Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: Ted+Leonsis
All Ted Leonsis
by Paul on 10/12/09 at 10:27 PM ET
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from Helene Elliott of the Fabulous Forum at the LA Times,
Here’s the rest of my chat with Leonsis before the Capitals 3-2 shootout loss to New Jersey on Monday.
Q: You’re so willing to interact with fans. Is that something you did to build a fan base or something that’s just part of your nature?
A: I grew up on the Internet and I don’t think you can use the medium at your convenience. And so what I decided to do from day one is I published my e-mail address. And I do owners’ corners, and then I started my blog and I’m walking around with the fans at games.Then I turned my blog into Facebook. I’m already at 5,000 fans on Facebook. And I send all my blog posts out automatically as tweets on Twitter, so I try to pride myself on being transparent and honest, both good and bad. And so at least you’ll know that what you’re hearing and seeing from me you can believe. And sometimes people don’t like what I say.
A couple weeks ago I had this big press event at the Washington Times. There was, like, 20 editors and reporters and I showed up and this one managing editor said, ‘Are we waiting for somebody else?’ I said no. He said, ‘It’s just you?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’
They said, ‘No PR people, no entourage?’ I said no. Why do I need those?
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Afternoon Line
by Paul on 10/07/09 at 12:05 PM ET
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We took too many penalties or too many penalties were called. The refs can’t become such a big part of the night. Six penalties in one period and more penalty killing time than playing 5 on 5 time means that our best offensive players aren’t on the ice either. The refs played the best D against our best lines last night!
-Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis on last night’s loss to the Flyers. Read more from Ted at Ted’s Take.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Evening Line
by Paul on 05/02/09 at 08:26 PM ET
Comments (8)
“This is the script- You have a major market. You have transcendent players on both teams. I don’t know if there has ever been a team with three centers as good as Crosby, Malkin and Staal. And this is the most evenly matched series I’ve ever seen in the playoffs. You compare the stars, the lines, the goalies.
“This will go seven games. I don’t know how. But it will.”
-Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis after today’s game. More on the Caps/Pens series from Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Capitals Owner On Game 3 Victory Over The Rangers
by Paul on 04/21/09 at 01:47 PM ET
Comments (2)
from Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Take,
I thought we played the way we needed to play last night. While aggressive, we weren’t focused on hits for the sake of hitting. We were more focused on scoring and playing tight, frustrating defense. Our penalty kill was very effective and we buried our chances scoring 4 goals. We are a bigger and faster team and if we control the pace of play, we are difficult to shut down for long periods of time. I think our goaltender’s stats are now better than their goaltender’s stats too. Who would have thought that was possible?
Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Washington Owner Says Lay Off On The Bad Mouthing
by Paul on 04/01/09 at 08:46 AM ET
Comments (1)
from Ted Leonsis of Ted’s Take,
So while we have lots of work left to do this season and in the playoffs, let us lay off some of the bad mouthing about this team’s play of late. We have actually been one of the better performing teams and most consistent teams in the NHL this year.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Proper Pronunciation
by Paul on 03/09/09 at 08:49 AM ET
Comments (10)
via Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Take,
I am proud of my last name given to me by my father.
My ancestors are from Sparta. My last name is kind of a derivative of Leonidas, the King of Sparta and of 300 film fame.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, it is pronounced “Lee - On - Sis”, Leonsis.
Most intelligent, non-xenophobic and educated people have no issue with its pronunciation.
In case the hockey weekend slipped by you, start here to find out who Ted may be talking to.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, CBC HNIC | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Cherry, Ted+Leonsis,
Cherry Takes A Shot At Caps Owner
by Paul on 03/08/09 at 09:09 AM ET
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from Eric McErlain of AOL Fanhouse,
Cherry had already warmed up the viewing audience earlier in the segment when he jokingly referred to Calgary Flames center Oli Jokinen, a Finn, as a Russian—because after all, it’s impossible to tell those European players apart these days!
