Amazing how a one source story continues to spin.
The so-called collapse of the Phoenix Coyotes sale to Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer continues to be spun out, what’s even funnier is that now, one of the chief merchants of trying to influence the sale from afar is complaining about it in his Globe and Mail column today. David Shoalts is trying to push blame of on everyone else while the tone of his column portrays a clear bias... to make it even funier, he invokes the phrase “a journalistic standpoint.” Now I don't care who you are, that's funny!
Pred Nation acutely understands how Coyote fans feel, every chance to dog the Phoenix market is jumped on, any positive that comes out is derided and belittled… and what about the great hockey fans in markets that keep getting mentioned, especially Winnipeg? Their emotions get constantly toyed with by those that want to destabilize the situation.
Look, I understand that every day that passes without a finalized deal gives the haters more ammunition. The only solution is to get this deal done, then work on building the fan base back up. We’ve seen it work in many markets, both traditional and non-traditional.
It can work in Phoenix, but the deal needs to be done soon so the jackals can move on to another target.
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With no games until Tuesday, I’ve been perusing Sports Club Stats.com and finding some interesting stats about the chase group in the west. It looks like a team will need 94 points to make the playoffs, so let's use that as a baseline...
The 4th place Nashville Predators have an 88.3% chance of making the playoffs with 60 points and 50 games played. The Preds need to play .531 hockey to make that 94 point line.
Anaheim hold the 5th position with 60 points and 52 games played, their playoff chances are at 51.5%, more games played sure makes an impact here. To make 94 points they need a winning percentage of .567.
Sixth place Phoenix has 59 points in 51 games and a playoff chance of 63.1%. To get to 94 points they need to play at a .565 clip.
Chicago holds seventh in the conference with 56 points in 50 games. Their current playoff chances are at 65.8%. To achieve 94 points they will need to a winning percentage of .594.
San Jose is in eighth place with 56 points in 50 games with a 42.8% chance of making the playoffs. They also need a win percentage of .594.
The teams that stand currently out of the top eight and the win percentage they need to get to 94 points…
9. Colorado - .594
10. Minnesota - .591
11. Los Angeles - .609
12. Calgary - .645
13. Columbus - .652
14. St. Louis - .652
15. Edmonton - .848
Seeing the win percentages necessary shows the Herculean task in front of teams like Edmonton, and honestly, is a reality check for teams like St. Louis, Columbus and Calgary. .650 hockey ain't easy, and they can't waste anymore time getting down to business. Of the three, Calgary seems to be the one that has figured it out first.
Remember that these numbers are a result of simulations run by the website… check for yourself at www.sportsclubstats.com
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Random Notes
- The All-Star game draft is tonight… isn’t it a sign that the game has lost its shine when players choosing sides has become the highlight of the weekend? I’m just sayin’…
- Apparently throwing a waffle is no longer a crime in Toronto as a waffle-throwing Leafs fan has had criminal charges dropped against him. Rinks everywhere are now safe for breakfast food tossing.
- This Monday (1/31/11) it's The Sports Radio 560 WNSR Predators Players Show live @ The Flying Saucer 6 PM-7PM. Get autographs and pictures with Nashville Predators Players Marcel Goc & Alexander Sulzer. Don't miss out on this opportunity to support The Predators & local hockey coverage from Nashville’s Sports Original 560 WNSR!
- Detroit has activated Pavel Datsyuk from IR, very good news for fans of the Winged Wheel, bad news for the rest of the Central Division.
- Anaheim learned that Ryan Getzlaf has been cleared to begin skating with the team.
- James O’Brien on ProHockeyTalk, the NBC Sports blog, has an interesting proposition for the All-Star Game… move it to preseason… check his column
here.
- OT: My day job is located right near the Tennessee Titans training camp location, today I watched four different news trucks with live shots of the facility because of the news of Jeff Fisher’s departure from the team. Four different stations with four different talking heads covering an empty building at 6 o’clock in the morning after a coach was released, five hours before a press conference is to take place... glad there wasn't any big news … wow… simply wow…
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for @PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates, but we are having a bit of fun by getting your input on Gnash introductions, weigh in on Twitter and who knows, we may use your introduction for the best mascot in the NHL at the next Preds game!
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COMING UP ON THE NEXT SLAPSHOT RADIO…
This week’s podcast is posted featuring a roundtable discussing the Preds heading into the All-Star break with Jeremy Gover from Section303.com and Ryan Porth from Red Light District Hockey. We spoke to Mike Ross from NHL Home Ice’s Hockey This Morning about head shots, and Pete Weber went Behind the Bench with Predators Associate Head Coach Brent Peterson. Pete also had a great piece celebrating Wayne Gretzky’s birthday… That’s all on the SlapShot Radio podcast.
Next week’s show is taking shape, Tim Panaccio from CSN Philly will joins us to preview the Preds/Flyers game and much much more.
Podcasts of past episodes are available at
the SlapShot Radio podcast page.