UNH Offseason Contract Edition.

[Chuck Murray]

For SNHU add another 37,000 full time online students, and 120,000 part time online students.

Yup. They do not lack for ambition. No idea how long their deal is for naming rights on the arena, but it seems to be a statement of intent, and there is a LOT of developable land on and around their Hooksett campus. I wouldn't be shocked if they had a 5,000+ on-campus enrollment a decade or so from now. They're probably biding their time to gauge trends in academia now, but they are well-positioned to expand further if they choose to do so.

 

[Snively65]

The site seems to be “too busy” to allow me to reply to individual posts, so will try to do so from scratch here.

THC, yes, I should have written that “spectator hockey” appears to be a niche sport now, which is my only explanation for the AHL and ECHL teams bailing on the SNHU Arena.

Chuck, I must have misinterpreted SNHU bailing on the Saint Mary’s college property as bailing on Hookset, where I did not realize that SNHU still had such a strong presence.

I remember going to some Riverstone Cup games between UNH and Dartmouth at the SNHU arena, but cannot remember why those ceased, other than maybe because we usually lost those games?

FWIIW, I think that it would be great if SNHU upgraded to Div 1 sports and joined HEA as the 12th team. Then a Bean Pot North tournament could fulfill your dreams with UNH, Mack, UML-Bazin, and SNHU as participants.

 

[Sparkee]

Yup. They do not lack for ambition. No idea how long their deal is for naming rights on the arena, but it seems to be a statement of intent, and there is a LOT of developable land on and around their Hooksett campus. I wouldn't be shocked if they had a 5,000+ on-campus enrollment a decade or so from now. They're probably biding their time to gauge trends in academia now, but they are well-positioned to expand further if they choose to do so.

SNHU spent $25 million to build the 2nd largest parking garage(1700 spaces) in the state for its workers(1000 staff headquarters) in the Mill building on Commercial Ave. https://www.wmur.com/article/1700-space-parking-garage-opens-monday-in-manchester/28395279

They are exploding. They are non-profit so I guess they just keep reinvesting and expanding.

 

[freak]

Yup. They do not lack for ambition.

I didn't realize how aggressive they'd pursued the online classes, until back in 2012, I was out in Bremerton, WA for work. Sitting on the coach one weekend and on comes a SNHU commercial.

 

[Chuck Murray]

THC, yes, I should have written that “spectator hockey” appears to be a niche sport now, which is my only explanation for the AHL and ECHL teams bailing on the SNHU Arena.

I think a lot of medium-sized cities in the Northeast/East Coast got hit with losses to AHL and ECHL teams when the NHL's Western Conference teams started to make a concerted effort to have their minor league affiliates closer to the parent clubs. Manchester got hit hard because of their affiliation with the Kings. Now if they want to have a realistic shot at an AHL or ECHL team, they're gonna have to unseat another Eastern facility:

It's time to drastically overhaul minor league hockey in North America - SBNation.com

 

[Chuck Murray]

SNHU spent $25 million to build the 2nd largest parking garage(1700 spaces) in the state for its workers(1000 staff headquarters) in the Mill building on Commercial Ave. https://www.wmur.com/article/1700-space-parking-garage-opens-monday-in-manchester/28395279

They are exploding. They are non-profit so I guess they just keep reinvesting and expanding.

I think that's the huge parking facility across the street from WMUR TV-9, and up the street from the minor league ballpark. Serves a lot of purposes, and with continuing growth in downtown Manchester - including a lot of residential and hotel projects - hopefully it SNHU Arena will attract a full-time winter tenant(s) at some point. Right now it's a lot of concerts, wrasslin' and trade shows. Definitely could stand to steal an AHL or ECHL team from another Eastern city, and/or get a D-League or WNBA team to fill the arena more frequently.

And Snives ... if a Hockey ManchPot is still a step too far, I'd think a Hoops event with UNH, SNHU, St. A's and Dartmouth might be an option, if only to set an example, what with the two local smaller schools being hoops schools now?

Sometimes I wonder if Dean Kamen and Mayor Ruais are the only other persons on the planet who wants to develop downtown Manch more than I do lol ...

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

Definitely could stand to steal an AHL or ECHL team from another Eastern city, and/or get a D-League or WNBA team to fill the arena more frequently.

With both iterations of the Monarchs leaving town, presumably for economic issues, would that even be feasible or a sound business decision? I think it would be interesting to bring in a USHL team to NH so that UNH could have a "homegrown" pipeline of talent in its own backyard.

