In Chicago, Kyle Thele noted the Blackhawks yesterday "returned to the United Center for the first time" since winning the Stanley Cup, as the team hosted its Training Camp Festival. Fans "filled the stands to watch the scrimmage" (SUNTIMES.com, 9/21). Also in Chicago, Mark Lazerus reports by 6:00pm CT, still "a full hour before puck drop, there were more people at the United Center than at the overwhelming majority of hockey games played south of the Canadian border." Despite the ongoing sexual assault investigation against RW Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks are "going to have their season-long celebration that was so rudely interrupted by one of the more miserable months in franchise history" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/22).
THE SWEATER SONG: THE HOCKEY NEWS' Jared Clinton noted the Avalanche for their '16 Stadium Series game at Coors Field against the Red Wings will "be wearing a first-of-its-kind primary logo and the jersey design will look more modern than anything the club has worn in its 20 years" in Colorado. The jersey, which is a "primarily white sweater with blue, silver and burgundy striping on the sleeves, features the brand new shoulder patch logo that the Avalanche introduced earlier this off-season as the main logo." Back again are the "larger-than-normal numbers on the jersey’s sleeve" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 9/21).
BROAD STREET BULLETIN: In Philadelphia, Sam Carchidi reports the Flyers' season-ticket base "remains stable even though the team is coming off a season in which it missed the playoffs for the second time in three years" and GM Ron Hextall was "unable to make any major offseason moves because of limited cap space." The team has "sold 16,000 tickets per game, a slight drop of about 500 tickets per game from the previous year." The Flyers "averaged 19,271 fans per home game last year, fourth in the 30-team NHL" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/22).
WHAT'S NEW, JERSEY? The Devils on Saturday unveiled their marketing campaign for the '15-16 season, titled "Relentless." The campaign will drive the Devils' social media and digital assets and will be part of the team's game telecasts on MSG Networks. "Relentless" will also be a platform for fan contests and interaction, encouraging storytelling. A recently debuted video was written and produced with BigEyedWish, N.Y. (Devils).
