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Pro travel network inc., has sold host travel agency assets amid change in company direction.

FRESNO, Calif., June 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pro Travel Network Inc., (PTVL) is a 17-year old company that had spent those 17 years of existence solely in the travel industry. While the time spent in the industry was fruitful, there comes a time when strategies & directions change. As of March 23 rd, 2020, PTN has sold the Host Travel Agency assets to Gold Medal Solutions LLC. The deal was in the works for over 8 months and finally came to completion. Obviously, the timing could not have been better with the current crisis encompassing the globe and gutting the travel industry.

After 17 years of operating the host travel agency we believed it was time to become more diversified for just such times as we as a humanity are experiencing today. While the plan has been in place for nearly a year these things take time to complete. We are currently in the process of transitioning the operations of that asset to the new owners. Please understand that we only sold the assets along with over $650,000.00 in long and short term, liabilities. We did not sell the company. PTN is also in the process of acquiring name and ticker change approval from FINRA. Please continue to look for new filings and press releases as we continue to work towards getting our name change completed, agreements signed and getting current with OTC and as we continue to grow the business and announce new launches and partnerships.

PTVL holds no convertible debt, will not engage in a reverse split, and has no plans for dilution.

Safe Harbor Statement: This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future performance of the company in addition to historical information. Various factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Viewers of the press release are advised to check the documents filed by the company with the Securities & Exchange Commission, including Forms 10-K & 10-Q for descriptions of risk and uncertainties related to forward-looking statements.

Investor Contact: Casey Musick – CEO/President Email: [email protected]

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dnata announces planned merger of Gold Medal and Travel 2

Suppliers, travel agent partners and consortia members of dnata Travel Group?s B2B brands, Gold Medal and Travel 2, and The Global Travel Group, have been notified that sister companies Gold Medal and Travel 2 are considering a merger of brandings and operative functions, over the next 45 days, with a set of proposals underway

The proposed single brand identity will be called Gold Medal, and will retain sub-brands Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys.

Meanwhile, dnata Travel Group is planning to downsize the organisation. The proposal of the merger between Travel 2 and Gold Medal group, if accepted, will result in the centralisation of all operational, marketing and management functions, which operated out of the Leyland office and a reduction of staff across dnata Travel Group. Travel 2?s Glasgow office will close down under these plans. 

Lisa McAuley, managing director of dnata Travel Group explains ?We believe that the proposed consolidation of Travel 2 with Gold Medal, and Simply Luxury to Pure Luxury, and the retention of the Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys sub-brands, will create a number of exciting opportunities for us and our travel agent partners, while reducing costs and complexity. 

?It will come to mean, that we retain our market position as leaders, while being more agile and focused on what we do best. The proposal will be given due consideration over the coming weeks, and I want to reassure our travel agent and industry partners that our commitment to the trade will remain a cornerstone of the brands, and the award-winning service for which we are renowned, will stay at the forefront of our future plans,? she adds. 

dnata Travel Group CEO, John Bevan says: ?The need for us to improve the efficiency of our organisation, create and build on synergies, simplify processes and reduce duplications has been evident to us for some time, and was the subject of a review we started late last year. It is now critical that we right size our organisation and make ourselves stronger and more focused in the delivery of exceptional travel products and services to consumers and trade partners alike.?  

Travel 2 and Gold Medal became sisters under the ownership of dnata in 2014. Since then, there have been a number of shared services, representing both brands and a close working relationship between the two companies.

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dnata acquires UK-based travel company, Gold Medal Travel Group

DUBAI, U.A.E., 11 th February 2014 : dnata announced today it has acquired one of the UK’s leading travel businesses, Gold Medal Travel Group from Thomas Cook Group plc. Gold Medal Travel Group is a market-leading distributor of scheduled long-haul products. In addition to the leading trade brand, Gold Medal, as part of this acquisition dnata also gains control of the award-winning OTA Netflights.com, and the high-end travel brand Pure Luxury.

"dnata’s growth strategy aligns well with Gold Medal Travel Group — its comprehensive travel services complement dnata’s established international travel offering, and will further enhance the proposition we offer our customers be it to trade, corporates or individuals,” said Iain Andrew, Divisional Senior Vice President of dnata’s travel business . “Gold Medal Travel Group is a successful company, with strong products supported by an excellent management team, and a compelling business strategy.

“This is a significant strategic partnership between two global brands, and will accelerate the growth trajectories of both Gold Medal Travel Group and dnata,” said Steve Barrass, Managing Director, Gold Medal Travel Group. “Post this transaction, Gold Medal Travel Group will continue as the exclusive provider of scheduled air travel and car rental products to Thomas Cook UK and we look forward to combining forces with dnata to expand our offerings to our customers.”

Based in Preston, UK, Gold Medal Travel Group handles more than 275,000 travel bookings a year and is one of the biggest tour operators to Dubai.  This coupled with dnata’s experience in the Emirate will strengthen the companies’ inbound travel services and support continued tourism growth in the UAE.