 

[Chuck Murray]

With both iterations of the Monarchs leaving town, presumably for economic issues, would that even be feasible or a sound business decision? I think it would be interesting to bring in a USHL team to NH so that UNH could have a "homegrown" pipeline of talent in its own backyard.

First, I think hosting a USHL team would be a great move for Manch and its arena. No question about it.

I do want to at least try to disabuse you of the Monarchs' decisions to leave Manchester being "presumably for economic issues". Manchester was at least initially wildly successful as a new AHL city at the turn of the century in their brand-new building, playing to 80+% capacity in what was still a pretty big facility for a minor league team. Then the '08/'09 economic downturn, and loss of the "new car smell" set in, and figures fell. But even in their final 7 or so seasons as an AHL affiliate, they were no worse than middle of the pack attendance-wise across the AHL, having stabilized in the 5,500-5,600 range or thereabouts. As you can see from the figures on the attached links, that was also a pretty average figure for the AHL, and comfortably ahead of other Northeast/New England cities like Worcester, Portland, Springfield, Albany, Utica, Glens Falls and even Hartford (which still makes noises about getting their NHL team back someday lol):

AHL 2014-15 team attendance at hockeydb.com

Manchester Monarchs [AHL] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com

The Kings' decision after the Monarchs' 2015 Calder Cup run to swap their AHL and then-ECHL affiliates (Ontario Reign) resulted in Manchester getting saddled with goon league hockey for its final 4 years. The economic issues driving that swap were not attendance-related, but a desire of several NHL teams away from the East Coast/Northeast to have their top affiliates closer to the parent club's location ... and Manchester was just unlucky to be an affiliate of a West Coast franchise. I also suspect fans in and around ManchVegas were feeling a little disenfranchised by the departure of their Calder Cup champs, and attendance basically halved. No lipstick on this pig, attendance fell almost to the bottom of the AHL. But as someone who has experienced losing a team (entirely) in a different sport ... I get the negative vibe, I'm guessing the frequency of my trips to Montreal would have cratered too if they were given an International League/Eastern League team instead. Throw in ownership issues (I believe the original owners went to CA with their AHL license), and yes, it was all that AND declining attendance, etc.

ECHL 2018-19 team attendance at hockeydb.com

Concord Monitor - Plagued by declining attendance, Manchester Monarchs have played last game

When I hit the next billion-dollar lottery, one of the things I'm doing is buying myself a minor league team, I tellya ...

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

First, I think hosting a USHL team would be a great move for Manch and its arena. No question about it.

I do want to at least try to disabuse you of the Monarchs' decisions to leave Manchester being "presumably for economic issues". Manchester was at least initially wildly successful as a new AHL city at the turn of the century in their brand-new building, playing to 80+% capacity in what was still a pretty big facility for a minor league team. Then the '08/'09 economic downturn, and loss of the "new car smell" set in, and figures fell. But even in their final 7 or so seasons as an AHL affiliate, they were no worse than middle of the pack attendance-wise across the AHL, having stabilized in the 5,500-5,600 range or thereabouts. As you can see from the figures on the attached links, that was also a pretty average figure for the AHL, and comfortably ahead of other Northeast/New England cities like Worcester, Portland, Springfield, Albany, Utica, Glens Falls and even Hartford (which still makes noises about getting their NHL team back someday lol):

AHL 2014-15 team attendance at hockeydb.com

Manchester Monarchs [AHL] yearly attendance at hockeydb.com

The Kings' decision after the Monarchs' 2015 Calder Cup run to swap their AHL and then-ECHL affiliates (Ontario Reign) resulted in Manchester getting saddled with goon league hockey for its final 4 years. The economic issues driving that swap were not attendance-related, but a desire of several NHL teams away from the East Coast/Northeast to have their top affiliates closer to the parent club's location ... and Manchester was just unlucky to be an affiliate of a West Coast franchise. I also suspect fans in and around ManchVegas were feeling a little disenfranchised by the departure of their Calder Cup champs, and attendance basically halved. No lipstick on this pig, attendance fell almost to the bottom of the AHL. But as someone who has experienced losing a team (entirely) in a different sport ... I get the negative vibe, I'm guessing the frequency of my trips to Montreal would have cratered too if they were given an International League/Eastern League team instead. Throw in ownership issues (I believe the original owners went to CA with their AHL license), and yes, it was all that AND declining attendance, etc.

