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Rogers Sportsnet NHL Deal And New York Rangers Afternoon Musings

I’m sure by now you’ve all seen the bombshell that was released announcing the NHL and Rogers Sportsnet new deal (along with CBC) which is for 12 years and over $5.2 billion dollars. Yes, billion. Wow. That adds up to about $7.4 million per team per year from this deal alone. That includes the 50-50 split with the NHLPA (now you see why the owners fought so hard for that split last year). That’s a lot of dough, especially if you’re a team strapped for cash.

– This deal will also probably increase the cap in the future. I saw some people on Twitter speculate the cap rising by as much as $3 million from this deal alone. That’s also a lot of dough.

– Just some random thoughts. I don’t think we (and by “we” I mean Americans) appreciate TSN as much as we could have. Sure, you follow the guys on Twitter, watch the trade coverage during the trade deadline and visit the website; but we never really saw what they did on TV in Canada. At least not from a New York Rangers fan perspective. So it will be sad to see some of those guys bolt — and I’m sure a lot will, because they’re supremely talented and will probably be poached.

– Another note from the Puck Daddy story linked above:

• TSN’s not totally out of the hockey business. They still have the local rights to the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens, including the Jets until 2021. But the national and playoff packages are gone.

– In the end, this is a great thing for the NHL. Again, we’re not impacted as much here in the US, but this is still a really, really big deal.

– And, of course, best of luck to those impacted. I kind of thought about it today, and it would be like SB Nation suddenly selling their hockey coverage to another platform and not letting us blog about the NHL anymore. That would be tough to swallow, especially with all the work we’ve put into this site. So my heart goes out to those guys, it really does.

– Let’s briefly touch on last night’s disaster. I’m going to be brief with this, so these will be some larger themes I saw from the game.

– Right now, this team has been a little Jekyll and Hyde. Some games they look amazing, the defense, goaltending and offense are all on their game and the Rangers look like they can hang with anyone. Other games, they look like, well, they did Monday night. Just plain bad.

– Then again, the Rangers created a ton of chances in the first 20 minutes. And if that early chance by Chris Kreider goes in, it’s 1-0 Rangers and none of the other nonsense happens. But the puck didn’t go in, the Tampa Bay Lightning capitalized on the Rangers mistakes and that was that.

– Here’s the biggest difference between good Rangers and bad Rangers this year (and this can be said for most teams, but whatever): When good Rangers are playing they make other teams pay for their mistakes; while bad Rangers never make the other team pay for their mistakes (the atrocious 5-on-3 comes to mind) and their mistakes end up in the back of their own net.

– There is not, and will not, be a goalie battle between Cam Talbot and Henrik Lundqvist this year.

– That’s not the way to prove your worth, Michael Del Zotto, although the rest of the defense was horrid as well.

– The Rangers had some chances in the first, but couldn’t finish. That happens. But in the final 40 minutes of the game the Rangers looked like they were hanging their heads a little. I’m obviously not a fan of that.

OK, enough sadness. Thoughts, guys?

Talking Points