“Netflights.com and Pure Luxury further position dnata as an international leader in travel services, able to offer customers superior travel options,” added Andrew “Having the combined strength of guaranteed distribution through our independent agents, OTAs, wholesalers, and Thomas Cook UK allows us to source the very best product and offers from our close industry partners.”

The acquisition is effective from 11 February 2014, with no interruption to the services offered by Gold Medal Travel Group. The business will continue under the Gold Medal Travel Group branding.

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Posted by Ben Ireland on Aug 9th, 2021 at 19:29

Travel Republic parent names new chief executive

Ailsa Pollard succeeds former lastminute boss John Bevan at dnata Travel Group

Dnata Travel Group has appointed a new chief executive for its UK and Europe division.

Ailsa Pollard has been a member of the company’s senior leadership team for 12 years in a variety of roles.

She takes the role of chief executive officer for dnata Travel Group (UK & Europe) from November 1, and will report in to previous incumbent John Bevan, who  now oversees all aspects of dnata’s global travel business as divisional senior vice president for travel .

Pollard will assume responsibility for all of dnata Travel Group’s UK-based brands – Gold Medal, Travel Republic, Travelbag, Netflights and Sunmaster – as the head of a leadership team and workforce numbering nearly 800 people.

Her previous senior roles include: vice president – business development and strategy, heading the team that oversaw the acquisition of and holding board positions on many of the businesses that now form the group’s UK portfolio; and four years as senior vice president – Emirates Holidays, in which she oversaw the brand’s global operations across 36 markets.

Most recently, as senior vice president – transformation (global) and consumer businesses (ME&I), she had responsibility for the dnata Travel consumer travel brand in the UAE, and overseeing a complete strategic review and transformation of dnata Travel Group’s global portfolio of brands through Covid, driving operational efficiencies and strategic clarity to support the delivery of its post-pandemic vision of ‘reconnecting a better world’.

Commenting on Pollard’s appointment, Bevan said: “We’re delighted that another part of the dnata Travel family will now be able to benefit from Ailsa’s expertise and leadership.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with her for a number of years and know our team in the UK – as well as our valued industry partners – will enjoy working with her and will go on, together, to achieve great things.

“These are challenging times for all UK travel businesses, and need clear headedness, agility, honesty and commitment to navigate. Ailsa has all of those qualities, as well as decisive strategic vision, a passion for the customer and operational know-how. Our UK organisation couldn’t be in safer hands.”

Pollard added: “I’m looking forward to working with the UK team to emerge stronger from the pandemic. I know how tough the last 18 months have been on our people, our brands, our customers and our partners, but we have very strong foundations and the support of a global business on which we can collectively build an exciting future.”

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Gold Medal announce the return of their Mega Fam for 2024 

Gold Medal, the flagship B2B brand of dnata Travel Group UK, have today confirmed that the biggest   multi-centre FAM trip of the year is set to travel again this September.  

Gold Medal are giving 24 winning agents, in four groups, the chance to experience the Maldives,   Mauritius, Thailand or Abu Dhabi, before all meeting in Dubai for an extraordinary stay at five-star   One&Only Royal Mirage for the Mega FAM finale.  

The last annual Mega FAM ran by Gold Medal travelled in 2019, and the iconic annual trip was   incredibly popular amongst agents, but sadly due to travel restrictions, these came to a pause in   2020. As it returns for 2024, the trip will include return flights with Emirates, luxury accommodation   at iconic hotels, and the opportunity to celebrate in style with Gold Medal at exciting destinations.  

There are an incredible 24 places to be won on this trip with a variety of ways to enter. Gold Medal   will be awarding one place for an agent who attends Gold Medal’s webinar with Emirates on 26   March; every week for four weeks, one winner will be selected in a bookings prize draw and   announced on Gold Medal’s Facebook page; three wild card places will be awarded; and sixteen   places will be awarded from a prize draw at the end of the incentive period, 30 April 2024.  

Sarah Lancashire, Marketing Director dnata Travel Group UK shared, “Our incentives are always well  received by agents, and this was clear throughout peaks where we saw record numbers of entries  into all our incentives. It is for that reason that I am delighted to share the news with agents that our previously popular MEGA FAM is set to return this September, and they can all be in with a  chance of winning a place. This trip takes FAM trips as we know them to a whole new level and  provides agents with an experience no other operator can offer.” 

Lancashire continued, “We are so grateful to our trusted industry partners that help us make these  opportunities possible. Our unrivalled programme of FAM trips would not exist without their support  and our joint dedication to providing agents with the best possible education. We can’t wait to award  places to a whopping 24 agents on this trip of a lifetime.” 

Gold Medal take a total of 45 agents on fam trips across May 

Gold Medal launch a new campaign in partnership with Atlantis, the Palm – a…

Gold Medal explore idyllic island escapes in latest Caribbean & Mexico brochure

Family getaways by Gold Medal inspires travel for the whole family

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Payday for Gold Medal travel firm boss

THE founder of travel firm Gold Medal is set for a £47.5m payday after Thomas Cook agreed to complete its buy-out of the business. Ken Townsley, who set up Gold Medal more than 30 years ago, sold just over half of the company to the travel giant for £24.9m last year.

