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.

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.

Clearly, its just not Upper Deck’s year.

Last week the NHL signed a licensing deal with Panini America to produce hockey cards along with Upper Deck, which previously held an exclusive NHL license.  That’s all well and good, except for the fact that any exclusive autograph deals and exclusives previously held by NHL players with Upper Deck are now nullified.

In his letter, Adam Larry, the Director of Licensing and Associate Counsel for the NHLPA, noted that “both Upper Deck and Panini will be permitted to use images of ALL NHL players in their products” — but also that those two manufacturers  “are the only trading card companies that players should sign autographs or appear on packaging for.”

The letter states that “Neither Upper Deck nor Panini can sign a player to an exclusive autograph deal” and that “Neither Panini nor Upper Deck can: (I) preclude a player’s image from appearing on trading cards made by the other company; or (II) prevent memorabilia (jerseys, equipment, etc.) of a player from being included in trading cards made by the other company.”

Interestingly, the only exclusives that can be signed are for packaging deals where the players can endorse a product by appearing on the boxes or wrappers of products.

The letter also states that “in the event a player currently has a deal with Upper Deck that runs past June 30, 2010, that provides for exclusivity in the trading card category beyond packaging, those provisions will now be null and void. (However, Upper Deck must still abide by all the other terms of the agreement (such as payment obligations).” (via Beckett Blog)

Without knowing any of the monetary details behind trading card licensing deals, you would at least have to assume that exclusivity carries some form of monetary value.  Either in price to the consumer or maybe in the amount you have to pay for the exclusive athlete.  Upper Deck used to enjoy that value…no longer.  Not surprisingly, Upper Deck will be producing fewer NHL cards this year…not that the NHLPA is worried.

The letter also notes that Upper Deck will not be producing as many NHL sets as it had in its previous five years as an exclusive but that the NHLPA expects “the shortfall to be more than made up for however by the new licensee Panini.”

Things are almost going hilariously bad for Upper Deck in 2010.  You may remember that they’ve already had two losing lawsuits this year regarding Yu-Gi-Oh cards and unlicensed MLB cards, and now they’ll be producing fewer NHL cards due to their loss of exclusivity.

Things could be going better, no?

20-year-old scoring phenom Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks will be the new face of the NHL 10 videogame from EA SPORTS^TM! Kane is the youngest player ever chosen for the cover of the NHL franchise and his image will be on the front of all packaging when NHL 10 is available in North American retail stores this September.

Having emerged as one of the most skilled players in the NHL in just two seasons, Kane won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2008 and this year led the Blackhawks to the Western Conference Finals. He has scored more than 20 goals and registered more than 70 points in each of his first two seasons.

“It’s exciting to be on the cover of my favorite videogame after playing just my second year as a professional,” said Kane. “When you look back at some of the great players who have had this opportunity, it’s an honor to be a part of the EA SPORTS family and contribute to a game I’ve been playing for more than 10 years.”

EA SPORTS also announced that it has signed Canadian junior hockey scoring sensation John Tavares, expected to be the top pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, to promote the release of NHL 10. Tavares will join Kane, the first overall draft pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, as spokespersons for NHL 10.

“It’s exciting for me to team up with Patrick to promote EA SPORTS and get the chance to play NHL 10 before it’s in stores,” said Tavares. “Now I’m looking forward to the draft and finding out which team will select me.”

“At EA SPORTS we believe in identifying the most talented up-and-coming athletes in the world to help us develop the most authentic sports games,” said Jordan Edelstein, Vice-President of Marketing for EA SPORTS. “We believe Kane is one of the next great American hockey stars and Tavares will have an immediate impact in the league.”

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom was earlier named a cover athlete on NHL 10 packaging in Sweden. Additional regional cover athletes for Finland, Denmark and Switzerland will be named at a later date.  NHL 10 will be in retail stores across Europe on September 18.

Congratulations to Patrick Kane.  Although I’m almost positive most casual hockey fans have no clue who he is, NHL has been out long enough that it will sell if they put me on the cover (well, maybe).  This again brings up the weird conundrum with hockey.  They have only a few house hold names, but how do you ever create new household names if you don’t start to market your players?  Do the other sports have this same issue? Can this all be attributed to the strike or just due to the generally lower amount of interest for hockey in America?  Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Although quality of the game will play a large role as to which game generates more sales, it would also be interesting to note if the cover athlete of NHL 2k10, Alex Ovechkin has any effect on which game consumers decide to buy.

