JACOBS: As one of the most powerful men in the NHL, the B owner has an expansive vision.
Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is the chairman of the NHL Board of Governors and, as such, is one of the most powerful men in professional hockey.
So when he speaks out on league issues, as he did last week at Bruins media day, you can disagree with him all you want, but it’s always worth it. worth listening to. A year ago, on the same day, he expressed his strong opinion that the NHL was not going to participate in the 2018 Olympics in South Korea. At the time, many still believed that the league would eventually capitulate to the players’ desire to participate in the Games, but that was not the case.
So with that, the good people of Quebec hoping to land the next NHL franchise should take note. Jacobs doesn’t see this coming to fruition.
“Quebec is a great market and has been for many years. But really, when I think about it, I don’t see expansion to the East,” Jacobs said, adding that the league is not currently in discussions with any potential expansion groups. “But that’s me, speaking as Boston. I’m not talking about the league. The league may feel differently.
It may not be a coincidence that Jacobs’ Sportservice Corporation reportedly signed a concession agreement with the group proposing to renovate Seattle’s KeyArena, but Jacobs called Rain City, a few hours’ drive from the Canadian border, of “very interesting place”. But he also mentioned Houston as intriguing, as he has in the past.
“They’re two huge markets,” Jacobs said of Seattle and Houston.
This year again, Jacobs addressed participation in the Olympics. Although many of his players, including Brad Marchand, are extremely disappointed that the NHL will not participate in these Games, Jacobs defended the league’s decision not to participate in these Games.
“Look, none of us like to close the league in mid-February. It didn’t make any sense,” Jacobs said. “My only question to the Olympic Committee at the time was, ‘Why is there basketball in the summer and we don’t?’ They just decided we’re a winter sport and we ice skate, so that has to be the criteria, but (the NBA) is still going into its offseason. Why are we going there when that’s not the case?
“I think from a business perspective it doesn’t make sense. And I think going to Korea, where the time difference is so great and the only chances of seeing it on replay the next day, takes away a lot of the incentive. We looked at it and the number of people who will watch it at three in the morning is very small. . . . The commissioner (Gary Bettman) made the right choice in not going.
But in 2022, the Games will be held in China, and the league’s time difference and shutdown concerns may well be negated by the business opportunities that the league’s participation could present in the world’s most populous country. The NHL and the Bruins maintain business relationships in the growing Chinese market. The B’s have a partnership with Chinese packaging company ORG and players David Pastrnak, Tuukka Rask and Matt Beleskey have represented the Bruins on trips to China the past two summers.
“That might well come into consideration,” Jacobs said. “We are obviously trying to familiarize a huge country with our sport. This could be very important. We have Chinese interests who have shown interest in our activities and we would like to have that. It is an extremely consuming country. Extremely large and consuming country. And the richer they become, the more consumers they become. And we would love for them to consume our product.
B’s timeline this week
Tomorrow, against Colorado, 1 p.m. — Don’t rack up the two points yet, Bruins fans. It doesn’t matter if the Avalanche have a good team or not, the B’s just can’t seem to beat them on Causeway Street. The last time the B’s beat the Avs at home was in 1998. That was an 11-game winless streak. Don’t look for an explanation because there isn’t one.
Wednesday, Colorado, 9:30 p.m. — The Avs’ aura of invincibility against the Bs disappears upon their return home, but this will also be the first foray on the road for the B’s kiddie corps.
Saturday, Arizona, 9 p.m. — Not only is the B’s schedule light in October, it’s filled with little league lights. They need to get plenty of points against these teams.
A CONCENTRATED REGULATION THAT MUST BE REDUCED
The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions Department: Count me in for the new hyper-vigilant (at times) approach to slashing, at least as it was called on opening night.
Do not mistake yourself. It’s a good idea. Qualified players like Johnny Gaudreau should not be put out of commission long term by players who can only keep pace by hacking and hitting. And no one wants to see the gruesome injury Marc Methot suffered late last season at the hands of Sidney Crosby, who will ironically benefit from the enforcement of the rule he helped create with his tomahawk finger strike of Methot.
But unless players and officials are on the same page about what a penalty is and what isn’t, games will continue to be penalty-filled marathons and fests of special teams. In the B’s season-opening win, both the Bruins and Predators benefited from long 5-on-3s — which were given to them in part because of harsh penalties. There were five hits that night. But at other times in the game, it seemed like some players were allowed to cut. It was maddening.
The league needs to regain some consistency or simply return to the old penalty threshold.