• 16:59, 22 DEC 2009
• Updated 21:27, 17 JAN 2013

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THE founder of travel firm Gold Medal is set for a £47.5m payday after Thomas Cook agreed to complete its buy-out of the business.

Ken Townsley, who set up Gold Medal more than 30 years ago, sold just over half of the company to the travel giant for £24.9m last year.

Preston-based Gold Medal - which also owns Leeds United sponsor netflights and the upmarket Pure Luxury tour operator - specialises in holidays to the US, the Far East and Australasia, as well as holding a market leading position in Dubai.

Mr Townsley, a former baggage handler at Blackpool airport, will have earned more than £72m from the sale of the business, which has 540 staff.

Gold Medal takes around 600,000 travellers to 1,500 destinations every year and made pre-tax profits of £8.1m on sales of £309.7m in the year to September 30.

Thomas Cook had an option to buy the rest of the business by March next year.

Chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said the deal underlined its commitment to the independent travel sector.

“Since we acquired a majority stake in the business almost a year ago, Gold Medal has traded exceptionally well, clearly demonstrating the strategic importance of having a strong presence in this market,” he said.

“We’re confident the business will continue its strong growth and to generate synergies within the Thomas Cook Group.”

Thomas Cook last month reported underlying pre-tax profits of £308.2m for the year to September, broadly level with last year despite City predictions of a three per cent fall.

The company said the results were “particularly pleasing” against the backdrop of recession and the swine flu outbreak, which cost it an estimated £8m in the UK.

Gold Medal was the group’s second major swoop in the north west in under two years, following its takeover of MyTravel in 2007.

It was established in 1984 and grew to become the UK’s fourth largest tour operator.

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GOLD MEDAL TRAVEL LIMITED

Company number 04488952

• Company Overview for GOLD MEDAL TRAVEL LIMITED (04488952)
• Filing history for GOLD MEDAL TRAVEL LIMITED (04488952)
• People for GOLD MEDAL TRAVEL LIMITED (04488952)
• More for GOLD MEDAL TRAVEL LIMITED (04488952)

Last accounts made up to 30 September 2009

Nature of business (SIC)

• 6330 - Travel agencies etc; tourist

Suggested companies

Hays travel, travel republic.

Gold Medal Travel Group   Reviews

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Reviews 3.6.

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Excellent all round!

From initial enquiry through to the actual holiday and return our whole experience was excellent. The customer service rep that helped us with initial enquiry and booking was excellent and the hotel that was recommended was perfect in every way as well as great flights giving us an all round great experience. I would definitely recommend booking with Gold Medal Travel.

Date of experience : 11 June 2024

Colin Shaw is a huge asset to your…

Colin Shaw is a huge asset to your business, what fantastic service and dedication he gives to Gold Medal. Colin has given some great recommendations for my clients who have just booked to go to Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Dubai next month. Having not been to Australia myself Colin could give me first hand recommendations and experience which helped me clinch the sale for my clients. Colin’s dedication to Gold Medal, still working after he was due to finish work just to help me get the booking confirmed was fantastic and I just thought he should be acknowledged for everything he does.

Date of experience : 05 June 2024

Reply from Gold Medal Travel Group

Hello Samantha, Thank you for your feedback and taking the time to share this. Your feedback will be passed to Colin and his team manager. It is amazing to be able o share this with him. Many thanks Gold Medal Team

Elliot was amazing

Elliot was amazing, he confirmed a quote that I had with another agent. Nothing was to much trouble and he stayed late to get everything sorted. Amazing experience thank you :)

Hello Lisa, Thank you for taking the time to add your feedback, we are so pleased to hear about your experience. This will be passed to Elliott and his team leader. Warmest regards Gold Medal Team

Colin what a star!

Colin has been amazing in helping with my recent Thailand trips! Couldnt have been more helpful!

Date of experience : 31 May 2024

Thank you for your time taken to send your feedback. We have passed this onto Colin and his manager. Warmest Gold Medal Team

Following on from my review and GMT…

Following on from my review and GMT reply our booking ref was GP74CFK . Reading other reviews it appears GMT go out of their way to not pay genuine refunds hence the reason for our frustrations in getting any assistance and refunds. I can never understand why a company dismisses their customers once paid and then when there is an issue are not prepared to help regardless of losing any good reputation they had. Must be a company policy to act this way !!!

Date of experience : 23 March 2024

Dear Mr Morgan, thank you for taking the time to post your feedback, I am very sorry you are not happy with the service provided. I have checked with our customer relations team and they confirmed that they replied to your Travel Agent last week. We have now had a response back and our team will follow this up today and contact your agent to answer the questions in the latest correspondence. Please be assured we will look into this and refer to your travel agent with our findings. Best wishes The Gold Medal Team

The most amazing booking experience

I liased with Sharon at Gold Medal to book a high value, 3 centre trip with many parts to Florida and WDW. Sharon was extremely knowledgeable, gave incredible advice and her customer service was outstanding. I will not hesitate to contact Sharon and Gold Medal for future bookings. Huge thanks to you all.

