Shane Giroux of the Colorado Avalanche blog reports:
By gum, I think the NHL has started to realize that increasing the reach of your product and getting people engaged in it is the best way to attract and retain fans. The concept had completely escaped them for quite some time and it appears they could - and I stress “could” - be coming around.
NHL Expands Television Reach to Asia
In surprise news - at least to me - the NHL is set to announce a multi-year deal to distribute NHL games throughout a large portion of Asia, including India and China.
In one fell swoop the NHL has expanded the television reach of their product from 5% to 40% of the world. Those numbers are based on my rudimentary knowledge of world population, not data I got from an official source so don’t quote me on it.
No matter how you slice it, a 700% increase in your viewership reach is cause to celebrate. If just 0.1% of those new potential viewers are fans, that’s 2.5 million more eyes watching the true “beautiful game”.
Centre Ice Online Expands to Europe
It was just a couple weeks back that I was reflecting on my “Why doesn’t the NHL Want People to Watch Hockey?” post. A post which still gets traffic from people searching for solutions to their troubles with Centre Ice Online.
The reason being that I had started a post in a similar vein which was focused on why the NHL will send players halfway across the globe to kick off the season in Europe, yet won’t alloww access to their Centre Ice Online offering to people outside of North America.
However, it turns out that Europeans are now able to subscribe to the service. I’m not sure why the question includes the Middle East but makes no mention of whether folks in the Middle East can subscribe or not. Maybe they think Europe is the Middle East??
NHL Offline
I’ve also both applauded and bemoaned the NHL’s online content offerings. The technology was very rudimentary and the look was very pre-2000 era. They didn’t even roll out a real-time game tracker system until mid-last season!
Their YouTube highlights deal is laughable and the speed and completeness of the updates to their NHL.tv section has been spotty and suspect.
The stats pages are well-done - except for the absence of shirt charts - but having them auto-refresh during the game doesn’t count as “live updating” in my book.
Overall, I would give them a C- on what they’ve offered to fans.
TSN Fills the Gap
TSN got on the ball and rolled out a live scoreboard feature* towards the end of last season. It was…ok.
But should networks be relied on to the fill the gap for the league? Not in my mind.
Stats, Stories and Recaps…Oh My!
And it appears some folks over at the NHL head offices have decided that they’ve had enough as well.
Not only are they set to launch a new version of NHL.com, but they will be rolling out the much anticipated NHL Game Center feature.
The feature rebrands NHL Centre Ice Online as Game Center Live and will also provides free real-time stats, a play-by-play game tracker known as “Ice Tracker”. It will also include in-game highlights, live chat and radio broadcasts.
On the surface, it doesn’t sound too different from the existing Scores section of their website. However if you watch the video on what will be provided, you can see the stats are more consumer-friendly and the ice tracker looks like an invaluable tool. Hopefully they will still provide access to the near-raw log files that stats junkies desire.
And if “in-game highlights” means highlights uploaded as the game is going on, well let’s just say the my inner hockey nerd and the little tech geek inside me will be holding hands and dancing for joy.
Yahoo! for fantasy hockey?
At the same time, the NHL has also announced that they are partnering with Yahoo! to provide “the #1 fantasy games experience on the Internet”.
Last year, our fantasy football league was done using CBS Sportsline but this year, we switched the Yahoo! which allows for more teams. I preferred the Sportsline offering.
However, if the description of what the NHL/Yahoo! partnership will provide is accurate, they just might come through on the claim that it will be #1 for fantasy sports.
The main benefit of this partnership is integrated video footage straight from the NHL which will be tied to each player. So you can track your players progress through the season and research for your next blockbuster trade using stats and video without needing to leave the site.
That is genius and, if properly implemented, will single-handedly bump it above any fantasy hockey offering I know of.
News.com picks up the story
The NHL has done enough with their new offering to get what I would almost call “mainstream” coverage from Cnet’s news.com. I’m sure that caused a lot of back patting and cork popping in the NHL’s marketing division.
The article contains one details that I didn’t spot anywhere else. The Game Center Live feature will utilize Flash for the streaming video, doing away with Windows Media Player. A very savvy - if not obvious - move on their part.
The news.com article also contained some choice quotes from the NHL’s senior VP of marketing, Perry Cooper. To summarize he informs us that NHL fans are tech savvy, are not “non-affluent”, and don’t necessarily cheer for the nearest team.
