2025-2026 NHL Offseason

Jason P

Ottawa citizens are probably life-long Montreal fans ... Remember the Sens franchise is only a few years older then Nashville's.

MayDay10

a5pj said:

MayDay10 said:

I was one who detested the idea of hockey in Nashville.  Was hoping they moved.  Couldn't imagine people would embrace it.  

I was wrong... I took notice a few years ago that they had good support and a lively crowd...

I will be curious to see what happens when/if the team goes on the downturn.  Will people continue to support it?  

That sounds similar to what happened in Carolina. When I moved there in 2010 the fans were declining after being all into it after the cup in 06. Fans kept dwindling (big thanks in part to horrible management). But the true hockey fans remain. I think everyone is gonna be real surprised with Carolina next year, especially if they pick up  2 or 3 solid offensive guys.

Carolina didn't really have the gradual buy-in that Nashville has had.  This has been like 5-6 years in the making and finally just hit the hockey media full-scale and mainstream has taken notice.  Last year, the Nashville crowd 'got it' and really pushed the John Scott thing in the ASG and claimed a piece of history.  The Predators seemed to have clicked right with the district/surrounding area around the arena and the franchise's connection to the city.

Carolina had good support during the Stanley Cup run.  The honeymoon didn't even last through the following season before most "fans" lost interest.  I have 2 friends there, one a Rangers fan and one a Penguins fan who both became die hard Hurricanes fans in the playoffs of 2006...  Couple of phonies....  very soon after though, they snapped back to their normal teams.  Way too many transplants and college crowd there.  I dont see people getting that 'connection' to the Hurricanes.  They werent that bad this year, have a young and up and coming team and were the worst attended team by a lot.

a5pj

MayDay10 said:

a5pj said:

MayDay10 said:

I was one who detested the idea of hockey in Nashville.  Was hoping they moved.  Couldn't imagine people would embrace it.  

I was wrong... I took notice a few years ago that they had good support and a lively crowd...

I will be curious to see what happens when/if the team goes on the downturn.  Will people continue to support it?  

That sounds similar to what happened in Carolina. When I moved there in 2010 the fans were declining after being all into it after the cup in 06. Fans kept dwindling (big thanks in part to horrible management). But the true hockey fans remain. I think everyone is gonna be real surprised with Carolina next year, especially if they pick up  2 or 3 solid offensive guys.

Carolina didn't really have the gradual buy-in that Nashville has had.  This has been like 5-6 years in the making and finally just hit the hockey media full-scale and mainstream has taken notice.  Last year, the Nashville crowd 'got it' and really pushed the John Scott thing in the ASG and claimed a piece of history.  The Predators seemed to have clicked right with the district/surrounding area around the arena and the franchise's connection to the city.

Carolina had good support during the Stanley Cup run.  The honeymoon didn't even last through the following season before most "fans" lost interest.  I have 2 friends there, one a Rangers fan and one a Penguins fan who both became die hard Hurricanes fans in the playoffs of 2006...  Couple of phonies....  very soon after though, they snapped back to their normal teams.  Way too many transplants and college crowd there.  I dont see people getting that 'connection' to the Hurricanes.  They werent that bad this year, have a young and up and coming team and were the worst attended team by a lot.

I agree, so many transplants there. Whenever they played Pitts, Flyers, Rangers, etc there were more of those jerseys than Carolina's. And as for the attendance, blame management, they basically spit in the face of anyone who wasn't a season ticket holder (who they overcharge). They significantly raised the prices when the team was horrible and attendance was already bad... 
But yea, I hope Nashville sticks around and gets a lot of die hard fans. I'm all for Southern hockey teams, heck it's nice to find a hockey fan in general anymore. 

Now being back in PA, I can't root for Pitts or Philly. Washington has grown on me only cuz the AHL Bears go up to them. But Carolina 1 Detrot 2 for me. And Detroit isn't gonna be good for a while thanks to Holland / Blashill...

KC138045

ponytd said:

MayDay10 said:

I was one who detested the idea of hockey in Nashville.  Was hoping they moved.  Couldn't imagine people would embrace it.  

I was wrong... I took notice a few years ago that they had good support and a lively crowd...

I will be curious to see what happens when/if the team goes on the downturn.  Will people continue to support it?  

I'm interested to see what happens with that too. There are a LOT of fairweather fans in this area. I think if the Preds could survive the first 10 years with only diehard support and a threat of moving to Hamilton, they'll be ok. They'll lose some fans with a few bad seasons, but as long as they don't tank completely, they should be fine. They've also got a lot of great young players on this team which should help. I feel as long as David Poile and Sean Henry are running this team, they're in good hands

Same here in Columbus with the fair weather Jacket fans.  When they went on the 16 game win streak you couldn't get a ticket without paying a fortune then after it ended a good portion of people stopped caring as much.  Too many season ticket holders sell there tickets for the best games.  Especially when Pittsburgh is in town.  It wasn't as bad this year as in the past but there are always tons of Pens fans in the lower bowl because of season ticket holders selling their seats.  We have a great arena and a passionate core of fans and hopefully the team keeps going in the right direction.