Date of experience : 24 April 2024

Hello Candice, We thank you for the time taken to post your review and we are delighted to read about your experience. This will be passed to Sharon and the wider business. Warmest Regards Gold Medal

checked into Mondrian hotel south beach… SHOCKING

checked into Mondrian hotel south beach after cruise package through a travel agent who used gold medal,on icon of the seas on the 9th march, checked out on the 10th due to the disgrace of it, gold medal have been refunded from the hotel for the 10th 11th & 12th, we have submitted proof of receipts and check out, the incompetence of this company is terrible. we still haven't been refunded. OVER £!000 PER BOOKING

Date of experience : 09 March 2024

Hello Amber, Thank you for taking the time to feed this back and we are sorry to read these comments. I have requested for this to be looked into by our Customer Relations Team and we will go back to your agent if this is still be a live customer relation issue. Thank you for passing on the booking numbers too. Kindest regards Gold Medal

TERRIBLE COMPANY - UPDATE - CAN'T EVEN GET BACK TO ME

TERRIBLE COMPANY - DO NOT USE Purchased trip of a lifetime to New York with Gold Medal via TUI. Arrived at Sheraton hotel Times Square, room still not ready at 10pm at night, bathroom covered in mould and room dirty. Three months later we have a response from Gold Medal. Whilst Gold Medal offer their sincerest apologies they will be "no refund or compensation". Steer clear of this company if offered via TUI or other travel providers. Absolute rubbish. *** Booking Reference GP7421R *** Provided booking reference as requested then never came back to me. ABSOLUTE RUBBISH - PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Date of experience : 27 December 2023

Hello Stephen, Thank you for taking the time to share and we are sorry to read about your experience. Would you please provide us with your booking reference number for me to review your booking. Many thanks Gold Medal

Charged £20 for an obvious typo correction.

Booked a holiday to Disney World from the UK and made a typo on a name. I got charged £20 to correct which I feel is ludicrous for an obvious typo. Disney said they would change for no fee and I believe Virgin Atlantic the airline concerned would too. The lady at Disney told me they use Gold Medal to deal with this airline. I haven’t a reference beginning G The Disney reference is added privately

Date of experience : 18 April 2024

Hello Chris, Thank you for sharing your feedback. Would you please share you booking reference number which would start with a G, therefore I can review these details for you. Many thanks Gold Medal

Great Support from Gold Medal

Helen and I ( Not Just Travel Helen and Paul) would like to thank you and your team for a job well done, where you all stepped up to help us on our latest booking through you. It was a tricky holiday booking where we had been working on a South East Asia Dec ‘24 itinerary with a client for a few months, working with Megan Crossley initially. Along the way, Kate Kinney, Melissa Almond and Amanda Romain ( and their management teams) became involved and contributed their expertise to help us land this booking, in challenging and unexpected circumstances. So a big thank you to Gold Medal from Not Just Travel Helen and Paul.

Date of experience : 17 April 2024

Thank you Helen and Paul for taking the time to share this with us. Our teams work hard to bring your clients holidays together and it is always wonderful to read agents experiences. I shall share the details. Many thanks Gold Medal

Best company!

GM always there when I need them. Another brilliant rescue yesterday. thank you Karen F and Debbie M

Date of experience : 16 May 2024

Many thanks Kevin, always pleased that we can help when needed. Thanks for sharing your feedback, Team Gold Medal

Super service!

Fantastic service as always from Anita. Makes the whole process so easy. Excellent every time!

Date of experience : 18 May 2024

Thank you Andy, your feedback is really appreciated and we'll make sure Anita and her manager see this. Many thanks Team Gold Medal

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!! Harassed and bullied for money by guide, extorted for money by safari agent, terrible hotel, beaches filthy, farm fishing off the beach mean no swimming. £13,000 down the drain. 30th wedding anniversary holiday ruined. Only apology was "sorry you felt like you were kidnapped", "it was a misunderstanding" Compensation refused by them when ABTA applied. Disgusting treatment of clients. Booked through Travel Consultants who used this company and have refused to get involved in any complaints.

Date of experience : 01 September 2023

Hello L. Smith, We are sorry to read this feedback and wonder if we could take the time to investigate why you have felt like this? Please could you supply your booking reference number. We look forward to hearing back. Regards Gold Medal

Wanted to say a huge thank you to the…

Wanted to say a huge thank you to the cruise plus team, firstly Laura and Kelly ann helped with the quote and after lots of dealings with the customer back and forth, James went out of his way on a Friday evening to get the booking secured as it was the last cabin type available!! Thank you so much guys you really are awesome!!!!! Also wanted to say a huge thank you to Hannah the South BDM as she went out of her way to help me too, you guys really are the best!!

Date of experience : 09 February 2024

Hi Claire, Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback and for such lovely words of kindness and encouragement. All passed don to the relevant people. Warmest regards Gold Medal

Kerala private tour, excellent service received.

