Deja Vu? Balsillie buying Preds: Report

[MacK_Attack 108]

Earlier on Monday's Prime Time Sports roundtable with David Shoalts and Stephen Brunt, Bob McCown revealed that sources have told him that Jim Balsillie is closing in on a deal to purchase the Nashville Predators. The source states that Balsillie will purchase majority control of the hockey club.

http://fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20080929_215604_7588

[Rivalred 630]

What?

Why is this not making any sense...

I am shocked no one mentioned the death of one of the Canes owners.

[miller76 463]

wow. I thought all this stuff was long gone. I thought the owners were there to stay and the predators were staying put as well. Bettman is still not going to allow them to move to Hamilton or wherever he was saying they would go.

[MacK_Attack 108]

wow. I thought all this stuff was long gone. I thought the owners were there to stay and the predators were staying put as well. Bettman is still not going to allow them to move to Hamilton or wherever he was saying they would go.

Boots Del Biaggio's apparent lack of money threw the Preds back into uncertainty.

[eva unit zero 271]

Wonder if Balsillie is willing to play by the rules this time. You know, the 'Make a good faith attempt in the current market' bylaw?

I also wonder if he was ever prosecuted for copyright infringement or illegal tampering for his marketing stunt last go-round.

[miller76 463]

Wonder if Balsillie is willing to play by the rules this time. You know, the 'Make a good faith attempt in the current market' bylaw?

I also wonder if he was ever prosecuted for copyright infringement or illegal tampering for his marketing stunt last go-round.

he has always sounded like a snake. I never heard about him paying any fine or prosecuted for anything. Maybe him and Samueli are buddies of some sort.

[redwinger4747 6]

Hell Yeah! Get this team out of Nashville!!

[MacK_Attack 108]

Denied by the Balsillie side

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/09/29/...llie_predators/

[Cern 0]

he has always sounded like a snake. I never heard about him paying any fine or prosecuted for anything. Maybe him and Samueli are buddies of some sort.

Because Boots obviously was a white knight...

[Statts 4]

I hope Balsillie does buy an NHL team whether it be the preds, or some southern bottom dweller. Having an billionaire owner who is passionate about the game could not be a bad thing IMO.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Just give him the team and lets move on.

[vangvace 12]

Because Boots obviously was a white knight...

More so than Balsillie has been... which is saying something

If at first you don't succeed. Try, try again... or get a crackberry

[redwingslady87 130]

I am shocked no one mentioned the death of one of the Canes owners.

Yeah I saw that on NHL.com and figured someone had already posted it here, so I didn't even bother to look. Guess not.

More surprisingly that someone didn't make a thread about it is because he was also an owner of the Plymouth Whalers.

[toby91_ca 620]

Agreed.

His passion for the game, & his fat wallet would be good for the NHL...Too bad Bettman, & many of the owners (read MLSE) don't see it that way.

Bettman's probem is that Jim's plans do not involve keeping a team in the US long term and Bettman is dead set against a team moving from the US to Canada. MLSE ownership wouldn't be thrilled about Jim becoming an owner because they figure he'd end up trying to move the team to southern Ontario and eat into a bit of their revenue (not sure how big a deal that would actually be).

It's pretty incredible all the things I have heard about how the Nashville deal went down (shady if you ask me).

Edited September 30, 2008 by toby91_ca

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

I wish Balsillie would get the team and move em already. I'd love to see this in a few years...

Edited September 30, 2008 by Wings_Fan_In_Exile

[toby91_ca 620]

Many players/coaches/GMs (both current/past) feel a team owned by Balsillie located in Hamilton would do just fine, & not bite too much into the coveted market as MLSE would like to claim.

And yes - the whole Preds deal (and ex-Preds owner Leipold buying the Wild) is pretty shady - at least I think so too.

I know and agree on the points around a Hamilton team not biting too much into the MLSE market. In fact, I think a lot of people think it might actually be good thing for Toronto. It would at least be a good thing for the team in terms of being a fan...it might force management to be as competitive as possible.

In terms of Boots, apparently he had to borrow money from existing govenors to get the deal done, which is against NHL by-laws, but I guess Bettman overlooked that since he had no plans of moving the team to Canada.

[12Newf 0]

Bettman's probem is that Jim's plans do not involve keeping a team in the US long term and Bettman is dead set against a team moving from the US to Canada. MLSE ownership wouldn't be thrilled about Jim becoming an owner because they figure he'd end up trying to move the team to southern Ontario and eat into a bit of their revenue (not sure how big a deal that would actually be).

It's pretty incredible all the things I have heard about how the Nashville deal went down (shady if you ask me).

i keep seeing people commenting on the shadiness of the preds deal but what exactly happened?

[CenterIce 83]

I know and agree on the points around a Hamilton team not biting too much into the MLSE market. In fact, I think a lot of people think it might actually be good thing for Toronto. It would at least be a good thing for the team in terms of being a fan...it might force management to be as competitive as possible.

I am wondering if a team in Hamilton would not only affect the Toronto market but also Detroit and Buffalo.

[RedFX 48]

I hate to break it to you guys, but this one doesn't appear to be credible.

[toby91_ca 620]

I hate to break it to you guys, but this one doesn't appear to be credible.

While no one truly knows what is going on beyond those directly involved, I would be absolutely shocked if there are no discussions happening between the current owners and Basillie (contrary to the public denial).

This, of course, means nothing in terms of what may or may not happen, but I'm sure there are discussions. What I heard yesterday is that a deal is very, very, very close and an announcement could be made at pretty much anytime - this is likely an exaggeration, but to suggest the news isn't credible is probably a stretch as well. If nothing ever comes of it, it doesn't mean the story wasn't credible.

[South Dakota wings fan 7]

Just give him the team and lets move on.

agreed!

[Shockwave180 0]

I feel for the core group of loyal Nashville fans, but the annual "Will they or won't they" speculation gets old. I would love to see another team in Canada.

Still, I don't think this is really going to happen. Bettman is committed to keeping the Preds in Nashville, and until that changes, it's going to be very difficult for anyone to move them.

[gcom007 1,465]

I hope Balsillie does buy an NHL team whether it be the preds, or some southern bottom dweller. Having an billionaire owner who is passionate about the game could not be a bad thing IMO.

Honestly, heaven forbid someone with actual money buy an NHL. You'd think they'd do it just to mix things up a bit let alone the fact that he actually has the loot to pay unlike some recent club owners..........plus, Blackberry's are way better than iPhones...

[toby91_ca 620]

If it's not Nashville, Basillie will own an NHL team, it's only a matter of time.

I've heard that no fewer than 8 teams have contacted him (either to purchase the team outright or to take some form of equity interest).

[2probert4 8]

Wonder if Balsillie is willing to play by the rules this time. You know, the 'Make a good faith attempt in the current market' bylaw?

I also wonder if he was ever prosecuted for copyright infringement or illegal tampering for his marketing stunt last go-round.

I heard this rumor this morning also, and it was discussed at length on XM Home Ice.....The source of this story is a respected writer from the Toronto Globe, (that was the paper they used for the quotes) and they did tell his name and all the guys on the show said he was a very credible source, so we'll see.. Needless to say both Nashville and Balsillies people have denied it, but there was no talk of any possible prosecution during the conversation. The Predators had another telethon type party, they had a rookie game , followed by a high school game, but they only sold just under 11,000 individual tickets. They have admitted publicly that the season ticket sales are down, but they won't give an exact amount, which was compared to last year.... The ticket number I just posted was quoted from their General Manager, David Poile who said it on Channel 5 from Nashville. (Thats in case Legionairre wants to make another appearance saying I don't know what I speak of)