Detroit Red Wings to join Motor City Mechanics

[patmc16]

WDFN, 1 of the 2 sports radio stations in Detroit, just announced that the Motor City Mechanics will announce that they have a new head coach, and will sign two locked out Detroit Red Wings for the remainder of the season. There is a news item on the Mechanics website confirming it.

http://www.motorcitymechanics.com/home/news.asp?ID=86

I would have expected the Red Wings to be a couple of low level players but, according to WDFN (in what they are calling a rumour) the two players will be CHRIS CHELIOS and DERIAN HATCHER! Well, my season tickets will finally start to pay off. It's probably too late to think about a playoff spot for the Mechanics, but they will probably sell out the rest of their games. Being at the bottom of the standings hasn't helped pull them up from the bottom in league attendance. If the rumour is correct, I'm sure this will.

I don't know if Coach Garry Unger has quit or got fired. I know he took a personal leave for a few games around the holidays. WDFN didn't mention any names for the new head coach, but I wouldn't be surprised myself if Chelios took on that role as well. He just seems like the type that will end up being a head coach in the NHL some day, and this would be a good time to get his feet wet. Should be an interesting press conference tomorrow morning.

GO MECHANICS!!!!!!!

[patmc16]

The local FOX station is adding Kris Draper to the list of Red Wings to be announced with the Mechanics tomorrow, along with Chelios & Hatcher. He may not be as big as the other two but is a fan favorite in Detroit for sure.

They said that ticket prices may go up. Gee, ya think? Another benefit of already having season tickets.

[patmc16]

And now they just added Kirk Maltby to the list. They said Chelios & Hatcher are for sure and Draper & Maltby are possibilities. I guess it will be more clear by noon tomorrow.

If nothing else it is good to see the Mechanics get some TV coverage. They have pretty much gone unnoticed by the local television media up til now.

[HockeyCanuck]

I think that them signing in the UHL is an absolute crock. They ***** because they don't make enough in the NHL yet they have no problem playing for a few thousand a month and taking jobs away from guys trying to work their way up the hockey ladder. They wont play under a 40 million a year salary cap but are willing to play under a $10,000 or $12,000 a week cap? Makes sense to me.

The NHL should play with replacement players next season and leave these guys and the NHLPA out in the cold or in the minors playing for peanuts or in europe since they have no problem taking the jobs of others because of their own greed.

Just my 2 cents.

[patmc16]

they have no problem taking the jobs of others

Untrue. They are not taking anyone's job. The Mechanics have been playing short of the roster limit for some time now. Several players have been injured and place on IR and a couple have flat out quit (they do have the worst record in the league). Draper has been quoted multiple times on multiple media outlets in Detroit saying that they only agreed to sign with the understanding that no one would lose their job because of it. So far, no one has.

This is a win-win for the Mechanics and the players. They get to play for real for the first time this season without having to leave their families behind and the Mechanics have had more press coverage in the last few days than they have had in the rest of their existance combined. The arena was about 1/3 full on an average night before. When they closed the box office last night, there were about 300 tickets left for Friday's game. My sister went to get tickets yesterday on her lunch hour and there were 50-75 people in line (at noon on a Wednesday). People were buying tickets for multiple games. The revenue from this may carry into next season. Without it, who knows if there would be a next season. I'd rather see this then some of the other 1 game gimmicks that are used, like Manute Bol, Tanya Harding, or the female that played last week for the Tulsa Oilers.

BTW Hatcher scored his first UHL goal last night in a 5-1 loss at Flint.

[MchRsnbm]

HockeyCanuck, I couldn't agree with you more. I think it is a bunch of bs with these NHL players. I mean if you had asked 75% of these all of a sudden NEW motor city mechanics fans and had asked them last week if they had ever heard of the motor city mechanics then they would say NO! Now all of sudden you got sell out games and all these people are not going there to watch the other 20 palyers on the team, but to see hatcher, draper and chelios play. They are not what I would call true mechanic fans, they are all just red wing followers.

[Pounder]

Really, folks...

It's only by some pretty unschooled stupidity that the Mechanics exist in the first place. We've been down that road before, in that building. Should these jobs really exist? They were going to go away sooner than later.

Congratulations to the Mechanics for finding a way to survive through next year. Yes, it's Red Wing fans. Living off 7 Mechanics fans wasn't going to work for long.

(Please excuse the hyperbole... but the false sanctimonious sense of "protecting" the minor leaguers doesn't ring with me)

[patmc16]

It's only by some pretty unschooled stupidity that the Mechanics exist in the first place. We've been down that road before, in that building. Should these jobs really exist? They were going to go away sooner than later.

Since you seem to be more knowledgeable on the Mechanics specific situation then the rest of us, please provide more information to support this comment. Specifically, what do you mean by "unschooled stupidity?"

[Pounder]

It doesn't always require knowledge of a market as much as it does common sense.

In this case, no matter how much of a hockey market Detroit is, if you're not in a position to outright buy a TV station to generate publicity for the team, and there's already more than one team in the market, and the market is the size of Detroit, it's probably not going to last long. Most large markets' media corps are going to focus on the turmoil of the lockout with the major teams than they will on anything minor league.

In truth (this is not advocacy), I'd have sooner put a team in Alpena. Well, maybe Traverse City. I ain't rich, but I likely can afford to advertise in those towns. I'm guessing that any reasonable sort of media campaign in Detroit could cost more than the player salary pool, or certainly be far too large a percentage of the budget to even be considered.

[patmc16]

So, if you are in a large (NHL) market and can't/don't buy a TV station to market the team, you are doomed to failure? Well, I guess one person's common sense can be another person's nonsense. There are probably a hundred reasons why a team like the Mechanics could, and very well may, fail. I doubt anyone would say the reason is because they didn't own a TV station. I guess someone needs to get on the horn with the Mechanics, Chicago Wolves, Philadelphia Phantoms, Long Beach (LA) Ice Dogs, Missouri (St. Louis) River Otters and Edmonton Roadrunners and tell them to snap up a local UHF before the grim reaper comes a callin'. Might want to call the juniors as well. I'd hate to see a TV station get in the way of the survival of the Vancouver Giants, Toronto St. Mikes Majors, Ottawa 67's, Plymouth (Detroit) Whalers, Calgary Hitmen, and Chicago Steel. Did I forget anyone?

But seriously, they may not have put together the best team on the ice, but marketing is one area the Mechanics got it right. Yes, a media campaign in a large market could get very expensive. Rather than going the route of the major newspapers and TV stations in the area, the Mechanics have highly targeted their advertising dollars by buying ads in the local weekly and they even had a full page ad in a "penny saver" type thing that came in the mail recently. These publications have 100% circulation in the eastside suburbs, around the Mechanics home. They have traded advertising with the weekly newspaper too, which I would imagine lowered the cost. The "major" newspapers have a far wider distribution (pretty much throughout the state... you can pick up a Detroit News in the UP). Many people who read those papers are far outside of the area they can really expect to draw from. Their radio ads run on several stations, but primarily on WDFN. "The Fan" is in the 20's overall ratings wise in the local radio market, but it is the #1 sports station. Most likely cheaper advertising rates than the top stations overall, but more targeted at the sports fan. Last but not least, the signing of the Red Wings has generated more free advertising than they could ever expect to have in their budget. Bottom line, this is a business and, if it puts butts in the seats, it's good for business. The last time minor league hockey highlights were shown on any of the local news was when the Detroit Vipers won the Turner Cup back in '97 and, even then, only after they won.

Regardless of how anyone feels about the Lockout and the NHL players, the addition of these players has been good for the team. I could see the difference at the first game last Friday. What I saw was a much more up tempo game. The players played like they could win the game right from the first drop of the puck. I didn't hurt that Chelios scored his first goal, the first goal of the game, on his (and the team's) first shot on goal. I'm sure not constantly playing from behind helps the style of play. For the younger players, having Chelios and Hatcher on the ice was like having a coach out there with them. During stops in play they (especially Chelios) talked with the other players and set up plays. Granted I couldn't hear them but I think it's safe to say they wern't talking about where dinner was after the game. Still, if anyone lost their job because of them, my opinion would do a 180. To this point, still, no one has.