Next, in a move that will only reinforce Cherry’s reputation as a xenophobe, he mangled the Caps owner’s last name ("Legonsis"), before questioning his hockey judgment in light of the team’s decision to sign Jaromir Jagr to a long-term contract…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting, CBC HNIC | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Cherry, Ted+Leonsis,
Insight From An Owner
by Paul on 03/05/09 at 05:43 PM ET
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from Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Take,
Trade deadline day in the past has been a fan and media favorite, very exciting with lots to talk about.
Yesterday was different. Why?
To start, we are well into the new CBA and its ramifications have started to take root. There are only 50 contracts that a team can take on. There is a hard cap and as folks have noticed, the cap will be flat to down over the next few years. Hence there was a lot of trading player for player and salary for salary. It reminds me a bit of the NBA trading dollar for dollar and contract for contract.
The economic landscape has changed too. Teams aren’t looking to add to payroll. They want to shed payroll. Many teams that had high-priced veteran players were looking to exchange those contracts for younger players with lower-priced contracts
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Leonsis Talks Caps
by Paul on 03/02/09 at 11:42 AM ET
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from Home Ice XM204,
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis joined Scott Laughlin for his monthly appearance and they talked about the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline, playoff expectations, and Don Cherry’s controversial comments regarding Alexander Ovechkin.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Winning But Still Losing
by Paul on 12/10/08 at 04:37 PM ET
Comments (4)
via Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Take,
...we have grown our payroll and related expenses faster than we have grown our revenues so we will LOSE more money this season than we did last season. And that loss will be way more than $5 million for the year.
But there is good news. We can’t grow our payroll anymore. We are at the cap max basically so any additional revenue growth cuts into the losses. The business model is not fixed but it has improved dramatically with the new CBA for us in DC. Thanks to our fans but we have miles to go before we sleep. I would be celebrating if we lost $5 million this year on our hockey team. That would mean we would have won a Stanley Cup in four 7 game series.
Even then, I bet our loss would be more than $5 million.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Caps Attendance Talk
by Paul on 11/26/08 at 01:24 PM ET
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from Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Take,
We are humbled as the Caps are now ranked as a Top 10 team in the NHL in paid admissions with only Minnesota, Buffalo, Detroit and Philadelphia ahead of us for US -based teams. We are up in paid admissions more than 27 percent year over year. Only Chicago is growing faster than us.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
NHL and Technology
by Alanah McGinley on 11/22/08 at 05:33 PM ET
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Earlier today, Forechecker pointed to an interview that Sharkspage posted with Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. I wanted to reference the interview here on the main KK Hockey feed as well, just in case anyone missed the earlier post. It’s really a fascinating read for anyone interested in the issues of technology and media as it pertains to the NHL.
Leonsis provides a great deal of detail about how the league does—and will—utilize technology to support its business model. In his words:
“We lifted up [our business enterprise], put the internet underneath, and then slammed it back down so it is the powerplant the pretty much drives everything that we do.”
Read the rest here.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, technology, ted+leonsis,
Duck Eric
by Paul on 11/21/08 at 11:55 AM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,
Here’s a first for me, in the new give-and-take world of cyberspace sports writing. Ted Leonsis, the Washington Capitals’ owner and AOL mover and shaker, took a shot at me in his blog, Ted’s Take. Leonsis took exception to my views on the ballot-box stuffing controversy in Montreal, in which Canadiens supporters have their six candidates miles ahead of the pack in the voting for the 2009 All-Star Game.
What fun! Usually, it’s the other way around – writers critically analyzing the work of owners, general managers and players, mostly done in a vacuum. Turnabout is absolutely fair play - I wish more of them did it. A real dialogue could be a useful tool in ridding the industry of the lame blah-blah-blah that passes for analysis these days, fuelled largely by professional athletes who are coached to say nothing of consequence, for fear of alienating opponents or tarnishing their brilliantly polished images.
continued with many more NHL topics…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Expecting More From The Capitals
by Paul on 11/07/08 at 10:42 AM ET
Comments (1)
Coach Boudreau? No. Owner Ted Leonsis!
