Shea Weber

[ThirdManIn]

Unfortunately I think that many of the teams in the states and Toronto have owners who are more interested in a tenant that brings in revenue's for the building other than for the love of the game. If Nashville sold out every game would it still matter? Charge more for seats and less people will come unless the team can show more improvements on the ice.

If the Preds begin to sell out every game at our current ticket prices the owners would be able to spend closer to the cap without losing money. That's the goal, but first they need to focus on selling out half of the games.

 

[predfan98]

Unfortunately I think that many of the teams in the states and Toronto have owners who are more interested in a tenant that brings in revenue's for the building other than for the love of the game. If Nashville sold out every game would it still matter? Charge more for seats and less people will come unless the team can show more improvements on the ice.

the owners have said if they sell out more, they can spend more. yes it would matter if we sold out every game.

however, your comment about teams in the states and toronto......revenue.....blah....blah....love of the game...........blah........ clearly show your bias and lack of real world experience.

it's a business. the owners have to make money.. it is not some idealized pond hockey where the boys of winter blissfully glide over ice for pride and love of country.

 

[Stylizer1]

the owners have said if they sell out more, they can spend more. yes it would matter if we sold out every game.

however, your comment about teams in the states and toronto......revenue.....blah....blah....love of the game...........blah........ clearly show your bias and lack of real world experience.

it's a business. the owners have to make money.. it is not some idealized pond hockey where the boys of winter blissfully glide over ice for pride and love of country.

You just don't have an owner like ours.

 

[Adz]

You just don't have an owner like ours.

Probably not. Our owners stepped in when the team was in danger of being moved because they felt it was their civic duty. Some of them had never even been to a hockey game. Like most of the Nashville fans, they grew to love the game via exposure to it and now live and die with the team--financially and emotionally. They have repeatedly stated that the purpose of the ownership group was to keep the Preds in Nashville. Sometimes it takes adversity to make people step up and that's what happened here. I appreciate that group every day and particularly the days I have the pleasure of attending a game at Bridgestone.

 

[Stylizer1]

Probably not. Our owners stepped in when the team was in danger of being moved because they felt it was their civic duty. Some of them had never even been to a hockey game. Like most of the Nashville fans, they grew to love the game via exposure to it and now live and die with the team--financially and emotionally. They have repeatedly stated that the purpose of the ownership group was to keep the Preds in Nashville. Sometimes it takes adversity to make people step up and that's what happened here. I appreciate that group every day and particularly the days I have the pleasure of attending a game at Bridgestone.

Our team was in bankruptcy protection when Eugene Melnyuk stepped in and bought the team. We were one of the elite teams in the league and yet we were bankrupt. Up until last season we were a cap team but had lost too many vital pieces to compete.

It's hard to ask fans to pay for better teams. If the Preds go out and bring in to notch talent and ice a very good team the fans should come. Its not a guarantee but those are the steps to get higher attendance. The Preds have a have a hard working team but fall about 10-15 million short on Star power. In all honesty your first line should be your second. Your D is good and young but without game breakers fans will not be drawn in.

Look at the new owner in Buffalo. Very similar to Nashville just he brought in the cash to back things up. People see that and get excited. People don't get excited by hearing about qualifying for revenue sharing, or having self imposed budgets. This equals "things will get better when we win the lottery".

 

[101st_fan]

Our team was in bankruptcy protection when Eugene Melnyuk stepped in and bought the team. We were one of the elite teams in the league and yet we were bankrupt. Up until last season we were a cap team but had lost too many vital pieces to compete.

It's hard to ask fans to pay for better teams. If the Preds go out and bring in to notch talent and ice a very good team the fans should come. Its not a guarantee but those are the steps to get higher attendance. The Preds have a have a hard working team but fall about 10-15 million short on Star power. In all honesty your first line should be your second. Your D is good and young but without game breakers fans will not be drawn in.

Look at the new owner in Buffalo. Very similar to Nashville just he brought in the cash to back things up. People see that and get excited. People don't get excited by hearing about qualifying for revenue sharing, or having self imposed budgets. This equals "things will get better when we win the lottery".

