Oct 15, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Corey Perry (90) and Philadelphia Flyers forward Jett Luchanko (17) chase a loose puck during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Nobody likes summer vacation more than the NHL.
As soon as the first couple days of free agency are over at the beginning of July, the sport goes into Independence Day weekend and doesn't look back until after Labor Day.
Then, all of the sudden, it tries to jam everything in at once.
I get it. When you are going full tilt for 10 months of the year, you want to shut it down and disconnect the brain for as long as you can until you have to start all over again.
That said, maybe, just maybe, the league can stagger the down time enough so that it isn't trying to push through major changes in the final days before the season is about to begin.
The NHL and the NHLPA put out the details of their new collective bargaining agreement this week. The deal was first announced though in July, with scant details of what it included.
But hey, it's September, let's fast track everything after taking the summer off.
So, new rules - that honestly make a lot of sense - are being implemented right away for the upcoming season. Things such as a playoff salary cap, closing the LTIR loophole, getting rid of double salary retention, and outlawing deferred compensation are going to be in place in time for the 2025-26 season.
All good steps by the league and the PA. Kudos to them.
They also agreed on eliminating another antiquated rule - but this one requires buy-in from an outside source - and now there might not be enough time left to get it through for the upcoming campaign.
The new CBA would allow for each team to have one 19-year-old prospect, who was drafted from one of the CHL junior leagues in Canada, to be allowed to play in the AHL for their minor league affiliate. For ever and ever, the CHL has had a stranglehold on these players. It has a long-standing agreement in place that unless an NHL team was planning to play said teenager in actual NHL games, that team must return their prospect to their junior team rather than go to the AHL.
The USHL and CHL both made presentations to the GMs and coaches today in the meeting.
Bill Daly says both leagues wanted to express their views with the current landscape. Daly said CHL is concerned about what the new NHL/NHLPA CBA has regarding 19-year-old players (which…
The reasoning for the CHL has been and continues to be purely financial - and has never been in the best interest of the hockey player.
The CHL is great about development and protecting their players up until they are drafted, at which point, that part goes out the window and they become marketing assets.
Of course the CHL looks at drafted players as a draw for fans to come out and see future NHLers and top draft picks. It sells tickets.
But it hasn't really made guys better - at least not the guys drafted in the first round who aren't quite ready for the NHL physically, even if their skill set is of the caliber to play at the game's highest level eventually.
In those instances, the NHL team would much prefer their player to not only play and develop under the watchful eye of their coaches and development team, but also play in the AHL against bigger, stronger, faster men rather than go back to junior and continue to skate against physically immature teenagers. It's basically a wasted year of development.
Which is why the NHL and NHLPA coming to this agreement makes a ton of sense. The problem is, the CHL hasn't signed off on it. There is a belief that eventually it will, but it hasn't happened yet, which is leaving teams a bit in the lurch about what to do with some top prospects.
Locally, this impacts the Flyers because Jett Luchanko, 19, isn't quite physically ready for the NHL, but the Flyers would much rather have him in Lehigh Valley with the Phantoms rather than go back to Guelph, which isn't expected to be a good team in the Ontario Hockey League.
But with the summer-long foot-dragging in negotiation between the NHL and CHL, teams like the Flyers are left in purgatory. They don't know which way it's going to go, and with training camp just two weeks away, having uncertainty at this point is a bit uncomfortable.
The Flyers, I'm told, are operating as if Luchanko has to go back to Guelph - for now - but are keeping their fingers crossed and rubbing all their lucky charms that something changes in the coming weeks that will allow them to assign him to the Phantoms.
The point is, this shouldn't be the case two weeks out. If the NHL and NHLPA wanted to put the pressure on the CHL to accept a deal that I would say 90% of hockey fans would agree with, they shouldn't have waited to release this until now. They should have released it back in July, when the deal was finalized, so they had time to build the momentum and the ramp and runway to getting the CHL on board.
If it takes too long, players like Luchanko will fall through the cracks and likely not develop as quickly as they could if the CHL wasn't so worried about lining their pockets and were focused more on developing the next wave of NHL stars properly. Even if it kicks in next season, that's too late for Luchanko - and that'd be a shame.
