Comments on: The NHL's New Golden Boy

By: hooks orpik

hooks orpik — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:55:28 +0000

WFY, there’s something like a 165,000+ spike (my numbers could be off, but you get the point) when Crosby and the Pens play on national television in America rather than any other team. The same applies (on a much smaller scale) for games on Versus.
But to suggest one player (no matter who it is) is bigger than the whole NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup itself? Well, that’s just incoherently foolish.
And also note this isn’t coming from the Penguins PR department or Pittsburgh in general, but north of the border. It’s not as if this is getting decried from an internal source.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:12:40 +0000

Yea, I’d feel bad if Pens fans weren’t so annoyingly in-your-face about how much better they are (were) than us.
Plus, there’s the whole fact that OUR captain’s been out for 20+ games, Semin was out for 15+ games, Nylander’s out for the rest of the year, etc. etc. etc.
And we’re still kicking ass.

By: SovSport

SovSport — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:51:49 +0000

Is the All Star Game still on? I thought the NHL was heading towards a lockout-like stoppage until the chosen one returns.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:48:54 +0000

Sidney who?

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:02:27 +0000

It’s slightly odd that Duff refers to the Oilers falling flat on their faces once Gretzky left. I love Gretz more than the next guy, but don’t I remember a Cup in ’90 before the Oilers were stunted for nearly a decade.
Anyhow, I can see how Crosby being hurt will affect the NHL in ratings if Crosby isn’t in the All-Star game festivities or the hunt for the Pens playoff spot, but, realistically, he plays in Pittsburgh. If he were playing in L.A., New York, Toronto, or Chicago (as bad as a few of those teams currently are) this would be a much greater problem for the league. If Crosby were on any of those teams and they were in the position Pittsburgh’s in, the league would be in a much tighter spot at the moment.

By: The Peerless

The Peerless — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:03:08 +0000

There is a really bad “Heath Ledger was despondent over the Crosby situation” line here…but I won’t use it. No-sir-ee, not me.

By: pepper

pepper — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:12:00 +0000

Agreed WFY. I don’t get it either. The Penguins aren’t even close to having the biggest fan base of a US-based team. If Malkin gets hurt, does Colby Armstrong become the “face of the NHL?”

By: chanuck

chanuck — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:00:39 +0000

Is that something you want to organize Todd, cause we won’t mind. We will even be willing to help.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:43:18 +0000

Does this mean that someone will be putting pictures of Evgeni Malkin in the Verizon Center men’s bathroom urinals the next time the Pittsburgh comes to town?

By: Smitty

Smitty — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:29:26 +0000

I think the rivalry died out a bit, except to the most hardcore of fans, after both teams fell into the basement after the turn of the century. The AO-Crosby rivalry seems to be renewing it and making it much more visible to the hockey watching public at large who aren’t necessarily fans of either team.