Canucks & Beyond

Category: business-of-hockey

Marketing the V

by Alanah McGinley on 04/29/09 at 02:56 PM ET
Comments (5)

Steve McLean at Chart Attack provides some background on the Vancouver Millionaires marketing angle to this year’s playoff run for the Canucks:

Mighty marketer Jon Mikl Thor is muscling in on the Vancouver Canucks’ Stanley Cup playoff run with the “Vancouver Millionaires” single/video and his new Vulcan Sky Records album, Sign Of The V.

The record was originally scheduled to come out next year to coincide with the Olympics being staged in Thor’s hometown, but the Canucks requested the use of “Vancouver Millionaires” as a motivator and team promotional tool as part of the “Let’s Do It Again” campaign. [...]

The Canucks are playing the album’s first track at games and promoting Sign Of The V at the team’s stores. It’s being played 25 times a week by TEAM 1040 Sports Radio, which is also running commercial spots recorded by Thor.

Chart Attack goes on to tell us that Thor is a “self-described rock icon” who feels he he belongs in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. (At least he’s not shy...) Anyway, I’m skeptical, but I might just be too old—or too sober at the moment—to fairly appreciate the nuances of contemporary hard rock.

The video is below in case anyone hasn’t heard it, so you can decide for yourself:

Filed in: business of hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: marketing, vancouver+canucks,

What Makes For a Successful Franchise?

by Alanah McGinley on 03/13/09 at 01:56 PM ET
Comments (5)

This is a few days old, but I hadn’t taken the time to look at it till today, and it struck me as an interesting index of pro-sports, particularly of the NHL itself.

Bizjournals analyzed the performances of all 122 franchises in the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League in the 2008 calendar year. The top scores went to those teams that were strongest at the twin missions of professional sports—winning games and making money.

These were the 10 best sports organizations of 2008:Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics

1. Boston Celtics (NBA)
2. New York Giants (NFL)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
4. Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
5. Boston Red Sox (MLB)
6. Detroit Pistons (NBA)
7. Detroit Red Wings (NHL)
8. Chicago Cubs (MLB)
9. Philadelphia Phillies (MLB)
10. Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

Filed in: business of hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink

NHL Marketing Gone Awry

by Alanah McGinley on 12/11/08 at 12:44 PM ET
Comments (5)

The Detroit Red Wings have a new holiday contest where fans submit and vote for their favorite home holiday display. And here are the prizes to be distributed December 30th:

First Prize: 2 Delta Airlines tickets
Second Prize: 2 tickets to the Winter Classic
Third Prize: a Winter Classic authentic jersey.

Which sounds good until Joe Hass at Winging it in Motown breaks down the problems:

Filed in: business of hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: marketing,

Back in the Men’s Game

by Alanah McGinley on 07/22/08 at 02:50 PM ET
Comments (2)

The Canadian Press reports that Hayley Wickenheiser—the all-time leading scorer of Canadian women’s hockey and widely considered one the best female players to ever set foot on the ice—has made the cut for men’s professional hockey again.

A Swedish third-tier team, Eskilstuna Linden, has reportedly signed her for the 2008-09 season. The last time Wickenheiser played men’s pro hockey was a short stint in the Finnish Second Division, and her signing was met with mixed reviews, but there’s no doubting the impact she’s had on professional hockey culture.

A few words from Jamie Fitzpatrick on the issues faced in the past:

Filed in: business of hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: hayley+wickenheiser, marketing, nhl, sweden, women's+hockey,

Your Hockey Pool is Safe

by Alanah McGinley on 06/08/08 at 01:02 PM ET
Comments (0)

Last week, the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal from MLB and its players’ union, to hear their case arguing that their statistics were proprietary, and that players names and numbers in the sport were exclusively their property.

Why does this matter? Well, the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case was good news for fantasy sports fans, and especially the fantasy sport industry itself—a $500,000 a year, profit-making machine. By refusing to revisit the case, the Court was maintaining previous rulings that said—in essence—the statistics of professional sports are public domain. Fantasy sports sites can make use of that material without interference or added licensing costs. (Check out the Wall Street Journal for their hypothetical “Doomsday Scenario” if the Court had favored MLB...)

Anyway, the hockey bloggers at Illegal Curve drew their own short analysis of that court decision, as it applies to the NHL:

Filed in: business of hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: fantasy+hockey, mlb,

Willie Suing the Wild

by Alanah McGinley on 06/05/08 at 02:18 PM ET
Comments (3)

A note from Tim Wharnsby at the Globe & Mail hockey blog today:

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Willie Mitchell was unable to attend the funeral of young teammate Luc Bourdon in Shippagan, N.B. earlier this week because he was in Toronto to begin proceedings on a grievance hearing with his old club, the Minnesota Wild.

