The league’s plans for realignment and a revamped playoff format, which was approved by the NHL Board of Governors for the 2012-2013 NHL season, will not move forward because the NHLPA refused to consent to the changes.

“It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a Plan that an overwhelming majority of our Clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including Players,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. “We have now spent the better part of four weeks attempting to satisfy the NHLPA’s purported concerns with the Plan with no success. Because we have already been forced to delay, and as a result are already late in beginning the process of preparing next season’s schedule, we have no choice but to abandon our intention to implement the Realignment Plan and modified Playoff Format for next season.” (via NHL)

The league is currently looking into their available legal options and will pursue any claim they feel has merit.  Meanwhile, the NHL will maintain both its current alignment and its current playoff format going forward — until changes dictate otherwise.

The NHL has signed a licensing deal with Shep and Ian Murray, the co-founders of Vineyard Vines. Based out of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Vines is best known for creating non-traditional neckties that break away from traditional corporate America.

Under the agreement with the NHL the company will focus on creating and distributing a line of ties, tote bags, and belts for men and women.

“We’ve had an incredible response from our existing team products and are thrilled about our new licensing arrangement with the NHL,” said Lindsey Worster, Vice President of Brand Communications. “This launch came at the perfect time with hockey in full swing and the holiday gift giving season upon us. Now our customers and NHL fans can bring their team spirit with them wherever they go.” (via Press Release)

Products from all 30 NHL teams plus various vintage teams (including the Hartford Whalers) will be sold on the company’s Vineyard Vines website, the various vineyard vines retail stores, the NHL’s website, and the NHL’s flagship store in New York City.

“The NHL is proud to be associated with a brand that is renowned for its product excellence,” said Jim Haskins, NHL Group VP of Consumer Products. “The NHL vineyard vines tie collection will present expertly crafted workmanship in neckwear with a fun fashion approach that our fans are going to love.”

For those looking for NHL branded vineyard vines-wear, the beginnings of what should be an expanding NHL collection can already be found on the company’s site.

A Delaware bankruptcy court approved the sale of the team to Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi and confirmed the Stars’ chapter 11 bankruptcy plan at the end of last week.

The NHL’s board of directors have previously approved the sale of the team.

The Stars had been without an owner since 2009, when the Hicks Sports Group defaulted on numerous business loans, causing the company to lose their majority interest in the Dallas Stars, the American Airlines Arena, and Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.

The club has been run by the National Hockey League until Friday’s approved sale to Gaglardi.

Gaglardi is stepping into a less than perfect situation with the Stars; they are expected to lose $31 million dollars this season.

Late on Friday the Stars also begin to put their leadership structure back into place, as the team rehired Jim Lites as the president and CEO of the team.

As expected, last week, the National Hockey League announced that the 2012 NHL draft would be held in Pittsburgh, in June of next year.

The two-day draft is expected to bring in roughly $9 million dollars in direct spending to the city and surrounding areas according to Visit Pittsburgh, the city’s tourism board.

“It is a hockey convention. You’re going to see here future star players, broadcasters, general managers, scouts,” Penguins General Manager Ray Shero said. “It’s also a great day for the fans” (via Pittsburgh Business Times)

Last year’s NHL Winter Classic, also held in Pittsburgh, brought in somewhere between $15 and $22 million in spending for the region.

“I know we’ll have a great event next June,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, in Pittsburgh with Penguins top executives and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, for the announcement.

The City of Pittsburgh has also enjoyed an unexpected economic boon thanks to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, with last year’s two home playoff games bringing in another $45 million to Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas.

Following their recent selection by the NHLPA’s Executive Board, Mike Cammalleri (Montreal Canadiens) and Chris Campoli (Chicago Blackhawks) will join current members David Backes (St. Louis Blues), Chris Clark (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) on the Competition Committee. Cammalleri and Campoli replace Mike Commodore and Mathieu Schneider as voting members of the Committee. Schneider will remain on the Committee as the NHLPA’s non-voting member.

