New York Rangers Daily Dose: Briere Retires, Corporate Advertising on Jerseys
Welcome back, New York Rangers fans. Here is the news from around the NHL:
Veteran Daniel Briere announces retirement- NHL.COM
After 17 seasons and five teams, the 38 year-old Daniel Briere is calling it quits.
A veteran of the Rangers-Flyers rivalry, he’s finally had enough. In his career, he’s played in over 930 games, amassing 696 regular season points. He’s a member of the 300-goal club, with 307 in his career.
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
But what made him stand out as a player was his ability to elevate his game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He played in 123 games, producing nearly a point-per-game. Brier totaled 116 points in the postseason, scoring 53 goals and 63 assists.
In 2010, Briere was part of the Philadelphia Flyers Eastern Conference Champions that made it to the Stanley Cup Final. Even though they lost that year to the Chicago Blackhawks thanks to the ‘phantom goal’ from Patrick Kane in Game Six, he led all scoring with 30 points. He was second in goals (12) and tied for second in assists (18).
But, perhaps the most satisfying moment was what Briere didn’t do to the Rangers. In the 2011-2012 season, the Flyers hosted the Rangers in the Winter Classic. Briere, the unofficial Rangers killer, had an opportunity to put his team ahead by a goal on a penalty shot. The rest, as they say, was history.
We wish you the best in retirement, Mr. Briere. But, Rangers fans are not going to miss you.
Corporate advertising on game-day hockey jerseys in the near future- TSN.CA
A article written by Rick Westhead has gotten the hockey world up in arms.
The piece centered around the announcement of Adidas taking over the production of hockey jerseys beginning in the 2017-2018 season from Reebok.
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Another topic discussed in the piece was the idea of corporate advertising being a part of game-day jerseys. For example, the Rangers have about eight corporate sponsors that partner with the Madison Square Garden Company.
Potentially, we could be seeing Henrik Lundqvist skating out onto the ice in his blue sweater that is sponsored by Chase, Lexus, Draft Kings, SAP, Kia, Anheuser-Busch, Delta, and Coca-Cola, which would be probably be sewed on patches.
That would be a sight, or maybe not. The integrity of the jersey, any hockey jersey, should be maintained. The idea of blemishing the Rangers logo, or an iconic sweater like the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, and even the New York Islanders is not logical.
I understand it works overseas, and in other sports (i.e. soccer, golf). But, we are not overseas.
This is the one-thing that separates North American brand of hockey from European leagues.
The NHL is the most elite league in the sport of hockey. It should be taken seriously, not diluted by the need of advertising for the sake of earning a few more dollars.
But, this may be the sign of the times we are living in.
And that’s the news in the world of hockey. See you all tomorrow.
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