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NHL Postpones New York Games

NYIFC Comments:
The team surely was not good on paper before game one, but this was all about a cash-grab, and playing 41 times in that arena, even if it meant a ruined season, without any home games until late November which it is. They got the big four game payday, now it's time to shut things down. It could take a good week for struggling players healthy to get back near game shape once they are done with isolation.

Long Preseason All That's Left For New York

11.24 Lamoriello Press Conference

Lamoriello: Nelson Out 2-4 Weeks/Chara Covid/No shutdown

NY Notables:

Tons of comments on twitter, also something interesting from Leiweke, that NYI are owners, and will see revenue from concerts, more then they have ever made before? Ok, so why do they have a lease buyout of only 86.25 million today that drops quickly?
Also a few words on the locker-room, and NYC. I posted an image of Leafs celebrating in their room afterward, as Tavares was clueless as to what was going on as their rookie goalie was mobbed with water bottles.
Only team knows, what Nelson's status will be, likely not good.

Calgary 5, New York 2: Comments

NYIFC Comments:
Veterans killed them, with 4th line getting dominated, also when Chara broke down, Parise could not score to save his career. Palmieri more of the same. Salo looked great, Aho, Hutton skated well. Panik skated well but he's not scorer. They played their best game in a long time, Markstrom was excellent, Flames were fading in third, but around ten minute mark clamped down defense.
As for UBS Arena:
Felt like sound muted with seats going out/not up, lot's of empty seats with corporate fans going to clubs, not seats. Building looked nice enough, too much sales pitch for all that tile/woodwork. Read bathroom line complaints, whatever construction left was hidden so workers really did a great job.
Ceremony:
Great to see Jiggs but ceremony was flat out terrible. The players/coach were not even introduced which is unheard of on opening nights, the tribute to Wang was nice enough. Ok, they missed puck handoff, with Tonelli-Nystrom, but how do you not introduce the players individually? Awful look.
As for the rest this franchise needs to be shut down with Covid decimating team or this season is over.

Covid Strikes NY/No cancellation of games/Lamoriello

They are playing tonight for the money, beyond that the NHL should have shut this down, the season will be over in terms of playoffs with this lineup. If Ottawa can cancel, why can't this franchise?

Smg coming to Belmont/Opening Day Comments:

So we have Dolan with Leiweke/Azoff, who brought in tons of Msg officials to run Belmont, Delaware North which is the Jacobs family which owns the Boston Bruins, the Wilpon's who constructed/paid for Belmont Arena, and due a hotel, and now Spectra aka Smg which ran the Coliseum into the ground.
NYIFC Comment:
Obviously everyone knows I'm not a fan of Belmont, the same people who knocked the plan in 2016 because of the commute/prices, who would not go back to the renovated Coliseum or fill only 13.9k seats in first place with a max payroll, scream long-term Belmont won't work for the tenant NYI with a cheap out clause which can be used at any time.
The images reflect an arena mostly built with tile or old woodwork virtually everywhere, the tributes on many walls are to screaming fans, not players/great moments with only orange tagged record holders. As nice as it is to install the hall of fame plaques, it looks like a display inside a subway station with tile all around it, nothing like the Hall Of Fame museum Wilpon built for his Mets for 900 million less then the cost of Belmont.
I'm a location person who's seen Nassau fail since 1989 because the suburbs don't work for the NHL, all the teams moved to cities to generate the fan support/corporate revenue needed to survive. Belmont is here because Dolan lost the Coliseum in 2013 to Ratner so this is payback because he owned Cuomo, who has given Msg billions in tax exemptions, Penn Station renovations. Our hockey team is a 41 day tenant, nothing more.
On the ice the team is a week away from being ten points out of the 8th seed, with too many illnesses/injuries or flat out struggling players to count.

Lamoriello Speaks...Lee/Johnston to Covid List/Belmont Ribbon Cutting

Salo Recalled/Belmont gets a practice

Not much to add from recent post. Where they play does not make old, slow, not scoring, younger/faster. Salo is having a ton asked of him, same as Aho, Dobson.
Ledecky and Leiweke panicking about Belmont not being ready only proved fans with good eyes knew it was not complete, it will open because as Leiweke says it has to, but expect more then missing lanterns.
I'm not a fan of Belmont, it's in a terrible location, Wilpon's looked like they raided the NY Subway system with tons of tile everywhere, and 1986 Mets dugout woodwork. We did not need a throw back to Nassau Coliseum with seats very far away from ice, while every team built state of the art, this seems new cookie cutter. Early, but that's my unpopular first impression, and no way does this fan base pay these prices very long which they have to or that out clause will be used.

Pulock Out 4-6 Weeks

NYIFC Comments:
All because this teams terrible powerplay again turned over the puck, had to expect it given his reaction.

LIRR Station Dedication Ceremony

NY Notables: Komarov gone for good

Have no doubt players/coaches are doing their best, character players only take a team so far when the speed/skill/age is in decline.
Nothing but nice things to write about Komarov, but it was time to go in another direction.

Offensive numbers not there/Can't be Sorokin show or no chance.

NYIFC Notables: Header/Belmont

Yes, the site header has been a bit different, as a rule one year players like Parise/Chara would not be there vs a prospect, also Palmieri or Clutterbuck have not been there vs a prospect, while Cizikas (homegrown) & Eberle (more high profile) has been, and Aho, Dal Colle are on the main header here. (have mostly been NHL players or NHL taxi-squad for over a year)
Long/short it's a work in progress, but for now more high profile prospects have been added to prospect site. Golyshev, Skarek, Salo, Holmstrom, Raty, Wilde, Koivula, Bolduc. I cannot add to the dynasty core of the four side here with Arbour/Torrey.
As for Belmont the joke will likely be on the fans soon between broken pipes (which are not supposed to have brown water coming out of them) flooding stairwells/lack of handicapped parking according to one disabled family which they can't get answers about. The map for site not listing parking prices (found $65-60 for some prime spots) & map does say garage will open March 2022 with expanded parking into Malkin's Value Retail, with no sign or site designated for the Wilpon's hotel.
I know nothing about construction. Having written that there is lots of work yet to be done as poles sit outside with no lights on top of them. Then cleanup, removing construction equipment, stocking an arena with food, drink, merchandise, furniture for the suites, televisions. They clearly pulled plug on installing several outdoor lanterns on model. And then they have to take all those people they hired at job fairs at the racetrack in September/October how to work in a brand new building where no one is going to know where anything is because no one has ever worked there before.
Cue Belmont stans/bloggers: She's great, wonderful, incredible. It will be fun when this place opens at these prices, and people discover how far out seats are in the lower bowl vs intimate on top of players Coliseum, or parking prices, food prices, no outdoor tailgaiting.
And it will be more fun watching all the finger pointing with Cuomo, Curran gone, the Wilpon's responcible for construction who's people (blameless) built Barclay's, Madoff Field, renovated Coliseum, while Dolan's landlord Leiweke has to finally take a tough question which Newsday & pro Belmont bloggers w/team connections won't touch because they would lose access.
Many of them were the same people who did everything they could to prosecute Barclay's and the Coliseum renovation on a daily basis.

Boychuk traded to Buffalo/Lamoriello Comments:

Lamoriello said Boychuk moved back to Edmonton, but would be welcome in the future, also Komarov is injured but will be headed to Bridgeport.