Fantastic knowledge and service in booking a private tour trip to Kerala for 3 single ladies. Response time was very good and all questions answered regards to excursions.

Date of experience : 12 April 2024

Hello Lisa, Thank you for taking the time to feedback on your experience with us. We look forward to continue to work with you. Warmest Gold Medal

Saved the day!

After confirming a holiday, the customer informs me for the ATOL cert, his partner's name is... because they are now married and her passport is now in her married name! Unfortunately, he didn’t tell me this when I confirmed their names prior to confirming the booking… Urgent call with my contact at GM and luckily she was able to amend the flights and update hotel and transfer details- all with no fees🙏🏼 Thank you Kate!

Date of experience : 22 January 2024

Thank you for your feedback which we will pass back to the Customer Resolution team.

This is the worst company I have in my…

This is the worst company I have in my 82years tried to deal with things when a holiday goes badly wrong They will not accept responsibility even when you have photos to prove the state of the hotel you were put in booked with Hays travel and ended up with these people was suppose to be 5star in Mauritius more like 1star in blackpool it was filthy dilapadated dangerous Radisson Blu Azure dont ever go near it or Gold MEDAL

Date of experience : 07 December 2023

Hello Tessa, Thank you for taking the time to send in your feedback and we are sorry to read these details. I have reviewed the correspondence with Hays and I understand a refund had been offered. Our apologise that there has been cause for complaint. Kindest Regards Gold Medal

Incredible Service from Incredible Journeys

If you want a multi-leg trip organised with escorted tours bespoke to your clients then Nicola Lee at Incredible Journeys is the person to speak to. Excellent service, prepared to go the extra mile to assist and able to give real reassurance to pass onto the clients.

Date of experience : 20 April 2024

Hello Geoff, Thank you so much for taking the time to send this feedback and we are delighted to read your recommendation. This will be passed to Nicola and shared with the business. Thank you again Warmest Gold Medal

Kayleigh-Anne in the Gold Medal…

Kayleigh-Anne in the Gold Medal Incredible Journeys Team is always so great to work with. She has organised a few trips for my clients now and is always so speedy in replies and great at suggestions. My latest booking with her was a huge Costa Rica honeymoon and the clients said it was perfect from start to finish. Thank you so much Kayleigh-Anne and the GM IJ team!

Date of experience : 30 January 2024

Ellie, thank you for taking the time to share you feedback. We are delighted to read the compliments you have paid to Kayleigh-Anne and the IJ team. All passed on. Regards Gold Medal

No customer service, still waiting for response

Booked a trip to New York for April with Gold Medal via Tui. Flights changed with no communication, flight back cancelled with no communication, put us on a much cheaper flight home which delayed us 10 hours. Return flight info not communicated to us by Gold, ground staff at airport had to find us on systems. Put in a complaint in early May, no communication at all. Not answering emails from us or Tui. Disgraceful service. Avoid at all cost. Currently seeking legal advice.

Date of experience : 25 April 2022

Hey Miss Wynne-Hughes. I am so sorry to see how unhappy you are, and apologies for the delayed reply. Thanks for the reference number. This means we can take a look at the booking. Please note, we are only allowed to speak to your Travel Agent. Sorry again Ralph.

The Contrarian: Brett Hull’s 1999 Stanley Cup goal was good and other fake arguments

The Edmonton Oilers were apparently feeling a little bit contrarian this week.

With all of hockey ready to crown the Florida Panthers , hand over the Stanley Cup and call it a season, the Oilers ruined the party on Saturday night. They finally showed up for the Final and turned what was supposed to be a coronation into a butt-kicking. In the process, they made all of us shelve our “Panthers win” takes for at least one more game and sent the hockey world grumbling to the airport for yet another travel day.

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I can respect it. I’ve been known to dabble in the whole contrarian thing myself, with takes like “Mark Messier was a great Canuck” and “Ray Bourque’s Cup win was bad, actually.”  With some unexpected time to kill before Game 5, let’s break that gimmick out again.

As always, the concept is simple: You make what you think is an obviously true statement, the kind of thing nobody could even argue with. I take the contrarian position and make my best case. And as always, you can try to guess which of these arguments I actually mean and which are just a case of a grumpy sportswriter instinctively going against the grain.

Note: Submissions have been edited for clarity and style.

Brett Hull WAS in the crease. — Christian L.

I can’t argue this one, in the sense that he absolutely was in the crease. Everyone has watched the clip, and we’ve seen the photos (see lead image). Hull’s skate is in the blue paint.

The contrarian take is that it didn’t matter. The league got it right, no matter what Sabres fans say.

For those of you too young to remember, the NHL spent most of the 1990s with a ridiculous crease rule everyone hated. It basically stated that any attacking player being in the crease, whether or not they had anything to do with the play, would result in no goal. (And yes, this is essentially the rule some people now want to bring back when they demand a black-and-white crease rule because a goalie interference call went against their team. Those people are wrong and you should ignore them.)

