ESPN did it's annual
Ultimate Standings rankings and this year an NHL franchise, "The Tampa Bay Lightning" came out on top. This is no accident. The Lightning have been building a team and a franchise the right way. Current owner Jeffrey Vinik has done a great job continuing the amazing turn around that was initiated by the highly under-appreciated former owner Oren Koules. Many of the players on this team along with the attitude around the team actually were born out of what Koules started when he purchased a team without an identity which was struggling to be embraced by the marketplace. Vinik has made some more great decisions for sure and this team is set for years to come.
#2 on this list is another team I fully support, the Nashville Predators. This is THE Best building to see a hockey game in the NHL, as a lot of other national media members finally realized after covering the All-Star Game last year. There is nothing like the atmosphere in and around the arena. The people in the Preds organization are top-of-the-line and full of class. There are quite a few teams in the NHL who think they are "all that" who could learn a ton from how they do it in Nashville.
ESPN
How does ESPN come up with these rankings?
Affordability (12.2%): Price of tickets, parking and concessions
Coaching (2.8%): Strength of on-field leadership
Fan relations (27.2%): Courtesy by players, coaches and front office toward fans, plus how well a team uses technology to reach fans
Ownership (12.8%): Honesty; loyalty to core players and the local community
Players (14.7%): Effort on the field, likability off it
Stadium experience (11.7%): Quality of arena; fan-friendliness of environment; frequency of game-day promotions
Title track (3.9%): Championships won or expected within the lifetime of current fans
Bang for the buck (14.7%): Wins in the past two years per fan dollar, adjusted for league schedules
And here are the rankings...the numbers in parenthesis indicate the "overall" ranking when all sports are taken into account.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2. Nashville Predators (6)
3. Florida Panthers (7)
4. Dallas Stars (8)
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (11)
6. Anaheim Ducks (23)
7. St. Louis Blues (29)
8. San Jose Sharks (30)
9. Chicago Blackhawks (35)
10. Los Angeles Kings (38)
11. Arizona Coyotes (41)
12. Detroit Red Wings (44)
13. Washington Capitals (47)
14. New Jersey Devils (51)
15. Philadelphia Flyers (58)
16. Buffalo Sabres (60)
17. Carolina Hurricanes (61)
18. Minnesota Wild (62)
19. Columbus Blue Jackets (63)
20. Winnipeg Jets (71)
21. Colorado Avalanche (77)
22. Calgary Flames (83)
23. New York Islanders (84)
24. New York Rangers (92)
25. Ottawa Senators (95)
26. Montreal Canadiens (98)
27. Boston Bruins (99)
28. Edmonton Oilers (111)
29. Vancouver Canucks (116)
30. Toronto Maple Leafs (118)
Your turn...
What do you think of these rankings? How would you do this differently?
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