That’s a lightbulb that needed to go off some time ago in the marketing department.
If this all gets pulled off properly they could launch themselves all the way to an A- report card.
“Illegal” Streams
There are of course other ways to catch games online, though not with any sort of service guarantee. One of the best ways to check out many live sporting events is via myp2p.eu.
If Yahoo! still streams games this year but requires you to be in the States, you can always get around that by using a free proxy server based in the States. Huge lists of proxies are easy to come by on the ol’ Interweb.
Also, as noted by Jibble this morning, Justin.tv often has NHL game feeds.
I started to compile a list of the biggest moves of the off-season, but them came across exactly what I was looking for at Canoe-Slam Sports. So, why re-invest the wheel.
Here is a comprehensive list of who ended up where during the off season courtesy of Canoe.
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Thrashers
Summer Splash - New coach John Anderson inherits a team still looking for its first playoff win.
Welcome - F Jason Williams; F Marty Reasoner; F Junior Lessard; D Ron Hainsey.
So Long - F Bobby Holik; F Mark Recchi; D Steve McCarthy; D Marc Popovic; D Alexei Zhitnik.
Boston Bruins
Summer Splash - A healthy Patrice Bergeron bolsters the Bruins forward core.
Welcome - F Michael Ryder; F Blake Wheeler; F Martin St. Pierre; D Johnny Boychuk.
So Long - F Glen Murray; F Glen Metropolit; D Bryan Allen; G Alex Auld.
Buffalo Sabres
Summer Splash - Best off-season moves were getting Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville to agree to long-term extensions.
Welcome - F Mathieu Darche; D Craig Rivet; G Patrick Lalime.
So Long - F Steve Bernier; F Mike Ryan; D Dmitri Kalinin; G Jocelyn Thibault.
Carolina Hurricanes
Summer Splash - Three new defencemen continue the changes that started at last year’s trade deadline.
Welcome - F Matt Murley; D Joni Pitkanen; D Josef Melichar; D Anton Babchuk.
So Long - F Erik Cole; F Trevor Letowski; F Keith Aucoin; F Jeff Hamilton; D Glen Wesley; D Bret Hedican; D David Tanabe; G John Grahame.
Florida Panthers
Summer Splash - Landing highly sought-after junior coach Peter DeBoer was quite a coup.
Welcome - F Cory Stillman; D Keith Ballard; D Nick Boynton; D Rory Fitzpatrick; G Chris Beckford-Tseu.
So Long - F Olli Jokinen; F Jozef Stumpel; F Garth Murray; D Mike Van Ryn; D Jassen Cullimore; D Steve Montador; D Branislav Mezei.
Montreal Canadiens
Summer Splash - Bringing in Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang to help with serious push for Stanley Cup in 100th season.
Welcome - F Alex Tanguay; F Robert Lang; F Georges Laraque; D Shawn Belle; G Marc Denis.
So Long - F Michael Ryder; F Mikhail Grabovski; F Bryan Smolinski; F Corey Locke; D Mark Streit.
New Jersey Devils
Summer Splash - What’s old is new again in Jersey, where Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik look to relive past glory.
Welcome - F Brian Rolston; F Bobby Holik; D Anssi Salmela; G Scott Clemmensen.
So Long - F Sergei Brylin; F Arron Asham; D Karel Rachunek.
New York Islanders
Summer Splash - Mark Streit should bolster the power play.
Welcome - F Doug Weight; D Mark Streit; G Yann Danis.
So Long - F Miroslav Satan; F Shawn Bates; F Josef Vasicek; F Ruslan Fedotenko; G Wade Dubielewicz.
New York Rangers
Summer Splash - Letting Jaromir Jagr walk away in favour of some younger forwards.
Welcome - F Markus Naslund; F Nikolai Zherdev; F Dan Fritsche; F Patrick Rissmiller; F Aaron Voros; D Wade Redden; D Dmitri Kalinin.
So Long - F Jaromir Jagr; F Martin Straka; F Sean Avery; F Brendan Shanahan (?); F Ryan Hollweg; D Fedor Tyutin; D Christian Backman; D Marek Malik.
Ottawa Senators
Summer Splash - Finally, the question about Ray Emery being a distraction has been answered.
Welcome - F Jarkko Ruutu; D Jason Smith; D Brendan Bell; G Alex Auld.