The end result of the terrible crease rule was that for years, right as offense was already plummeting across the league because of clutch-and-grab and the neutral zone trap, the NHL was working diligently to take tons of goals off the board because one guy had his pinky toenail in the other side of the crease, having no impact whatsoever on the play. It was terrible.

And then Brett Hull scored the Cup-winning goal with his entire skate in there, it wasn’t waved off, and everyone freaked out. And you can understand why. We’d spent years seeing plays like that result in no goal, and now the league seemed to be ignoring its own rule. Maybe they didn’t have the guts to overturn a Cup winner. Or maybe they just figured it was their job to mess with the Sabres. Either way, they messed up, and everyone knows it.

But everyone is wrong. The Hull call was the right one.

What people forget, or maybe never knew, is that there was an exception to the blanket crease rule: Players were allowed to go into the crease with possession of the puck, just like they can today. In Hull’s case, he had the puck when his skate went in the crease, and even though the puck had come out, he maintained possession before taking that Cup-winning shot.

The league even maintains they’d sent out a memo to teams in the weeks before the Final, outlining essentially this exact situation. They also claim they did review the play, but that it was such a clear example of a good goal that they didn’t need to delay the celebration before ruling that it should count.

You can blame the league for not communicating the nuance of the rule to the fans until it was too late , since private memos and expedited reviews don’t help your viewers at home. But while the messaging was flawed, the call itself was the right one. It always has been, no matter what the conspiracy crew tries to tell you.

Presenting the Stanley Cup directly to the winning team’s captain is the best trophy presentation in sports. — Jonathan S.

Jonathan is trying to bait me into arguing for the way other pro leagues do it, where they hand the trophy to the decrepit old billionaire who owns the team instead of the players who just earned it. Nobody likes that, and the NHL being the only league to skip the suits and go straight to the players is one of the few things they very obviously get right. I won’t argue with that.

But is there an even better way? Stay with me on this.

Tradition says that the Stanley Cup is handed to the team’s captain, who skates with it for a bit before bestowing the honor of the first handoff to one of his teammates. Then it becomes a bit of a free-for-all, with players passing the Cup around and making sure everyone gets a turn. It’s pretty great.

But is the captain always the right player to get the Cup first? Sometimes, sure, of course. Nobody’s arguing with Steve Yzerman finally getting his Cup in 1997, or Alex Ovechkin in 2018, or Steven Stamkos in 2020. Those were iconic players, the faces of their franchises, and they were the right hands to touch the trophy first.

But then you have the cases of guys like Derian Hatcher instead of Mike Modano, or Dustin Brown instead of Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty , or even Scott Niedermayer instead of Teemu Selanne. Were those really the right guys to get the Cup first?

Maybe. I’m not sure, because I’m not a fan of those teams. And that’s why I’m proposing a new system, where fans of the winning team are invited to take part in a rapid-fire vote for which player should get to accept the Stanley Cup. You’d have to figure out the technology, and a way to make sure other fan bases couldn’t ruin it, but that shouldn’t be all that difficult in the smartphone era. We certainly have enough time to get in a quick vote while the players are celebrating and Gary Bettman is giving his traditional speech that absolutely nobody listens to.

You don’t even need any complicated criteria, beyond: Who do you fans want to see get the honor? Maybe they’d pick the best player. Maybe it would be the captain. Maybe an OGWAC, or the goalie, or the guy who’s been around for a decade, through all the ups and downs. Or maybe it would be the beloved grinder who left his heart and soul and half his teeth on the ice.

The point is, how great an honor would it be for your fan base to pick you as the guy to go get the Cup? It would feel at least as good as winning the Conn Smythe, right? Maybe better. It would basically be one big love note from a fan base to a specific player, sent right in the moment of their greatest triumph. And after that guy had the Cup, we’d revert to the players deciding who goes next and in what order.

The NHL’s longstanding system is the best in sports. This idea is even better, and we should make it happen.

It is an inarguable fact that the Stanley Cup is the toughest trophy to win in sports. — John R.

There are 32 NHL teams, meaning that any given team has a 1-in-32 chance of winning the championship in any given season. That means it’s exactly as difficult to win a championship in the NHL as it is in other 32-team leagues, like the NFL , and only slightly harder than it is in the 30-team MLB or NBA .

Is that the best way to measure how “hard” a trophy is to win? Trick question, it’s the only way.

Of course, it’s not what most hockey fans seem to mean when they drone on about the whole “toughest to win” trope. In my experience, most fans aren’t actually sure what they mean at all, and will just change the subject if you try to push them on it. Others will mutter something about how tough the playoffs are on the players, because it’s such a physical grind and so many guys are playing hurt. But if that’s true for one team, it’s also true for their opponents, so the “hard” parts cancel out, and you’re back to that 1-in-32 shot.

Aside from that, this is just another example of the hockey world patting themselves on the back over how tough their sport is. And yes, you do need to be tough to play hockey, there’s no doubt. If you want to just say it’s a hard sport, say that.

