Great Expectations

One of my favorite things about being an Islanders fan is that I've never really been let down by the team. Sure, the team has done plenty to embarrass me and my fellow fans. But the truth is, I've never expected anything from the Islanders. I was born into Islanders fandom, and someday I'll die an Islanders fan. The team has been pretty terrible for virtually my entire life, and that's fine by me. Quite frankly, I'm just happy that the Islanders are still playing on Long Island at this point.

While I'm a devoted fan, I welcome the fact that I generally know what I'm getting with the Islanders, even if it's not the best of results. It's a hell of a lot better than watching the Mets spend a gazillion dollars each off-season, jack ticket prices up in anticipation of a big season, only to have the season end in heartbreak or, in the past two seasons, apathy. And it's a lot better than watching my beloved Jets, lovably pitiful for much of my life, become the league's most hated team and one that leads the league in arrests and penalties. The Islanders don't expose me to these potential pratfalls. As loyal Islanders fans, we know we're going to watch some good games, we know we're going to see some young players develop... and we also know that, come April, we can go ahead and make other plans.

Or can we?

The Islanders released their single-game ticket prices recently, and... well, so much for my plans to take my daughter to her first Islanders game. A decent seat in the 300s will run you anywhere from $65 to $75, and if you want to go down the to the lower bowl, you're looking at upwards of $95. Those seats at the top of the Coliseum, with the aluminum floor that's fun to bang on, but prevents you from seeing the scoreboard? $35 per ticket. That's a lot of money. In fact, the Islanders' prices are quite similar to what the New Jersey Devils charge for their individual game tickets; in the case of premium games, the Islanders actually charge more.

Therein lies the dilemma. The Devils have a right to charge a hefty price for their tickets. They play in a state-of-the-art palace, and they've been to the playoffs in all but one of the past 20 seasons. Yes, they've won just two playoff series since winning the Cup in 2003, but they've also, you know, been consistently very good, to the tune of 95 or more points every year since 1996-97.

To say the Islanders haven't been as successful would be quite the understatement. This is a team that...

 - Has been in the lottery for each of the past three years

 - Has won two playoff series in the past 23 years

 - Has won three playoff games since 2002

 - Has only had one player break the 25-goal plateau in the past three years

 - Has never even come close to signing a big-name free agent

I could go on forever, but you get the idea. The point is, the Devils have proven that they're worth paying money to see (not that Devils fans would ever show up at games or anything). The Islanders, on the other hand, continue to sell us on the "future", something we've been hearing for fifteen years now. So you'll have to forgive me and many others for our skepticism. You can't substantially raise ticket prices based on what may happen. At some point, there has to be tangible proof that the team has turned the corner.

This is the quandary the Islanders face in 2010-11. For the past three years, Garth Snow has preached patience to the Islanders fanbase. For three years, fans have complied. But now that ticket prices have reached a level comparable with those of perennial Cup contenders, there's a certain expectation that goes with those prices. The draft lottery is not going to get it done this year, not when fans are paying an average of $75 a ticket. The absolute minimum expectation for the New York Islanders has to be the playoffs.

Are the playoffs within the realm of possibility? Absolutely. The Islanders have spent a long time maturing and preparing to make a move, and this very well could be the year it all comes together. But if it's not, the Islanders will have some explaining to do. The fans this year will expect a winner, not yet another rebuilding year - and at the prices the Islanders are charging, the fans are entitled to a significant return on their investment.

Playoff Tickets...

I got my playoff ticket invoice today. Madison Square Garden is telling me that for $3,888, I can 2 tickets to 16 home playoff games. That assumes that not only will they have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, but that every series will go 7 games. 

Home ice advantage? They aren't even technically in the playoff picture. They had two objectives today - get 2 points, and stop the Carolina Hurricanes from getting any points. They failed in both.

But don't worry. If I pay nearly four grand, anything left over from games not played or series (don't know the plural of "series") not played goes towards my tickets next year. 

All of this on a day when the offense thought Tom Renney was behind the bench. And to be honest, with all the ice time - and power play time - that Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden had, I thought Tom Renney was behind the bench. Wasn't one of his biggest problems his over-reliance on players who didn't ever help the offense? John Tortorella comes in claiming "change" and "hope" and "a better economy" and we get #33 passing the puck continuously and #6 getting busted on goals time and time and time again.

