Puck_Pun

I like purple, it works for fremantle

No team name but we have a name for the arena. Climate Pledge Arena. Apparently it's being sponsored by Bezos in what I assume is a tax dodge and the name is because it is going to be carbon neutral

They'll probably steer clear of green because they want a rivalry with Vancouver An outrageous amount I'd imagine. The consultants would charge what, $200 an hour each?

Hot off the presses: Seattle still have no idea what to call their team. That much is obvious, however things are worse than they initially seem. In this article they talk about how they're still at the trademarking stage- going through the efforts of registering several different trademarks and dealing with multiple issues associated with each, most likely other teams holding that particular name somewhere and having a national/global trademark on that name. Here's the key sentence- Initial work? Not just that, but on several names? There was a point when they were promising a name/logo unveiling during last year's all stars weekend, however it seems that then- as is now- they were nowhere near coming to an actual decision. Their indecision makes a certain amount of sense, when fans were polled, the results were so absurdly mixed that no conclusion could possibly be reached from the data. It certainly seems that there's a paralysing indecision caused by the team being run by a consortium of three people and the inevitable disagreements that occur from there. Plus there seems to be a hangover form the loss of the Sonics, it seems like there's a real fear Seattle NHL will end up being like them. So of course we're at where we are now- complete indecision.

This is ugly What would you think if a charity raised nearly a million dollars but spent less than half a cent of every dollar raised on the causes it was supposed to support? Hold that thought. Now, what would you think if the sole director of that same private Toronto-based charitable foundation now wants greater control over another charity, this one in Ottawa — the Ottawa Senators Foundation? You good with that? Again, hold that thought. First, some background: We are witnessing the start of a blistering fight between the franchise’s enigmatic owner, Eugene Melnyk, who never seems to miss a chance to do the wrong thing on the PR front, and the team’s charitable foundation, which just happens to enjoy broad community support. The fight is for nothing less than control of the Sens Foundation and the allocation of millions of dollars it dispenses to worthy causes every year. And the fight could get very messy. Melnyk has long agitated for more say in the foundation’s operations, including deciding where all the money goes after the bills are paid. He wants to broaden the list of prospective recipients beyond local youth-related programs that are currently funded to embrace causes closer to his own heart, like organ donation awareness. That’s not surprising, given that he narrowly survived a liver transplant in 2015. But the manner in which he is going about it has a growing number of community leaders worried and angry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW The team recently warned the Sens Foundation that it will either start marching to Melnyk’s drum or be replaced by a new charitable organization that will. Last week, the foundation’s voluntary board of directors, which prides itself in its independence providing community oversight, responded with a polite “No thanks.” Unless the differences are resolved, the two sides will officially part ways July 31, leaving Melnyk in search of a new charitable foundation more to his liking while the existing one embarks on a very uncertain future independent of the hockey team. The team’s new president of business operations, Anthony Leblanc, told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch on Friday the team just wants to make the Sens foundation more efficient so more money can be invested in good causes, like organ donation awareness. Leblanc has been on the job seven weeks and you’d think he’d have bigger fish to fry, given the team’s myriad challenges on and off ice. Undaunted, Leblanc cited a since-widely disputed 2018 Charity Intelligence Report which gave the Sens foundation a C- grade for spending about half what it raises on programs. The findings were controversial, in part because of the manner in which it calculates expenses related to 50/50 draws. Charity Intelligence does not always hit the mark in assessing charities. Last year, it apologized to the Winnipeg Jets foundation for, among other reasons, misrepresenting its revenue reporting. Still, Leblanc insisted the Sens Foundation should be spending closer to 70-80 cents of each dollar raised, a near-impossible benchmark when half the proceeds of a simple 50/50 draw are deemed to be an expense. Also, it’s tough for the foundation to keep up with some other like-minded sports-related charities when some Canadian NHL teams cover the rent and even the salaries of their foundations’ employees. The Sens Foundation, meanwhile, is assessed hundreds of thousands of dollars in HR, IT, finance and rent costs annually, according to individuals familiar with the situation. The real issue isn’t costs. It’s about control of the foundation’s operations, including where it dispenses the cash. The foundation hasn’t entirely ignored Melnyk’s appeal to flow at least some cash into organ donation awareness. In 2018, against its better judgment, perhaps, it donated $100,000, plus an additional $15,000 in sponsorships, to The Organ Project (TOP), a Toronto-based private charitable foundation set up by Melnyk in 2016 to manage his pet project — creating greater awareness about organ donations and waiting lists. According to Canada Revenue Agency filings, the Organ Donation Project generated $991,708 in revenues in 2018, primarily thanks to a big charity gala it staged in Toronto. No doubt, that $100,000 Senators Foundation cheque helped. So what happened to all that money? Again, according to CRA filings, The Organ Project invested barely $5,000 of the nearly $1 million it raised on organ donor awareness. For those without a calculator, that’s 0.49 per cent, or less than half a cent for every dollar raised. And yet the Sens Foundation is being attacked for investing about 50 cents on every dollar it raises on programs. The hypocrisy is stunning. So, where did all The Organ Project money go if not to worthy causes? According to CRA, a whopping $779,464 went to cover fundraising costs. Another $238,118 went to management and administration. I’m told these are the kind of results almost certain to draw the attention of the taxman. The Organ Project is registered as a “private foundation” and, as such does not require an arm’s length community board of directors overseeing operations as does the Ottawa Senators Foundation. Instead, it appears to have only one director: Eugene Melnyk. The Organ Project shut down last year with a promise to re-launch this spring. That hasn’t happened. Its Toronto office is closed and there doesn’t appear to be anybody left on the payroll. Its balance sheet lists $201,378 in assets and $391,655 in liabilities, including a $224,902 unpaid debt to someone with a “non-arm’s length” relationship with the private foundation, according to the CRA filing. So, who do you want overseeing the important work of the Senators Foundation? A volunteer board of community leaders or … somebody else? [Hidden Content]

Apparently it's a completely separate entity. Here's their statement

My general stance is that when playoffs/finals have more than half the teams in it, it's not a good format, as teams that lost more games than they won will be able to get in. It's why I was looking forward to seattle joining as the 16 team format will finally be at the half team mark. Expanding to 24 is just absurd, like the local women's league which puts four of the five teams in the finals.

Lightning and Canes voted against the playoff format [Hidden Content]

Anyway, it looks like the playoffs will look something like this. Personally 24 teams is too many to be in the playoffs, but eh, seems like that's what's going to happen

A fascinating article about hockey's underbelly [Hidden Content]

From the NHL's perspective playoff games are worth more than regular season games so given a choice they'll sacrifice some of the latter to save the former

I've heard a bunch of different formats being floated, all of which begin with 'sources say'. I'll wait for the nhl to actually make an announcement, everything until then is speculation at best

Sharks lost too much firepower in the off-season and this exposed their weak defence caused by their push forward style of play. Having unreliable people in the net just made the situation untenable, resulting in what happened. Karlsson was supposed to be part of a big push for the cup which is why they put up their picks - which has really shot them in the foot now they need to refresh the lineup. Oh well.

Is imaginary statistics the new 'booking a spot on the parade route'