So Long - F Cory Stillman; F Randy Robitaille; F Brian McGrattan; D Wade Redden; D Mike Commodore; G Ray Emery.
Philadelphia Flyers
Summer Splash - Naming Mike Richards team captain - the future is now in Philly.
Welcome - F Glen Metropolit; F Arron Asham; D Ossi Vaananen; D Steve Eminger; G J.S. Aubin.
So Long - F R.J. Umberger; F Sami Kapanen; F Vaclav Prospal; F Patrick Thoresen; D Jason Smith; D Jaroslav Modry.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Summer Splash - Placing faith in Miroslav Satan to be a poor man’s Marian Hossa.
Welcome - F Miroslav Satan; F Ruslan Fedotenko; Matt Cooke; F Eric Godard.
So Long - F Marian Hossa; F Ryan Malone; F Gary Roberts; F Jarkko Ruutu; F Georges Laraque; F Adam Hall; G Ty Conklin.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Summer Splash - Where to start? New owners, new front office, new coaches, tons of new players and No. 1 draft pick Steven Stamkos. Oh, and Vincent Lecavalier’s signature on an 11-year contract extension.
Welcome - F Ryan Malone; F Gary Roberts; F Mark Recchi; F Radim Vrbata; F Vaclav Prospal; F Steven Stamkos; F Evgeny Artyukhin; F Brandon Bochenski; F Adam Hall; F David Kochi; D Andrej Meszaros; D Matt Carle; D Andrew Hutchinson; G Olaf Kolzig.
So Long - F Andreas Karlsson; F Karl Stewart; F Andre Roy; F Tim Taylor; F Craig MacDonald; D Filip Kuba; D Alexandre Picard; D Dan Boyle; D Brad Lukowich; D Doug Janik; G Marc Denis.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Summer Splash - Interim GM Cliff Fletcher has the Maple Leafs in an obvious rebuilding mode for the first time in more than a decade.
Welcome - F Jamal Mayers; F Niklas Hagman; F Mikhail Grabovski; F Ryan Hollweg; D Jeff Finger; D Jonas Frogren; D Mike Van Ryn; G Curtis Joseph.
So Long - F Mats Sundin (?); F Darcy Tucker; F Kyle Wellwood; F John Pohl; D Bryan McCabe; D Andy Wozniewski; G Andrew Raycroft.
Washington Capitals
Summer Splash - Signing Jose Theodore to replace the departed Cristobal Huet in goal.
Welcome - F Keith Aucoin; G Jose Theodore.
So Long - F Matt Cooke; F Ben Clymer; D Steve Eminger; G Cristobal Huet; G Olaf Kolzig.
Western Conference
Anaheim Ducks
Summer Splash - Retained GM Brian Burke, although speculation of a potential departure to Toronto continues.
Welcome - F Brendan Morrison; F Josh Green; D Steve Montador.
So Long - F Todd Bertuzzi; F Teemu Selanne (?); F Doug Weight; D Marc-Andre Bergeron.
Calgary Flames
Summer Splash - Added longtime nemesis Todd Bertuzzi.
Welcome - F Mike Cammalleri; F Todd Bertuzzi; F Rene Bourque; F Andre Roy; F Jamie Lundmark; F Curtis Glencross.
So Long - F Alex Tanguay; F Stephane Yelle; F Kristian Huselius; F Owen Nolan; F Eric Godard; D David Hale; G Curtis Joseph.
Chicago Blackhawks
Summer Splash - Threw big money at coveted blue-liner Brian Campbell.
Welcome - F Tim Brent; D Brian Campbell; D Matt Walker; D Aaron Johnson; D Doug Janik; G Cristobal Huet.
So Long - F Robert Lang; F Yanic Perreault; F Rene Bourque; F Kevyn Adams; F Jason Williams; D Andrei Zyuzin; G Patrick Lalime.
Colorado Avalanche
Summer Splash - Brought back Tony Granato as head coach after firing the man who took over from him three seasons ago - Joel Quenneville.
Welcome - F Darcy Tucker; F Brian Willsie; F Per Ledin; D Daniel Tjarnqvist; G Andrew Raycroft.
So Long - F Andrew Brunette; F Peter Forsberg; F Brad Richardson; D Kurt Sauer; D Jeff Finger; G Jose Theodore.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Summer Splash - Rebuilt forward core may finally give star Rick Nash some support.
