The Business of Hockey
NHL Players Need to Protect Themselves Off-ice Too
May 19th, 2018 The NHL has talked a lot about head shots and dirty hits in the last few years. The league has also taken a lot of heat to make sure that they are doing everything they can to protect their players, either through rule changes or heavier consequences (whether they are or...
How Much Do Young NHLers Make?
May 17th, 2018 Many 18-year-old hockey stars will be watching the NHL Conference Finals that are underway, but their focus is on something completely different: the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. With under six weeks left, these players are preparing for one of the biggest days in their lives....
NHL Salaries Not As Advertised
May 11th, 2018 NHL player salaries haven’t always been public. Back in the day, contracts were kept secret even amongst teammates. But with the rise of the internet, social media, and websites like CapFriendly, it doesn’t take long for new contract details to spread like wildfire to...
OHL Priority Selection Process
April 6th, 2018 The Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection is an annual online player draft featuring the future of Major-Junior hockey. Draft-eligible players wait anxiously all season long for this one big day. How exactly does a player prepare for draft day? How do teams prepare? What...
At the Crossroads of Culture, Family, Science and CTE
March 9th, 2018 One of the most complex issues facing sports, including hockey, is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE, a brain disease associated with violent head trauma. It has been six years since John Branch’s seminal reporting on the death of hockey fighter Derek Boogard, at...
Calgary’s 2026 Olympic Bid Has Huge NHL Implications
March 7th, 2018 The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea have come and gone. With the 2018 event complete, the focus of the winter sports world has turned towards preparations for the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the bidding process for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Four cities...
March Marks NHL's Sustainability Initiative
March 2nd, 2018 Organizations and associations around the world have shifted their focus to environmentally-friendly initiatives that incorporate their values with those of green business practices. While the majority of sports associations have been hesitant, the National Hockey League...
A Brief History of Rinkside Advertising
February 21st, 2018 A look at what could be in store for the NHL and the other professional leagues in North America as board advertising and in-ice logos become more prevalent in every arena. With it being expected that the NHL will feature ads on jerseys during the World Cup of...
The NHL and Gary Bettman: 25 Years of Progress and Controversy
February 1st, 2018 Gary Bettman gets booed when he speaks. A lot. He is the public face behind the decision not to allow NHL players to participate in the 2018 Olympics. When an owner wants public funds used to finance a new arena, Bettman makes the case in the media. He has led the NHL to...
Coyotes & ASU Must Revisit Tempe Arena Plan
December 22nd, 2017 Earlier this week, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they'd be staying at Gila River Arena for at least one more season beyond the current 2017-18 campaign. While this is good news for both the franchise and its fans, who have been dragged through the mud for the better...
Dear NHL, Time to Move on from Arizona
November 17th, 2017 Dear NHL, It's time to move the struggling Arizona Coyotes franchise. It's been 21 years since Commissioner Gary Bettman proudly relocated a franchise to the state of Arizona, and 21 years later the original vision has yet to come to fruition. The Coyotes were supposed...
Calgary and the Flames Play a High-Stakes Game of Chicken
September 29th, 2017 The month of September is often a time of optimism in the National Hockey League's 31 markets, as training camps open and the possibilities of a brand-new season are still on the horizon. In Calgary the mood has instead been a bit uneasy as the tense negotiations for a new...
Entry-Level Contracts Help Teams Stay Competitive
September 26th, 2017 Ever since the NHL’s salary cap was invoked, the league and its 31 teams have been working on strategies to become more salary cap efficient via hunting for marginal value. As the manner in which teams are using their resources continues to evolve in today’s parity era,...
