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Before getting into today’s pregame write up, I’d like to discuss an article which I’ve recently read which explained that the Maple Leafs organization are looking into an interest of hockey from overseas, specifically in China.
For those who may not have caught said article, it was posted this morning by the Toronto Star and went into detail about MLSE chief commercial officer Dave Hopkinson and the company’s executive of Chinese partnerships, Hu Bo, visiting China.
As the article points out, there is certainly a strong desire within the NHL to expand upon its fan base which is accepted to be most dominant in Canada. Trying to attract the attention of one of the most populous countries is certainly a no brainer; however getting it done will likely be something of a challenge.
That being said, even if they were to somehow attract the attention of a few thousand people (I’m being cautious here), the idea I’m sure would be that it could slowly start to spread and become somewhat popular, to any degree really. It’s all about the money and given Toronto’s recognizable name and logo, they feel the Maple Leafs would have the best shot of bringing in a few extra fans from overseas…because the Leafs could certainly use more fans, right!?
“It’s a very rapidly growing part of our business,… Hopkinson says. “Hockey is blowing up in the communities and on television . . . There’s a wonderful business climate that exists (between Canada and China), and being a Canadian franchise is an advantage for us.…“The scale is hard for Canadians to get our heads around,… Hopkinson says. “The audiences are larger in China than that same game being aired in Canada. The scale is just tremendous . . . We really feel like trailblazers on this.…
Anyways, I’m sure that it is a good business plan and sure, they might grab the attention of a few people…maybe…but I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I know the Chinese culture enough to speak about it, but I would hazard to say that watching hockey won’t be too high on many of their “to do lists….
On that same note, however, there are a good number of Canadians out there working who could take advantage of this “campaign…, so there is some hope I guess!
What do you think?
** Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs will take to the ice against the New York Rangers and are looking to walk away with a strong performance and, hopefully, two points.
I’ll say it now – I couldn’t actually care less if the Leafs win or lose tonight. What I am hoping for is a strong team game, one where guys are giving it their all, challenging the puck carrier, being as responsible defensively as they can, finishing their hits, and getting a good fore-check going.
Toronto’s issues continue to be present in games that they both win and lose. They simply don’t have the compete level which is required to be a successful NHL team and consequently, make the playoffs. Sure the Leafs have walked away with some big wins this year, but they sit 19th in the league, 9th in the Eastern Conference, and hold a record of 6-5-2 which isn’t exactly something to be proud of.
That said, Toronto has seemingly done a little better with respect to their record and overall play throughout their last few games. Having earned 12 points over their last 10 games played, Toronto is looking to improve upon many areas of their game and slowly become respected around the NHL.
The Leafs will need to keep a close eye on Derek Stepan tonight who returns to the lineup tonight against Toronto and who has been missed by the Rangers so far this year.
"Step is obviously a big part of our team," Vigneault said. "He not only plays the center position, five on five, power play, and penalty killing, but he's also a good young player who provides leadership in our dressing room."
Outside of Stepan who will be looking to have a strong performance tonight, the Leafs will need to keep guys like Rick Nash and Chris Kreider at bay as the two forwards have been playing some very respectable hockey so far this season.
Toronto shouldn’t have any big chances to their lineups tonight outside of missing Daniel Winnik who absolutely crunched his head against the ice against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Only a few seconds into the game against the Avs, Winnik lost his footing as he collided with defenseman Jan Hejda sending his body and head into the ice.
The forward lied motionless on the ice as trainers and players came to his assistance, and would eventually be stretchered off the ice.
All things considered, I thought Daniel would be out for a while but it appears, at least according to Randy Carlyle that the forward is, alright?
"He was walking around, he's fine," Carlyle said. "It's one of those situations where you're expecting a lot worse and he isn't any worse for wear.''
Winnik’s status hasn’t been released as of yet and when he will return to the lineup is equally unsure, at least to the media. I personally don’t imagine that we will see him for a few games as it really looked like he took a good hit to the ol’ noggin.
With or without Winnik tonight, Toronto will need to work on coming out of the gates flying. Their last couple of games resulted in some slow starts where the team were chasing leads and ultimately struggled. The Leafs need to come ready to play, give it their all and set the pace of the game nice and early.
Kessel missed the morning skate today, however this is not exactly uncommon for the forward who is likely having a “maintenance… day. Of all players on the team, I am certainly not upset with Kessel taking the morning off because come game time, we know he will be prepared.
I can’t say that for many/most of the team, so I certainly hope that Carlyle and the leadership group can get behind their guys and get them amped for tonight!
Thanks for reading!