The full NHL/NHLPA Competition Committee will meet on Monday, June 13^th at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Boylston room on the first floor. Please note that media availability will be held at the conclusion of the meetings. The listed time is an approximate end time.

For the fourth consecutive season, the Pittsburgh Penguins ranked 1st in the NHL’s local TV ratings, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. The Penguins averaged an 8.68 rating on FSN Pittsburgh up until April 1st, when FSN Pittsburgh changed its name to ROOT Sports, due to the network being bought out by DirecTV.

According to PBT, the Penguins also attract the NHL’s largest average TV audience with over 101,000 homes tuning in to watch each broadcast. Pittsburgh is the NHL 22nd largest market.

Chicago, Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia rounded out the top five largest local TV audiences.

Pittsburgh…the new hockey town? Maybe.

The Penguins also ranked 7th in attendance, averaging 19,457 in the new Consol Energy Center. Consol holds 18,000 for hockey games, putting the Penguins at 107% capacity during this past season’s home games. That was the highest capacity percentage in the NHL, beating out the Chicago Blackhawks over capacity attendance by 3%.

Whether or not Pittsburgh is the new “Hockey Town USA” is certainly a point to be debated, but its incredible to note that the team was last in attendance and on the verge of bankruptcy in 2003, only to now be considered among the NHL elite just eight years later.

As for teams not doing so well? The Florida Panthers ranked last in local television rating (0.16) and number of homes (3,000).

[quotes]Txtstation is using its proprietary technology to produce real-time, interactive HD graphics for home games enabling fans to interact with the team and Honda Center via their mobile phones. For example, fans can text DUX1, DUX2 or DUX3 to guess their answer to the “Guess that Duck?” texting game and/or email a picture to ducks@txtstation.com for a chance to see their picture appear on the big screen. In response to participation, the Ducks and Honda Center are encouraging participants to join their text clubs. Ducks fans can receive score updates, ticket offers and more by sending the keyword DUCKS to 55333 to sign up. Honda Center attendees can also receive offers relating to Honda Center events by sending the keyword EVENTS to 55333.[/quotes]

Adam Mendelsohn, Senior Media & Marketing Manager for the Ducks on the deal,

[quotes]“We chose Txtstation because they have a fully integrated 360-degree platform and an extensive library of HD graphics that allow us to have a direct dialogue with our fans.”[/quotes]

Recent months have seen Txtstation dive head first into the world of mobile marketing, having signed deals with the Golf Channel, the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Early reports are estimating that Hulsizer will pay the NHL nearly $165 million for the embattled team.  The NHL paid $140 million to buy the Coyotes out of bankruptcy.

NHL owners will need to sign off on the deal before its finalized, although Glendale representatives and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly are already reporting that a sale of the team is in place.

Hundreds of Phoenix Coyotes fans are filled with excitement.

The team saw the biggest drop in attendance amongst all NHL teams last year, finishing with an average attendance of roughly 12,000 a game (67% capacity).  Also, prior to the bankruptcy filing and the NHL’s purchase, the team was losing nearly $40 million a year — in part due to poor business decisions and a bad American West Arena lease.

Regardless, the NHL seemed doggedly determined to keep the team in Arizona, even turning down Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie’s offer to pay upwards of $210 million to buy the team and move them to Canada.

Now, it looks as though Hulsizer will give the NHL exactly what they wanted.  Whether Hulsizer can help change the culture in Glendale still remains to be seen.

The HBO Series ‘24/7’ started with boxing as its primary focus and would follow high-profile boxers such as Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather as they geared up for a big fight, and recently ‘24/7’ was expanded to include Nascar as well.  Adding the best hockey rivalry (maybe the best modern day rivalry in sports), to the television show seems like a perfect match for the Emmy Award-winning television series.  Combine this rivalry with the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, and it’s a success in the making.