The first period of tonight's game was sporadically exciting but mostly boring. The second period I enjoyed, very fast, up-and-down. Steve Valiquette was excellent for most of the game. Sean Avery was a monster all game, especially on one shift when he left the penalty box and rocked 3 hits in 10 seconds. The 3rd period made me wish I hadn't napped earlier in the day. It was boring, horrendous hockey with uninspired play.

Wade Redden is making $6.5 million dollars this year (or enough to buy 3,433 people playoff tickets for all 16 home games). Maybe he can take some of that money, catch up with Dorothy, go to Emerald City, and buy some heart.

* * * 

I must say, as much as I hate the Hurricane's "cheerleaders," I hate the Versus broadcast even more. I appreciate that they take on hockey and lead in with shows about dead deer, but every Monday night game on that channel makes me cringe. The first 3 minutes were like watching a stop-motion movie (I think Coraline was more fluid than the Versus' choppy camerawork). I knew before the game that the Canadiens fired Guy Carbonneau, I didn't need everyone to tell me throughout the whole game and intermission. I can't stand hearing Eddie Olczyk being referred to as "Edzo." 

But above all else, I wish they would leave a non-commercial-time-out alone. Every time the whistle blew for an icing, penalty, or offsides, we were treated to the Marines.com Player of the Game (where you could find out for the 8th time that Rod Brind'amour was in his 600th game as a Hurricane). Or maybe it was the Bud Light Drinkability Stat of the Game. 

Ridiculous. Thankfully they only have 2 games left on Versus, and I'll be at one of them so I won't have to watch it. 

Poor Economy...

Yesterday, we officially (in America) went from "an economic downswing" to "a poor economy." Yes, it is always darkest before the dawn, but America will be in a bad spot for a long time before it gets better. And yes, the economy is cyclical, but this is the bad portion of it.

How is that hockey news? I mean, technically, it's not. And this whole post might not make sense. Just warning you...

But say a family of four wants to go to a Rangers game and they live on Long Island. That's $14 x 4 for the round-trip train tickets. Tickets are, conservatively, $50 each. Already, we're at $256, and that's just getting there. Everyone gets a hot dog outside of The Garden. Dad is a big fella, so he gets two. $10. Four Hawaiian Punches, $4. Inside, a flag ($15) to commemorate Little Steve's first game, and a picture of Henrik Lundqvist ($12) because Julia wants something too. A few slices of New York's biggest (not best) pizza at Penn Station, and we're reaching $320 for a night out. That's very conservative as well. 

And going to a Ranger or Islander game is the cheapest of the sporting events. What's parking at Shea and Yankee Stadiums, $30? That makes the $8 beers look better in comparison. If you want to go to a Jets or Giants game, be prepared to spend $50 in gas sitting in traffic into New Jersey, then get gouged on parking, hot dogs, replica jerseys, and cheese hats that have nothing to do with New York.

Put simply, the owners of these teams do not care about you, the slumping economy, or making an enjoyable evening affordable. The players don't care either, which kills me. Why should I root for Alex Rodriguez if I know that my seats near third base are so expensive because he demands $27M a year to hit a ball (into a double play). 

The NHL instituted a Salary Cap in 2005. That year, the Cap was around $44M. This year, the MINIMUM of the Cap is higher than the MAXIMUM was then. That's great news, the NHL is making more money, more people are watching the games on TV and going in person. The game is doing good and won't fold. 

The reason that they raise the floor is so the owners won't keep all of the revenue. They are forced to put it back into the team, in the way of players salaries, as negotiated by the NHLPA. 

Instead of raising the floor so the owners don't keep all the money (see: Milwaukee Brewers of the early 2000s and the current Pittsburgh Pirates), why not put the money back where it came from? The fans. Don't raise ticket prices after every 2nd round knockout. Don't charge $5 for a 16 ounce bottle of Jana water that cost 26 cents to get. Wouldn't it be something if a team lowered ticket prices? 

Attendance will suffer this year. I might be wrong if a lot of tickets are already purchased, whether they be through a package like me, or a corporation who bought up season tickets. However, if things don't improve, things will get bad next year. So bad, that the Islanders might not sell 10,000 tickets per game, and Nashville will not hit their self-imposed minimum of 14,000. Corporate sponsors with ticket commitments for this year might drop out before 2009-10, leaving the owners with a choice. Stay in Nashville and lose money, or move, rent-free, to a state-of-the-art arena in Kansas City. 

