Larionov the first Panther in the Hall

by James Mirtle on Nov 11, 2008 1:43 PM CST Comment 6 comments

Sure, the Panthers signing the 40-year-old Larionov as a free agent in 2000 was a mistake. And there is no doubt a team like Detroit, Toronto or Montreal wouldn't make a stink about a guy being inducted into the Hall who only played in 26 games for them.

Yet, as bad as publicity has been for this Florida team, one would think Larionov being inducted into hockey's hallowed hall would be worthy of something. Anything.

One would be wrong.

— George Richards, On Frozen Pond

Incredibly, 228 players have played for Florida since the franchise came into the NHL in 1993, and only Larionov is a Hall of Famer.

Maybe that shouldn't surprise us actually.

Here's Richards again:

This franchise needs to be more about hockey and less about putting ads on anything bolted down. More about honoring the game and less about inflatable cows, dancing girls and dancing bananas.

If the Panthers put hockey first, they might get more respect around the league, might turn on people in this market to their product.

Not that there's anything wrong with inflatable cows.

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How many of those 228 are HoF eligible? How many other franchises don’t have a player in the Hall? What if you include non-players?

I’m obviously not interested enough to do the research myself, but these are the obvious questions.

by RyanV on Nov 11, 2008 4:39 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

What interests me most about Mr. Richards comments is not that fact that this is the first Panther in the hall but the comments on how Florida manages they hockey franchise. I am curious to find out more about these advertising schemes, along with whatever makes them a bad draw; besides being in Florida.

It would also be interesting to see how similar teams, such as Columbus, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay are doing these days. I was listening to an Oilers/Columbus game last week and the announcers talked about a lot of empty seats.

Brett Gee

by Brett Gee on Nov 11, 2008 5:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2009

by James Mirtle on Nov 11, 2008 6:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the info, but what I find funny is this “dancing bananas” stuff. Unless you attend a game in these cities you really aren’t aware of how foreign it is.

I heard that every time the Blue Jackets score a goal, ACDC blares through the speakers “For those about to rock!”. What does that even mean? Isn’t Cleveland home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Why does Columbus play that song? Strange, foreign, and interesting.

Brett Gee

by Brett Gee on Nov 12, 2008 3:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Larinov the First Shark in the Hall as well.

n Monday, Igor Larionov became the first player who played for the Sharks to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame. While he was famous prior for his Olympic performances, and after for winning Stanley Cups with Detroit, in the Bay Area he will forever be linked to the Sharks for guiding them to their first playoff victory.
http://sharks.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=391720&page=NewsPage&service=page

The Sharks entered the league in 1991.

Shouldn’t we have disparaging remarks about smoking Sharkheads.

by Mogen_david on Nov 12, 2008 9:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs