Some fans thought it was risky to expand into non-traditional markets. I was initially not one of them. But the idea of giving a franchise to Tennessee was compelling because the NFL sought fit to move there and the NBA later set up camp.Here we have another NHL franchise that appears on paper to be struggling, but the team on the ice is on the verge of casting off the expansion stigma into one that could contend in the playoffs.
Enter: Jim Ballsilie.
The news is no doubt shocking to a lot of fans. I could bet that a few people in the Predators fandom without the benefit of blogs would be dissapointed at the news. But I am not sure where the COHF and my role comes into play during these negotiations.
First off, I am not a fan of "Ball-silly" and his dubious intentions. He got a lot of publicity when he tried to move the Penguins. Now, he, his Blackberry, and his RIM company product are in the news once again. (Nevermind you that he is still under investigation for stock fraud)
I am not as emotionally involved with the Predators potentially moving as I was with the Penguins. I am against any and all franchise relocation. It is up to the Predators organization, their fans, the Nashville Tennessee community, to ban together to prevent this atrocity from happening.
1 comment:
I appreciate that you are passionate about hockey, but I have to take issue with your thoughts on keeping franchises in markets that don't appreceiate and support their team and the sport as a whole. I recently addressed this email to a Toronto sports radio talk show host who suggested Ballsilie should consider the Buffalo Sabres if he is still interested in an NHL Franchise.
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Chuck!
What are you thinking?
The NHL board of governors wouldn't allow Jim Ballsilie to buy the Nashville Predators; a franchise that loses money every year and a franchise that could obviously benefit from the type of money a deep pocketed man like Ballsilie could infuse into it. What on earth makes you think the league would allow the Sabres to be sold to this guy?
Gary Bettman is clearly threatened by Ballsilie and the fact that Ballsilie marches to the beat of his own drum. It is clear the governors are going to give the thumbs down to any owner that Bettman doesn't feel comfortable with. I suspect that the owners are feeling very indebted to Bettman as a result of the victory he led them to over the NHL Player's Association in the lockout year. With the owner's support, Bettman may now continue his failed pursuit of replicating the successful model that David Stern used to raise the stature and profile of the NBA.
Gary Bettman is a man with tunnel vision. He took over as NHL Commissioner in the 1990's. Any person with a broad vision would have seen the opportunities presented by an ever growing global econonmy, instantaneous web driven electronic media and the very large and very natural hockey markets that existed in Western Europe. Instead, all Bettman could see was the model that he watched his mentor, Stern, build in the United States for the NBA. There is one problem with that model. It was made for basketball, not hockey. Hockey belongs where hockey is appreciated.
Now, enough on my rant about Bettman; let's get back to Ballsilie. It is my belief that Ballsilie is much more interested in bringing hockey to a market that deserves hockey and a market that will cherish hockey. I do not believe Ballsilie wants to own an NHL franchise just for the sake of owning it. That said, outside of Europe, Winnipeg or Quebec City, Southern Ontario is the place where a transplanted or new NHL franchise will be appreciated the most.
Regards,
Marty Streeter
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