Comments on: Bloomberg Businessweek claims NHL has “identity crisis”

By: vshehane

vshehane — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:53:40 +0000

You have been hit in the head with a puck too many times, hank.

By: hanktheking

hanktheking — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:42:35 +0000

Americans have a strong “desire” to be the best and when they are not they usually just discredit whatever it is their not the best at. They pout in other words.

By: vshehane

vshehane — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:38:07 +0000

I don’t see it has anything to do with pissing off the American media. Where does that stupid, random statement come from?

By: nhlbruins90

nhlbruins90 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:48:10 +0000

Or like someone who refers to it as ‘ice hockey’. As opposed to … field hockey, I guess. Lots of credibility there.

By: wingsdjy

wingsdjy — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:28:10 +0000

Part of the problem is the language barrier. NHL is much more diverse, so many of the stars have accents that are a little too thick for American advertising.

Random thought: Why’s Daniel on the list but not Henrik?

By: jpelle82

jpelle82 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:38:55 +0000

i dont think a lot of nhl players care if they are on bloomberg’s power 100 list. of the big 4, hockey is probably the most team oriented sport of them all (except for arguments sake maybe football). do we really want guys to be like tiger woods, kobe bryant, or even a ryan braun? do we want to look at nhl superstars as big ballin’ money grubbers with extravagant lifestyles and scandalous personal lives? thats gonna sell tabloids and stir talk show banter but i think the hockey purists would rather our guys be humble and win championships. do we want superstars like ovechkin pursuing clothing lines, rap careers, or dating models? i dont want that guy on my team and i dont care if he sells jerseys or tickets by acting that way either. just win and keep your nose clean…be a team mate and a man we can respect.

By: lsxphotog

lsxphotog — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:07:07 +0000

Spoken like someone who doesn’t bother watching hockey. The “I can’t find the puck” type or the “I can’t watch it on TV, but I’ll go to a game” kinda guy. It’s a stupid thing to say because, for hockey fans, there are a strong core of consistently dominant players…there may even be too many. Every team and every city has their poster boy(s) who are notorious throughout the league. What this is a measurement of is players who get attention and will make headlines in the author’s face. Hockey athletes aren’t like any other, save for Ovi and Crosby, and just play the game they love and then go home with their families. They won’t try to make headlines or say/do things to gain a spot on the laughable ESPN coverage. Some people are all about that. Athletes that are shoved in their face because they want to be seen. Hockey never gets any love, and I’m fine with that.

By: clarenceoveur

clarenceoveur — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:21:22 +0000

Its silly to correlate that list with overall league health. The NBA markets like a movie or the WWE, so of course on an individual level they’ll have disproportionately high name recognition. Also the nature of the sport is that one superstar makes a team good, two makes them great. Not to mention they have the ball the entire game. A hockey star’s on like 1/3 to 1/2 a game, wearing a helmet, and getting 3-5 shots on the net. Yet somehow its about a million times beter to watch.

By: nhlbruins90

nhlbruins90 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:54:18 +0000

I know the names of lots of players in the NBA, yet I couldn’t be bothered watching the sport. The NHL is relatively healthy, and it’s not built on the cult of a few personalities and endless hype. It’s built on solid entertainment that will survive whatever players come and go, generation after generation.

By: hanktheking

hanktheking — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:49:24 +0000

SORRY..ISNT* was the word I was looking for

By: hanktheking

hanktheking — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:48:05 +0000

Maybe it has something to do with the fact the NHL is full of criminals and juicers. Or maybe it’s because the majority of the league is Canadian and European which pisses off the American media.

By: trbowman

trbowman — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:41:47 +0000

Bettman?

He’s a great commish

By: tommytd

tommytd — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:21:08 +0000

Their commissioner is an idiot and that doesn’t help either!

By: Tapeleg

Tapeleg — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:57:21 +0000

And yet, they are completely correct. Look at the ASG. It should be a who’s who in hockey, and this year, it’s a who’s that. Identity crisis? The NHL couldn’t find their identity with both hands in broad daylight.

By: geo91

geo91 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:49:10 +0000

That’s such an ugly list to begin with, and lets be real here, Crosby’s unfortunate face is still on everything, that is at least north of the boarder.