Mitchell, of Port McNeill, B.C., claims the Wild owes him his $1.775-million (U.S.) salary from the 2004-05 lockout because he suffered a neck injury while playing for Canada’s gold-medal winning entry at the 2004 IIHF world championship. He spent the lockout rehabbing his ailment.

I wasn’t aware of this. Wasn’t there another player who sued—and won—his salary for that season based on an injury prior to the actual lockout? It seems to me there was, but I can’t remember who…

Note: as someone just pointed out to me, ‘suing’ is probably the wrong word—he’s filed a formal “grievance.” Anyway, you get the point.

Filed in: business of hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: minnesota+wild, willie+mitchell,

Report: Canucks Name New GM—Mike Gillis

by Alanah McGinley on 04/22/08 at 08:45 PM ET
Comments (6)

Update April 23, 11:10am PT: Canucks owner formally named new GM Mike Gillis in this morning’s press conference. More info here.

_____________

After the first period of the Washington/Philadelphia game tonight on TSN, Bob McKenzie stated the new Canucks General Manager was very-nearly 100% decided as Mike Gillis. He also stated this was likely to be announced by the end of the week.

Now, Global TV’s website reports:

Player agent Mike Gillis will be named general manager of the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, Global BC reported today.

Update 5:55pm PT: On TSN, James Duthie has now stated that this GM appointment is “confirmed” (though Bob McKenzie came short of backing this up as a certainty). There is a Vancouver press conference scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Asked by Global TV, Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini “would neither confirm nor deny the hiring.” (Which I figure is pretty much code for: “Yeah. Gillis is the new GM. But don’t steal my thunder. I’ll tell you more tomorrow.")

Canucks Blowing in the Wind

by Alanah McGinley on 04/18/08 at 12:30 PM ET
Comments (4)

“Know how many National Hockey League teams have fired two general managers in the last four years? One. [The Vancouver Canucks]. Know how many Northwest Division teams have won more games or division titles than the Canucks in that time? None.”
-- Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun

With the small sampling of votes collected on my poll the other day, Jim Nill is the clear favorite on the list. But if you read the comments at that link, a number of Wings fans provide some thoughtful and detailed reasons why prying Nill out of Detroit is likely to be impossible.

Geez. With this whole mess of a team, I’m seriously concerned I’ll never be able to make fun of the Edmonton Oilers again.

Anyway, a few very good articles related to the Canucks today:

Filed in: business of hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: francesco+aquilini, general+managers, vancouver+canucks,

Help Wanted: Superheroes Please Apply

by Alanah McGinley on 04/16/08 at 12:27 PM ET
Comments (25)

From Cam Cole in the Vancouver Sun:

Yes, the explanation for firing Nonis would be easier to swallow (a media wag pointed out Tuesday) if the owner hadn’t borrowed his rationale from Spider-Man. “With great power,” Peter Parker’s dying Uncle Ben told Spidey’s alter-ego, “comes great responsibility.” Aquilini—or his speechwriter—didn’t even credit the source.

Alas, turns out Uncle Ben was very disappointed and offed Spidey, so Vancouver needs a new ~~patsy~~ superhero.

Vote in the poll at the bottom of the post. 6 choices are provided, and there’s a brief summary for each candidate…

[Update 12:06pm PT: Updated above the poll with quotes from Dave Nonis today.]

Filed in: business of hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: dave+nonis,

Hockey and Perception

by Alanah McGinley on 02/20/08 at 02:18 PM ET
Comments (4)

Yesterday, the ~~Washington Post’s~~ (oops!) Wall Street Journal’s “Numbers Guy”, Carl Bialik, insisted that “Reports of Basketball’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.” He was responding to the widely quoted Harris Report that found that the popularity of hockey had surpassed that of the NBA and college basketball.

There is some actual reason for worry: Over the life of the poll, the NBA and college basketball really have been slipping in popularity. But the reaction was also overblown. The poll didn’t measure overall popularity. It was also constructed in a way that gave certain advantages to hockey over hoops. And the much-touted difference between hockey and its hardwood competitors was negligible.

Filed in: business of hockey, nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: media, statistics,

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About Canucks & Beyond

Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.

She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.

Email:

Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]