, with reminiscences of their time with him by numerous players, former players and others. It really speaks to what a great, funny, unique guy he is. link

I'm sure I've told this story before, but in the spirit of the article, I'll share my Thornton memory: Several years ago (during the hockey offseason), I was on a plane for a business trip, ready for takeoff from San Francisco to somewhere I don't remember. It was one of those planes where after boarding the plane, you turn right for coach, or turn left for first class. I was sitting close to the entrance door, in the very first row of coach, on the far aisle as you board. So, after almost everyone had boarded and the line had dissipated, Joe Thornton appeared at the door, wearing board shorts and a t-shirt, looking like a surfer boy. He was heading for first class, but as luck would have it, he had to wait right next to me as somebody ahead of him put a suitcase into the overhead compartment. So, I stood up and said "hello" and told him I was a fan. He said, "Hey, thanks, man!" and was very gracious and chatted with me for a minute until his path was cleared and he said goodbye. A couple minutes later, a flight attendant came up to me. She said that she saw me talking to him and figured out it was some kind of celebrity I was speaking with, so she wanted to know who it was. I explained to her it was Joe Thornton and who he was. She then got more interested and said her son is a hockey player and wondered if Joe might sign something for him, so I encouraged her to ask him. Thirty minutes later, the plane is in the air, and the flight attendant comes back to me. She gushes about what a nice guy Thornton is. She said he asked questions about her son, and then wrote a personalized letter for her to give him. That woman was so thrilled, it was really nice to see.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:22 pm But, worse than that for this fan is that Joe Thornton is no longer on the team.

It's always sad when an athlete leaves after so many years. I'm dreading the post-Crosby/post-Malkin years here. (Thankfully, the Pirates never keep anybody around long enough to get attached to them.)

You still have Brent Burns. And I see that Marleau is back. Is he going to play much, or is he going to be in a fourth-line/sentimentality role?

bapo! wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:45 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:22 pm But, worse than that for this fan is that Joe Thornton is no longer on the team.

It's always sad when an athlete leaves after so many years. I'm dreading the post-Crosby/post-Malkin years here. (Thankfully, the Pirates never keep anybody around long enough to get attached to them.)

You still have Brent Burns. And I see that Marleau is back. Is he going to play much, or is he going to be in a fourth-line/sentimentality role?

Yep. The Sharks need Burns and Marleau to find a bit of youth. I expect Patty to be the third line center, and hopefully mentor some kids.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:22 pm Well, the season is nigh, and my Sharks will probably be bad.

One of the season preview articles at the Athletic included the note that if things go well for the Red Wings, they may be as good as the Sharks... who they had 29th in the league.

I find it hard to believe the Sharks are gonna be THAT bad. Though heaven help them if they are because it’s gonna take half a decade at best to dig out from their D contracts alone. Still I think they finish 4th in the (Whatever the name of the division is).

Won $200 in my work NFL pool and in trying to think of a rass-centric way to spend it I googled "nhl center ice 2021" and the first hit is a link to an article on NHL.com discussing Center Ice for the 2010 season.

ETA: guess it's "NHL Live" now? Also something called NHL.TV on the main site but that currently is just $10 to watch last season's games.

ETA2: That's Canada-only? Cable company has a page for NHL Center Ice that says it isn't currently available because the NHL has canceled the season...

eh i've subscribed for like 10-12? yrs so it just auto-renews for me ... i got the notice last week that this year is USD$99.99 for, yes, nhl.tv. i can access games either on the nhl.com site or through my roku tv (and phone).

oh and on a personal note if you want to get by local blackouts, subscribe to Yonder TV for $30/year (https://www.yonder.tv/aff.php?aff=363) - it enables you to get every game + postseason. perfect for me being an MLB/NHL junkie.

Yeah, subsequent googling found references to auto-renewals going through right around the time the league announced the season. Still can't find a way from NHL dotcom to sign up for NHL TV for the 2021 season, or to get xfinity to let me sign up for Center/re Ice for the upcoming season.

