I've got my research staff working on putting together all kinds of info on the Nashville/Hamilton/Kitchener-Waterloo story and should have something together over the weekend. In the meantime I wanted to throw out a very hypothetical situation that I first read about in a great article by Damien Cox in today's Toronto Star...

At this point it sounds as if the only way the owner of the Nashville Predators can get out of the lease is to average under 14,000 in paid attendance once the default clause is triggered (I have not yet seen the lease document so I cannot confirm that this is the case).

Assuming that average attendance was tracking under 14k, and the owner of the Nashville Predators was planning a move to Southern Ontario that was likely to be approved by the Board of Governors, would it be prudent for the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise to purchase enough Preds tickets to bring the average above 14k?

Craig Leipold said in his press conference last week that it would cost the city $2-2.5 million for every 1,000 in paid attendance under 14k. To put that in hockey terms for the league's richest franchise that's about the cost of Hal Gil for one season.

Would this be a good idea for the Leafs to protect their brand in Ontario or would they be delaying the inevitable?

Could the Leafs end up saving hockey in Nashville?

Unlikely at best, but an interesting topic for discussion, I thought..

Danny - [email protected]

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