The Lockout was actually a Gift

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Reasons why the lockout was worth it:

• I saved 42% of my season ticket holder cost.
• As of our game on January 19th, we’re tied for 1st with 48 games to go.
• Preds will give more discounts and perks for the rest of the year for repentance.
• They are less likely to raise ticket prices next year.
• The Cap is coming down to $64.3mm next year, making it more affordable to be a Cap Team without having to buy-out or trade talent to get down to the Cap.
• New profit-sharing and 50-50 revenue split makes our franchise more financially stable, thus ensuring we have NHL hockey for generations.
• Full Pred interest doesn’t usually heat up in Smashville until after college football and NFL seasons are over. New start dates kicks in right when Nashville sports fans kick in. Beautiful.
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Crappy Titan season coupled with no hockey = nothing to root for. Like George Bailey, we’ve been given a wonderful gift: To see what the world would be like without Pred hockey. Atta boy, Clarence.

So let’s park the bitterness and see the upside of all this. Both the franchise and fans are financially stronger right now, and small market teams will benefit the most from this deal. Less salary inflation, more ownership profits, less pressure to raise ticket prices to chase wild salary cap levels to remain competitive.

What do you think?

Click to read more...

 

[Top 6 Spaling]

I wouldn't go as far as "gift", but yes, there were advantages for us. I do think you'll see our attendance number go up, even with all the anger at the lockout, because our strong games are always after the new year anyways. We took out our weakest stretch, and everyone who has mini packs and such will be compressing their games into this chunk.

Still, it wasn't necessary or worth it. Would rather have had the full year.

 

[Paisano*]

Here's another gift, you guys get the Bluejackets on opening night. http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/blogs/puck-rakers/2013/01/opener-in-nashville.html

 

[101st_fan]

A gift? Far from it. This is a deal both sides should have come to months ago ... but the end result does have some benefits for the Preds. The increased amount of shared revenue could help.

The new wrinkles of cap hit recapture and salary cap trades are going to take some serious examination and explanation to see if they hold any future benefit.

 

[KevFist]

I'm just ready to drop the damn puck!

 

[Jarnberg]

How is it a gift? We did alot towards getting the town as excited about this sport then we ever have. A decent playoff run and alot of sell outs (for us) last year. That all just went down the drain. Hopefully it doesn't set us back too much....

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

How is it a gift? We did alot towards getting the town as excited about this sport then we ever have. A decent playoff run and alot of sell outs (for us) last year. That all just went down the drain. Hopefully it doesn't set us back too much....

How is it down the drain? Granted, they should have come up with this CBA in the Summer and started the season on time. Like with most negotiations that really matter with two sides having somewhat equal leverage, it has to get to a breaking point to force both sides to believe their concessions are better than the ultimate alternative: Losing the Season and $3.3b. If fans were excited about the Oct-Dec games based on the last two years under this ownership group, why won't they be excited going to more meaningful Jan-Apr games? This is usually the time of year things get exciting and people focus in. Think of it like an NBA game. If you watch the 4th quarter, that's all that really matters. If you are an NBA fan, you like the 1st three quarters, but if you turned on the game, and it was tie going into the 4th, you're lovin' it. Full seasons are necessary and I love watching 82 games, but even as a huge hockey fan, a Tuesday night in November against the Oilers doesn't get me jazzed. Put that game in February when we're in the playoff hunt, and it might as well be a playoff game. Bitterness as a weapon to punish someone/thing you love because you want to send them a message never gets you a positive result. Owners/Players needed to improve the CBA so franchises like Nashville can be profitable and the best players in the world play in the NHL because it's the highest paying league in the world. They achieved that, at a cost of 34 less meaningful games. Somehow people believe things should just happen because they want them to. There was a lot at stake here, we lost games, but the outcome was worth the sacrifice. It was never an option to get the result without the sacrifice. In Utopia it may work that way, but in business, there is almost always sacrifice in negotiations. Lets reap the benefits going forward and look at the lose as a reasonable concession to get what we now have.

 

[Jarnberg]

How is it down the drain? Granted, they should have come up with this CBA in the Summer and started the season on time. Like with most negotiations that really matter with two sides having somewhat equal leverage, it has to get to a breaking point to force both sides to believe their concessions are better than the ultimate alternative: Losing the Season and $3.3b. If fans were excited about the Oct-Dec games based on the last two years under this ownership group, why won't they be excited going to more meaningful Jan-Apr games? This is usually the time of year things get exciting and people focus in. Think of it like an NBA game. If you watch the 4th quarter, that's all that really matters. If you are an NBA fan, you like the 1st three quarters, but if you turned on the game, and it was tie going into the 4th, you're lovin' it. Full seasons are necessary and I love watching 82 games, but even as a huge hockey fan, a Tuesday night in November against the Oilers doesn't get me jazzed. Put that game in February when we're in the playoff hunt, and it might as well be a playoff game. Bitterness as a weapon to punish someone/thing you love because you want to send them a message never gets you a positive result. Owners/Players needed to improve the CBA so franchises like Nashville can be profitable and the best players in the world play in the NHL because it's the highest paying league in the world. They achieved that, at a cost of 34 less meaningful games. Somehow people believe things should just happen because they want them to. There was a lot at stake here, we lost games, but the outcome was worth the sacrifice. It was never an option to get the result without the sacrifice. In Utopia it may work that way, but in business, there is almost always sacrifice in negotiations. Lets reap the benefits going forward and look at the lose as a reasonable concession to get what we now have.