For 15 years, NFL RedZone has been the best thing going for people more addicted to their fantasy leagues or their gambling habits than actually watching a complete football game. And while it has never been my go-to option in those 15 years, because, as an old fogey I like to actually sit down and watch an entire game - I know, call me a crazy old coot - I have, on occasion, tuned in to RedZone. I much prefer it in the 4PM window when there are fewer games. The 1PM window is bonkers. Way too many games to constantly flip through. Never getting a sense for the flow of any of them, and just an overload of Scott Hanson energy and fantasy stats.
But the one thing that I always appreciated about it was that it was, as Hanson liked to say, seven hours of commercial-free football.
Except, not anymore.
What this will look like, we will find out on Sunday, but Hanson went on the Pat McAfee show this week and suggested that commercials are coming.
Scott Hanson says we “won’t miss a touchdown” on RedZone with these bullshit commercials..
Hopefully he means we won’t miss any LIVE touchdowns.. imagine coming back from commercial just to see 4 teams scored and it was already spoiled on the internet pic.twitter.com/vNNkekMnss
ESPN recently announced it is in line to buy the NFL Network and NFL RedZone, but technically they wouldn't take over until 2026. That said, their interest in these entities would not have existed without the ability to eventually monetize them in a big way. Which is why it's no surprise that this advertising experiment is taking place this season - before ESPN gets the channel in their clutches.
I get it - it's an immensely popular program and more and more fans are consuming football this way than, you know, actually watching a game (which goes into my theory that most (not all) sports fans today have more information at their disposal and yet know less about their sports). So, adding advertisements was always a matter of when, not if. That doesn't make it right, though.
It was something fans cling to as they sit down to watch. It was a perk that they enjoyed. No commercials. It's like free parking. Or call-ahead seating. It's a small thing, but it's appreciated. When the hook for 15 years has been "commercial-free football" and then you start taking that away, you're going to lose people. Just like media outlets who put their content behind a paywall. You won't lose everyone, but you will lose people. Not that these corporations care. Thanks, corporate greed - and through guilt by association, ESPN.
And if it's not bad enough that there are now commercials on RedZone, the fact that there are is being politicized. Does everything have to be politicized? It's maddening. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul blamed President Trump for this somehow.
More commercials, less football. Trump’s America.@NFL and @espn: You have time to fix this! https://t.co/BIYPlkdNfB
How dumb is that? Every time something controversial happens it's being linked in some way to some politician. Should we all do this now? If a lineman gets hurt tonight while the Eagles run the Tush Push, should we declare that the NFL trying to get it banned for this reason was a Democratic hoax? When a Flyers player misses a game because he has the flu this season, should we blame Robert Kennedy Jr. because the player probably couldn't get his flu vaccine? When will enough be enough? Can't we just enjoy sports for the competition of it anymore? It's exasperating.
Finally, if you are a regular reader of OnPattison, you've noticed that my colleague Tim Kelly is out in Milwaukee with the Phillies. While out there, there was an off day, and Tim got together for dinner with the other Philly writers who made the trip. Somewhere along the way, a conversation was had that several of the other writers had never had cheese curds. Tim was included in that group.
So, Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic made it her mission for them all to try them before they left Milwaukee.
Two down, two to go. https://t.co/c7OyKuYSx6 pic.twitter.com/WRoMlkLiBx
Good on Charlotte for expanding these immature palettes.
I asked Tim what he thought of them after trying them. His response, "I liked them, but I needed a sauce."
Seriously?
I still couldn't believe that Tim has been on this earth for nearly three decades and never had cheese curds before. I just assumed he did and didn't realize it.
So I asked him if he ever had poutine.
He said not that he knows of.
I smacked my head harder than Tyler Phillips getting ready to come into a game for the Miami Marlins.
I found out why Tyler Phillips smacks himself in the face before each relief appearance pic.twitter.com/mSvZMVVcNl
Poutine is one of the three greatest things to ever come out of Canada - along with Wayne Gretzky and peanut butter.
And considering Tim usually likes to eat like a teenager, French fries with cheese curds, shaved beef and gravy is an all-time comfort food that he would absolutely devour.
And yet, Tim isn't sure he's ever had it.
Tim... get off my lawn.