To those uninformed, the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is the outdoor hockey game played on New Year’s Day.  It started in 2008 but is quickly developing into a sports/holiday tradition, similar to the NFL Games played on Thanksgiving.  It is one of the NHL’s most watched regular season games, and may some day pass viewership for the Stanley Cup as well.

“Taking our reality series ‘24/7’ into the world of the National Hockey League is a perfect fit,” said Ross Greenberg, president of HBO Sports. “The ‘24/7’ franchise is fashioned on larger-than-life personalities, engaging storylines, and unrestricted access. With Sidney Crosby leading the Penguins and Alex Ovechkin leading the Capitals, we have all the ingredients for a dynamic show that will take viewers deep inside professional hockey and set the stage for the Winter Classic.”

It’s a great time to be a hockey fan.

But it is news when all 18,000 of those fans get in for free.

In what the team is billing as the first ever 100% free professional sports event, the Pittsburgh Penguins are working with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development to connect with a younger fan base during a troubling economic time.

The event is part sports showcase, part job fair. ACCD operates ImaginePittsburghJobs.com, which lists about 22,000 job openings in the Pittsburgh area, according to the Associated Press.

About 8,000 of those in attendance at the Pens game will also attend the job fair. The other 10,000 fans will come from area youth hockey leagues.

[Source: Associated Press]

In part due to a lack of competition in Olympic Women’s Hockey, which is in danger of not being offered in the 2014 Winter Olympics, womens hockey officials and the NHL met todiscuss the viability of a womens hockey league.

As you may or may not remember, the U.S. and Canadian womens hockey teams dominated their European opponents, before the Canadians beat the Americans 2-0 in the Olympic final.  Either the Canadians or Americans have won the gold medal since womens hockey was introduced to the Olympics in 1998.  That in part led IOC president Jacque Rogge to question the longterm viability of womens hockey in the Olympics.

Maybe Olympic hockey was in question, but the popularity and competitive nature of hockey in North America is far from being in dispute.

“We had 5,000 girls playing hockey when the first national team started in 1990, and now we have 60,000,” said the four-time American Olympic defender Angela Ruggiero. Canada has 80,000 registered female players, but of the next 12 countries that play women’s hockey, none have more than 5,000, and most have only a few hundred.

The problem is in Europe outside Scandinavia, where centers of men’s hockey like Russia, Slovakia and Germany devote virtually no resources to the women’s game. In North America there are two Canada-based semipro leagues for women who have finished college. (via NYT)

So, with womens hockey being a popular commodity in North America, and teetering on the edge of non-existence in the Olympic-world…a professional womens hockey league doesn’t seem like a far-fetched step.

“I was in a meeting just this week with the N.H.L. and all the stakeholders in women’s hockey, and I think we have the ear of the N.H.L.,” said Hayley Wickenheiser, 32, a Canadian forward regarded as one of the greatest female players ever and the keynote speaker at the final day of the World Hockey Summit here.

“They’re looking at it right now from a sponsorship level to get it off the ground,” Wickenheiser said, referring to the N.H.L. “We’re not talking about big salaries, just sensible steps to get it on the ice to entertain people and see where it can go, and then down the road having an elite, W.N.B.A.-type league, which I think we could do.”

Bill Daly, the N.H.L. deputy commissioner, said the talks have taken place over a number of months and were very preliminary, but they are aimed at setting up a “women’s league or women’s competition.”

“We’ve talked about potential structures that might work, the need for a business plan, and our efforts to be helpful to the extent we can be,” Daly said.

Brian Burke, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, said his team, the wealthiest club in the N.H.L., supported the idea of a competition that would foster the development of women’s hockey.

Although it certainly won’t be easy, the WNBA model is an example, even if they’re seeing increased attendance this year, the hope is that a womens professional hockey league could help to create some competitive balance amongst North America and the rest of the world.

Competitive balance, which would hopefully keep womens hockey in the Olympics in 2014 and beyond.