"helmet entitlement partner"

rass wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:38 pm "helmet entitlement partner"

At least they did it on the side and not IIHF style

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:25 pm

rass wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:38 pm "helmet entitlement partner"

At least they did it on the side and not IIHF style

Although the Pens is a bit aggressive


Caps feels a bit more subtle

Helps to have a sponsor with a symbiotic name.

Most are not so bad
https://news.sportslogos.net/2021/01/04 ... /hockey-2/

hm. i'm shocked that i actually don't mind it so much. i'm sure a slippery slope at some point will lead to the jerseys (awful) but helmet sponsorship? sure, why not. They're never going back from it now, though.

(...and now if only there were a popular sword manufacturer for the Sabres...)

Small jerseys ones arent bad. We have them in the CFL.

I prefer hockey leaves the sweaters alone but I think we all see where it's headed. Helmets? Go nuts. Fuck, make everyone on the Blues wear a sponsored sail tarp. That'd be fun to watch.

The NBA did a decent job with the patches.
Canadian Indoor lacrosse has the tramp stamp sponsor..and in some cases it goes player-by-player (guessing minor hockey does this too)


and yeah the horse is not going back in the barn. Teams need $ during covid and giving up revenue streams ain't happening. MLSist said league is targeting sponsors for COVID face masks.

Really glad the Bolts aren't jumping in on this blatant cash grab, you'd hate to see the iconic Leafs uni sullied.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:21 pm Really glad the Bolts aren't jumping in on this blatant cash grab, you'd hate to see the iconic Leafs uni sullied.

They will. Every team will by end of the season likely. Just haven’t found right price/partner yet I’ll bet.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:21 pm Really glad the Bolts aren't jumping in on this blatant cash grab, you'd hate to see the iconic Leafs uni sullied.

I'm sure they'll pick up a former Rangers sponsor and get twice as much value out of the partnership.

brian wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:47 pm

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:21 pm Really glad the Bolts aren't jumping in on this blatant cash grab, you'd hate to see the iconic Leafs uni sullied.

They will. Every team will by end of the season likely. Just haven’t found right price/partner yet I’ll bet.

Amazes me how long some of these teams must have had some standing offers to have this many on board already.

Maybe Chicago can put a slant eyed asian on the helmet to really lean into things.

Well most of these teams are so tied up in partnerships, naming, practice facility, suite rentals, etc. other businesses the owners are connected to/their friends are connected to, activating these are pretty quick.

mister d wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:50 pm

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:21 pm Really glad the Bolts aren't jumping in on this blatant cash grab, you'd hate to see the iconic Leafs uni sullied.

I'm sure they'll pick up a former Rangers sponsor and get twice as much value out of the partnership.

😊

I'm already pre-annoyed about Boo Nieves.

literal spit-take here

BSF21 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:55 pm Maybe Chicago can put a slant eyed asian on the helmet to really lean into things.

rass wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:38 pm "helmet entitlement partner"

First ever helmet entitlement partner.

If you're trying to distract everybody from the Pens' messy offseason, it looks like it worked. Yes, let's keep talking about helmets. Ignore the PPP loan and the minor-league coach's lawsuit.

Altho I do kind of want to talk about co-owner Ron Burkle buying Neverland Ranch. I had just finished reading a bio of Michael Jackson when that news broke, and I was pretty gobsmacked by it. (Not quite as weird as Rashard Mendenhall buying Richard Pryor's house, tho.)

Been waiting for someone else to bring up the PPP loan. And that coming out around the same time as the Neverland Ranch purchase wasn’t good.

And I didn’t know (or more likely forgot because I watched the first season) Mendenhall wrote for Ballers and bought Pryor’s house. That guy...

It's a landmark house. That's the house where Pryor set himself on fire! How does Mendenhall, of all people, end up there?

Wait. They sold the naming rights to the frigging Divisions???

yup

...