Welcome - F Kristian Huselius; F Raffi Torres; F R.J. Umberger; F Mike York; F Craig MacDonald; D Mike Commodore; D Christian Backman; D Fedor Tyutin.
So Long - F Nikholai Zherdev; F David Vyborny; F Gilbert Brule; F Dan Fritsche; D Ron Hainsey; D Dick Tarnstrom; D Duvie Westcott.
Dallas Stars
Summer Splash - Faceless team added a big dose of personality by signing uberpest Sean Avery.
Welcome - F Sean Avery; F Fabian Brunnstrom; F Landon Wilson.
So Long - F Niklas Hagman; F Antti Miettinen; F Stu Barnes; F Brad Winchester; D Mattias Norstrom; G Johan Holmqvist.
Detroit Red Wings
Summer Splash - Marian Hossa couldn’t beat the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup final with Pittsburgh, so he joined them.
Welcome - F Marian Hossa; F Ville Leino; G Ty Conklin.
So Long - F Dallas Drake; F Mark Hartigan; G Dominik Hasek.
Edmonton Oilers
Summer Splash - Three big deals involving a few longtime mainstays brought in Erik Cole, Gilbert Brule and Lubomir Visnovsky.
Welcome - F Erik Cole; F Gilbert Brule; D Lubomir Visnovsky; D Jason Strudwick.
So Long - F Raffi Torres; F Marty Reasoner; F Jarret Stoll; F Curtis Glencross; F Geoff Sanderson; D Joni Pitkanen; D Matt Greene.
Los Angeles Kings
Summer Splash - Named Terry Murray head coach to replace the fired Marc Crawford.
Welcome - F Jarret Stoll; F Brad Richardson; D Denis Gauthier; D Matt Greene.
So Long - F Mike Cammalleri; F Ladislav Nagy; F Scott Thornton; F Brian Willsie; D Rob Blake; D Lubomir Visnovsky; G Dan Cloutier; G J.S. Aubin.
Minnesota Wild
Summer Splash - Reacquired Andrew Brunette to ease sting from departures of Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston.
Welcome - F Andrew Brunette; F Antti Miettinen; F Owen Nolan; F Corey Locke; F Krys Kolanos; D Marek Zidlicky; D Marc-Andre Bergeron.
So Long - F Brian Rolston; F Pavol Demitra; F Todd Fedoruk; F Chris Simon; F Aaron Voros; F Matt Foy; D Keith Carney; D Sean Hill; D Petteri Nummelin.
Nashville Predators
Summer Splash - Became frontline in developing battle between NHL and fledgling KHL when forward Alex Radulov bailed on his contract to join Ufa.
Welcome - F Josh Gratton; F Ryan Jones; G Drew MacIntyre.
So Long - F Alex Radulov (?); F Brandon Bochenski; F Martin Gelinas; F Darcy Hordichuk; D Marek Zidlicky; G Chris Mason.
Phoenix Coyotes
Summer Splash - Acquired Olli Jokinen in trade with Florida to help carry the load while youngsters develop.
Welcome - F Olli Jokinen; F Todd Fedoruk; F Brian McGrattan; D Kurt Sauer; D David Hale.
So Long - F Mike York; F Radim Vrbata; F Marcel Hossa; F Niko Kapanen; D Keith Ballard; D Nick Boynton.
San Jose Sharks
Summer Splash - Replaced longtime coach Ron Wilson with Todd McLellan and then overhauled defence corps in bid to push team over post-season hump.
Welcome - D Dan Boyle; D Rob Blake; D Brad Lukowich.
So Long - F Patrick Rissmiler; F Curtis Brown; D Brian Campbell; D Matt Carle; D Craig Rivet; D Alexei Semenov; D Sandis Ozolinsh.
St. Louis Blues
Summer Splash - Acquisition of Chris Mason more a ripple than a splash as youth movement continues in St. Louis.
Welcome - F Matt Foy; D Mike Weaver; D Andy Wozniewski; G Chris Mason.
So Long - F Jamal Mayers; C Ryan Johnson; F Mike Johnson; D Matt Walker; G Hannu Toivonen.
Vancouver Canucks
Summer Splash - Named Mike Gillis GM after firing Dave Nonis and then signed Pavol Demitra in revamping of forward core.