We struggle on the power play and with all of our talent, we must be more effective. We pass too much. We don’t shoot the puck and generate enough traffic.
We are not aggressive enough on our forecheck.
We are not making crisp enough outlet passes, D to forwards in transition.
We are not taking the body enough.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
The Right Attitude
by Paul on 10/08/08 at 08:14 PM ET
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from Ted Leonsis of Ted’s Take,
The last time we were picked this highly and with this much expectation, we didn’t even qualify for the playoffs.
So I think I liked it better when we were underdogs. Now we have the weight of expectations on our shoulders. I am hoping our shoulders are broad enough to carry these heightened expectations. There are so many great teams in the NHL. I would hate to give any team bulletin board fodder as motivation. We must remain hungry and very humble.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
The Leonsis Plan
by Paul on 10/06/08 at 12:44 PM ET
Comments (1)
from Adam Proteau of the Hockey News,
Asked what he had learned after just about 10 years as an NHL owner, Leonsis said:
“You know, I’ve always worked in public companies, but here’s a private company (in the Capitals).
“So I said, ‘OK, we don’t have shareholders like Wall Street. We have stakeholders – our fans.’ And you always hear businessmen being criticized for not taking the long-term view; that they have to meet the next 90 day’s quarterly results. So they view things for the short term, at the detriment of the long term of the company.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Sometimes They Just Don’t Get It
by Paul on 08/15/08 at 09:04 AM ET
Comments (2)
from Ted’s Take,
From time to time, you have heard me rail against media pundits for their lack of criticality; original thinking; creativity; and basic non-understanding of what they are writing about.
Well here is another rant. This time against Ross McKeon and his blog post mentioning contraction of six NHL teams including the Washington Capitals. Read it here.
First, the throw away notion of shuttering six major league teams is just mean-spirited. Those six teams employ thousands and thousands of people and support tens of thousands of families. I guess Ross wants us to lay off all those people in the toughest economy ever. And those teams generate dollars for their cities in taxes and they generate dollars to hundreds and hundreds of small businesses as vendor/ suppliers.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
The Caps Plan
by Paul on 07/28/08 at 09:38 AM ET
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from Ted’s Take,
It was such a difficult and painful process and it had so much risk inherent in it. And it isn’t completed. But my sincerest desire is to not only win a Stanley Cup but for the team to be really good for a long, long time. I believe that is the deliverable: Keep a very good team together for a long time to the benefit of the fan base and the franchise itself. And win the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup trophy. We made one tiny step last season. We have to get our team into its prime together. The window has opened and now we need to jump through it.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Whatever You Say Ted
by Paul on 07/18/08 at 04:43 PM ET
Comments (1)
via Ted’s Take,
Yesterday was quite the day. Check out SnagFilms now. Drive around it; watch some films; snag one and embed it into your page. It is easy to do. And thousands of people are doing so with tens of thousands of folks already watching films. Let’s build a new way to watch films together.
I have taken the advice of Mr.Leonsis and embedded a video below called, New England Hockey: Life at the Rink. It is about 8 minutes long and very enjoyable.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Ready to Party
by Alanah McGinley on 06/11/08 at 05:49 PM ET
Comments (1)
From the AP via NHL.com,
The Washington Capitals are so confident that Alex Ovechkin will win the NHL’s MVP award that they’ve already scheduled a celebration party.
The Capitals, in fact, are in the hunt for a shelf-load of hardware at the league’s annual awards dinner Thursday night in Toronto. The team has a chance to become the first in NHL history to take home MVP, rookie and coach honors in the same year.
“I’m hoping to make history,” owner Ted Leonsis said Wednesday.