Press Release (via NHL)

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -The Glendale City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a memorandum of understanding from Ice Edge Holdings toward purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes and keeping the NHL team at Jobing.com Arena.

The memorandum gives Ice Edge, a group of Canadian and American investors, exclusive negotiating rights for a new arena lease – a necessary step toward buying the team from the NHL. Glendale officials say the memorandum will be forwarded to league officials for a final decision.

A group headed by sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf withdrew from efforts to purchase the Coyotes on Monday night, leaving Ice Edge as the only potential buyer. Reinsdorf owns the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls.

The NHL bought the team out of bankruptcy last September with the intention of selling it to someone who would keep it in Glendale, where the team has lost tens of millions of dollars in recent seasons.

Yay! Warm weather hockey in a city where they never fill the arena and the fans don’t care about the team will continue!

Apparently, it really is Bridgestone, or nothing.

Bridgestone recently inked an agreement with the NHL, NHLPA, and Hockey Hall of Fame to become the trio’s official tire up until 2015.  This agreement also ensures that we’ll see the Bridgestone name on hockey’s most intriguing event, the winter classic, until at least mid-way through the decade.

Bridgestone gets its logo into the official game and event mark, on-air title broadcast rights from all of the league’s broadcast partners in the U.S. and Canada (NBC, CBC and RDS); branded promotional opportunities on NBC coverage of the game; camera-visible logo placements; TV spots on arena video monitors and PA announcements. Bridgestone also gets brand placement throughout all NHL media properties, including video, print, online and radio, per the NHL.

Beyond the Winter Classic, Bridgestone’s “Official Tire” status gives it promotional access on NHL Face-Off, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHL Draft, NHL Awards and the NHL All-Star game, per the league. The NHLPA side of the deal gives the tire maker use of NHL Player rights and images.

The company will support the league’s media properties, including NHL.com and NHL Network, various NHL clubs and by advertising on NHL telecasts in Canada and the U.S. Finally Bridgestone will sponsor the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award Presented by Bridgestone, and the Bridgestone Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award. (via Media Post)

As far as sponsorship goes, I’m first off happy to see that Bridgestone is willing to get into a multi-year sponsorship deal.  Coming out of the recession, a lot of sponsors were still gun-shy, signing one year deals, as they were trying to gauge the state of the economy.  Bridgestone’s 5-year deal signifies what I hope continues to be a move back to normalcy.

Furthermore, it shows the strength of the NHL product.  The NHL really is an attractive commodity, with their ability to control all of its own content across North America, although it always seems as if their missing that one spark; a television deal, the right team markets, etc. to really see exponential growth.

For those wondering, the deal was brokered Richards Sports and Entertainment, a division of Richards Group, Dallas, Bridgestone’s AOR.

Spotted at Sports Media News

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS VIEWERSHIP CONTINUES TO CLIMB

Blackhawks Clincher On NBC Sports Up 33 Percent

NHL.com Ranks Second in Growth Among All Sites from March to April

NEW YORK (May 24, 2010) – NBC Sports’ coverage of yesterday’s decisive Game 4 between the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, earned a 2.0 overnight rating and a 5 share, a 33 percent increase over last year (Detroit/Chicago, 1.5/4), as Chicago advanced to its first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years by completing a sweep of San Jose.  Hockey-mad Chicago delivered a 14.1/32.

Saturday’s Philadelphia Flyers/Montreal Canadiens Game 4 earned a healthy 1.6/4 (no comparison in 2009). The Philadelphia market delivered a 12.0/27.  Both games won every half hour against competition from the other networks.

