If not for Jim Balsillie’s serious misstep last summer, the scene unfolding in Seattle this week might well be happening here in Nashville. The SuperSonics, who have called the Emerald City home for the past 41 years, are attempting to exit their lease to relocate to Oklahoma City in time for the 2008-09 NBA season. Quite understandably, Oklahomans are paying attention as their hopes of securing the state’s first major-league franchise are close to being realized.

A nasty, ugly conflict between the city of Seattle and the team’s current owners has landed in court, and U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman is preparing to issue a verdict. Pechman’s duty will be to decide whether the Sonics must honor the remaining two years of their lease at Key Arena or whether the team can buy its way out and proceed to the Sooner state.

This almost assuredly would have been the endgame for Balsillie and the city of Nashville, whether right now or within a few years, had the Blackberry co-founder not made the egregious error of promoting season tickets in Ontario while proclaiming his willingness to give the Preds a fighting chance in Tennessee. If Balsillie hadn’t committed such a blunder, the ink might have long been dry on the team’s sale agreement before Nashvillians ever experienced the first concrete indication of his real intentions: to move the franchise north of the border.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about the Sonics’ fate. As a Preds fan with fresh wounds from last summer’s crisis, I would hate to see the team leave Seattle. Back in the 80s and early 90s when I still enjoyed NBA basketball, the Sonics were a team I liked to follow. Despite managing only 20 wins this past season, the team has a rich history in Seattle that should be preserved.

On the other hand, I still recall checking the news constantly in 1995 to learn the latest about the New Jersey Devils’ possible relocation to Nashville. I had nothing in particular against the Garden State, but I very much wanted major-league sports to land in Nashville, particularly the NHL or the NFL. (Who’d have thought then that both leagues would arrive so soon?) If not for a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup that season, Nashville would undoubtedly be home to the Devils, not the Preds.

I say all of this to mean that I can’t fault Oklahomans for longing for the Sonics to come to town any more than I can Washingtonians for wanting to keep them out west. At this point, I’m just happy that this blog post is focused a few thousand miles west of here, not in a Davidson County courtroom. Long live the Nashville Predators.

It wasn’t that long ago that this quote would have never been realistic for the Preds:

With the players they did choose, the Predators came away with two defensemen, a left wing, a center and a goalie. None of Nashville’s draftees this weekend are expected to play in the NHL next season [emphasis added].

Say what you will about the team’s off-ice drama the past two seasons, but Executive VP/General Manager David Poile has done an excellent job of building the Preds for on-ice success. I’m excited about the potential for these latest draft picks, but I’m even happier that the Preds have the luxury of waiting for them to develop.

The Preds are closing their ranks behind goalie Dan Ellis, who barely made the roster out of training camp but shined down the stretch and in the playoffs, and have traded fellow netminder Chris Mason to the division rival St. Louis Blues.

Even though Ellis looked shaky at times during the season, I think this is the best move for the team. Mason is a class act who thrived in Tomas Vokoun’s shadow in the 2006-07 season but struggled at times in the limelight as the Preds’ #1 goalie. I hate to see him go, but the team couldn’t tie up the millions it invested in Mason and also sign Ellis, who had become a hot commodity around the league after his performance this spring. Here’s hoping the Preds made the right choice … and that sending another player to a division rival doesn’t come back to haunt them.

Troubled co-owner Boots Del Biaggio attempted to sell his stake in the Preds to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie as recently as two weeks ago, according to Canada’s National Post.

For a team sorely in need of some off-ice stability, any hint of Balsillie’s reemergence is salt in the wound inflicted by Del Biaggio’s impending financial implosion. Both Boots and Balsillie are eager to have majority ownership in an NHL team. Even though Del Biaggio is likely no longer a threat because he is expected to file bankruptcy, for local Preds fans Balsillie is bad news that just won’t go away. The sooner the local ownership group can find a way–preferably from a Tennessee source–to fill Boots’ shoes, the better.

(Hat tip to Walker Duncan at Nashville Post for unearthing this news from north of the border.)

Update: Del Biaggio has filed for bankruptcy.

What is bad news for the Predators in the short term may be good news over the long haul. Like many local hockey fans, I haven’t been pleased to see coverage about the Preds’ ownership situation following a series of lawsuits filed against team minority owner Boots Del Biaggio.

Many cynics of Del Biaggio’s involvement in last year’s franchise sale were quick to claim that the California businessman would ship the Preds to Kansas City at his first opportunity. As Ken Whitehouse and others have pointed out this week, that fate looks increasingly unlikely with each passing media cycle, as legal actions against Del Biaggio continue to pour in.