I disagree. All the people I've spoken with have either canceled tickets or won't be renewing because of the fiasco that our league is.

I think we take a big step back attendance wise. Especially if/when we have a bad season this year.

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

I disagree. All the people I've spoken with have either canceled tickets or won't be renewing because of the fiasco that our league is.

I think we take a big step back attendance wise. Especially if/when we have a bad season this year.

That may be true and certainly their right, but what good comes from it? They are depriving themselves of a game they loved enough to buy the tickets in the first place. Holding on to that resentment hurts them more than it hurts their target: The NHL & The Preds. If we average 1K less this year because 1K people do this, then league revenues will be less, the salary cap will be less, players will be paid less, and owners will make less or lose more. It's not going to close the league down. But for the 1K people who stopped doing something they previously loved to do, they lose big time. And when does the punishment period end? Reg season? Playoffs? Next year? Never? I don't know. I just wish we could learn to forgive people (in this case the players & owners), accept apologies, and re-engage. If the peeps who can't find it in them to forgive the league, I hope they don't meet the same fate when they screw up and innocent people get hurt and don't forgive them. Some people call that "accountability". To me it's just a cold place.

 

[Drake744]

I realize that it's hard to say that this frustrating, seemingly pointless lockout was a "gift", but I get what he's saying. It DOES save a lot of money. It DOES benefit teams like the Preds in the long run. There IS merit to the fact that casual sports fans in town don't pay much attention to the Preds until the new year (although last year the Titans went 9-7 and we still had great attendance all season). It IS true that the Titans suck and people are probably ready to embrace a winner. Also, say what you want, but even though the NHL isn't the main sport in town, I think the Preds have a reputation of quite frankly being the only team we have that wins fairly consistently.

I'm not concerned about the attendance issue. Yeah, the PR department will have a lot of face-saving to do but from the standpoint of people in seats I think it'll be fine. IMO there's a good mix in town of A.) die hard fans that just want their Preds back, B.) Fans that want to go because they enjoy it, but don't follow the NHL enough to be bitter over the lockout, and C.) casual people who just want to do something and go out and have fun. None of those groups will be boycotting the league anytime soon.

Gift? Not so much
Advantages? Sure

 

[adsfan]

I think that fewer games against DRW is bad! The Preds have taken it to those geezers the last few seasons.

 

[sparkle twin]

I'm not concerned about the attendance issue. Yeah, the PR department will have a lot of face-saving to do but from the standpoint of people in seats I think it'll be fine. IMO there's a good mix in town of A.) die hard fans that just want their Preds back, B.) Fans that want to go because they enjoy it, but don't follow the NHL enough to be bitter over the lockout, and C.) casual people who just want to do something and go out and have fun. None of those groups will be boycotting the league anytime soon.

I am worried about the attendance but the fact that the news channels and even the Tennessean (shocking I know) have had stories every day is putting the team back in peoples minds.

The Preds have a bowling event on the 14th. It was already scheduled before the end of the lockout but now that it's over the PR department should be pushing this pretty hard. I don't know if any players will actually be there but it's still an event by the Predators.

I think the Preds office will be creative in what they do for casual fans and season ticket holders to get them to come back and for more than one game. I worry about the weeknight games.

Also, ever since the lockout end was announced I have seen more and more people wearing their Preds gear again. It just seems like there is a new buzz about the Preds again.

 

[Drake744]

I am worried about the attendance but the fact that the news channels and even the Tennessean (shocking I know) have had stories every day is putting the team back in peoples minds.

The Preds have a bowling event on the 14th. It was already scheduled before the end of the lockout but now that it's over the PR department should be pushing this pretty hard. I don't know if any players will actually be there but it's still an event by the Predators.

I think the Preds office will be creative in what they do for casual fans and season ticket holders to get them to come back and for more than one game. I worry about the weeknight games.

Also, ever since the lockout end was announced I have seen more and more people wearing their Preds gear again. It just seems like there is a new buzz about the Preds again.

Exactly. I think this city has embraced the team so much that it's gonna take a lot for the team to start getting overlooked. I think the fans just wanna see their Preds again....finally. We aren't "traditional" enough hockey fans to throw it away and be bitter about the way this went down. We just want it back.

 

[Marty Party]

Season ticket prices went up from last August. It appears they went up a buck or two for each seating level.

Went to the arena today to watch the practice and it looked like there were a few more seats that needed owners than back in August.

At the end of practice there were a lot of people at the ticket windows and kiosks asking about tickets which was good to see.

I'd say there were a few thousand people there today.

 

[sighthndlady]

Add into the mix both Vandy and UT are having unimpressive BB seasons so far, and the Preds should draw pretty well.

We also have some advantage over many of the other NHL teams because our roster and even our line combinations are pretty much set. We should be ready to hit the ice running on Saturday instead of still trying to figure out who's on the team and who they mesh with.

 

[ninetynine*]

Weber got a guaranteed $13,000,000 signing bonus without playing until January...and even then only 48 games assuming he doesn't get injured.