Top Five NHL Markets of Weekend:
1.        Chicago – 14.1 (Sunday)
2.        Philadelphia- 12.0 (Saturday)
T3. San Jose – 4.4 (Sunday)
T3. Buffalo – 4.4 (Sunday)
4.        Buffalo  - 4.2 (Saturday)
5.        Pittsburgh – 3.6 (Saturday)

Top Five Non-NHL Markets of Weekend:
1.        San Diego – 2.8 (Sunday)
2.        Sacramento – 2.5 (Sunday)
3.        Richmond – 2.2 (Sunday)
4.        San Diego – 2.0 (Saturday)
T5. Indianapolis -1.9 (Sunday)
T5. Las Vegas – 1.9 (Sunday)

FIRST TWO ROUNDS ON VERSUS MOST-WATCHED IN HISTORY
VERSUS’ coverage of the first two rounds of 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched first two rounds on cable on record with an average of  775,000 viewers for the 54 telecasts (Stanley Cup Playoff cable viewership became available by Nielsen for the 1994 playoffs).

The 1.0 HH rating and average viewership (1.041 million) for the second round were up 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively, over last year’s Conference Semifinal (.8 HH rating and 816,000 viewers). Throughout the duration of the Conference Semifinal, VERSUS ranked as a top 10 cable network in primetime viewership (8-11 p.m.) among Adults 18-49 and 25-54 and was one of the top five most-watched cable networks among Men 18-49 and 25-54.

NBC and VERSUS have combined for the most-watched first two rounds since 1997 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2).

DIGITAL STRATEGY PAYS DIVIDENDS

The NHL is engaging and connecting with more fans than ever on its digital platforms and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs has continued that trend. Some highlights:

· For the first 40 days of the playoffs, video starts on NHL.com are up 148 percent over last year

· Unique visitors to NHL.com are up 31 percent

· Page views are up 50 percent
· Mobile page views are up 183 percent
· April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million
· NHL.com ranked as the number two site in terms of percentage change in unique visitors from March to April according to comScore (see chart below).
comScore’s Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)
April 2010 vs. March 2010

1. MLB.COM – 67%
2. NHL.com Network – 35%
3. Buzzle.com – 19%
4. chachha.com – 16%
5. The Mozilla Organization – 15%
6. The Home Depot, Inc. – 12%
T7. Vevo – 11%
T7. Ford Motor Company – 11%
T7. Examiner.com Sites – 11%
T7. Conduit.com – 11%

Sorry Winnipeg, but you’re going to have to wait even longer to see professional hockey return to your city.  The Glendale city council voted to pony up the $25 million dollars necessary to keep the beloved Phoenix Coyotes in Phoenix.  That is, if the money is needed in the first place.

But city manager Ed Beasley and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly both told the council that the sale of the Coyotes is still expected to close by the end of June and the payments may never be needed.

Beasley also said that both Ice Edge Holdings and a group headed by Chicago sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf are still talking about buying the Phoenix Coyotes. Reports have had Reinsdorf’s group dropping out in recent days. (via Houston Chronicle)

The unanimous council vote allows Mr. Beasley to begin to make plans to cover the Coyotes expected $25M operating loss in the 2010-2011 season.  What does that entail exactly? Something not yet seen in the sports world; taxpayers not just paying for a stadium, but directly paying for the teams operating losses.  (note: its been said that any revenue generated would not come from public dollars, and that this revenue may be generated through things like ticket surcharges)

So, what can save the taxpayers?  New ownership.  The NHL currently owns the club, and while they did agree to cover the Coyotes operating losses after the 2009-2010 season when they bought the team in bankruptcy court last September, it was agreed that the city would have to cover the future losses.  New owners would obviously handle any operating losses in 2010-2011, which would hopefully keep the citizens of Glendale from paying the various increased fees.

By the way, the franchise hasn’t turned a profit since moving to Arizona in 1996.

So what does this all mean in the grand scheme of things?  Hockey will stay in Phoenix for the time being, and will continue to operate at a loss and with decreased attendance. Meanwhile, the roughly 700,000 people that live in Winnipeg will continue to clamor for a hockey team…but to no avail.

It almost doesn’t seem fair.

…and maybe, more importantly, it almost doesn’t make sense.