EASports — Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane the new face of NHL 2010

2K Sports announced today that Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, the 2009 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Award winner and Hart Memorial Trophy candidate, will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for the next iteration of the popular NHL 2K franchise, NHL® 2K10.

In celebration of the announcement, Ovechkin will be participating in 2K Sports’ first-ever outdoor hockey motion capture session tonight in the Roman Plaza at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from 8:30-11:30pm PT. The open-air rink recalls the September 27, 1991, LA Kings vs. New York Rangers hockey showdown when Wayne Gretzky led the Kings to victory in a similarly unusual and picturesque open-air setting at the famed Las Vegas resort. Joining Ovechkin on the ice will be Vancouver Canucks center and 2009 Selke Trophy finalist, Ryan Kesler, along with play-by-play commentator for the San Jose Sharks, Randy Hahn, who will act as host MC. Only media will be allowed into the rink area for this private event, as synthetic ice will be laid down to create a special hockey rink and 2K Sports’ game producers will put Ovechkin through a number of dynamic drills to capture his signature style data for NHL 2K10.

As far as interesting hockey figures go, Ovechkin has to be at, or very close to, the top of the list.  Even though I’m required to hate him when he plays the Penguins, I have to admire the fact that he always seems to be genuinely enjoying himself on the ice.  A great, if not obvious choice by 2k sports to use the guy who is arguably the most charismatic hockey figure for the cover of their game. And, in case you’re wondering, Ovechkin has appeared on video game covers before (see EA Sports NHL ’09).  As an aside, How many casual sports fans can name 10 hockey players? Again, not that Ovi isn’t a great choice, but how often are hockey game creators pigeonholed into choosing from a very short list of people due to the fact that no casual fan will know any of the more obscure players?  Speaks a lot about the popularity of the NHL and its players, does it not?

PlanetBox360 — Alex Ovechkin Announced as cover athlete for NHL 2K10

Breaking it down in 3, 2, 1…

The league’s focus is on attracting sponsors that will ultimately lead to more television money. The league is banking on digital media and special events like its outdoor Winter Classic, played this year at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, and season openers in Europe to excite its fan base and help sponsors reach a bigger audience, said Chief Operating Officer John Collins…

The league is right to focus on building its television audience by targeting its young fans with digital offerings, said Neal Pilson, former head of CBS Sports and now a New York- based broadcast consultant.

“By 2013 the digital, Web and mobile audience will be sufficiently larger so the NHL will be able to combine those users with their TV audience to attract sponsorships that will support a major TV deal,” Pilson said in an e-mail.

Okay, lets start here.  First off, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  The Winter Classic is/was/will be a great idea.  Other special events, i.e. season openers in Europe, are pretty good as well, because you’re hoping to expand the market, etc. etc.  The potential problem is with the digital, web, and mobile audiences.  By 2013 will those audiences be larger? Of course. I don’t know if its due to more people discovering that medium for the first time, or because of the quality product being produced.  It is very possible that digital audience is only sustained for a short time period.  Lets face it, digital media still has a long way to go before it becomes a viable alternative to television (still a lot of lag time/buffering required on many sites, need HD capabilities, etc. etc.).  The possibility that you see “false-positives” on the increase in digital viewers does exist, and I think it will continue to be prevalent for a few years to come. My other potential concern is being able to show that a large web audience is worthy of a major TV deal.  Sure, it shows that you have a larger audience, and more potential television viewers, but, if digital media is as fantastic as mentioned in the first part of the argument, then will those digital viewers turn to television instead when they can take a laptop or a phone anywhere they go and see the game in high quality video?  There seems to be a definite overlap in those two audiences, and while I’m hopeful, I’m worried that the NHL may not be able to tally a large enough audience to leverage it into a major TV deal.

Of course, maybe the NHL can get away with the audience overlap?

This is good news for the NHL, Pilson said. The more viewers it lures to Internet and television, the more sponsors will follow and the networks won’t be far behind.

“So long as a sports rights holder can sell an attractive audience, the agencies will buy that sport for their clients,” Pilson said.

First you get the viewers, then you get the sponsors.  Once you have the sponsors, then networks will work with you.

Tony Montana couldn’t have said it better himself.

Bloomberg –  NHL borrows from NFL as it pursues a bigger TV contract