P.S. I'm a partial season ticket holder.

PJ_Soul

Indifference71 said:

So the Senators had an elimination game in the conference finals and it wasn't sold out?!?!?  Crazy.

It is kind of shocking. I've read that most think the location of the arena is the biggest reason for this. It's just a shitty location that nobody wants to schlep out to. I've also read that Senators fans kind of suck. No enthusiasm. IMHO, if a team can't sell out a game 6 during the playoffs, it is time for them to relocate. I hear Seattle is still open to the idea of an NHL team...

Fifthelement

Jason P said:

Ottawa citizens are probably life-long Montreal fans ... Remember the Sens franchise is only a few years older then Nashville's.

You're not completely off.  Ottawa has so many transplants who often support their original home teams.  When we lived there we went to Vancouver and Edmonton games.  Half the crowd was kitted out in the opposition jerseys.   

 PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

So the Senators had an elimination game in the conference finals and it wasn't sold out?!?!?  Crazy.

It is kind of shocking. I've read that most think the location of the arena is the biggest reason for this. It's just a shitty location that nobody wants to schlep out to. I've also read that Senators fans kind of suck. No enthusiasm. IMHO, if a team can't sell out a game 6 during the playoffs, it is time for them to relocate. I hear Seattle is still open to the idea of an NHL team...

Location is a huge factor.  For us, when we lived there, It was a 45 km drive to the arena with absolutely hideous traffic.  Not quite rush-hour lower -mainland traffic or Toronto 401 traffic, but very close.  Still, pretty sad that they can't sell-out an elimination playoff game. 

I've heard it said that, "Ottawa is the place where fun goes to die."  Having said that though, I still hope Ottawa wins.  Go Sens!

Indifference71

Fifthelement said:

Jason P said:

Ottawa citizens are probably life-long Montreal fans ... Remember the Sens franchise is only a few years older then Nashville's.

You're not completely off.  Ottawa has so many transplants who often support their original home teams.  When we lived there we went to Vancouver and Edmonton games.  Half the crowd was kitted out in the opposition jerseys.   

 PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

So the Senators had an elimination game in the conference finals and it wasn't sold out?!?!?  Crazy.

It is kind of shocking. I've read that most think the location of the arena is the biggest reason for this. It's just a shitty location that nobody wants to schlep out to. I've also read that Senators fans kind of suck. No enthusiasm. IMHO, if a team can't sell out a game 6 during the playoffs, it is time for them to relocate. I hear Seattle is still open to the idea of an NHL team...

Location is a huge factor.  For us, when we lived there, It was a 45 km drive to the arena with absolutely hideous traffic.  Not quite rush-hour lower -mainland traffic or Toronto 401 traffic, but very close.  Still, pretty sad that they can't sell-out an elimination playoff game. 

I've heard it said that, "Ottawa is the place where fun goes to die."  Having said that though, I still hope Ottawa wins.  Go Sens!

The location thing is such a lame excuse.  Is any stadium really that easy to get to?  Even if it was downtown then all the people who live in the suburbs would have a rough commute to get there.  Whenever I go to any Chicago stadium/arena, I have to take the train downtown and then usually another train or a cab/uber.  

It's just funny to me because hockey fans are always bashing the Florida teams, Carolina, Arizona, etc.. for shitty attendance (rightfully so), but when people are ripping Sens fans for not selling out playoff games, the excuse train comes out.  An elimination game in the conference finals not sold out....that's just crazy.

a5pj

From my experience when I saw PJ in Ottawa, the stadium is really in the middle of nowhere, the closest place to eat or drink is like a few miles away. Other than 1 or 2 hotels I think it was like 15 miles for the next ones. But the byward market was awesome, 20 miles away...

Carolina is kinda the same, not as extreme. Stadium is 5 miles from Raleigh, kinda entering the triangle between Durham and Chapel Hill. only 1 restaurant within walking distance. If they would have put the stadium in downtown Raleigh they'd get more fans, have more economic growth downtown, etc They'd also get more college kids who would be able to walk there. 

a5pj

a5pj said:

From my experience when I saw PJ in Ottawa, the stadium is really in the middle of nowhere, the closest place to eat or drink is like a few miles away. Other than 1 or 2 hotels I think it was like 15 miles for the next ones. But the byward market was awesome, 20 miles away...

Carolina is kinda the same, not as extreme. Stadium is 5 miles from Raleigh, kinda entering the triangle between Durham and Chapel Hill. only 1 restaurant within walking distance. If they would have put the stadium in downtown Raleigh they'd get more fans, have more economic growth downtown, etc They'd also get more college kids who would be able to walk there. 

