Rocket Richard Trophy Contenders: Quick & Dirty

Over the last few days I've broken down the NHL's leading goal-scorers, in an attempt to see who will contend for the Rocket Richard Trophy this season. For clarity's sake, I thought I'd gather the results here so you can get an overall picture. As a reminder, this list is drawn from the Top 24 on the goal-scoring list as of last Sunday night.

The Favorite
Marian Hossa, Atlanta Thrashers

Prime Contenders
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers
Brendan Shanahan & Jaromir Jagr, New York Rangers
Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Dark Horse
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

Second-Tier Contenders
Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
Dany Heatley, Ottawa Senators

Unlikely To Contend
Chris Kunitz, Anaheim Ducks
Glen Murray, Boston Bruins
Chris Drury, Buffalo Sabres
Brian Rolston, Minnesota Wild

Expected To Fade
Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
Alexander Frolov, Los Angeles Kings
Darcy Tucker, Toronto Maple Leafs

Out Of The Running
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Ryan Smyth, Edmonton Oilers
Jason Blake, New York Islanders
Martin Straka, New York Rangers
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning

The chart below shows some of the information used in this analysis (Shots Pace, Time on Ice, etc.). Click to enlarge...

Cheer up, it's the holidays...

Why is it that various media outlets continue trying to put their own spin on the "what's wrong with the NHL" story? Our latest example comes from The Hockey News , in a piece by Jay Greenburg entitled, "Excitement Level On The Decline." Take the opening sentence: Attendance is down and yet still up from before the lockout, leaving it arguable whether buildings in New Jersey and Florida are half-full or half empty. It's no surprise that attendance is down from last season, particularly if you compare the first half of 2005-06 to the first half of this year. Coming out of the lockout, there were legions of fans starved to see the on-ice product, particularly in light of the massive rule changes. This year is more indicative of business as usual, so the fact that the league is above pre-lockout levels is a positive. Toss in the projection that overall revenues are increasing despite a 1% decrease in attendance, and I'd say that paying fans have come back ...

How I'm Trying To Make Money Sports Blogging

To kick off this series of articles general sports-blogging articles here at OTF Classic, I think it's best to start with a comment that Brad left here last week, after I shared my goals for 2012 , which include specific revenue targets: I considered diving into the world of internet marketing myself, but I felt that my friends would hate me for bugging them about stuff. I mean, it's pretty low-risk high-reward, so it's tempting. I wouldn't mind reading about tips on how to maximize impact of blogging in general to make it a legitimate income source. Trying to make money at sports blogging can be a very touchy subject - for the vast majority of us, this is an activity we pursue to both exercise our creativity and share our love of the game, whether it's hockey, football, badminton, whatever, with fellow fans. Mixing that personal conversation with a commercial message can turn people off, especially if it becomes too intrusive for the reader. It's not unrea...

Social Media, Internet Marketing, and Real, Paying Customers - it really works!

Applying the basic tenets of internet marketing (SEO best practices and social media network building) have helped me grow the readership and engagement over at On The Forecheck tremendously in recent years, but lately I've been wondering if those same techniques could be applied to small- or medium-sized local businesses, to help them drive real, tangible business results. I'm talking about not just drawing idle hockey fans looking to a blog so they can muse over line combinations, but helping businesses connect with potential customers in ways that otherwise wouldn't occur. Recently, I was able to help make just such a thing happen, and it shows just how great the opportunities are for small, local businesses which may not have the resources or skills available to extend their brand effectively on the internet.

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