Welcome - F Pavol Demitra; F Kyle Wellwood; F Steve Bernier; F Ryan Johnson; F Darcy Hordichuk; F Jason Krog; D Rob Davison.
So Long - F Markus Naslund; F Brendan Morrison; F Trevor Linden; F Brad Isbister; F Byron Ritchie; D Mike Weaver; D Aaron Miller.
I was impressed by the subtle, yet seemingly effective moves that Phoenix made. However, a lot of thier success will depend on goaltending and the emergence of Peter Mueller.
On paper it looks as thought eh Canucks unloaded thier entire team! On the other hand, maybe it was time for a changing of the guard on the west coast.
To Russia With Love
The continental Hockey League in Russia is not only stealing players from North America, but is now swiping coaches from the National Hockey League…Since when has Russia believed in a free market?
Calgary Flames Assistant Coach, Wayne Fleming has accepted the position of head coach of the team hailing from Omsk, Russia. If you are wondering where the heck Omsk is, here is a map to satisfy your curiosity.
Zubie Tends To Hip
Sergei Zubov, one of my favorite NHL blueliners has had arthroscopic surgery on his hip and will be out for a month to start the season. The Stars will certainly miss his gifted passing abilities…I mean who else could pull this move off?
Pominville Gets 5 Years
The Sabres announced that they have agreed to terms on a 5-year contract extension with Jason Pominville.
Pominville finished second on the team in scoring last season, posting career-highs in points (80) and assists (53), along with 27 goals. He was also a team-high plus-16 as he played in all 82 games for the second consecutive season.
Lean Mean Goalie Machine
Carey Price is a solid 20 pounds lighter to start this season says Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette. I’m not sur eif that is good or bad considering he will now cover less of the net???? Obviously he will be quicker and have additional stamina, which should help a Canadiens team close out games.
Babcock Bragging
Mike Babcock is already bragging about the quality of his Detroit team and how deep they are. What a problem to have!
“I got 10 NHL defensemen, can’t have 10. I got a whole pile of NHL forwards, can’t have that; got three NHL goalies, can’t have that.”
Richards To Lead Philly
Almost from the day he was drafted, Flyers center Mike Richards was referred to by many as the future captain of the club. On Wednesday, that speculation became a reality, as the 23-year-old fourth year center was named as the 17th captain in franchise history, according to general manager Paul Holmgren.
Shane Giroux submits:
I love sports that provide additional coverage on the Web. It’s the best way to reach your fan base and it’s just plain dumb to not take advantage of it. You don’t have to pay for airtime or fight to get your content scheduled in at the right time. The Web is always there. It never sleeps. It never breathes. It never stops.
The NHL has been a little sketchy with their online coverage in the past. Sure, they’ve had the
fans.nhl.com blog community for a while and finally rolled out Center Ice Online a couple years back. I’ll give them some points on those two. I won’t give them points on the YouTube highlights deal though. Game highlights that are more than a day old are irrelevant except for archival purposes.
Hockey is a sport that can only be truly appreciated by watching it. Unlike baseball, you can’t just look at a scoresheet and know how the game went down. So unless you provide quick access to game highlights, you’re really missing the boat on covering the needs of your fans. And if you aren’t bookending that with pre- and post-game coverage, you’re leaving your fans to drown.
When the NHL launched the
NHL.tv portal last year, I was happy but not blown away. The coverage, at least for the Avalanche, was spotty at best. The pre-game videos would be uploaded a day after the game ended or there would be no post-game reactions. Sometimes they
didn’t even have game highlights. I wanted it to be a go-to place but, for myself, it failed in that regard.
I’ve got my hopes up again this year though as they’ve revamped their look once more. But looks are one thing and substance is a whole different hockey rink. Can they put up enough fresh content to keep fans coming back for more?
To kick things off, there is a
“Best of Avalanche TV” clip up to go along with a slew of new The Hockey Show clips.
Will this be the start of something truly wonderful? We’ve already got a slew of reading material online but who doesn’t like staring at talking heads for entertainment? And when it’s on my schedule, not someone else’s, it’s all the better. That’s why I got a PVR. The networks don’t own my time anymore. My PVR does.
Oh, and don’t try to watch the video using Chrome. The video appears to load but it never starts playing. I’ll blame Google for that one since they get free rides on a lot of other spotty decisions.*
*Please don’t shut my blog down.