ECHL 2018-19 team attendance at hockeydb.com

Concord Monitor - Plagued by declining attendance, Manchester Monarchs have played last game

When I hit the next billion-dollar lottery, one of the things I'm doing is buying myself a minor league team, I tellya ...

I know that the AHL franchise left primarily because of the location and the desire for the farm team to be closer to the parent club. I was more thinking about the knuckles league and how that seemed to fade away overnight and then all at once.

Hosting a junior team in Northern new England intrigues me, not only to fill a niche in live, affordable entertainment but also to actually have a USHL presence local to UNH Hockey. Seacoast and Hanover area won't work because of the proximity to the Cats and Big Green, but what about Keene or even Conway area to provide some nighttime options to the college and tourist set during the winter.

 

[Chuck Murray]

I know that the AHL franchise left primarily because of the location and the desire for the farm team to be closer to the parent club. I was more thinking about the knuckles league and how that seemed to fade away overnight and then all at once.

Hosting a junior team in Northern new England intrigues me, not only to fill a niche in live, affordable entertainment but also to actually have a USHL presence local to UNH Hockey. Seacoast and Hanover area won't work because of the proximity to the Cats and Big Green, but what about Keene or even Conway area to provide some nighttime options to the college and tourist set during the winter.

The USHL geographically looks to be a Midwestern US league, so that's gotta be the biggest hurdle? Hooksett currently hosts an NAHL team in a 9 team Eastern Division (assuming Tri-Town Arena). My understanding is that USHL is Tier I, and NAHL is a Tier II league, so whether having an upgraded USHL team in the Queen City area gets them all the way into SNHU Arena (with numbers approaching even ECHL attendance) seems a stretch? Even if it were attainable on that front, I doubt a bus league is gonna want to add a team so far from its footprint ...

USHL Map | Teams - Sport League Maps : Maps of Sports Leagues

nahl-map.pdf

The Conway or Keene areas could be compelling options for a Tier II team, or Plymouth even? Shame with the downfall of Berlin over the last two generations, could've been a perfect host city for juniors, given its history, location, etc.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Well, at least as far as the portal is concerned, seems that "no news is good news" (plus Whale) so far ...

 

[HockeyRef]

Welp not a great game for the Bruins last night but always good to see the alums out there. Brett Pesce didn't seem to have a ton of play time; hearing he
is a FA after this season so wondering if he's going to make a move from the 'Canes.

Agree 'no news is good news' as far as portal movement and/or players leaving for pro offers or whatever. It's going to be awhile before we see a resolved roster
tho and there's still a couple of slots left for forwards?

Been a bit out of the loop here regarding Reid or Jensen...any news on what they are up to?

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

The USHL geographically looks to be a Midwestern US league, so that's gotta be the biggest hurdle? Hooksett currently hosts an NAHL team in a 9 team Eastern Division (assuming Tri-Town Arena). My understanding is that USHL is Tier I, and NAHL is a Tier II league, so whether having an upgraded USHL team in the Queen City area gets them all the way into SNHU Arena (with numbers approaching even ECHL attendance) seems a stretch? Even if it were attainable on that front, I doubt a bus league is gonna want to add a team so far from its footprint ...

USHL Map | Teams - Sport League Maps : Maps of Sports Leagues

nahl-map.pdf

The Conway or Keene areas could be compelling options for a Tier II team, or Plymouth even? Shame with the downfall of Berlin over the last two generations, could've been a perfect host city for juniors, given its history, location, etc.

It certainly is a midwest league. I think Mrs. Grouch has said that it would be fun, if we lived back in her neck of the woods, to be a billet family.

Plymouth would be a good option for a NAHL Team. Good Interstate access, relatively strong sports community and within a six hour drive for most weekend games. Berlin would have been perfect back in the day as well.

When I was a boy, I remember stories from Daddy Grouch and Grandfather Grouch and how they would talk about the "leagues" in the Iron Range north of Duluth where they grew up. "These mining boys would kick the #$%# out of every NCAA team and half the NHL. They're raised by Paul Bunyon and eat iron scraps for breakfast with rust dust for flavor. They would scare the bejesus out of the prep school figure skaters from Boston..."

 

[Snively65]

I think that's the huge parking facility across the street from WMUR TV-9, and up the street from the minor league ballpark. Serves a lot of purposes, and with continuing growth in downtown Manchester - including a lot of residential and hotel projects - hopefully it SNHU Arena will attract a full-time winter tenant(s) at some point. Right now it's a lot of concerts, wrasslin' and trade shows. Definitely could stand to steal an AHL or ECHL team from another Eastern city, and/or get a D-League or WNBA team to fill the arena more frequently.