Since it is too late to keep it short, I may as well continue. :wink:

As far as being down that road, in that building, if there is a team that should not exist in the UHL as a result of the history here, it is the Elmira Jackals, not the Mechanics. The Jackals are owned by Doc Afr, who owned the Michigan/Detroit Falcons / Port Huron Bordercats. Blame the owner, not the building. Doc's idea of marketing was to tell the booster club that they had to sell X number of season tickets or he would move the team. It's been 10+ years, but I'm pretty sure I don't remember ever seeing any advertising for the Falcons. When they couldn't do it without help from Doc, he took the team out of GLSC (I think it was still called the Fraser Ice Arena back then), which he owned and, therefore, didn't pay rent, and moved them to Port Huron, where he rented McMorran for the team to play in. He was going to build a new arena for them, right off of I-94. Funny thing though, when you don't pay the contractors, they tend to stop building. A skeleton of an arena still sits up there as a testiment to Doc's ways. Oh ya, I'm pretty sure his son is the Jackals team president. Remember the AHL Louisville Panthers? Doc bought that team and gave it to his son to play with. From what I have heard, he was more interested in playing with fast cars and fast women to worry about playing with, much less actually operating, his hockey team. They folded shortly after.

[HockeyCanuck]

If over 1/2 of the NHL's players are playing overseas and in 'AA' leagues in North America they are taking jobs away from someone. The rosters don't get expanded to accomodate these extra NHL players. The guys playing for $400 a week to support their family get sent home to beer leagues.

Did anyone see the latest release? 2 more NHL players to sign with the Mechanics tomorrow! That is 5 now. I highly doubt that noone will be sent home from this next signing. If these players from the NHL weren't there those spots could be filled by players on their way up instead of guys just wanting to play and make some extra money on the side to get into shape.

The NHL should declare an impasse and then these players will be crying and complaining about guys crossing the lines and taking their jobs when they have no problem doing that very same thing here in North America or overseas. While the Mechanics are at it, why don't they sign the whole Red Wings team. They are 25% of the way there already.

[patmc16]

In reverse order, they have signed 3 Red Wings, and only 2 have played. That's far from 25%. I agree, they need to start the season on time next year, with or without the players union. It's too late for this year no matter how many times they push back the deadline. I'll bet a fairly large % of the current players will cross if there isn't a settlement. To heck with the rest of them. If these guys were doing this for the money, they would be in Europe. I don't think any of these guys are playing for the Mechanics for the money. Like I said, if the signings (of Smolinski and Avery in this case) cause anyone to be dropped form the roster, I will feel completely different. From a business point of view, if you could fill empty roster spots with either NHL players or players who didn't make the original line up of the worst team in the league, who would you choose? Didn't people complain when the European players started coming into the NHL because they were taking jobs away from US and Canadian players? How much more boring would the NHL be without those players? Are over 1/2 of the NHL players really playing professionally somewhere in the world? I don't know, I'm just asking. That seems high to me. If that is correct, it's no wonder they won't budge.

[HockeyCanuck]

OK now that is 5 red wing players. Roster size is 20. that adds up to 25% of the roster to me. To answer your question.... yes there are 750 players in the NHL appproximately 50% of them are playing overseas. Here in Canada we get an update whenever someone new signs. Last time I had heard the number was at 350 I think and that was a month ago. There have been quite a few guys leave to play there since then. So give or take a few % it is approximately 50%.

I am not here to argue the point of NHL players playing in the minors. It is great for the teams bottom line to sell out becuase of it. It is better to have an NHLer than a guy that would be a 4th liner. You are missing my point on this though. My point is that guys that are trying to work their way up and could fill those same roster spots and get some experience can't have them due to NHL players being there. What owner or coach wouldnt want an NHLer in that spot instead but it is a Developmental league for the AHL.

Another point I was trying to make is that these same players won't play in the NHL with a 40 million dollar cap and now the NHL will become the first league in history to blow a whole season because of it. The sad part is that on Rogers Sportsnet last night they said that when the NHL returns, approxiamtely 350 players will be done playing hockey anyways. The ironic part is that these are the top guys in the NHLPA and are making the decisions for the most part. Really what they are doing is screwing the younger guys out of income and 2 years of their career. It doesn't seem right. All because of money. It is sad...really sad because now 40% of Canadians and I am sure a much larger percentage of American fans don't care about the NHL anymore.