While no one who roots for the Preds is happy to see another offseason where any level of instability emerges in the team’s ownership group, it may ultimately prove to be a blessing for Del Biaggio to be replaced by someone with fewer motives and, ideally, a local address.

The Preds averaged $600,000 per game in ticket revenue this past season, according to The Toronto Star (team-by-team list). That figure represents an increase of 9 percent over the 2006-07 season, when the team averaged $500,000 per game. The Preds ranked 24th in the 30-team NHL and ahead of Washington and Atlanta, larger markets fielding playoff teams.

The article reports that the league’s six Canadian franchises are responsible for roughly one-third of the NHL’s ticket revenue. Teams north of the border made up six of the top seven league franchises based on ticket revenue per game. Canadian teams performed well because of a strong Canadian dollar and strong ticket sales despite generally higher ticket prices than most American teams.

The story makes the argument that, based on the significant ticket revenue generated by Canadian teams, the NHL would benefit from one or even two more teams in Canada, whether by relocation or expansion. Thankfully for Preds fans, the Phoenix Coyotes are mentioned as the most likely candidate for relocation rather than our beloved franchise. Smartphone manufacturer executive Jim Balsillie is mentioned as a potential suitor for the Coyotes, who ranked last in per-game ticket revenue at $450,000.

Other hockey items of interest:

• The NHL continues to struggle to lure more fans to its arenas and to its TV broadcasts (Wall Street Journal).
• Preds executive Ed Lang says all is well with the home team this offseason.
• The Chicago Blackhawks will reportedly host the Detroit Red Wings in next year’s outdoor Winter Classic (TSN).
• Ellis, Suter may not remain Preds for long.

Only time will tell if the City Paper’s Mark McGee is on the money about the Preds: “Now, buoyed by the new ownership group, a drastic change in the marketing plan, a new lease agreement and a fourth straight trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs, this is a team with a bright-looking future.”

I sure hope McGee is right, but it will be awhile before we know for sure. I’m encouraged by the fan response during the end of the regular season and the playoffs and the rising attendance numbers down the stretch. I’m relieved that the new ownership group appears to understand that now is not the time to rest on any laurels:

“Honestly, the number we talk about is not 14,000,” said David Freeman, head of the ownership group. “Our expectation is that we’re shooting in the 15,000 to 16,000 range. We have that much confidence in what this franchise has accomplished in a very short period of time and where we can go from here.”

It remains to be seen whether Nashville will maintain the firm grip it now has on its second chance with the NHL. I want this team to be in town for the long haul and for a long, long time, and I hope there are many people locally who agree … and are willing to continue buying tickets to prove it. I’m pleased that last year’s crisis is in the rearview mirror, and I’m hoping the rekindled fan support can survive–and thrive–when it’s no longer an emergency situation.  Go Preds!!

Several hockey writers are praising Preds Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations David Poile for his efforts in helping the team remain competitive after the franchise’s offseason turmoil and ensuing ownership change. SI’s Jim Kelley says Poile’s a “miracle worker,” and ESPN’s Scott Burnside and Damien Cox include him on their short list of top team executives. If you’re a Preds fan, add Poile to the list of heroes who have helped to keep the team in town. A basement finish would have really put a dent in attendance this season and soured what was already a very tough situation for the team.

Congratulations to the Preds for securing a playoff berth last night and for what remains an amazing season in the midst of so much change last year. Here’s hoping Nashville stays in eighth place over the weekend and faces Detroit, rather than San Jose, in the first round.

The Toronto Globe and Mail has a good read on the Preds and their critical road trip through Western Canada that begins tonight, a slate of games that may determine whether they make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The article observes that the “plucky” team’s “surprising” season has come amid much turmoil off the ice.

The Preds are tied with Vancouver and Colorado at 74 points with the final two playoff spots in the West at stake. “If we can get out of this trip with a decent record, then I think we stand a good chance of getting in,” said Nashville head coach Barry Trotz.

Rewind the season 66 games before the puck was dropped and one would hard-pressed to believe the depleted Predators would be tied for the last playoff spot in the West with one month to go in the regular season. When Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya, Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen and Tomas Vokoun left town last summer, the pundits were quick to predict a spring with no playoff hockey in Nashville.

“Going into the season, everybody thought that there would be no way we would recover from all the losses and the situation with our hockey team (sale) and all that,” said Trotz. “I think our team took a lot of personal pride in terms of trying to prove people wrong and show we’re still a pretty good hockey team.”