Just don’t try to hang some special achievement on winning the Cup. You fought hard to overcome the odds, sure. But they were the same odds as pretty much everyone else who’s out there trying to win a championship, so ease up on the self-congratulatory nonsense that barely even makes sense.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the greatest sports franchise of all time. — Zack E.

Counterpoint.

Sudden death, continuous, five-on-five overtime is the best way to decide a tied playoff game. — Jon M.

Sure, most of the time.

The problem is when you get a game that goes three OT deep. Sure, that makes for great drama for the fans of those two teams. But the rest of us eventually have to go to bed, and watching teams play scoreless hockey for hours on end isn’t anyone’s idea of fun. OK, fine, anyone who isn’t an NHL coach.

Mix in the fact that the actual goal inevitably comes on a lucky bounce, and overtimes that go past two periods are almost always a case of diminishing returns. So that’s where playoff games should end.

That’s right. No more marathon overtimes in the playoffs. Two periods, that’s all you get. After that, it’s over.

So do we have a shootout? No, we do not, don’t be ridiculous. Do we just have the game end in a tie? Also not an option, especially in the playoffs. Some sort of gimmick, like three-on-three? Getting warmer, but I don’t think we need that either.

No, we just give the game to the home team. Play two periods of scoreless overtime, the home team gets the win. Nice and simple.

I realize you hate the idea, but give it some thought, because it has a few advantages. First, we’d be giving real home-ice advantage to teams in a league where it matters less and less. And we’d be flipping the usual playoff dynamic, where the visiting team tries to grind the game into a dull paste. You want to play low-event, boring hockey on the road? Cool, you lose every overtime game until you remember a rink has two ends to it.

The only caveat I’m putting on this is that I think we have to drop the concept for Game 7. If it’s truly winner-take-all, then yes, play for as long as it takes to get a real winner.

But for the rest of the series? Two overtimes is more than enough. After that, hand the win to the home team. The visitors had all of regulation plus 40 minutes to get another goal, next time make a play.

Wayne Gretzky should’ve shot in the shootout in the 1998 Olympics. — Donald C.

It’s been more than a quarter-century, and hockey fans in Canada are still mad about this. Team Canada head coach Marc Crawford never really lived the decision down, and it’s probably what he’s best known for to this day even though he coached six NHL teams and won a Stanley Cup.

It’s not hard to see why. With the whole world watching and a gold medal on the line, you need one goal against Dominik Hasek, and you happen to have the single greatest goal scorer in the entire history of the sport available … and you leave him on the bench.

It was the right call.

No really, it was. Here’s a fun exercise: I want you to close your eyes and picture your favorite Wayne Gretzky breakaway goal. Not one where he came in and blasted a slap shot past a goalie, or drifted into the exact right spot right before the puck got there, and definitely not one of his classic assists where he’d find a guy nobody else saw. Let’s do a clear breakaway, where he speeds in and dekes out the goalie.

No? Nothing? That’s weird, right? You can probably think of a few dozen for Mario Lemieux, or Pavel Bure, or Connor McDavid , or just about any other star in the league. But with Gretzky, it’s at least a tougher challenge than you’d think.

Here’s why: Gretzky wasn’t very good on breakaways. It just wasn’t his game. He even said so himself.

So would he have been any good in a shootout? The NHL didn’t adopt the tiebreaker until after Gretzky had retired, so we can’t go by his career record because there isn’t one. But we can look at his penalty shot history . It’s not great! He had six in his career, and scored only twice. And both of the goalies he beat were having nights in which they gave up at least eight goals, meaning they weren’t exactly Hasek-like in that moment. Meanwhile, Gretzky couldn’t win one-on-one against goalies like Pierre Hamel, Pat Riggin and even Peter Ing.

And by the way, those attempts all came back when Gretzky was still a dominant offensive threat. He may be the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, but those days were long past by 1998; while he was still a fantastic setup man, he hadn’t so much as topped 25 goals in a season in four years by that point and hadn’t had 50 in almost a decade. Leaving him on the bench was a gutsy decision, but the right one, because an almost-retired Gretzky just wasn’t beating peak-of-his-power Hasek that night.

Was anyone? Probably not, which makes the whole thing moot. The one pick people are still mad about is Crawford having Ray Bourque shoot. And sure, giving one of your five slots to a defenseman is a bit weird. The logic was Bourque had the most accurate shot in the league and might be able to pick a spot against Hasek. He didn’t. On that night, it’s possible nobody could have, including Gretzky in his prime.

But Gretzky in his prime wasn’t an option for Crawford, and he made the right call. Stop complaining about it.

