Before I start my rant... I have to share a chuckle from the concert this past Friday night at the Sommet Center... John Mayer headlined a solid show with Ben Folds and James Morrison. After Morrison completed his opening set, the sponsor of the tour was prominantly displayed on the stage... the sponsor? Blackberry... the chorus of boos that rang out made this Philly boy proud!

Now... on to the rant...

--------------------------------

It's been interesting to watch the media cover the story of the sale of the Nashville Predators. Especially in the past few weeks as the new ownership group came to the fore. It really came to a head in my mind as I was talking to The Fan 590 in Toronto on Saturday. It was a spirited discussion, however, there was so much mis-information being thrown out there that I felt like I was flying in the face of conventional wisdom by stating facts.

To hear media in Toronto and Vancouver and any number of other so-called "traditional markets"... Nashville does not belong, no one cares, no one invests, and it just won't work no matter what happens.

What a load of crap... Let's take those one at a time:

> Nashville does not belong - Jealousy... plain and simple... the traditional hockey media can't stand the fact that hockey is anywhere in the US besides Detroit... I remember when this same crap was directed at markets like St. Louis and Philadelphia in the 60's, these were the "non-traditional" markets... Without a significant national TV footprint (in the US), the game grows through expansion of the league... there are more players coming from "non-traditional" areas than ever before, I still can't figure out how this is bad for the game.

> No one cares - Hmmm... the Nashville market sold out its' playoff games last season (unlike other traditional markets who did not...)... averaged over 16,000 (in a 17,000 seat arena) over the last three months of the season... sold 726 season tickets in a single day... drew 7500 crazed fanatics to a rally in the middle of July... Multiple organizations pop up to not only sell tickets but help out local charities (Save the Predators foundation just donated $20,000 in tickets on Friday... with more to come)... Hockey talk on the major sports talk station smack dab in the middle of Titans training camp for the past three seasons! yup... no one cares about hockey in this market.

> No one invests - A local investment group put together a creative and solid financial plan, with LOCAL control, in a period of seven weeks. From 0 to $193 million in seven weeks!... Hundreds of local businesses, finally stepping up to purchase season tickets... "Our Team Nashville" formed by seven local business leaders to lead the charge... Season ticket sales up almost 12% over the usual summertime pace and gathering steam...

> It just won't work - Not based in any kind of fact at all... strictly opinion here reported as fact...

Now that the new ownership group is moving through the approval process, the attention turns to the on-ice product. Again the bad information out there is unbelievable, and in a lot of respects, completely inexcusable.

A "fire sale" in Nashville... salary dumping (only partially true)... a significant drop off in talent... OK, same drill...

> A "fire sale" - Let's examine what really happened. Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen were both scheduled to be UFA's on 7/1... After negotiations showed that both were difficult at best re-signs (due to large salary demands), David Poile created something (a first round draft pick) for nothing... Smart move IMHO...

Then the Tomas Vokoun trade. I have to admit, that one made me pause, until I looked at the comparisons from last year. Chris Mason was arguable a better goaltender, no one knows how he will react as the number one, but the drop off is just not there, plus the way is cleared for Pekka Rinne to continue his development as the team's backup and future number one.

Not re-signing Paul Kariya... for $6 million a year??? I'm a Paul Kariya fan... but St. Louis way overpaid... Peter Forsberg has said he'd love to come back and hasn't made a call on returning to the NHL yet so the jury is still out...

Four players not returning... hardly a fire sale...

> Salary Dumping - In the case of Tomas Vokoun... absloutely true, but as explained above, completely defensable. Not signing Hartnell or Kariya for crazy money??? Smart... Taking on new salary in Bonk, Gelinas and deVries? never spoken of...

> A significant drop off in talent - This is the one that I just can't get my mind around. A top line that consists of Jason Arnott centering Martin Erat and Steve Sullivan... A second line of David Legwand centering JP Dumont and Alexander Radulov... a third line of Martin Gelinas with a Scott Nichol or Vernon Fiddler and a Radek Bonk... an energy line that can mix and match between Jordin Tootoo, Darcy Hordichuk, Jerred Smithson, or Jed Ortmeyer. One of the best young bluelines in the game today with Dan Hamhuis, Ryan Suter, Shea Weber and Marek Zidlicky... adding veteran leadership with Greg deVries... along with Kevin Kline and Cody Franson knocking on the door.

While this team may not get 110 points again (after all, the division looks to have improved on paper)... it is my belief that it will be better come playoff time, more hard nosed with better role players and less star power...

I've been told I'm a dreamer with all this, after all, it is counter to what the traditional hockey media is reporting. The conventional wisdom has an agenda... the problem is that the facts don't fit it.

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» The time has come

» Whining through Game 3

» Playoff Picks

» Waiting for he playoffs

» A special night in Smashville