Would the Penguins have survived without Crosby coming at the time they did??
- faceto27

Yes.

They needed a new building, and they got it. Otherwise, the Pens would have moved out of town, Crosby or not.

Thanks for playing!

Would the Penguins have survived without Crosby coming at the time they did??
- faceto27

If they marketed Malkin right perhaps.

Thanks for jumping in several pages late, but no my fundamental argument is not predicated on the greatest player of all time...it was an example.
My argument is, players sell the sport, the league sells the players....at the NHL level.
There will always be hockey fans and there will always be leaf fans who will watch the game because its hockey or because its the leafs....but the NHL doesn't just survive on die hard fans (in fact if the past 110 days has proved anything, the NHL doesn't give a damn about the hard cores fans - as they know they will return no matter what) but it survives on selling its stars and of course the game to new fans.

Even jr teams do this, they sell there players, but at that level its much more community based, so the name on the front is of bigger importance in some cases.
- Fakepartofme

Wrong word choice. It thrives with them, it survives without them.

New York Isles got Tavares. They still sell less seats than the Coyotes.
- AdamFrench

But what do the Isles promote to the fans? What banners hang in and around the building.
They aren't selling "come see hockey games" ..they are selling come see Tavares...and of course come see Isles - directed towards the hardcore fan.

Would the Penguins have survived without Crosby coming at the time they did??
- faceto27

Not sure, he also may have been the only player to save them in that market, at that time. I never said that star players do not attract fans. They do for sure. But, the players should not make more money than the owners of the team make. That is insane.

Also, if the market is that weak, move the (frank)in team.

They players will make out like bandits, they do every time.

But they are spoiled brats and totally out of touch.

They hate Bettman... Im sure most of them dont even know their pay has gone up 10 fold since he took the job.
- robin_steele264

My pay has too, as has yours

Yes.

They needed a new building, and they got it. Otherwise, the Pens would have moved out of town, Crosby or not.

Thanks for playing!
- Pecafan Fan

And what was the catalyst for getting the new building?
Or should I say who?

But what do the Isles promote to the fans? What banners hang in and around the building.
They aren't selling "come see hockey games" ..they are selling come see Tavares...and of course come see Isles - directed towards the hardcore fan.
- Fakepartofme

If you put Crosby on their team, it would be sold out. But that is one player.. JT can't do it, and he is a great young talent.

And what was the catalyst for getting the new building?
Or should I say who?
- Fakepartofme

Mario Lemieux.

Wrong word choice. It thrives with them, it survives without them.
- markmark

Wrong word choice where?

And what was the catalyst for getting the new building?
Or should I say who?
- Fakepartofme

Bettman?

Wrong word choice where?
- Fakepartofme

Bolded...

But what do the Isles promote to the fans? What banners hang in and around the building.
They aren't selling "come see hockey games" ..they are selling come see Tavares...and of course come see Isles - directed towards the hardcore fan.
- Fakepartofme

They have banners saying "We (frank)ing destroyed for 10 years straight and were the second best dynasty after the Oilers."

Now they have. We are perennial losers and have Tavares/Bailey/blahblah please watch our terrible losing prospect because of these guys.

Nobody shows.

Mario Lemieux.
- Pecafan Fan

A big name player....and Crosby.
Mario may have just retired...but his name was what was being used to sell....not the sport.
that's the point.

New York Isles got Tavares. They still sell less seats than the Coyotes.
- AdamFrench

thats because the Isles owner is a wang and coyote rhymes with peyote

My pay has too, as has yours
- Scooby_Doo

If you are over 40 years old, I doubt that your pay has increased 10X at the same job.. No way. Maybe if you were 12 and are now 22, I could see that.

Bolded...
- markmark

Ah ok, sorry I didn't see that.

You're wife could be an allstar.....


Sorry.
- Leafland

I don't recall him saying it was with his allstar wife.
could be just him demostrating how use adult toys on himself.

i sincerely doubt the suits are buying those seats for the love of hockey.. its a shmoozefest.

the players are replaceable.. and always will be. look at how many young stars are in the AHL right now

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=75725

71 by my count.. alot of them high end stars

and thats not including top tier prospects still playing overseas.
- Dozzer

Of course it's a schmoozefest made possible by the fact that Leafs have huge cache in this town.

If you put Crosby on their team, it would be sold out. But that is one player.. JT can't do it, and he is a great young talent.
- bixll

You are also talking about a scorned fan based who have sold every big name player they've had recently.
Take the well known players off the Isles.....imagine who would show then?

A big name player....and Crosby.
Mario may have just retired...but his name was what was being used to sell....not the sport.
that's the point.
- Fakepartofme

So your a Player Fan, and not a Hockay Fan. Unlike a Pecafan..totally.

And what was the catalyst for getting the new building?
Or should I say who?
- Fakepartofme

check your history before making a statement like this.

the Consol Energy Centre was moving ahead long before crosby came to town

The Lemieux Group explored options to build a replacement for Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the oldest arena in the NHL, since its purchase of the Penguins in 1999.[11] In an attempt not to use public funding, the Penguins filed for a slots license under the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The Penguins were granted the license, though the decision of which casino company would receive approval was the Gaming Control Board's decision

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consol_Energy_Center

Yes.

They needed a new building, and they got it. Otherwise, the Pens would have moved out of town, Crosby or not.

Thanks for playing!
- Pecafan Fan

Keep dreaming

You are also talking about a scorned fan based who have sold every big name player they've had recently.
Take the well known players off the Isles.....imagine who would show then?
- Fakepartofme

The same 300 people that have been showing in Long Island for the past 15 years.

You picked a team to help prove your point, I did too..

There ya go.
- robin_steele264

There I go what?
You are arguing its the sport that sells....the great one was replaced with other big name players.