I agree tho, not selling out an elimination game is not good. 

F Me In The Brain

a5pj said:

From my experience when I saw PJ in Ottawa, the stadium is really in the middle of nowhere, the closest place to eat or drink is like a few miles away. Other than 1 or 2 hotels I think it was like 15 miles for the next ones. But the byward market was awesome, 20 miles away...

Carolina is kinda the same, not as extreme. Stadium is 5 miles from Raleigh, kinda entering the triangle between Durham and Chapel Hill. only 1 restaurant within walking distance. If they would have put the stadium in downtown Raleigh they'd get more fans, have more economic growth downtown, etc They'd also get more college kids who would be able to walk there. 

Guessing college kids cannot afford hockey tickets?  (At least I couldn't...maybe 1x per year but normally if I went it was through some connection and free tickets.)  Not like baseball, which you can get for cheap and stand in a close section to watch the game. 

If you don't sell out playoff games (never mind elimination games) I think you should be subject to a close look by the league to see about the true addition of a city to the portfolio if there are other locations who would support their teams.
I understand when the teams suck eggs....but when they make the playoffs they should sell out.  (Looking at you, Braves!)

MayDay10

The stadium location is not a valid excuse.  It is Game 6 of the Conference Finals for fuck's sake.  In 38 years of being alive, my team has only seen that far 3 times.  4 times in the franchise's 47 year history.  For Ottawa, this is the 3rd time in their 25 year history they have gotten as far as 2 wins in the Conference Finals.

But waaaah I cant drive 20 minutes.  getthefuckouttahere.  A Tuesday in November vs the Coyotes, OK.  

Looking at a few articles, fans are pouring out the excuses.  Most common are the arena location, the fact that the Senators increase ticket prices every round (every team does it), Guy Boucher employs a boring style (which has gotten them within a game of the SCF as of now)...

Ottawa and their fans deserve the shade being thrown their way.  We know damn well that Canadians and the Canadian media (and me) would be roasting southern markets for the same thing.

Jason P

This it what a true hockey fan looks like these days.  Suck it, Canada!

PJ_Soul

Indifference71 said:

Fifthelement said:

Jason P said:

Ottawa citizens are probably life-long Montreal fans ... Remember the Sens franchise is only a few years older then Nashville's.

You're not completely off.  Ottawa has so many transplants who often support their original home teams.  When we lived there we went to Vancouver and Edmonton games.  Half the crowd was kitted out in the opposition jerseys.   

 PJ_Soul said:

Indifference71 said:

So the Senators had an elimination game in the conference finals and it wasn't sold out?!?!?  Crazy.

It is kind of shocking. I've read that most think the location of the arena is the biggest reason for this. It's just a shitty location that nobody wants to schlep out to. I've also read that Senators fans kind of suck. No enthusiasm. IMHO, if a team can't sell out a game 6 during the playoffs, it is time for them to relocate. I hear Seattle is still open to the idea of an NHL team...

Location is a huge factor.  For us, when we lived there, It was a 45 km drive to the arena with absolutely hideous traffic.  Not quite rush-hour lower -mainland traffic or Toronto 401 traffic, but very close.  Still, pretty sad that they can't sell-out an elimination playoff game. 

I've heard it said that, "Ottawa is the place where fun goes to die."  Having said that though, I still hope Ottawa wins.  Go Sens!

The location thing is such a lame excuse.  Is any stadium really that easy to get to?  Even if it was downtown then all the people who live in the suburbs would have a rough commute to get there.  Whenever I go to any Chicago stadium/arena, I have to take the train downtown and then usually another train or a cab/uber.  

It's just funny to me because hockey fans are always bashing the Florida teams, Carolina, Arizona, etc.. for shitty attendance (rightfully so), but when people are ripping Sens fans for not selling out playoff games, the excuse train comes out.  An elimination game in the conference finals not sold out....that's just crazy.

I dunno. The arena in Vancouver is extremely easy for a lot of people to get to, because the train system branches off into 6 surrounding municipalities/cities that largely make up Metro Vancouver, and goes straight to the arena downtown - easy peasy. It's pretty sweet, and I really appreciate it. But yeah, at the end of the day, I can see how an arena's location might have a real impact during the regular season, but not in the playoffs, and especially not in the semi-finals, elimination game or not. There is definitely a SERIOUS fan attendance problem going on in Ottawa. I really do hope they decide to relocate.

Wobbie

woot!

Wobbie

FUCK!!!!!

Dr. Delight

Close to Game 7 OT  here. Fantastic.

eeriepadave

Noting like sudden death, game 7!  Go _ens!  (Hopefully Ottawa).

Dr. Delight

I f' ing hate that guy. Scumbag.

Vitalogensia

That game was fucking intense, but a great finish!  Let's Go Pens!

HesCalledDyer

Great game, everything a game 7 should be!  Just wish it was a better outcome.

GO PREDS!