In more ways than one.
Update7:34pm ET: From Tarik El-Bashir at the Capitals Insider,
If Alex Ovechkin wins the Hart Trophy tomorrow in Toronto, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will present the all-star with a key to the city during a fan celebration in Washington on Friday.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: alexander+ovechkin, ted+leonsis,
Afternoon Line
by Alanah McGinley on 06/11/08 at 01:05 PM ET
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From Tarik El-Bashir, Capitals Insider at the Washington Post:
Earlier today I asked majority owner Ted Leonsis about A.O.’s new clothing line, which will be introduced tonight in Toronto.
Without any hesitation, Leonsis dropped this gem of a quote:
“I’ve asked Alex to save for me one pair of bright red pants, which I’m sure will have holes in it,” he said. “They’ll be low-slung bellbottoms. If he wins MVP and I can fit in them, I’ll wear them Friday night.”.
All due respect to Mr. Leonsis, I’m not sure I really need to see that…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: alexander+ovechkin, ted+leonsis,
Embrace These Times
by Paul on 06/05/08 at 12:50 PM ET
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from Ted’s Take,
The NHL had a great year. Can you name me one other media oriented company that can say they grew and grew fast across the board in terms of:
Ratings - both nationally and locally;
Season ticket renewals and season ticket sales;
Overall ticket sales;
Overall ticket pricing;
Merchandising sales;
Sponsorship sales;
And revenues?
The salary cap will move up again as the players share in more than half of the revenues so the players are happy.
For the most part, the product has improved.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Morning Line
by Paul on 04/18/08 at 10:30 AM ET
Comments (2)
Our team is bigger and tougher than the Flyers. They know it now and we know it now.
We now know how to play playoff hockey, NHL style. We have figured out what the refs will call and not call except for the random bad call like the final penalty called on Kozlov driving to the net.
more from Ted Leonsis at Ted’s Take…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Milbury Talks To Leonsis
by Paul on 04/14/08 at 12:18 PM ET
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from Ted’s Take,
I reached out to Mike Milbury last night via NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Gary called me and we spoke. And then Mike called me and we spoke late last night.
Mike calmly explained that he meant no harm. He had a slip of the tongue when trying to start a commentary about our play. He meant to say the Washington Caps but instead he said the Washington Craps. He laughed and then stated we weren’t playing well at that time in the game and we were playing like the “Crapitals”. He was trying to be funny and trying to recover - on air - and he misspoke.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Mike+Milbury, Ted+Leonsis,
It’s A Series Now
by Paul on 04/13/08 at 09:13 PM ET
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from Ted Leonsis at USA TODAY,
It does feel great to be able to lose a game and NOT have the season be over. We have basically been in a situation where we have been playing Game 7 eliminations during the regular season. We know now that we could lose three games this series and still move on to the next round—so no need to panic quite yet.
It is a series now. We go play Games 3 and 4 in Philly—we had the ‘Red Out,’ they will have the ‘Orange Crush.’ NHL playoffs are so much fun but so tense and hard to predict.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Flashback with Ted Leonsis
by Alanah McGinley on 04/11/08 at 01:04 PM ET
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From James Mirtle’s blog, an interview from April 2007 with Ted Leonsis,
And on this Saturday afternoon last April, they were awful.
I knew they were awful. Leonsis knew they were awful. And the fans in the building, at least those wearing Capitals colours, knew it, too.
It was with that uncomfortable knowledge that we all watched the third period together.
I’ve only met Leonsis the once, but there were two things I realized right away: (a) this is one competitive guy and (b) I’ve just met the biggest Capitals fan in the world.
more... on what a difference a year makes
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: interview, ted+leonsis,
Thank You Ted
by Paul on 04/10/08 at 10:08 AM ET
Comments (3)
from Mike Hume of the Falls Church News-Press,
Since the rebuild began, Leonsis tried to sell fans on his team. But for all of silver-lining citations and what, at times, seemed like overly-optimistic opinions, he never once presented a false front. He never lied about his commitment to the team and to the fans — even the ones that had temporarily forsaken him.
In a perfect world, such behavior would be common place, but struggling sports teams seldom receive the commitment the Capitals have from Leonsis. Fans of the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates, feel free to send in your testimonials.
So as the euphoria of the Stanley Cup Playoffs washes over Washington this weekend, praise the players that willed this team into the postseason. But save something for the man in the owners’ box that made this playoff push possible.
added 10:16am, The Wall Street Journal published a Q & A with Ted Leonsis today,
The Wall Street Journal: Like most other NHL teams, the Capitals get little exposure. What can the NHL do to get a better TV deal than the arrangements with Versus and NBC—and, of course, more fans?
Mr. Leonsis: My belief, and what I’ve been advocating, is we’ve lost the TV war. That’s where the puck is. We want to go to where the puck’s going to be. We want to fight the big battle, and there we’re advantaged. The NHL has the most wired, the most affluent fans. They’re living their life on the Net. We wanna be, and we’re becoming, the leader in growing digital media.
more (not sure if it is for paid subscribers only)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
The Future of the Hockey Blogger
by Alanah McGinley on 03/03/08 at 12:13 PM ET
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Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals, was interviewed today on XM Radio discussing the world of hockey blogging.
KuklasKorner.com
*Our thanks to Hockey This Morning on NHL Home Ice XM 204, for the providing the audio for KK readers.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Media, Hockey Bloggers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: blogging, interview, media, ted+leonsis, xm+radio,
Ted Leonsis on the NHL Hour Today
by Alanah McGinley on 02/14/08 at 02:30 PM ET
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Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Capitals, will be Gary Bettman’s guest on the NHL Hour today.
The NHL Hour broadcasts live Thursdays from 4-5 pm ET on NHL Home Ice, (XM channel 204) and NHL.com. The show will re-run on XM Satellite Radio and NHL.com, with archived shows available for download via a podcast on NHL.com.
*At showtime, listen live at this link. While on the air, listeners can call into the show at 1-877-645-6696, or send questions/comments via this email address: nhlhour@nhl.com.
Filed in: NHL Talk, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: gary+bettman, media, ted+leonsis, washington+capitals, xm+radio,
At Home With Ted Leonsis
by Paul on 01/18/08 at 09:20 AM ET
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from USA TODAY,
A few years ago, when Ted Leonsis and his wife, Lynn, stumbled onto a designer show house that was on the market just outside Washington, D.C., they fell in love with it.
Well, sort of. Kind of. OK, not really.
But they bought it, gutted it, added on and rearranged. They bought the neighbor’s house, too, then tore it down.
When the sawdust had finally settled, there stood a 22,000-square-foot brick mansion on 5.5 acres, complete with pond, pool, tennis court, guesthouse and five-car garage.
continued with pictures…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Fans Love AO
by Paul on 01/11/08 at 03:22 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside at ESPN,
“We know him through really bad times. We’ve been through fire together,” Leonsis said. “I couldn’t think of a better face for our franchise.
“Our fans love Alexander Ovechkin. Our fans didn’t love Jaromir Jagr.”
Whether the fact that Ovechkin is a home-grown talent, or the fact he signed on for a 13-year tour of duty with the Caps of his own volition, makes any difference to a hockey market that has distinguished itself with its own indifference, is unknown.
The only thing that is for certain is that Leonsis won’t have to worry about second-guessing himself, even if it cost him $124 million for that satisfaction.
