Less than 10 games out of the end of the regular season, and the Nashville Predators have the best record. Yup. You heard me right. The Nashville Predators. If it wasn’t for the fact they signed Paul Kariya or Jason Arnott, or made that big trade to land Forsberg, they kind of fall into that category of “who plays for them anyway”, unless you are a fan of a team in the Central Division, to which you see the Preds play your hometown team EIGHT times in one season. No wonder they have such a good record. 32 games against sub-par teams.
Now, this isn’t a slight against the city of Nashville, TN. Rather, until the last decade, the only sports I associated with Tennessee, let alone Nashville, fell into the category of the NCAA. Hoops and pussified rugby. Now for the town to get an NFL franchise, I’m struck there is a viable market, and it makes sense to have a franchise. But I’m just not convinced hockey is a viable endeavour for the city of Nashville. To wit:
1. The Predators play the most manly sport on the planet in the Gaylord Entertainment Center.
2. Despite having the best record in the NHL only 9 games away from the playoffs, they stand 23rd out of thirty teams in attendance.
3. Most tragically, they exist on the same side of the border that required the Fox Puck to see the action on television. I wonder if we should tell fans the puck doesn’t glow when you see the game live.
Is it just me, or is yet another Bettman success another resounding failure? It seems the administration under Bettman is as akin to intelligence as Dubya. The only difference is that the President can be voted out. Just as the player’s union has already had, there needs to be a change of guard at the head of the NHL roundtable. And guys, get it right. Pick a Canadian after you proverbially sever the head of Bettman. We actually know hockey.
That is all.
