Category: Paul Kariya

Showin’ Some Brotherly Love

My brother, who lives somewhere out in a desert in Arizona, has a hockey blog. It’s rather Phoenix Coyotes heavy but what do you expect? He lives out there and supports the home team. If he lived here in Nashville he’d be writing wonderful Predators related pieces.

This particular post seemed to resonate with me because I think there are certain parts of it that relate to our home team. Especially with the unloading of some players and not being able to hang on to others that are free agents.

So, here are a couple of excerpts from my bro (go read the rest here):

One Fan’s Perspective…

. . . this hockey club will look vastly different come September
when training camp approaches. As I have written before, balanced
hockey clubs are important. Learning to win is difficult and struggling
to win can be even worse.

The positive side to the lack of a veteran presence, or to the lack
of a good veteran presence (those that will lead the right way and not
look to the plethora of golf courses we have here and not look to
retire), is that the coaching staff can teach good habits as the young
players will not have any preconceived notion of how to play NHL hockey.

                

I just want the organization to put a team on the ice that will be competitive. My expectations are not the playoffs.

Yet.

I may disagree with the last sentence. As far as I’m concerned, always expect the playoffs. But, that may be the reason I cry a lot during the post-season.

Blogged with Flock

Another One Bites the Dust?

So, Paul Kariya out? Ugh. The dumping of Vokoun was, hopefully, to clear the way to be able to hold on to Kariya. But who wants to stay on a sinking ship? By the way, I don’t think it’s a sinking ship. Where’s the loyalty?

Regardless of the outcome I still believe the Preds could be contenders. They have a good coach and a great goalie. If there is an inkling of skill in any of the players left I think it’s up to the coach to make a team the best. So, if Barry Trotz can’t ever make it happen it might be up to a new coach. Hopefully, the Preds will still be in Nashville if that happens.

Get a Grip

Okay, it seems that every blogger in Nashville is talking about this potential purchase of the Nashville Predators by a Canadien (gasp) businessman. As a hockey fan I might as well jump on this bandwagon and say my piece (or is it peace? MTA a little help?) about the impending transaction.

To start off this post I must share an anecdote. The day I drove the Uhaul filled with our possessions I tuned in to one of the sports radio networks (I can’t remember which one) when they announced that Paul Kariya had just signed on to be a Predator. Hearing that announcement made the move from my beloved Black Mountain, North Carolina to Nashville worth it. The Elder Extroverted Holy One’s acceptance into Vanderbilt Divinity School aside I was all about living in a town with a NHL team again.

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

First of all the deal is not done.

The sale must be closed by June 30. Approval before that date from the NHL’s board of governors would be required.

Balsillie, the co-CEO of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd., who saw his recent bid to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins fall apart, said he is respectful of all the “due diligence” required before the Predators deal can close.

“This is still Craig Leipold’s franchise until the deal is completed, so for me to comment at this time on any number of topics relative to the franchise would not be appropriate,” Balsillie said in a statement.

Hoops need to be jumped through and so forth and so on. However, I am as pessimistic about the outcome as most others are.

I must say that the current predicament the Preds are in I’m going to have to blame the corporate entities here in Nashville. As the Wall Street Journal says, “In a league where teams shoot for a 65-35 split between corporate and consumer ticketholders, the Predators’ fan base is about 30% corporate and 70% consumer.”

One can’t expect the fan base in this southern town to carry the whole burden of supporting the team. It has to be the whole community, which includes the local businesses. It seems that we, as fans, have done quite a lot to support our team. Heck, the Young Extroverted One loved our experience so much that she cried when I took someone else to a game! If I could afford it I would definitely get a couple of season tickets so I can take her to every game and to support our team.

When I worked for the Carolina Hurricanes it was extremely tough to make fans out of NASCAR and ACC basketball fans. It basically took a Stanley Cup win to build a following but there was definitely a core fan base that stuck it through the whole time. Plus, it took the local Raleigh businesses to get behind them. That’s what we need here.

But I must also keep in mind that this is all about business. If the deal goes through and the lease agreements aren’t made then Balsillie can do whatever he chooses with the team. If he decides to move it to a more hockey friendly community, like anywhere in Canada, then that’s his prerogative. I love hockey, I love the Predators but this relationship can’t work if the entire community doesn’t jump in to support them as well.

If any out-of-towners would like to support the Introvert/Extrovert family’s wishes to help support the Nashville Predators with season tickets then leave a comment below with your pledges. A hockey fan representative will contact you shortly.