All Bettman and the NHLPA have done is ruin the league. Instead of getting their heads out of their asses and doing good for the game, all they are doing is running it further into the ground and making it worse. When they do come back there wont be much left. It is like fighting a nuclear war. Even if you win, all that is left is rubble anyways.

[patmc16]

OK now that is 5 red wing players.

Name them. Smolinski is an Ottawa Senator. Avery is a Los Angeles King. Draper has yet to play and may never get clearance. I count 2 Red Wings, Hatcher & Chelios.

What owner or coach wouldnt want an NHLer in that spot instead but it is a Developmental league for the AHL.

All of the UHL teams, sans Elmira, are independent teams. They can and should sign the best players they can, including NHLers. That is why the Detroit Vipers were, by IHL standards, a great team that could get the Palace a decent way full when they were independent. When they affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning (when the Lightning sucked) they sucked, no one came to see them play, and they folded up shop (blaming it on the folding of the I). There were more minor league jobs lost when they didn't sign whoever they wanted then were when they did.

The sad part is that on Rogers Sportsnet last night they said that when the NHL returns, approxiamtely 350 players will be done playing hockey anyways. The ironic part is that these are the top guys in the NHLPA and are making the decisions for the most part. Really what they are doing is screwing the younger guys out of income and 2 years of their career. It doesn't seem right. All because of money. It is sad...really sad because now 40% of Canadians and I am sure a much larger percentage of American fans don't care about the NHL anymore.

I agree 100% with you here. WDFN just mentioned that as a conspiracy theory yesterday. They speculated that the owners wanted to cancel the season all along, many of the highest salaries will go away as those players careers will be over, and they can start again fresh. Only problem is that only the diehard hockey fans, which is a small %, will care. There will be no McGwire/Sosa to save the league.

I realize that the NHL signings throughout the minor leagues take away a spot that could be filled by an up and comer. For once, I am trying to put a positive spin on the situation and see it as a chance for these up and comers to get their shot at the big league once it comes back. It's a trade off I'll bet most of them would make. NHLers in your league now & you, possibly, in the NHL later. I hope when it does come back it is without the union. That is where I place the majority of the blame.

All Bettman and the NHLPA have done is ruin the league. Instead of getting their heads out of their asses and doing good for the game, all they are doing is running it further into the ground and making it worse.

I again agree 100%. The commish & the union both need to be gone. You'd think Bettman would get the idea that he is not wanted when a team can win the cup at home and the fans take time out of their celebration to boo him when he steps on the ice. Then again, this whole situation has proved that he is not the most perceptive person out there, doesn't it. Where's the big time TV deals? Where's hockey being on par with the other 3 sports. Weren't these things he promised? I wish I could be a total failure at my job and not have to worry about keeping it. Then again, no I don't, I have work ethics.

[HockeyCanuck]

I apologize. I forgot Avery was in LA and I didn't think that Smolinski was with Detroit but didn't pay attention to who was on what rosters all year. My bad. My point was more to 5 NHLers and the 25% being of the Mechanics roster.

I am not going to sit here and argue the point of NHLers taking jobs from minor league players. Of course every team should get the best players available on a normal year, but this isn't a normal season.

If it wasn't a year when they refused to play in the NHL I wouldn't have a problem with it. I just disagree and think it is hypocritical for them to play for way less money than they would make under the rules they refuse to play under in the NHL.

That's really all I have to say about it anymore.

[hkyfanforlife]

I agree and disagree. I could be wrong in some of the things that I say but if I am just take it as light reading.

