1) The original meaning of No-Man's land came from WWI. It referred to the area between the trenches that the troops had built. Usually filled with mines and covered with wire fences, anyone caught in this area was in grave danger2) With regard to the NHL, the no-man's land we're alluding to here are the teams that fail to make the playoffs, but don't fall into the bottom 5(lottery) teams. By finishing in the slots from 17th to 25th they are assured of not getting playoff revenue that many teams rely upon to turn a profit. Worse yet, they not only miss out on that cash, they also miss out on attaining the top prospects in the draft. Reducing their abilities to convince fans that they are going to be improving. Many teams use the draft(draft party) to use as a ticket drive or sorts. By attempting to excite their fans into believing that they will be chock full of top prospects/exciting young players, folks will be more likely to plop down money to see these players in action the following fall
3) It seems that annually the same teams seem to be in this predicament. Toronto and Florida have both failed to make the playoffs the past 3 seasons and have also been well above the bottom 5. Good enough to not be a lottery team, but not good enough to make the playoffs. The problem is even more acute for the panthers who have failed to make the post season an astounding 8 years strait, yet have been above the bottom 5(lottery) the past 5 seasons. The result: mediocrity.
1 comment:
I like the analogy there faux. It puts my teams problems into perspective. We have been on the cusp of making the playoffs every year, but miss. The teams that are worse get betetr faster because they suffer through horrendous seasons. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to suck it up and lose for afew years
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