JackBurton
Well-known member
Not being on ESPN was such a horrific mistake. Remember when they went on the OLN network after they left ESPN? The handling of these US deals on tv have been a mess.
Around the NHL 2016-2017
- Thread starter Metalleaf
- Start date
BeLeafer
Well-known member
You say that like it would be a bad thing.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
Surprised there was no solid interest in him, he was still a pretty decent defender.
LeafGm
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm kind of surprised by that. I'd have thought Chicago could still use him, and he's a guy I was interested in seeing the Leafs target.
But it may not be the case that Campbell hasn't received any offers. Could always be that he's 38 years old, with $60M+ in the bank thanks to that insane contract Tallon gave him, and he's already won his Stanley Cup and taken his one last kick at the can by taking a bargain contract with Chicago this past season.
So perhaps he's just ready for the rest of his life now.
But it may not be the case that Campbell hasn't received any offers. Could always be that he's 38 years old, with $60M+ in the bank thanks to that insane contract Tallon gave him, and he's already won his Stanley Cup and taken his one last kick at the can by taking a bargain contract with Chicago this past season.
So perhaps he's just ready for the rest of his life now.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
Yeah, that could be it entirely. Imagine being in your late 30's knowing that you're set for 50 years of luxury? It's gotta be tough to motivate yourself to bust your balls all summer to get into your peak shape to make 2 million (a million and change after tax) when you're set and have accomplished just about everything in your career that you could have hoped to.
leafman101
Well-known member
Apparently he was only interested in going back to Chicago.
You'd think they would bring him back given the state of their D and with Hossa going on LTIR freeing up cap space.
You'd think they would bring him back given the state of their D and with Hossa going on LTIR freeing up cap space.
LeafOfFaith
Well-known member
He probably got offers, like $1m for one season. Who wants to play a lesser role, at an older age, risk serious injury, and do the 82 game grind for like $500k after tax? Only if you need the money.
MyNameIsJonas
Well-known member
Campbell wasn't the same Campbell last year, and they put resources into the Czech defender, Ruuta, that they signed and i imagine they want to see what they have in the likes of Forsling, Pokka, Gustaffson and Svedberg.
That said
Keith Seabrook
Murphy Kempny
Ruuta ?????
God damn fugly. The top pair has a guy on it who isn't a top pair guy, the middle pair is a bottom pair, and the bottom pair might be AHL caliber.
Pray for Duncan Keith, he might avg 35 mins a game.
That said
Keith Seabrook
Murphy Kempny
Ruuta ?????
God damn fugly. The top pair has a guy on it who isn't a top pair guy, the middle pair is a bottom pair, and the bottom pair might be AHL caliber.
Pray for Duncan Keith, he might avg 35 mins a game.
JohnnyHolmes
Banned
A mess?
A $2 Billion deal for hockey, in a country that by and large doesn't give a shit about hockey, is pretty freaking good.
Losing ESPN is no big deal either. They barely show sports as it is. More than 80% of their programming is just talking head shows.
NBCSN is a fine deal.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
They went from ESPN to the Outdoor Life Network in between the two. Leaving ESPN for OLN was the mistake.
leafman101
Well-known member
Don't think that was the NHLs choice.
Hockey was in a bad spot in 2005.
Hockey was in a bad spot in 2005.
BKerr
Banned
Chicago didn't think so, using him at forward at times, and as a healthy scratch at other times. Their usage of him last season, was usage of a player who their coaching staff felt fell off a cliff defensively.
BKerr
Banned
ESPN offered zero money up front, but a share of profits on commercials.
OLN offered money up front (I can't remember the amount). The NHL took that deal. The network would soon change names to versus, then to NBC SportsNet, over the course of the deal. The deal would also lead to an NBC TV package, on network television, as well as a 10-year, $2 billion package when the deal expired.
Would ESPN have been better? It could have been, but its not 100% certain that this was the wrong choice. (I think it was, but there is an argument to be made that it was the right choice).
BKerr
Banned
OLN is NBC SportsNet. Its the same channel. It just changed names three times during the course of the first deal.
Bleedsblue&white
Well-known member
Mistakes were made.
LeafOfFaith
Well-known member
I remember when hockey got cut off for fishing once on OLN. I was not pleased.
LeafGm
Well-known member
The fact that they don't really does seem like a missed opportunity. I know cable & satellite companies pay them a lot of money, and that they also count multiple cable and satellite companies as the owners of some of their marquee franchises---but these organizations really need to get with the times before they get left behind.
As much as they try to force people towards the antiquated cable & satellite TV model in order to watch home-town teams live, people are always going to find a way around it. The other thing that blows me away is that these multi-billion dollar media organizations---the NHL and Rogers in particular---still haven't managed to create an online streaming service that's as user-friendly and bug-free as the ones offered by the various grey/black market streaming services over the years.
For example, Hockeystreams, which got shut down prior to this past season, blew NHL Gamecenter out of the water when it comes to user experience.
But hey---if the finally do pull their heads out of their asses, and offer a good quality streaming service that allows me to stream every Leaf game live in Toronto, I'll gladly pay up even if the option to stream for free elsewhere is readily available. Just give me the option. I was happy to pay for MLB.tv these past couple of summers once they stopped blacking out Blue Jays games.