The Preds aren’t a given either to make or to miss the playoffs as the season draws to a close, but they are right about where I thought they would be: fighting for seventh or eighth in the West. What’s “surprising” to me is not the Preds’ performance on the ice this season, but instead how quickly and universally the hockey experts wrote this team off before the puck even dropped on their opening game.

It was logical to expect a dip after so many departures, but many pundits ignored that a talented core stayed behind. In the wake of lukewarm attendance and an aspiring owner’s failed attempt at an Ontario exit, I guess it was easy to keep piling on. Here’s hoping the Preds keep piling on the points right back to the playoffs … and hopefully to the second round, too.

Speaking of those ticket sales, if you have what it takes to seal the deal, the Preds are looking for sales reps and all kinds of  interns right now. 

According to the Toronto Star, a group of players is urging the NHL to permit advertising on goaltenders’ jerseys to generate additional revenue for the league.

Now a group of influential NHL players that includes New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Dallas’s Marty Turco, Detroit’s Dominik Hasek and Edmonton’s Dwayne Roloson want the league’s – and inevitably the Leafs’ – uniforms altered again. In what would be a radical overhaul that might incite hockey traditionalists but surely gratify some of the league’s cash-strapped owners, several NHL goalies have asked the league and its players union to consider starting a so-called Goaltender’s Club. Revenue-generating initiatives for the club could include placing a corporate logo on the jerseys of the league’s 60-odd goalies.

After reading the story, this idea doesn’t bother me as much as I expected it would. It’s common already in Europe, though I’d hate to see the patchwork quilt of logos that jerseys there (and NASCAR uniforms) showcase. One or two small logos might be tolerable, if the advertising really stays limited to goalies, and the league could sure use the money: The Star attributes much of the NHL’s increased revenues to a stronger Canadian dollar and ticket-price hikes.

The article names the Preds, the Atlanta Thrashers and the Phoenix Coyotes as teams that are “hemorrhaging money.” I’d deal with Chris Mason shilling for Dell and Nissan if it meant his jersey still said Nashville (instead of another market) somewhere on it.

Bill Horner, publisher of the Sanford (N.C.) Herald, was in town with his family last week to visit Preds forward Martin Gelinas (above right, with Horner’s son Zachary). Horner became a rabid hockey fan when the Hartford Whalers relocated to Raleigh as the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998, and he struck up what has become a longstanding friendship with Gelinas:

My love for the game has been enhanced by friendships I’ve forged with two professional hockey players, Martin Gelinas (formerly of the Hurricanes, now with the Nashville Predators) and Serge Payer (a former teammate of Marty’s in Florida, now with the Minnesota Wild). They’re two of the finest people I’ve ever met and I like to think we’d be friends even if we didn’t share so many hockey-related experiences.

Horner and his family attended the Preds’ game against the Vancouver Canucks last Thursday night and were unfortunately witnesses to a serious injury for Gelinas, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the contest.

We had a great trip, the only blemish (and it was a major one) being Marty’s torn ACL injury at the beginning of the second period of Thursday’s game (a 3-2 OT loss to Vancouver). In his 19 years in the league, he’s never had an injury this serious, and it happened with our group and six more of Marty’s friends (from Switzerland and Montreal) all in attendance. We were all pretty devastated, but Marty was a great host despite being on crutches the rest of our time there. We went to practice on Friday (the morning an MRI revealed the extent of the knee injury) and Saturday and spent a wonderful evening with the Gelinas family and the Swiss and Canadian friends, plus did some sight-seeing around Nashville.

I’m sad to see Gelinas, a journeyman player who is also a stand-up guy, suffer such a tough injury, but I’m not surprised to see that he was still a gracious host to his guests. Here’s hoping for a quick recovery, hopefully in time for the playoffs, Marty.

Nashville Predator David Legwand, who was arrested earlier this month for driving under the influence, is the subject of a new “song” about the incident at the Way Offside hockey blog.

He was traveling fast on Eighth Avenue South
When a cop pulled him over, looked him in the mouth
Said, boy you doing 50 in a 35 mile zone.

“Well that may be, occifer my friend
‘cause math ain’t my strong point in the end
though $27 mill for six-years adds up fine.”

“An’ it would do you good to try an’ remember
that’s the deal I struck and signed last December
‘cause I’m a big-time hockey playin’ man.”

Docleslie, the blogger behind Way Offside, published an NHL DUI all-star team last fall prior to Legwand’s arrest. In all seriousness, it’s a shame to see Legwand make such a poor decision at a time when the Preds need all the good news they can get. At least he wasn’t cited last summer or fall.