Spending big and having "name" players didn't fill the barn. For the Preds to spend to the cap without bankrupting the franchise requires increasing paid attendance by over 2000 per game and doing so at a higher average ticket price. Ottawa is a very different market than Nashville and the new owner in Buffalo is willing and able to absorb losses.

 

[Stylizer1]

Spending big and having "name" players didn't fill the barn. For the Preds to spend to the cap without bankrupting the franchise requires increasing paid attendance by over 2000 per game and doing so at a higher average ticket price. Ottawa is a very different market than Nashville and the new owner in Buffalo is willing and able to absorb losses.

No, losing in the first round to San Jose is what didn't fill the barn when people were suggesting that the Preds could go deep. Losing Kariya that off season was the nail in the coffin. Having Kariya for 2 seasons, Forsberg for 17 games doesn't really qualify as spending big but having players on the down side of their careers. Last season the Preds were playing at 94% capacity. This means even if you sell out every game the ownership will not likely spend more. Bridgestone Arena holds 17,113 and you guys averaged 16,142. I think the fans are doing their part.

 

[ThirdManIn]

Gotta love when outsides come around to tell us what's what...

If I were you I wouldn't argue these sorts of things with 101st. He knows a thing or two. Actually, between the years of 2005 and 2007, our best regular seasons, ticket sales didn't rise dramatically. Last season, a year that was good but not our best, we had some of the highest ticket sales the team has seen in its relatively short tenure. In fact, in those years our ticket sales trended nearly the same as years previous, even after we acquired Peter Forsberg. We have always had the fan support. We are now getting back some of the corporate support we lacked. Selling the game here isn't as simple as winning. It's a matter of getting families in. It's a matter of getting young children interested to create a future fan base. It's a matter of getting casual fans to become avid fans. It's a matter of getting those who couldn't care less to care at least a little. Yes, winning helps. No, it doesn't solve those problems. Names do not fix it. This is an area where there aren't quick fixes. Throwing money at the problem ended up forcing our original owner to sell. Do you really want to come around here telling us that the team needs to revisit that route?

I respect your opinion, but when you decide to take on the task of making people look incompetent it helps if those same people haven't been successful. The Bridgestone Arena is one of the busiest arenas in the world. The team has remained competitive even in the face of a salary cap that continues to rise rapidly. The team is in a position where it needs a single piece to fix a hole, meaning it has been built properly. Moves have been made to strengthen the front office. Moves continue to be made to bring in deeper pockets. Let's not start pointing fingers when we shouldn't.

 

[Adz]

Judging from the fan reaction, I think more people come to see Tootoo than ever came to see Kariya. Paul was a star, but you know, Nashville isn't that impressed with stars. They're our next door neighbors and on the PTO with us. They're just people. What impresses us is hard work every night. Wins are nice, too, but the casual fans who come in are excited by the physicality and the other events going on. They usually leaves happy whether we win or lose. In the past I apologized to many folks for bringing them to a loss and they'd look at me like, who cares? Then they tell me how great it was when xxxx happened and proceed to describe something I didn't even see because I was worried they weren't seeing a win. Now I just tell them from the outset that I can't promise anything but there must be some reason I love this game so much so maybe they can figure it out.

 

[token grinder]

No, losing in the first round to San Jose is what didn't fill the barn when people were suggesting that the Preds could go deep. Losing Kariya that off season was the nail in the coffin. Having Kariya for 2 seasons, Forsberg for 17 games doesn't really qualify as spending big but having players on the down side of their careers. Last season the Preds were playing at 94% capacity. This means even if you sell out every game the ownership will not likely spend more. Bridgestone Arena holds 17,113 and you guys averaged 16,142. I think the fans are doing their part.

couple of things:

1) unless someone shows me otherwise, the 94% is not all paid, meaning you aren't using actual dollars generated to fund the team.
2) the Bridge holds more than 17,113 now. I don't know if they have an exact number released, but I know they added at least a hundred seats and maybe more if they do the SRO thing

 

[Stylizer1]

Gotta love when outsides come around to tell us what's what...