Seriously, would Free Food Night, 75 Cent Popcorn Night, or lower ticket prices all year be a bad thing for a lot of franchises? I know the Rangers would never make ticket prices lower. It's the nature of the beast. A huge city, a rabid fan base, and corporate sponsors who buy the lower bowl of tickets unite to sell out every single home game. However, they gave free food away for the last game of the Knicks season last year, and in 2004 they had Retro Price Night on popcorn and cotton candy for an Original Six matchup against the Bruins that I went to. Would it kill them to offer Dollar Hot Dogs or free soda for a few games early in the year? 

I'm a realist. I know that James "Daddy Made Me Rich" Dolan will probably not do this. However, what about Charles Wang? Personally, I've said for a few years that the Islanders should make tickets $5-$10 for unsold ones before games. The game will be played regardless of who is in the building. Why not get more people in there and spending money? If the ticket cost me ten bucks, I'd be more willing to shell out $5 for a pretzel twist or $25 for an Okposo t-shirt. 

I don't know where I'm going with this. When I was doing my pretend "I'm a GM and I'm giving away half-priced tickets all year" speech in the mirror as I was washing my hands after a post-Mexican dinner deuce, this sounded a lot better.

But do you see where I'm going? Most owners don't care about us. It's not really the players' faults, as they just get what they can. I would too if I was one. Get what you can, while you can, especially in this day and age. But that's what screws us, the middle-class fans who can now only afford 2 games a year because gas is $3.89 a gallon and Chris Drury gets paid $121,000 for every point he had last year.

* * * 

In an effort to boost the economy, I bought XBox 360 and NHL 09 yesterday. Solid game, although I don't love the Be a Pro mode like my counterpart Bryan does. I'm a Dynasty guy, myself.

The Islanders' Dilemma

Yesterday, individual game tickets for the New York Islanders went on sale.

Did you get any? Did you even know they were going on sale? Do you even care?

If you're at this blog, odds are at least 50-50 that you care. You might have gotten tickets yesterday, or you might have gotten a package. Or you might have heard and chosen not to go, instead opting for the bevy of freebies that are sure to fall into your lap as the season progresses.

If you did know about the ticket sale, odds are good that you found out about it from the Islanders' official website. Because the only other way you'd know is if you frequent Newsday.com or, of course, actually read the paper. Either way, the Islanders have advertised fairly extensively through Newsday, as they should; Newsday is the only paper that sends a beat writer on the road and generally gives the Islanders the time of day. Newsday does a pretty good job with the Islanders, and they do an even better job when the alternatives are considered.

However, Newsday didn't mention a word about yesterday's event at the Coliseum. It's not because they're not talking about the Islanders. There have been a couple of articles about Scott Gordon and his transition into his new role as head coach. But nothing about ticket sales. Why? Because it's not newsworthy.

That's right. Ticket sales for your New York Islanders don't qualify as news.

Surprised? Don't be. This is a team that finished in the lottery last year and has only regressed since then. Sure, there's a bright future ahead for the Islanders, one that we might even get glimpses of this year. But this team is a tough sell to people that actually like the Islanders, let alone casual sports fans who are ambivalent about the Islanders.

Some people would say not to be alarmed by this; after all, the Islanders are rebuilding, and part of that includes rebuilding the fanbase. But this is a source of concern. And if you don't believe me, here's proof.

On Tuesday morning, I contemplated calling in sick, as I do each and every day. And as I do each and every day, I reported to work. When I got to work, I received an e-mail advertising a company discount for Islanders Opening Night tickets of up to 50% off face value.

Re-read that last sentence.

It has been said that the only guaranteed sellouts for the Islanders in any given year are the Ranger games and Opening Night. And yet, I have the Islanders offering me 50% off tickets for Opening F'ing Night.

If you were Charles Wang, Chris Dey, or whoever's in charge of ticket sales, what would you rather do - discount tickets and look desperate, or charge full price and face the chance of an Opening Night crowd of 13,000? Tough call, indeed. Either way, you lose. And either way, Islander fans look like they don't care, which isn't necessarily true. But in cases like these, there's a trade-off. You either draw the big house with minor-league promotions, like last year, or you play in front of an empty house while pretending everything's okay, like the Islanders did so often during the late 90s.

Sad to say, but this is going to get worse before it gets better. Until the Islanders have a team that doesn't have to claw and scrape just for the 8th seed - and this at least two years away - fans aren't going to turn out in droves. And that has nothing to do with the crumbling state of the Coliseum, injuries, or any of the other excuses people conveniently bring up when defending this team.

