Results tagged “nhl”

It seems actually showing your team's games on local television can be financially beneficial. Who knew? The Blackhawks' local broadcast deal is one of a few being cited by Forbes' magazine as one of the reasons the the NHL's overall value jumped last year. As for the 'Hawks, the team also took a big jump in value to the tune of 26 percent. Of course, we're sure a young team, a fantastic season with a trip to the Western Conference finals and a rabid fan base helped. Now standing at an overall estimated worth of $258 million, the 'Hawks rank seventh in the league overall. In fact, the Original Six all rank in the top seven (Philly being the odd man out at No. 5). The jump was the largest one-year change in the entire league. You can check out Forbes' entire feature here. [via Crain's]

                     

We admit, this year's Chicago Blackhawks team captivated us like no local sports team has in a long time. While the Sox and Bulls also overachieved (last year and this spring, respectively) - and the Cubs have underachieved - what's notable about the Blackhawks' run this season is the resurgence in their popularity. When Benjy previewed the team back in October, there was reason to be optimistic: they were back on TV locally, they were a young team already showing signs of improvement, hosting this year's Winter Classic. All the pieces were there for a breakthrough year for the 'Hawks...and it happened. Hockey is once again popular in Chicago, like it hasn't been since the days of Chelios, Roenick, and Murphy. We're disappointed in their playoff exit, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't already pumped for next season.

A strong defensive effort from Vancouver and a sterling effort by Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo kept the Blackhawks in check as the Canucks took Game Three of their Western Conference semifinal series by a final of 3-1. Vancouver got all the offense they would need before the Blackhawks even lit the lamp. Mason Raymond scored late in the first for the Canucks, followed by two more Vancouver goals (Steve Bernier on a power play and Henrik Sedin) in the second period to give the Canucks the 3-0 lead.

The Chicago Blackhawks bounced back from a Game One loss to take Game Two of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Vancouver Canucks with a 6-3 victory on Saturday night. The Canucks jumped to a 2-0 lead with a pair of first period goals, but the 'Hawks would dominate from then on, scoring five straight goals. Patrick Sharp scored twice and Dave Bolland added a short-handed goal, all in the second period to put the 'Hawks up 3-2. Ben Eager had what would turn out to be the game-winner and was followed by Patrick Kane, scoring his fifth goal of the playoffs. Vancouver added another goal late, but Dave Bolland scored his second of the game, an empty-netter, as time wound down to give the 'Hawks a little extra cushioning. Khabibulin stopped 18 of 21 shots he faced in a physical game that saw 27 separate penalties called, mainly in a rough third. The Canucks visit the United Center tomorrow night for Game Three, with the puck dropping just after 7 p.m.

The NHL announced today that the Chicago Blackhawks would be one of four teams opening the 2009-2010 season in Europe as part of a special series. The 'Hawks will head to Helsinki, Finland to take on the Florida Panthers in a two-game "home and home" series while the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues will tangle in a pair of games in Stockholm, Sweden. Not so coincidentally: Finland and Sweden are the top two countries in terms of non-North American visitors to the NHL's website. While the Panthers have never played a game outside of North America in their existence, the 'Hawks have skated on the other side of the pond before. In September 1992, the Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens faced off in a pair of exhibition games at London's Wembley Arena. It will be the third straight year the NHL has opened a season overseas.

A few days after this year's Winter Classic, and the ratings are in. The prognosis? Good. Very good. Better than last year, in fact. It earned the NHL's best overnight ratings in 13 years and increased 12 percent over last year's game.

This year's outdoor game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings earned a 2.9 overnight rating and a 6 share. Each overnight ratings point equals about 735,000 TV homes. Last year's game featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres had a 2.6 overnight rating and 5 share...In Chicago, Thursday's game drew a national high of an 11.8 rating and 21 share, with Detroit second at 10.5 and 21.

With all the crazy weather we've had, it seems there was room for a little concern about Thursday's NHL Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and Red Wings at Wrigley Field. But officials insist there's nothing to worry about. According to Dan Craig, the NHL's facilities/operations manager, "Everything is on schedule from our side, and we're ready to go." As to whether or not last weekend's warmth would affect the ice, Craig said, "The wind is more of an issue than the heat," pointing out that most arenas have air temps in the 60s. The ice was painted yesterday and the crew is putting the finishing touches on the set-up. And the weather forecast for Thursday? Cloudy with highs near 30 and a chance of flurries.

Ticket information for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field on New Years Day has been sent to season ticket holders. There are three tiers of ticket prices: $75, $225, and $325. The NHL expects to sell around 41,000 tickets. Information for non-season ticket holders will be announced no later than Monday. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said:

This game is going to be sold out. Most of the tickets, not all, will be going to season ticket-holders of the Blackhawks. They are our first priority and the Blackhawks' first priority. We're not going to have the massive public sale like you did when we were playing in a 72,000-seat facility. Some tickets will be made available to the public but if you want to be assured, you have to get season tickets...I think it was an absolute highlight last year [in Buffalo] and we're expecting it to be terrific again being in an iconic venue like Wrigley Field. It has the history and tradition.

The Blackhawks, and hockey in general, have pretty much been off Chicagoist's radar the past few years between the lost season of '04-'05 and the generally unfriendly fan treatment by Bill Wirtz over the years.

New Year's Day outdoors? That's how Chicagoist usually spends it—but on a Mexican beach. At least until the Rose Bowl kicks off. We're not quite so sure we'd want to spend it outside in Wrigley Field, which could be a little cold. On the other hand, watching two of the "Original Six" NHL teams face off in the open air does sound pretty damn cool.