If I were you I wouldn't argue these sorts of things with 101st. He knows a thing or two. Actually, between the years of 2005 and 2007, our best regular seasons, ticket sales didn't rise dramatically. Last season, a year that was good but not our best, we had some of the highest ticket sales the team has seen in its relatively short tenure. In fact, in those years our ticket sales trended nearly the same as years previous, even after we acquired Peter Forsberg. We have always had the fan support. We are now getting back some of the corporate support we lacked. Selling the game here isn't as simple as winning. It's a matter of getting families in. It's a matter of getting young children interested to create a future fan base. It's a matter of getting casual fans to become avid fans. It's a matter of getting those who couldn't care less to care at least a little. Yes, winning helps. No, it doesn't solve those problems. Names do not fix it. This is an area where there aren't quick fixes. Throwing money at the problem ended up forcing our original owner to sell. Do you really want to come around here telling us that the team needs to revisit that route?

I respect your opinion, but when you decide to take on the task of making people look incompetent it helps if those same people haven't been successful. The Bridgestone Arena is one of the busiest arenas in the world. The team has remained competitive even in the face of a salary cap that continues to rise rapidly. The team is in a position where it needs a single piece to fix a hole, meaning it has been built properly. Moves have been made to strengthen the front office. Moves continue to be made to bring in deeper pockets. Let's not start pointing fingers when we shouldn't.

Big name players put up big time points. That is what the preds are missing to become a great team. Kariya was a great player but he was surrounded by role players.

Last season The preds were clearly lacking scoring. You can't have a team full of 15-20 goal scorers and expect them to step it up in the playoffs especially in the west. It doesn't happen. You need a work horse on offense who makes the players around him elevate their games. Nashville was one of the lowest scoring teams in the west last season and only made the playoffs by a few points. You can't keep having a team who drafts mid range, just makes the playoffs, go out in the first 2 rounds and expect Fans to flood the seats. It's either you can afford to run the team or you can't.

Like I said before I got banned from this page Weber is an elite Dman, the kind you build around, but I don't think he is confident in the management. That's why he is asking for a crazy amount on his contract. I don't think he hates Nashville but when I said that he wants to play in a hockey market it's because there is the support from the fans and management to win at all costs. Sorry I have a different opinion on him but it is still my opinion. Nashville is missing elite players plain and simple. Fisher was a glorified 3rd liner on a bad team when he was in ottawa and you traded a first and a third for the guy. Great move for us not so much for a team looking for a boost.

Looks like the Preds will only be able to budget around the players they already have because many will be due for a raise. Kostitsyn, Suter, Rinne, Weber will be getting more money next season. Where's the room to improve the team? Ottawa had a budget too before the cap and we drafted very good to the point were we had to trade away players like Hossa, Havlat, Yashin because of the money. We let Chara walk and still made the finals.

You can say I don' know Nashville but I know hockey.

 

[roseyc]

Big name players put up big time points. That is what the preds are missing to become a great team. Kariya was a great player but he was surrounded by role players.

Last season The preds were clearly lacking scoring. You can't have a team full of 15-20 goal scorers and expect them to step it up in the playoffs especially in the west. It doesn't happen. You need a work horse on offense who makes the players around him elevate their games. Nashville was one of the lowest scoring teams in the west last season and only made the playoffs by a few points. You can't keep having a team who drafts mid range, just makes the playoffs, go out in the first 2 rounds and expect Fans to flood the seats. It's either you can afford to run the team or you can't.

Like I said before I got banned from this page Weber is an elite Dman, the kind you build around, but I don't think he is confident in the management. That's why he is asking for a crazy amount on his contract. I don't think he hates Nashville but when I said that he wants to play in a hockey market it's because there is the support from the fans and management to win at all costs. Sorry I have a different opinion on him but it is still my opinion. Nashville is missing elite players plain and simple. Fisher was a glorified 3rd liner on a bad team when he was in ottawa and you traded a first and a third for the guy. Great move for us not so much for a team looking for a boost.

Looks like the Preds will only be able to budget around the players they already have because many will be due for a raise. Kostitsyn, Suter, Rinne, Weber will be getting more money next season. Where's the room to improve the team? Ottawa had a budget too before the cap and we drafted very good to the point were we had to trade away players like Hossa, Havlat, Yashin because of the money. We let Chara walk and still made the finals.