Look, I'll be there as often as I can this year. A lot of other fans out there can say the same. And the Islanders will still sell out for holiday day games and Ranger games. But the key to consistently filling up any building is bringing in casual fans who aren't obsessed with hockey like we all are. That's where the Islanders are going to struggle. They're not the Rangers, who have loyalty from fans and corporations alike. The Islanders sell to blue-collar fans from Long Island, and as much as they've tried to make their seats affordable, people just aren't going to be motivated to turn out if the on-ice product is lacking.

It's Friday...

1) Of the 4 Veteran S's, one has finally re-signed. Joe Sakic is back in Colorado, presumably for his last season. Now, if only Sundin, Selanne, and Shanahan would come to a decision. To be honest, I'm not losing sleep over it, but it would be nice to get a glimpse of how rosters are going to shape up for the 2008-09 season.

I don't think any of these guys will land on Broadway (not that there ever has been a Selanne-to-Rangers rumor), but it is a remote possibility, and some closure on the issue would be nice.

2) While I still think Florida is the most poorly run organization in the NHL, the LA Kings might be the winners of Worst Offseason Ever. While they did trade for Jarrett Stoll, they did not sign one unrestricted free agent this summer. They did lock up a few draft picks and restricted FAs, but they have just over $27M in payroll for the next season. I don't even know if that would have been enough to hit the Salary Cap floor in the season after the lockout, and it certainly isn't enough to hit the floor this year.

While they do have a big future (think of them as the Penguins from a few years back), they need to sign some veterans to overpriced contracts just because they need to add salary to meet the NHL's minimum requirements. I have been expecting a Glen Murray signing ever since he got released from Boston, and there are still a few other players out there who haven't signed on with an NHL club or jumped ship to Russia.

Okay, so their future isn't as bright as the Penguins, but they do have a plethora (nice word) of young talent on the club and in the pipeline, and they will have a lot of high draft picks this year too, as long as they sign veterans to one-year deals and then ship them off at the trade deadline.

3) Two thumbs down to whoever writes the ticker on the bottom of the screen on the NHL Network. Yesterday, I put the channel on at work (I'm a bartender) and it was a classic series between the Washington Capitals and the Rangers from 1991. Fantastic.

Anyway, I had turned it on to see if the Joe Sakic news had broken yet (I knew there was a press conference scheduled so he could announce his decision). The ticker listed what they have listed all summer, free agents on every team, in alphabetical order. Once again, this bored me to tears, because I know who they are, and most of the un-signed free agents left are middling, Ryan Hollweg type players who should be signed to two-way deals. Case in point: the Chicago Blackhawks signing a guy named Tim Brent is not news, nor was the fact that he was a free agent at one point.

Not only did they have this "news" feed scrolling the bottom of the TV, but they also had not updated it in over a week. They told me that Aaron Downey of the Red Wings was a free agent. Well, a quick glimpse at TSN shows me he re-signed on August 20th. Yesterday was the 28th. On top of that, did anyone besides his immediate family and close friends really care if Aaron Downey was still a free agent?

That's like CNN scrolling false facts on the bottom of their feed that nobody cared about even when the facts were true.

4) I did it. I signed up for a package. Didn't even hesitate. The Rangers emailed me, and 10 minutes later I was on the phone. I hesitated so little, in fact, that I forgot to ask how much the package was. Luckily, a letter with prices came, only to confirm my theory: prices had gone up. And why wouldn't they? I mean, the Rangers won 5 playoff games last season, including 2 at home in the Garden. So, why wouldn't Jackass Jim Dolan raise ticket prices?

Prices didn't go up the year after the lockout, not because of the lockout, but because the Rangers hadn't made the playoffs in 2003-04. Every year since, however, prices have steeply risen, and a ticket that would have cost $44 then now costs $60. I believe it's even more money if you don't have a package (I think someone else would pay $64.50 for my $60 tickets).

What kills me though is preseason. You would think that since those games don't sell out, they would give some tickets to real fans who can't afford them, or at least put preseason tickets on sale for like $30 for the $60 seats. I don't really want to go to the preseason game, but I will, because they make you get it when you get a package. It's fun to watch the young kids - I saw Marc Staal's first NHL point in a preseason game last year - but it's very expensive, not to mention it's an extra $14 for the train, I might have a beer, maybe a soggy pretzel, and now a preseason game featuring Brodie Dupont has cost me $100.

Your 2008-09 Islander Ticket Packages

While many have already written off the upcoming Islanders season as a colossal waste of time, the team itself isn't ready to make that determination. However, they are making a very concerted effort to get the fans involved, and their method for achieving that is through their extensive ticket options. Who needs individual ticket sales when you can pick one of their many partial plans?