“You can talk to me after we win a Cup,” he said.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Ted+Leonsis,
Ted Takes on the Ovechkin Rumors
by Alanah McGinley on 01/08/08 at 01:38 PM ET
Comments (7)
From Ted Leonsis of the Washington Capitals,
No mention of our team can pass, it seems, without noting Alex Ovechkin’s contract status, and I can tell from postings in the blogosphere and message boards that this has a lot of fans worried. I respect Alex and George McPhee’s commitment to keep the negotiations out of the media and frankly have wondered who is making up some of the things I have read. As I have stated on numerous occasions, we couldn’t be more impressed with Alex as a player and a person and we expect him to be in D.C. for a long, long time.
I don’t have much to add, but want to say this: We love Alex Ovechkin.
lots more... on the Caps, from prospects to television revenues to logos
Update 4pm ET: Yesterday, Leonsis discussed this same issue on XM Radio. Interview mp3 can be downloaded here.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: alex+ovechkin, contracts, ted+leonsis,
The Most New Media Savvy League
by Paul on 12/18/07 at 12:29 PM ET
Comments (1)
from On Frozen Blog,
Leonsis emphasized that embracing new media is for the league merely an extension of the relationship its fans have already cultivated, passionately. “All of our fans are wired. They spend most of their time on broadband. They have their mobile devices.”
“People have underestimated the importance of search. They’ve underestimated the influence of Facebook. Facebook has a $15 billion valuation — more than every NHL and NBA team combined. What did they do? They brought a big audience of young Web-savvy customers. We have to look at our business in the same vein.”
So what’s ahead? For starters, the owner contends, increasing acceptance of bloggers and the blogosphere. Additionally, individual blogs that are likely to surpass The Hockey News in popularity and influence. Their quality, he said, “is better than the copy you see in the newspaper.” Then next up comes a very new age role for NHL players.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Media, Hockey Bloggers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
Caps Need To Pick It Up Quickly
by Paul on 11/16/07 at 12:20 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Scott Burnside at ESPN,
What is certain, though, for every feel-good story that grabs headlines, even if only for a short while, there is another team that believed it, too, and had the Cinderella goods, only to find it still wore the garments of the scullery maid.
For teams like the Washington Capitals, that feeling of disappointment, even disbelief, is hard to fend off.
The Caps were one of those teams that began the season with that kind of iron-clad belief they were ready, even if the rest of the league didn’t believe it.
Owner Ted Leonsis told fans emphatically, “The rebuild is over!”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: ted+leonsis, washington+capitals,
Ted Leonsis- In His Own “Shoes”
by Paul on 09/21/07 at 06:21 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Fox Sports,
His Capitals have lost tens of millions of dollars, he acknowledges, but the team is worth more than twice the $85 million he paid for it in 1999. The value will only increase if the team, which Leonsis has slowly rebuilt after initially overspending for players, returns to the playoffs this season for the first time since 2003.
“I have to laugh,” Leonsis said, “because we get slammed by newspapers or frankly even some new media properties, and I go, ‘Our salary cap has grown from $39 million to $50 million in two years.’ Whose shoes would you rather be in?”
more on Ted…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, NHL Talk, NHL Business of Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis, washington+capitals,
The Rebulid Is Over For The Capitals
by Paul on 09/11/07 at 04:57 PM ET
Comments (5)
from the AP via Yahoo,
Two days before players report for training camp, the owner proclaimed “the rebuild is over” in an interview Tuesday with Associated Press reporters and editors. After consecutive last-place, low-payroll seasons following the 2004-05 lockout, Leonsis feels the strategy of building with young talent is heading toward fruition.
“Every person in the organization’s expectation is that we will make the playoffs,” Leonsis said. “Because we improved a lot ... and a lot of teams around us didn’t.”
The rebuilding project has centered around rising superstar Alex Ovechkin, who already has 98 goals in two NHL seasons and will turn 22 during training camp. Ovechkin was the lone star in his first season with the team—Washington’s worst in decades—but the Capitals have slowly but surely given him a better supporting cast that includes Alexander Semin and 2007-08 arrivals Michael Nylander, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov and Nicklas Backstrom.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ted+Leonsis,