You can say I don' know Nashville but I know hockey.

Some of your points are valid but some aren't. We do lack an elite scorer and at some point we are going to address it real soon. The reason we don't is because we have overcome to this point with less. Give us a break we just won our first series and even though we looked pathetic scoring in the Van series that series was two goals and horrible officiating from us taking that series. So like it or not we shut down the top scoring line in NHL last year and then the doubts of Sedins never recovered to their level. Fisher did what we needed in the playoffs for us. He gave us experience in the lockerroom that can't be measured on the stat sheet. Far your Ottawa team for all the talent that you had you made it one final. Your team couldn't beat the Devils and mainly what I notice that your management never recognized the importance of top goalie. Think about it you had Alferedson and Hossa and Havlet and Spezza and Yashin and young Chara. That team should have been a mini dynasty but the chemistry always failed them and never won a cup and that was before the salary cap and now your starting over.

 

[101st_fan]

Big name players put up big time points. That is what the preds are missing to become a great team. Kariya was a great player but he was surrounded by role players.

Last season The preds were clearly lacking scoring. You can't have a team full of 15-20 goal scorers and expect them to step it up in the playoffs especially in the west. It doesn't happen. You need a work horse on offense who makes the players around him elevate their games. Nashville was one of the lowest scoring teams in the west last season and only made the playoffs by a few points. You can't keep having a team who drafts mid range, just makes the playoffs, go out in the first 2 rounds and expect Fans to flood the seats. It's either you can afford to run the team or you can't.

Like I said before I got banned from this page Weber is an elite Dman, the kind you build around, but I don't think he is confident in the management. That's why he is asking for a crazy amount on his contract. I don't think he hates Nashville but when I said that he wants to play in a hockey market it's because there is the support from the fans and management to win at all costs. Sorry I have a different opinion on him but it is still my opinion. Nashville is missing elite players plain and simple. Fisher was a glorified 3rd liner on a bad team when he was in ottawa and you traded a first and a third for the guy. Great move for us not so much for a team looking for a boost.

Looks like the Preds will only be able to budget around the players they already have because many will be due for a raise. Kostitsyn, Suter, Rinne, Weber will be getting more money next season. Where's the room to improve the team? Ottawa had a budget too before the cap and we drafted very good to the point were we had to trade away players like Hossa, Havlat, Yashin because of the money. We let Chara walk and still made the finals.

You can say I don' know Nashville but I know hockey.

From your posts I can unequivocally state that you don't know the financial realities of hockey in Nashville. Your approach would have the same result for Nashville that it had in Ottawa .... bankruptcy.

The Predators lacked scoring in one area ... 5on4. Ottawa lacked scoring last season with 23 fewer goals than the Preds. The Preds are one of four teams with 40+ wins every season since the lockout. Your Sens can't say the same thing. I suggest applying your cookie cutter, generalization filled "logic" to your Sens.

 

[Stylizer1]

Some of your points are valid but some aren't. We do lack an elite scorer and at some point we are going to address it real soon. The reason we don't is because we have overcome to this point with less. Give us a break we just won our first series and even though we looked pathetic scoring in the Van series that series was two goals and horrible officiating from us taking that series. So like it or not we shut down the top scoring line in NHL last year and then the doubts of Sedins never recovered to their level. Fisher did what we needed in the playoffs for us. He gave us experience in the lockerroom that can't be measured on the stat sheet. Far your Ottawa team for all the talent that you had you made it one final. Your team couldn't beat the Devils and mainly what I notice that your management never recognized the importance of top goalie. Think about it you had Alferedson and Hossa and Havlet and Spezza and Yashin and young Chara. That team should have been a mini dynasty but the chemistry always failed them and never won a cup and that was before the salary cap and now your starting over.

We had a young Spezza, young Havlat and Yashin was long traded away. We got Chara and Spezza in the Yashin deal. Hossa we flipped for Heatley. Havlat was a salary dump because he out priced himself.

 

[Stylizer1]

From your posts I can unequivocally state that you don't know the financial realities of hockey in Nashville. Your approach would have the same result for Nashville that it had in Ottawa .... bankruptcy.

