In Detroit, Carol Cain reported Red Wings Advisor to Hockey Operations Chris Chelios "has been talking with" the Ilitch family "about putting a Red Wings Hall of Fame and/or Museum inside" the team's new arena. A team official said that the idea is "being considered." Cain noted of the Original Six NHL teams, only the Canadiens have their own HOF. With the Red Wings' new $450M arena "set to open" in '17, the timing "would be great to celebrate the storied history of the team" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/30).
STAR SEARCH: The Stars over the weekend "ran a video feature on their rebranding effort from a year ago." The video revealed that the team "bounced back and forth between a green-and-gold color scheme, a blue-and-silver color scheme and a red-white-and-blue color scheme." The Stars "took into consideration that every other team in the market had blue in their color scheme." The finalists "were a blue-and-gold color scheme and a green-and-gold scheme." Stars TV analyst Daryl Reaugh, who served on the committee tasked with the redesign, "fought really hard for a red, white, and blue color scheme because he wanted a tie-in to the Texas state flag." But the team ultimately chose victory green as its primary color, accented by silver, black and white (DALLASNEWS.com, 12/1).
BILLION CLUB: In Montreal, Jack Todd writes Forbes' recent valuation of the Canadiens at US$1B, "third in the league behind the Leafs and Rangers, raised a few eyebrows." But there is "a solid reality behind the value" of the club, which has been building since former Canadiens Owner George Gillett Jr. "took over and threw the team's marketing efforts into overdrive." But it is on current Owner Geoff Molson’s watch "that this team has become the powerhouse it is today, nearly as solid on the ice as it is with the bottom line." Molson "has shown a sure instinct for navigating the treacherous waters" of Montreal. His "best decision" was hiring Exec VP & GM Marc Bergevin. It was "an outside-the-box hire, but it has worked out brilliantly" (Montreal GAZETTE, 12/2).