Wicked Bruins Fan
Wicked Bruins Fan submits the State of the Boston Bruins.
Last night’s State of the Bruins Season Ticket Holder meeting was an exciting event to attend. Sitting across from owner Jeremy Jacobs, Charlie Jacobs, Vice President Cam Neely, General Manager Peter Chiarelli, coach Claude Julien, and defensemen Zdeno Chara and Aaron Ward seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Season Ticket Holders Want To Know
The opportunity was shared by over 700 season ticket holders who attended. There was free concessions and t-shirts at the beginning of the night.
Writing about this 24 hours after the event (and tired from today’s events) is going to be lacking a little bit. I apologize for that in advance.
The “meeting” started with an intro video of highlights, followed by another video of goals from the playoffs that made you relive the excitement of Game 6 all over again.
Andy Brickley moderated the panel and asked some basic questions to get the ball rolling. There was some talk about an outdoor game taking place in Boston and Jeremy Jacobs explained how the league takes the game over and is in charge of it.
Brickley stressed that the meeting was informal and fans could ask any question.
The first question of the night involved defenseman Andrew Alberts. To answer any questions, no I did not ask it. And no, I did not pay anybody to ask it despite some whisperings that I did.
Player Signings and Non-Signings
The majority of the questions centered around the team, surprise, and certain aspects of it. The toughness factor was one, and how they came about to sign Stephane Yelle and Michael Ryder. Not being able to sign Glen Metropolit was also addressed and Chiarelli confirmed there was a contract offered to Metropolit that he didn’t accept. Another key question was about players who could possibly come up from Providence and make some key impacts. Among those named were Matt Lashoff, Martins Karsums and Matt Hunwick.
Another key question was about the programs and roster sheets that are included. The woman asked why do we have to pay the full price for the program if we only want the roster sheet. It brought up a good point that nobody really came to addressing. In AHL arenas, the roster printout is usually a dollar or free. When I went to the Bruins game in Los Angeles, the rosters were handed out at the gates on the backside of a player picture. I think that would be a great idea for Boston to look into. Unless they want fans purchasing countless numbers of programs that end up on the floor of the arena or stacked away in a closet.
Restricting Beer Consumption
The most important question and answer of the night came from a fan who asked about the one beer limit during Montreal games. Obviously one beer at a time isn’t enough to get through a Montreal game. Nobody took initiative with the answer until Neely spoke up. Neely said that the Canadiens fans would get no beer and Bruins fans would get all of the extra beer. Now that’s an improvement I am definitely for.
There were less serious questions as well. One regarded a season ticket holder lounge with discounted concession prices. That isn’t a bad idea, but that kind of shuts other types of fans out. I don’t think that would be very fair.
One kid wanted to know how big Chara was. Chara responded, “Really big.”
Another kid wanted to know what Ward ate before games. Ward explained that the Bruins organization is great at having breakfast items available in the morning, as well as lunch. But he confessed that he sneaks out to have the chicken piccata at the Cheesecake Factory.
The last kid question came from a girl and she stumped the entire panel. She asked when they thought they would draft a female hockey player. Nobody on the panel answered and all we heard were crickets. A fan did take the initiative and shouted, “Kovalev is already in the league!”
The most concerning news of the evening came when Chara said his shoulder wasn’t 100% yet. He hopes to be 100% by the start of the season.
The Bruins’ Third Jersey
The final treat of the evening came when the panel (I forget who, maybe Brickley?) announced the Bruins were going to unveil their third jersey. The Bruins plan on wearing the third jersey for about 17 games this season. They even had a model to show it to the season ticket holders.
Behold, Milan Lucic… who added in a twirl as the crowd chanted, “Looooch.” He replied, “I love you too.”
All photographs used with permission.
With the recent bacteria scare throughout Canada it is absolutely essential that you throw away all Maple Leaf products to protect yourself against Listeria!
While this is meant to be a light-hearted joke, the threat of listeria is very real and we urge you to read the following article for more details on the very serious condition of listeriosis in Maple Leaf Food products. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/08/24/health-listeria.html
So far, there are 21 confirmed cases of listeriosis from food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, and 30 cases remain under investigation, Health Minister Tony Clement said at a news conference in Ottawa.
Symptoms of listeriosis, which include vomiting, nausea and diarrhea, occur up to 70 days after contaminated food is consumed, with the average incubation period of 30 days, public health officials said.
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