And Snives ... if a Hockey ManchPot is still a step too far, I'd think a Hoops event with UNH, SNHU, St. A's and Dartmouth might be an option, if only to set an example, what with the two local smaller schools being hoops schools now?

Sometimes I wonder if Dean Kamen and Mayor Ruais are the only other persons on the planet who wants to develop downtown Manch more than I do lol ...

And speaking of setting an example, Dartmouth hoops players lobbying for collective bargaining.

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

And speaking of setting an example, Dartmouth hoops players lobbying for collective bargaining.

Are they planning to collectively bargain for a winning season?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Welp not a great game for the Bruins last night but always good to see the alums out there. Brett Pesce didn't seem to have a ton of play time; hearing he is a FA after this season so wondering if he's going to make a move from the 'Canes.

The ball appears to be in Carolina's court when it comes to re-signing Pesce, who is still considered a top 4 defender on their depth charts (only 5th highest paid though), and is finishing up a 6 year, $24M deal this summer. He turns 30 later this year, so he couldn't be better positioned to cash in (again) IF he decides to test the waters as a UFA. Guys fitting his profile - legit right-sided/right-shooting top 4 guy, winning pedigree, prime of his career - won't be short of potential suitors. This site mentions a few possibilities, but in place of Buffalo, I might add my beloved DRW (currently on playoffs life support after a tough 2-1 loss last night) who are also bringing through a bunch of high end potential (younger) D-men, and I can see Yzerman tempting him with a 4 year, $25M slightly-over-market deal so he can help raise guys like Seider (R), Edvinsson (L), Sandin-Pelikka (R), etc. as they grow into their respective primes. Carolina looks to be tight up against the cap now, so they might not be able to meet his UFA demands, unless Pesce decides to give them a hometown discount (may depend on how they fare in playoffs, whether he digs Coach Brind'Amour, etc.).

Hurricanes Rumors: 3 Offseason Suitors for Brett Pesce - NHL Trade Rumors - NHLTradeRumors.Me

NHL Rumors: Insider Predicts Futures Of Brett Pesce & Brady Skjei - NHL Trade Rumors - NHLTradeRumors.Me

Carolina Hurricanes 2023 Salary Cap Table | Spotrac

Put me down for a Carolina-Colorado SCF come this time in June. The 'Canes are loaded, and I think it's their time ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Are they planning to collectively bargain for a winning season?

Maybe they're testing the waters for their future careers as wanna-be Jerry Maguire types for fellow NCAA players??

"Show me the NIL, Jerry!! Say it!! C'mon Jerry ... I'm counting on you, man!!"

 

[HockeyRef]

Maybe they're testing the waters for their future careers as wanna-be Jerry Maguire types for fellow NCAA players??

"Show me the NIL, Jerry!! Say it!! C'mon Jerry ... I'm counting on you, man!!"

When I was a health teacher one of my 7th graders randomly asked (as they often did) if sex was like it was in Jerry McGuire...so I asked "what brings that up" the response : "I sleep right next to my parents room and I don't ever want to think that happens".

My response "dont worry...only in the movies".

So yeah...show me the money indeed! I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Oh but to those UNH fans going to the FF have a grand time!

 

[TheGrouchyCat]

I don't want to jinx anything, especially with the portal open for another six weeks, but I'm pleasantly surprised how little UNH has been negatively impacted.

Cam and Cafarelli were role players at best.
Moose: You knew he was going to enter the portal. Jakob stole his thunder and ice time
Sardarian: Caused my bald spot to get bigger every game

Is this one more data point that MS7 is a behind the scenes operator, rather than an on ice tactician?

 

[HockeyRef]

I don't want to jinx anything, especially with the portal open for another six weeks, but I'm pleasantly surprised how little UNH has been negatively impacted.

Cam and Cafarelli were role players at best.
Moose: You knew he was going to enter the portal. Jakob stole his thunder and ice time
Sardarian: Caused my bald spot to get bigger every game

Is this one more data point that MS7 is a behind the scenes operator, rather than an on ice tactician?

Like I said when I saw Conmy in that 603 challenge promo I knew we would be alright...Seriously tho besides him (and wishing Sardo and the others well) not surprised we are sitting tight...for now. Still have a few gaps to fill.

Speaking of behind the scenes liking this new recruit Jesse Alicia at first glance...nice 25 pt season. Be interested to see where he goes next.

Souza...Wizard of Oz?? Building the fancy arena step 1.