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The NHL is expanding overseas... wait, not that way. They are going to announce that they have media-rights contracts with countries overseas.
The NHL finally has its television house in order overseas.
A report in the Sports Business Daily says the league will announce later Thursday it has nailed down 10 final media-rights contracts to give it complete coverage in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. On Wednesday, the NHL announced it struck a deal with ESPN to televise games in 35 countries in Europe and Africa.
An Avs/ Stars preview for tonight.
The Avalanche, though, went 0 for 4 on Wednesday in a 4-1 home loss to Phoenix. They're 2-4-0 since a five-game winning streak and have totaled five goals in their five losses.
"It's hard to win hockey games when you're not scoring goals," said forward Milan Hejduk, who had three goals and an assist as Colorado and Dallas split four matchups in 2010-11. "We just have to keep playing the same way and eventually we'll start scoring goals."
The Avs are averaging a league-worst 1.2 goals on home ice - where they are 1-4-0 - but have scored 24 times while posting the league's best road record at 6-1-0.
Here's a story about a former draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Aulin.
Aulin's journey to the CIS took him through the American Hockey League. When he was released from the Springfield Falcons in 2006, it effectively stalled his professional aspirations.
"I told myself I was done with competitive hockey, [it] just wasn't fun for me anymore. I started playing for fun on my friend's beer league team and was having a blast until Quinn Risdon [an opponent] decided he wanted to end my career and possibly my life. He two-hand slashed me with his hockey stick across my carotid artery, causing me to have a seizure on the ice. After this incident I decided I was never going to play hockey again . . . my health was far more important to me than to continue risking it."
Aulin decided to return to his hometown Calgary, becoming the first player since 1985 to play in the CIS after playing in the NHL when he joined the Dinos for the 2007-08 season. Aulin was able to receive an education using the skills he had honed from a young age.
"Playing for the Dinos was an opportunity for me to get into school and seek an education. Hockey was the only way I could do this. The best part of it all is that I fell in love with the game again."
Yet another story about the NHL realignment.
Even a brief summary of all the realignment ideas that have been floated so far would take us all into next week. Bob McKenzie of TSN expended 2,500 words on it last month, and barely scratched the surface.
My personal favourite was the one suggested some weeks ago by Sportsnet’s John Shannon, which he called NHL 3.0 (three divisions, zero chance of being approved.) What I like about it is that it recognizes that Winnipeg and Dallas are just damned inconveniently located, and spreads the travel out a little more equitably.
A story of the financial woes facing the New Jersey Devils.
The financial woes of the New Jersey Devils are such that the NHL team’s lenders are trying sell their shares of the team’s debt at a hefty discount, according to a source in the bond market.
Devils co-owner Jeff Vanderbeek already missed an interest payment on the $80-million (all currency U.S.) loan Sept. 1. He was given an extension by the lenders in order to try and raise enough money to buy out co-owners Ray Chambers and Mike Gilfillan.