We'll get to the All-Star lineups in a moment. First, who's stoked at the thought of hockey outside on New Years Day? The Tribune reports that the Black Hawks and Red Wings will face off at Wrigley Field in the follow-up to this year's amazing Penguins-Sabres matchup in Buffalo. It's yet another coup for the Hawks as they quickly climb back to respectability. Club President John McDonough lobbied NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for the game almost from the moment he signed on with the Hawks.

The Blackhawks will be playing the Red Wings this January at Wrigley. Exciting! Initially, plans were to have the Blackhawks play a game at Soldier Field, and that could still be a possibility. [Comcast Sports, S-T, original photo by dwward]

Cubs third baseman Aramis Remirez finally arrived at Spring Training on Tuesday, but when asked by reporters what he did on his winter vacation, he refused to answer. In fact, he wouldn't even allow for the reporter to finish asking the question.

Who wants to go ice skating a Soldier Field? We do! We do!

Blackhawks coach Denis Savard read his team the riot act last week and dropped the phrase "Commit to the Indian"--and it's making a meme of itself. Enough so that team prez John McDonough said he'd consider using it in an official capacity. [Trib]

In a day packed with college football bowl games, the coolest televised sporting event on New Year's Day had to be watching the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins play an NHL game outside in Buffalo, in front of over 71,000 fans. It brought the game back to its roots, played outside on frozen ponds and lakes throughout the Midwest and Canada. Now imagine that same game outside, only featuring two of the NHL's "Original Six." With the Black Hawks roaring back from the brink of irrelevance in the months after Bill Wirtz's passing, playing hockey in a sold-out Soldier Field, for example, would be the capper on an impressive resurrection.

In a surprising move, John McDonough resigned as Cubs president on Tuesday to become president for the Blackhawks. Isn't that like if Da Mere were to resign so that he could fill a vacancy on the water reclamation district board of trustees? McDonough had spent nearly 25 years with the Cubs organization, working his way up the marketing org chart before landing atop the front office when Andy MacPhail resigned following the 2006 season. McDonough's...

For the first time in a long while, Chicago is seeing success from both the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Chicago Wolves (AHL). The Wolves are off to a 13-1-1 start, giving them the best winning percentage in the league--which should come as no surprise to their faithful fans. On the other hand, it is a surprise that after a quarter of the season, the Blackhawks aren't breaking their fans' hearts. The Hawks have skated...

The Blackhawks are three games into their 2007-2008 NHL Campaign, and so far it looks like it could be another tough year for hockey fans here in Chicago. They've yet to find a way to sound the horn on power plays--hell, they've have had trouble scoring at all, with just four goals in three games, none while having the man advantage. No surprise though as the Hawks have been the worst in the NHL on...

Conventional wisdom says that we should not speak ill of the deceased, but that's a tall endeavor if we're to take the pundits' criticisms of William Wirtz as law, although one has surprised us with his restraint. The longtime Blackhawks owner and liquor magnate passed away early this morning at the age of 77 from cancer. It's easy to say that Mr. Wirtz was stuck in a bygone era, treating his beloved hockey franchise as...

It's still sunny and warm outside, so it's hard to believe the NHL has taken the ice again in preparation for a new season. Last year, Chicagoist made our yearly mistake of getting excited about the offseason moves and preseason successes of the Blackhawks, only to be let down once again. So this year we have vowed not to analyze the preseason too carefully and instead to wait to see how the Blackhawks look when...

The Blackhawks, whose season ended on Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, won off the ice today. The NHL Draft Drawing took place in Columbus, Ohio, today, and the Blackhawks won the number-one draft pick for the 2007 NHL Draft. Amazing stuff, 'cause their chances of winning the top pick were about the same chance as them winning a game, 8.1%. The Blackhawks, who have missed the playoffs eight times in the...

After months of speculation that the Cubs might be put up for sale as part of a restructuring or sale of Tribune Co., almost immediately after the board's approval of Chicago billionaire Sam Zell's offer, news came that the team would in fact be sold. Now the handicapping can begin on who the new owner will be. There has certainly been no shortage of potential bidders mentioned. Of course, that was before the Cubs went...

Who do we believe -- Radar Magazine or Mark Cuban? Radar reported on Wednesday that billionaire tech entrepeneur, blogger and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team is preparing to make a $625 million bid for the Chicago Cubs. A source supposedly familiar with the situation claims, "Mark is desperate to buy the Cubs. He wants this so bad." However, Cuban's response to the Trib via email stated that the rumor was "not true." In...

Wednesday night Martin Havlat will be the lone Blackhawk who wears one of the revised jerseys in the All-Star game. All 30 NHL franchises will don the new "uniform system" to begin the 2007/2008 season.

Peter Bondra saw his first minutes with the Blackhawks and helped propel them to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Bondra, a sixteen-year veteran of the NHL, signed with the Blackhawks on Sunday and was suited up for Tuesday night's game. Chicagoist was excited to see his contract was based on performance. Bondra earns $500,000 for showing up but can earn an additional $1 million in performance-based incentives if he produces for the...

Denis Savard can make Blackhawks history with a victory at Minnesota on Tuesday night. On Saturday night when the Blackhawks came from behind to defeat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in OT, Denis Savard became only the second Blackhawks coach to win his first three games as head coach, the first being Sid Abel (1952-53 season). No Blackhawks coach has ever won their first four games as coach of the team. Prior to Savard's promotion the...

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor...

Seriously, is there anybody in this town's upper tax bracket who hasn't thrown their hat into the ring of interested buyers, should the beleagured Tribune Company decide to sell the Cubs as part of their fire sale? Even before the Trib's latest troubles, some notable bidders went on record expressing interest in buying the team — including the likes of Ernie Banks, Mark Cuban and Donald Trump. While Chicagoist would be all for a Cuban...