The Predators lacked scoring in one area ... 5on4. Ottawa lacked scoring last season with 23 fewer goals than the Preds. The Preds are one of four teams with 40+ wins every season since the lockout. Your Sens can't say the same thing. I suggest applying your cookie cutter, generalization filled "logic" to your Sens.

Wrong. The reason we went bankrupt is because the Canadian Dollar at worth 65 cents to the American. We built an elite team through the draft and were the model franchise for the NHL from 98-06. Salaries and poor drafting(different management/Low draft picks) caught up to us. We had better teams than the one that went to the finals it just that when we traded for Heatley it gave us the most dominant line in the league which hid many of the other wholes.

40+ wins a season is great but that's all you can hang your hat on. How does this team get 50 wins with the same roster and win a few rounds?

 

[101st_fan]

Wrong. The reason we went bankrupt is because the Canadian Dollar at worth 65 cents to the American. We built an elite team through the draft and were the model franchise for the NHL from 98-06. Salaries and poor drafting(different management/Low draft picks) caught up to us. We had better teams than the one that went to the finals it just that when we traded for Heatley it gave us the most dominant line in the league which hid many of the other wholes.

40+ wins a season is great but that's all you can hang your hat on. How does this team get 50 wins with the same roster and win a few rounds?

The Preds have won 50+ in a season. How is your model working for the Sens with, what, 2 missed post seasons in the past three seasons and fewer goals scored than the Preds? If you're going to preach, have a position that supports you.

It doesn't matter if the reason why you're not taking in enough money to spend to the cap is the exchange rate or little things like the lease setting a max average ticket price in a comparatively small market .... a team can only spend what it can afford without risking the health of the franchise. Your pontification neglects that very simple truth. Good day.

 

[Predatorbill]

If the Preds begin to sell out every game at our current ticket prices the owners would be able to spend closer to the cap without losing money. That's the goal, but first they need to focus on selling out half of the games.

1,000 tickets/game * $100/game (too high)* 41games = 4.1 million

should be closer to 2.5-3million

It doesn't help as much as we think

 

[101st_fan]

1,000 tickets/game * $100/game (too high)* 41games = 4.1 million

should be closer to 2.5-3million

It doesn't help as much as we think

An additional 1300 seats at a more realistic $48per comes out to just over $2.5mil more in gate revenue. Boosting the average price per paid ticket a couple of dollars would help the bottom line more, but right now the deals are part of the strategy to get paying customers in the door.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Concessions, merchandise, and parking should be factored in as well.

 

[predfan98]

imo, the biggest thing that happens when you have 2,000 more season ticket holders than we've had in the past has to do with corporate spending and sponsorships and advertising.
You have more demand, you have more money coming from advertising in the arena, more corporate spending, more buzz in the community...... tickets are in demand for corporate customers...... and so on demand grows and grows.....and so do ticket prices, suite prices, etc.

 

[101st_fan]

Concessions, merchandise, and parking should be factored in as well.

Parking and concessions are percentages only and rather volatile to predict without insider numbers.

 

[cleangene63]

I will veer off the subject to get back on the subject of this thread to ask if anyone's seeing any type of "leadership" from our Captain during the informal workouts?? It sounds like Leggy has taken over the role left by Sully and J.P., but can anyone who has watched seen a "different" Shea than last pre-season???

 

[AEM6729]

Also bringing it back to Weber here...I heard from a very, very reliable source recently that when it comes to his short-term contract Shea was more concerned with Suter and Rinne than he was with bringing in an offensive superstar, and that the main reason he didn't sign a long-term deal this summer is because he didn't want to get locked in only to see Suter and Rinne leave.

To me that's great to hear. It seems like it would be much easier to lock up Suter and Rinne than it would be to deliver Parise (or whoever) on a silver platter. If the three of them want to stay together, we can make that happen.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

That makes the most sense. Any word on how he would feel if say Suter was signed but Rinne left? Would he sign then or wait to see how they spent the money after?

 

[pekkaslap]

Kindof scary that it could be all or nothing. If Suter and/or Rinne decide to test FA next summer and bolt, that means Weber is gone in all likelyhood. Yuck. Did Poile really say they weren't talking contract with Suter or Rinne until after the season? That seems completely idiotic.