(Photo of Brett Hull scoring on Dominik Hasek in 3OT to win the Dallas Stars the 1999 Stanley Cup: Kevin Frayer / Associated Press)

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Sean McIndoe has been a senior NHL writer with The Athletic since 2018. He launched Down Goes Brown in 2008 and has been writing about hockey ever since, with stops including Grantland, Sportsnet and Vice Sports. His book, "The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL," is available in book stores now. Follow Sean on Twitter @ DownGoesBrown

Dnata Travel acquires majority stake in Imagine Cruising

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Dnata Travel has taken a majority stake in UK cruise-and-stay retailer Imagine Cruising. The deal, which exchanged on Monday, sees the Emirates-owned company take a 51% stake in the Swindon-based cruise specialist, which was set up four years ago. It becomes dnata’s latest UK acquisition since snapping up Travel Republic, Gold Medal and most recently, Stella Travel Services. The Imagine Cruising deal is still subject to regulatory approval in South Africa, where both companies have travel interests, but divisional senior vice president of dnata’s travel business, Iain Andrew, said this was “not expected to be a difficult procedure and should complete in April/May”. He declined to reveal the transaction value. Speaking exclusively to Travel Weekly, Andrew said: “We wanted to expand our product portfolio and cruise is where we needed to develop a broader offering. This deal allows us to focus on two key areas of growth – our international strategy and also new-to-cruise.” Andrew explained dnata had already been working with Imagine co-founders Robin Deller and Natalie Legg in Dubai where the pair were hoping to emulate the success of their operation in South Africa offering cruising to a new source market. Talks had begun with dnata to supply flying for the venture, but Andrew said: “We were focused initially on our Dubai relations, which were very small compared to volumes in the UK, but it was starting to get good pick-up by ex-pats and UAE nationals. But as we got to know Robin and Natalie, we became extremely impressed by their capability and decided to explore the partnership further.” Imagine Cruising managing director Deller said: “We demonstrated in Africa where there was no appetite initially, that there is plenty of opportunity as long as you offer product and market in a way that’s relevant. We saw results that were outstanding in a short period of time, so after our success there, the UAE became a clear opportunity for us.” Andrew said Imagine’s blueprint in South Africa and in the UAE could act as a springboard to launching similar cruise operations in other markets where dnata has “assets and distribution” and that these would be identified in time. Deller explained the deal would also drive growth through new-to-cruise customers. “The deal gives us the perfect opportunity to now sell cruise to Travel Republic customers. We have done a small amount of testing and the results were what we wanted, and so we can do something more significant,” he said. Asked why they thought selling cruise through an OTA with a history of selling mostly beach holidays would be successful, Deller said: “I started in the holiday industry selling holidays on Teletext. I then went specialist, first with ski and then cruise and they do require different skills sets. If you don’t have the skills, it’s best to stay out of it, which is what Travel Republic has done to date, but now we can bring that expertise.” Andrew added: “We have a number of great assets in Travel Republic such as great technology, servicing, brand and a fantastic customer database which is remarkably diverse. There may be a bit of a misperception about it, but it’s actually much broader than you might have thought, so whether it’s Imagine’s ‘Masterpiece’ collection or more regular cruises, we think there’s opportunity.” Deller explained Imagine worked in three ways – acting as an agent on behalf of the cruise line selling its brochure cruises, offering more tailormade options but adding a few nights pre and post onto sailings, and then ‘Masterpiece’ where it creates completely bespoke “bucket list” itineraries, such as combining the Orient Express with an Italian Lakes holiday followed by a Mediterranean cruise. “What we’re good at is identifying customers and trying what products work best for them. But it takes time.” Asked how the Imagine Cruising acquisition might affect dnata’s other acquisitions of Gold Medal and Stella Travel Services, Andrew said: “Imagine Cruising brings a deep understanding of a key travel market, one which will enhance the product offering of each company within the dnata family. “It’s the only area of overlap and we need to sit down and work out where it slots in but we made this investment so that our cruise interests in the UK can be led by Robin and his team. Imagine will lead the strategic development of cruise across dnata travel brands offering customers of Travel Republic, Gold Medal Travel Group and Stella Travel Services an enhanced choice of unique cruise holidays.” He added: “We also need to see how it can work with Emirates Holidays and dnata Travel in the Middle East. We will now work out where across the business we can get the biggest return and start there.” Deller said there would be no structural changes as a result of the deal, with everyone in his team remaining in place. “The only change is that we will have additional needs so there will be job opportunities and career opportunities as we grow.” The sale of a majority stake in Imagine Cruising is the second time Deller has built up and sold a cruise retailer to a larger player. He previously sold cruise and ski specialist Fast Track Travel to Virgin Holidays in 2007 so the operator could create Virgin Cruises. He said: “It’s not strategic. We’re just very good at differentiating and being different and successful is very attractive to investors. I’m very proud of it and it’s a completely new and exciting era for me now. There is lots that we can look forward to and I’m very passionate and excited about the opportunity. Andrew said Imagine Cruising completed dnata’s immediate ambitions in the UK. “I wouldn’t say no to more product but I’m not actively looking for anything else at the moment. I’m a big fan of the UK travel industry and what it has to offer but we have a fair amount now. “We’ve had a busy 12 months with seven or eight projects such as Gold Medal and Stella Travel, we’ve set up in Iraq and the Philippines, bought into Imagine, we’re bringing together Emirates Holidays and Mice into dnata Travel and we’ve still got a couple of other exciting projects happening in other parts of the world. “We now need to sit and absorb it all.”

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