Keeping Your Heads Up

Hey bodycheckers,

That sounded cool! Anyway, just letting you know the Behind Blue Lines blog will be in the dressing room until the NHL regular season gets underway. There may be a few blogs and updates tossed in until the first games in October, so stay tuned for the latest havoc from Hollywood...PhilHollywood.

You can also follow me on Twitter @PhilHollywood and be the first to get the shinny on the Behind Blue Lines blog ^_^

What The Dallas is Going On?

See what I did there? ^_^ Ha ha...No? o_O Oh, never mind...

Tough economic times are hitting everyone in their wallets of North America, if not the world. None more so than professional sports teams. The financial difficulties of teams in the post-lockout NHL are well documented: The Phoenix Coyotes debacle, Dallas Stars sell-off, and New York "Three Mile" Islanders are all feeling the pinch, and the newest casualty is the New Jersey Devils (If they didn't spend that money on NEW jerseys, they wouldn't have this problem)!

Yes, the three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils. Yes, the team that forced the league to change its rules to open up offenses, which didn't really fulfill its original purpose: The New Jersey Devils! David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail blogs the New Jersey Devils' owner Jeff Vanderbeek failed to pay off the $100 million loan before September 1st of this year (Don't believe me? Here is the link!). The hockey club has another 180 days to pay it, or admit it defaulted on the loan.

$100 million is a large sum to loan out, and given the track record of the New Jersey Devils the impending default comes as a surprise, even to me: Recent championship success, close to the media capital of the world, and reliable stars Martin Brodeur and hotshots Ilya Kovalchuk and Zac Parise would help steer any hockey team back in black (I wonder what the New Jersey Devils jersey would look like with black as the base colour?). Keep in mind there are negative factors: The controversial contract dispute involving Ilya Kovalchuk when he first signed with the team, a new stadium away from New York and plugged in the "unfavorable" part of Newark, and recent playoff failures in the last five years dulled the once proud luster on the Devils' logo.

The sensational headlines are not helping matters either:

• The Province (BC): The New Jersey Devils are "Blowing Up"!
• Wall Street Journal: Devils, Stars could skate into bankruptcy together

Things were so bad the team called an old friend on the Bat-Phone:

• NHL.COM: [Petr] Sykora offered tryout by Devils 

 No, things aren't bad. I like Petr Sykora, but the only memories I have are of the 99-2000 season with the "A" line: Petr Sykora, Patrik Elias, and Jason Arnott. They symbolized the offensive output for a Devils team that would eventually win the Stanley Cup that year. Under the strategy of defensive hockey New Jersey could get away with it, but Sykora was no Kovalchuk, or Parise for that matter. In 445 career NHL games, Sykora amassed 145 goals and 205 assists; these numbers are nowhere near staggering, but after playing last season with Dynamo Minsk of the KHL perhaps the Devils believe there is some ability left in the thirty-four year old, former first-round pick.

If things get desperate and the Devils default, they may call me! I'm just kidding, but I'll just leave my phone on just in case...

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS AND OTHER HOCKEY RELATED STORIES: Check out NHL.COM, BLOOMBERG, and the Devils' Official Website ^_^

Somewhat Familiar Name at Caps Rookie Camp

There was a fellow by the name of Alexander Ovechkin attending the Washington Capitals' Rookie Camp this week. According to the news of the day, he plays in the National Hockey League, and is one of the league's best players (whatsitsname).

Albeit the buzz is a little premature, he has a good shot at making the team. For one, I wish Mr. Ovechkin the best of luck in the upcoming campaign.

Perusing NHL's Online Shop

Looking at all those jerseys will make anyone tired. Perhaps it is time to sleep? Good night...Zzz...

After completing two projects from IKEA, drinking a boatload of iced coffee and caffeine purchased from Tim Hortons, there is nothing more intriguing than checking out the National Hockey League's online store for jerseys ^_^ (Don't believe me? Click on the link, and I'll prove it to you!) After checking out all thirty team jerseys, there are many positives one can draw from the jersey selection:

1. Man, woman, and child can support their favourite team in regulation jersey apparel
2. The ability to wear regulation jerseys with a joker name stitched on the back
3. Old and vintage = New again ^_^ (See Chicago Blackhawks)
4. Keep things simple ^_^ The fewer colours, the better the jersey looks (The "Red Wings" model)
5. 415 items / 30 teams = On average, each hockey sells 13.833 of their team's jerseys online

If enough thought is put to the last point, then selling 13.833 types of jerseys is not that difficult. After all, a jersey designed for women uses 5/6 (or less) of the fabric used for a jersey made for men. Ask any of the new cheerleaders employed by the NHL least popular franchises, in particular in the southern United States, and they will agree...or ask security to get rid of the creepy guy with the fashion questions o_O

There are disturbing trends among the jerseys sold online, however.

1. Thin, meaningless piping running up the sleeves of the jerseys (The infamous "Predator Pipeline")
2. Busy doesn't always mean better o_O (See Carolina Hurricanes)
3. Arctic Blue and Powder Blue only work for team north of the Mason-Dixon line (The Florida Panthers' Vintage Fail)
4. Checkers are for tablecloths at local family restaurants, not NHL jerseys!
5. What works for the New York Rangers (block letters on a diagonal across the jersey) does not work for every other NHL franchise. Right, Avalanche? Lightning?!
6. Those pink satin Ottawa Senators jerseys come with matching purse, and white lace fringe
7. The Vancouver Canucks jerseys present a choking hazard? Loosen the collar just a taste o_O
8. The alternate jersey for the Minnesota Wild is a reminder that Christmas is only three months away o_O
9. I'm going to stick a giant footprint on your chest, and call it a logo. Now, you are going to wear for all to see -_- FACEPALM, or rather DUCKPALM.
10. This is the tenth point o_O ^_^