Tag Archives: NHL Winter Classic

Special Event Requests

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The NHL All-Star game is a great event for our fans and our sponsors and for our players. The weekend in Raleigh certainly looked like it was a lot of fun for all involved. I did not attend this year’s All-Star game but I did watch the events on Saturday night on Versus and the game yesterday afternoon as well. Well done all around.

Many fans have requested that we work on trying to bring an NHL All-Star game to Verizon Center. At some point we will get to work on this request but only after communicating with our fans the logistics involved and how difficult it will be to service all of our season ticket holders as the game is a league event NOT our local Capitals-produced event. I also think these events are wonderful revenue generating opportunities for our city.

It is funny. Just the other day at a Wizards game a long term fan came up to me and asked if we would bid on having an NBA All-Star game here in DC and then he said to me, “I am still mad at the organization from last time. I have 4 season tickets in the lower bowl and all I was given was 2 tickets upstairs to the game. Shame on you.”

Let no good deed go unpunished!

An All-Star game is a major undertaking. We have to think through how and when we would want to work on this opportunity.

We also have a Winter Classic to schedule here in DC at some point in the future. That will be fun.

Participating in this year’s Winter Classic and HBO’s 24/7 series was a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

Some fans would like to see us schedule a NHL Draft here in DC, too.

Some have asked us to play pre-season games in Baltimore or elsewhere in Virginia.

We are being considered to play games overseas as well in the future. Many of our fans are encouraging us to go for it.

We will consider all of these requests. And discuss all of your emails and demands. There is a lot of time, effort and resources involved here but if it is important to you – it is important to us.

We must balance the requests with my concern that we focus on the here and now though.

Thirty more games this season – a stretch run. Then playoffs as we need to qualify less anyone forgets that it isn’t a given.

We hear you though. Thank you for all of your emails and input on these myriad of subjects. It is a great time to be a Caps fan. It is a great time to love the NHL and the great game of hockey.

I Would Say the Same Thing If We Had Lost

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Thank you.

The entire Winter Classic experience was epic; and fun; and magnificent; and great for the league and for all fans.

Thank you to the NHL league offices. The care they display in putting on such an incredible spectacle is amazing. I love the Winter Classic. I am a fan of the game and I am so happy we were a part of this romantic and big time new tradition. That the NHL now owns New Year’s Day on network television is a wonderful accomplishment! Kudos to everyone at the NHL! The Winter Classic is truly a CLASSIC!

Thank you to Pittsburgh for being such gracious hosts. The city looked fantastic under the lights. The people and fans were fun to be with. The city provided great services to our fans; and everyone was respectful and nice and we had a great time at the stadium. The Penguins and the Steelers’ organizations were very supportive of us and they have a modern and world class set of stadiums and arenas and organizations that is for sure. We were treated well. I promise to return the favor and the care if we ever can reciprocate. To be honest, our local government here in DC can learn a lot from Pittsburgh as they (Government and franchises) work hand in glove in such a seamless manner to support their sports teams. They truly understand the importance of competition and pro sports and its role in civic pride and economic stimulus. World class all around. A great sports city.

Thank you HBO. Thanks for becoming a part of the family. I believe 24/7 on HBO will win a bunch of Emmy Awards. It is just fantastic production quality; great storytelling; reality programming at its finest showing people and players – warts and all – helping to reach a wider audience to help promote the game we all love and respect. This work was classic as well. Epic and I guess I will enjoy watching this final episode more than the first episode if I can confess. As I noted, “We were lost and now we are found.” A typical made-for-television drama. We will miss you HBO crew. Now go home!

Thank you to the players on both teams. They are heroes. So much competition. They are warriors playing in the elements. Pond Hockey comes to life. Thank you for all you do. The Winter Classic takes its toll on players. It inhales energy and bandwidth at high rates and then you get to play again on Tuesday. Thank you very much. No rest for the weary, that is for sure.

Thank you to our fans. Wow. It was so heart warming to see so many Caps fans in Pittsburgh braving the elements and making such a big investment of time and money and energy over a holiday weekend. I can’t say enough nice things. I am so touched by your support. I mean it. That was just awesome to see.

We win a game we get two points. We get to play another important game on Tuesday against the hottest team in the NHL and the team in first place in our Division, Tampa. Here we go. We aren’t even at the half way point of the season yet. We are on a 100 point pace. We are playing smarter hockey. The world didn’t end when we lost 8 games in a row. We have miles to go before we sleep.

Savor the moment. Get some sleep and rest. Show gratitude. Go Caps! Thank you. Just CLASSIC!

Great News for Pittsburgh Economy

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This is such great news. Read this article please.

The local economy will be stimulated.

The city will shine.

The NBC network will treat the nation to the game and pay homage to a fantastic sports town. The NHL’s Winter Classic is such a magnificent game, event and business for host cities.

We are proud to take part in it. Grateful we are.

24/7

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I watched the show. I couldn’t wait until Saturday because I was curious after so many people were emailing me today asking me to comment. I now know what all of the buzz is about.

I think the show will be fantastic for the NHL and for the fans. HBO has done a magnificent job of capturing the human drama behind the scenes. When you lose, all is dark. When you win, all is right in the world.

There are two teams that will play in the Winter Classic. Here are their real time stories leading up to the game. The editing is just world class. The photography is awe-inspiring. The game action like we have never seen before on television.

I think it has been produced fairly and accurately. The production value is fantastic and they treat the game with respect and the players as well.

I have never been in a closed locker room when the coach is yelling and cursing so that was a first of its kind moment for me as well! To be honest, I have never heard our coach or an exec really curse in a meeting like that before so I think I am reacting like you all are as a viewer, too. Yikes!

I was honored to be asked to speak on camera. The short interview was all I agreed to do as I believe this series has to focus on the game itself and the players.

I knew what we were signing up for in participating in this series. I have no regrets in our team doing it. It is good for the NHL. It is good for the game. We are playing in a showcase event on New Year’s Day. We have to help promote the game and the league itself.

We just need to win some games to make the next set of programming more enjoyable for our fans and our franchise. And our players. It’s pretty simple. Winning often – good. Losing a lot – bad.

Caps Fans Read This One

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This is an article in the local Pittsburgh newspaper.

It talks about what I have foretold you all. Let no good deed go unpunished regarding big game events such as a Winter Classic and an All-Star game.

I have empathy for this Pens fan. I am giving fair warning to everyone locally: These big game events are massive; fun; but NOT programmed by your team. The teams can’t satisfy everyone’s specific demands.

The league has many constituencies to cater to and when the Winter Classic is played here we will have the same issues. I also empathize with the league. It does its best to keep all folks happy and tries to treat everyone fairly.

I blog about these issues way ahead of time just to sensitize you all so that there are no surprises.

The game will be fun to attend. It will be a huge event. I am very supportive of it and our team’s role in it on the road and one day at home.

Yet I know there will be some inconvenience. I hope you all can go with the flow and enjoy the overall experience.

Only Nice Things to Say

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I am sure the Penguins will be gracious hosts for us at the Winter Classic.

We will have only nice things to say.

This event is all about being positive and selling the great game of hockey.

The game is still worth two points in the standings. It counts. We will play hard. We will take the high road.

Our fans will love everything about the game

We will go old school in look and feel.

Go Caps. Click here to read about the game and the intensity already being generated about the game.