In all seriousness, those of us who had to sit through the Mets organization telling us, "If you don't get a ticket plan, forget about going to Opening Day, the Subway Series, or the last game at Shea," are in for a serious treat. The Islanders are going out of their way to hook us up - God knows we deserve it - and actually do have something for everybody. The full list of plans, opponents, and discounts off face value can be found at the Islanders' website.

With that in mind, we here at The Rivalry, knowing that money and time are tight for a lot of people, have the highlights of the Islanders' offerings for your perusal. So here we go. Everyone knows what a full season package is. Boring. They also have first-half and second-half plans. Ooh. What new and exciting things do the Islanders' sales staff have in store for us?

- Full Season With Flexible Seating. This is pretty cool. You pay for a season ticket in the upper deck, but get moved down to the lower level for ten games. And it's not the crappy ten games you'd expect, either. You get Opening Night, all three Ranger games, and two each against the Devils and Flyers in the good seats. Oh, and you don't pay anything extra for the right to watch the Isles' best games in the lap of luxury. Not bad, eh?

- Flex 20 Plan. You're given 20 ticket vouchers and a slate of 25 games. You can mix and match them any way you'd like. For example, you can bring nineteen of your closest friends to one game, or you can go to twenty different games by yourself. Interesting.

- Weekday Choice Plan. You get all three Ranger games. You also get to pick twelve out of nineteen select weekday games, not to mention playoff options (stop laughing).

- Experience: Hockey Plan. Pick three out of five games you'd like to attend. But there's more. You get skating lessons at Iceworks, "Chalk Talk" with the team (whatever that is), and the right to - and this is a direct quote from the Islanders' site - "HIGH-FIVE the players on their way onto the ice". I'd like to see how someone in Row O of section 302 high-fives a player. I guess that's part of the plan's magic.

- Upgrade Plan. This one's sort of confusing, so bear with me. You pay for an upper-deck ticket, then bring it to the game, at which time you're given an upgrade to a lower-level seat. It doesn't apply to the Ranger game, but seven out of eight isn't bad. Who needs the same seat every game if you can sit with the high-rollers in the 100s for half the price? Given that two of the games are against Atlanta and Los Angeles, there should be plenty of great lower-level seating to be had.

- Big Value Plan. By far the steepest discount off face value available outside of full-season packages. And there's a reason for that - the first-half plan features games against Columbus, Dallas, and Vancouver; the second has games against Los Angeles, Carolina, and Colorado. If you've been clamoring to see the stars of the West, this one's for you. Or, if you just want to sit in the lower level and don't care who the Islanders play, hit up the Lower VIP End Zone section for $38 per game.

- Victory Plan. If anyone ever tells you gambling is illegal, just point them in the direction of this plan. The premise is this - if the Islanders win any of the games in this plan, you get a free ticket to another game. They disclose the tickets you'd be winning in advance, so it's not like they're giving you leftovers from a low-drawing night. The problem is, of the four games, three of the opposing teams won their divisions last year. Gulp.

OK. I'm broke, but I think even I can swing the Big Value Plan. And I just might go for it. For now, though, my friend Leslie got the Borrelli's All-Star Plan, which I'll mooch off of as often as possible. Hey, Islanders management, here's one - instead of giving us gift cards to Italian restaurants, why not give us a Hooters Plan? Or even a plan that guarantees ticketholders unlimited pretzel twists. Now that could be useful.

Um...

With 4 defensemen signed, the Rangers need to sign atleast 3 today, or maybe just 2 and rely on an unproven player from Hartford.

I am okay with Rozsival making $5M/year if... no... no I'm not. He's a 3rd defensemen at best and he's making top pair money. Four more years of not clearing the crease, not shooting the puck,
incompetency in the defensive zone. If I were a liberal, I'd make a President Bush joke now.

But Wade Redden also? Glen Sather does not read this blog. The man's career high in points is 50 games. Yes, it was in 65 games. And he played 64 games 2 seasons ago. What, a history of injury? What, a poor work ethic? What, this contract probably comes with a no trade clause? What, he's 31?

$6.5M is going to be a big cap hit in 6 years when he's 37 and even worse than he is now. Oh, but don't worry, he scored 1 point in the playoffs this year.

This is disgusting. It's an insult to the fans. You know ticket prices are going up again this year. This is why. So a player who doesn't want to work can make his guaranteed money.

I'm not renewing my season tickets this season, so if someone is on the waiting list, you just got lucky.