The Business of the NHL

	Businessof the NHL Stories
	NHL looks to build on the success of the Winter Classic The NHL has a dilemma on its hands, the one thing that is working for the league, the annual outdoor Winter Classic game, is so popular that the league is looking to build on that success. That of course means more outdoor games, so the question becomes how many outdoor games is too many?
	The cities with the worst NHL fans Before we get too far into this, I feel the need to make a few things clear. I do not blame the fans of these team or cities for staying away from their NHL clubs. First I blame the NHL itself for placing teams in these cities, and then the individual team management for running the teams so poorly. With that said:
	The cities with the best NHL fans In my travels around the internet this week I came across a very interesting list. A list by Forbes Sports Money ranking the best NHL fans. Here is an explanation of the formula that Forbes used to draw these conclusions:
	Expansion or relocation, which is the better plan for the NHL? NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, recently told Reuters News Service that the league will not look to relocate teams that are struggling, but will expand into new markets that show interest in the NHL, and will help the NHL grow.
	Columbus Blue Jackets' news and notes All the latest news, notes, and rumors of the Columbus Blue Jackets
	Can the Blue Jackets survive in Columbus? The Columbus Blue Jackets are losing money, lots of money and the reason why, is unfavorable lease terms with the Nationwide insurance Company owner of their home, Nationwide Arena.
	Phoenix Coyotes news and notes All the latest news and notes of the Coyotes team
	The NHL may need to contract Recent court fights for control of NHL franchises and the current economic crisis have really started to prove that the NHL may be a little too big. Given the current economic climate it is now vogue for business operations to be streamlined, to be smaller operating better. This is a lesson the NHL should take notice of.
	NHL forced to make their own bid for Coyotes Due to an uncooperative owner in Jerry Moyes, a targeted media attack, and a failure to reach a deal wit the City of Glendale, AZ Jerry Reinsdorf and his investment group have withdrawn their bid for the Phoenix Coyotes.
	The NHL v KHL Jiri Hudler edition Jiri Hudler played the 2008-09 NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings and made 1.5 million dollars has signed a contract with the Moscow Dynamo of the KHL for 10 million dollars contract that is tax free.
	Tampa’s two headed ownership monster Let’s go ahead and file this one under “how to not run a NHL franchise.” Oren Koules and Len Barrie bought the club in 2008 for 204 million dollars. Since then the two have argued over the finances of the team, and the philosophy the organization should employ to rebuild it.
	Panther fans hire an agent? In what appears to be a very strange story a group of season ticket holders have hired Sports super agent Drew Rosenhaus as their agent to help them negotiate lower season ticket prices for the Florida Panthers.
	NHL scores big with 2009 Playoffs There are a lot of indicators that seem to be suggesting that the NHL is finally starting to come out of its slump set off by the lockout of 2005. Either that or the intriguing NHL playoff match ups got the people out of their houses and to the hockey arena for them. It also seems that the rematch of the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins was a story line that engaged both hard core NHL fans and your casual American hockey fans as well.
	So far, so good for 2009 Stanley Cup Finals NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman altered the schedule of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals to insure that the first two games would be broadcasted on NBC. That decision seems to be paying some dividends.
	The best owners in sports: 2009 NHL edition When we take a look at how SI.com has ranked the best NHL owners a few questions come to mind. How should we rate these men, it is simply on the ice success, or is it simply the ability of the club to make money, or in the end is it a balance of the two.
	Worst sports owners: 2009 NHL edition SI.com has published its annual list of the best and worst sports owners. Since hockey owners have been in the news let us take a look at the hockey owners. One little note first, I consider SI to be among the worst sports publications on he market today. The Sporting News is superior in every way but, for the most part I am in agreement with this list. With a few exceptions of course.
	Penguins offer hope to other NHL franchises We need to take some time and remember where the Penguins were just a few short years ago. This was a team in bankruptcy, a team that needed a new building, and a team that was rumored to be relocating to Kansas City or Las Vegas.
	Nashville Predators make profit, miss playoffs This is a good news bad news situation, but it is a story that legitimizes the NHL being in Nashville after a few seasons where that didn’t look like such a good idea.
	Wings Sign Franzen to 11 year deal Long term deal are very much in vogue in the NHL, since a player’s salary cap number is determined by the average amount of salary over the length of the new contract. No one understands this better then Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland who earlier this year locked up another one of his stars, Henrik Zetterberg, to a similar 12 year deal.
	Gillett organization looking to restructure This is bad news for Sports fans the world over. George Gillett hold significant holding in many of the premier sporting leagues the world over. He owns the Montreal Canadians of the NHL, co owns a soccer team in the English Premier League, co owns a mid level NASCAR organization, and had been looking to get a MLS franchise in Montreal
	NHLPA wants more Olympic exposure The NHLPA wants the NHL to readjust their schedule in Olympic years to allow high profile NHL players to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games.
	Much Maligned NHL All Star Game does a decent TV rating All star games in general do not generally impress the fans of a particular sport, nor are a good TV product. The only exceptions to this general rule would be the MLB All Star Game and the NASCAR all star race. I think that is true because those two events most closely resemble the regular contests we tune in to watch.