In regards to the players playing in Europe and in the minors, I believe that for the most part, that they are not the players who wanted the lockout, they wanted to play. It is the older playes with a few years left if that much, and the younger ones influenced by them. The older ones want 11 million instead of 10.9 so they never have to work again after age 35, or maybee they spent all of their money already, you would be suprised how fast that can happen. small salaryIn regards to Chelios and others, if this is the way he wants to end his career, then I have no problem with it. He has done good for himself and probably wasn't one of the players not wanting to play. Where I disagree is that he should have probably given up his salary in Motor City and used it to raise others salaries, or raise perdiem, etc. Where I see a problem and a contradiction is a guy like Gomez who sat out with New Jersey for a larger contract at such a young age in the league. Now he plays for less in the ECHL. That is a slap in the face. Again, he should at least not take salary. I do not have a problem with nhl'ers who wanted to play, playing for teams that are short on players to begin with because of injuries, etc. But the catch 22 here is that this will bring publicity to the minors and goes back to a previous post of mine "The Minor Leagues are Missing a Grand Opportunity".
I also mentioned in that topic a problem that the players have to realize. And I am in no way anti player as I myself am a player. We have to realize that this is not Canada or Europe, and that hockey is not College Basketball, Sunday football, or baseball. Even in Canada, a first place team i.e. Ottawa, was having trouble surviving. This should tell you something. I could set a pro foozeball league, but if I don't have the revenue coming in to pay high salaries, I will fail. It is a shame that this all came at a time that hockey was gaining some strong support. I am afraid that now it is going to diminish at an even quicker rate..........

[Pounder]

So, if you are in a large (NHL) market and can't/don't buy a TV station to market the team, you are doomed to failure?

I'm tickled that you take my hyperbole seriously. I'm usually the serious guy. I needed the break.

The point, however, is that TV advertising is expensive in larger markets, and the other media in such a market are usually ineffective. Pretty soon, the TV advertising may be just as ineffective as we sort out this "Internet Age" business. Meanwhile, the Boise newspaper is owned by Gannett of USA Today fame; so I'm privy to statistics revealing that 27% of Idaho Statesman readers, and strangely enough, about 27% of USA Today readers even read the sports section. Furthermore, the readership under 35 (normally the target market for a sports venture like this) is characterized as "nobody." Obviously, the numbers are a bit higher than that, but the folks under 35 are likely not looking at the advertisements in the print edition. It is very difficult to discern a comparison of online readership to people going straight to team websites or even third-party sites, BTW... and, of course, the medium is a constant target of the anti-pop-up crowd. Apologies for the tangent there, but I'm painting a pretty ugly picture here.

So, therefore, to your comments about the targeted marketing, which isn't the worst set of ideas out there, my response is "1,500 per game before the NHL players arrived." Something wasn't working there. Part of the comment I made about buying a TV station has to do with getting the media to cover games; that's obviously harder in Detroit than in Boise, and sports fans tend to take teams more seriously when more "unpaid-for" buzz exists about the organization. My issue is generally a minor league team in an NHL market, especially when there's no relationship between the teams (Philly markets their affiliation), or if there's a large chance of playing the hometown kids in hockey markets (juniors in Canada).

BTW, Doc Afr is already a "Hockey Death Pool" legend; I'm fairly aware.

[patmc16]

my response is "1,500 per game before the NHL players arrived." Something wasn't working there.

Yes, and that something is their record. You're not going to get too many casual "fans" to come back when you get blown out or, worse yet, give up a 2 goal lead with less than 5 minutes left in the game and lose in regulation or the shoot out. There have been a couple of games where I sought out the team president to tell him that I was sorry I bought season tickets to watch the ridiculous display of so-called hockey that I had just watched. Funny, he's harder to find then when they win or are at least competative (when he is passing out scheds at the door on the way out).

In a previous post, I used the Detroit Vipers as an example of this. When they were winning and, not by coincidence, independent, they could fill a good % of the Palace of Auburn Hills. When they affiliated and lost most of their games, no one came (despite having free tickets reddily available) and they folded. They folded even though they advertised (more than the Mechanics do now) and they had some of their games televised on Fox Sports who, of course, covered them in the Fox Sports Report that typically followed the games. The same was true at one time with the Red Wings. It's not really a secret around here that they had to give away cars at the Red Wing games back in the early 80's just to get people through the door to watch the horrid hockey that they played back then.

Sorry about taking the TV thing too seriously. It's kinda like having a little brother. I can pick on him all I want, but no one else can. :lol:

[MechanicsGroupie]

They just DON'T belong there. That is all I have to say. You can so tell that they just don't fit it. And they are taking ice time and jobs away from these kids. The captain of the Mechanic couldn't have said it better himself. "We are never gonna get rich playing this game, we play for the love of the game." And for Chelios to sit out there and play for 35 minutes a game, and have the other players sit so he can play thats just aggrevating.