It’s no wonder the Predators lost a heartbreaker of a game last night to the San Jose Sharks. After all, they were going up against the defending President’s Trophy winners in San Jose. And, according to Forbes, three Sharks in particular played a large part in winning that particular piece of NHL hardware last season.
In an article titled “Moneypuck,” by Peter J. Schwartz, it states:
Last season, Boyle made the All-Star team. Boyle, Thornton and Heatley were big reasons the Sharks won the President's Trophy for the best record in the league last year. The Sharks were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks, but are again considered a contender for the Cup this season.
Sure Boyle, Thornton, and Heatley were good last season, but Schwartzy is totally forgetting the contributions Patrick Kane, Marty Turco, and Mats Sundin made to that President’s Trophy run. What about Scotty Bowman’s coaching job Pete? The stars get all of the headlines, but it is the glue guys that really make the difference between success and failure in the NHL. Guys like Craig Conroy and Vern Fiddler really were the Shark’s unsung heroes in 08-09.
And all this time I thought Dany Heatley was busy penning part two in his series, “Things aren’t going my way, so I want out – The Dany Heatley Story.”
Was it me, or wasn’t Heatley in Canada’s capital last season lamenting the fact that he was, sniff, sniff, demoted from the team’s first power play unit to the second under head coach Cory Clouston? After the team started last season17-24-7, then head coach Craig Hartsburg was shown the door and Clouston brought in from the Sen’s farm team in Binghamton.
Maybe, just maybe, Clouston knows what he is doing behind an NHL bench. Under his guidance, the team finished last season 19-11-4, and is 8-5-2 so far this season. Anyway, following the season Heatley demanded a trade and after rejecting one to Edmonton, agreed to be sent to San Jose in a trade that was completed September 12th.
All this brings us back to Forbes and their spot-on reporting.
They announced their annual NHL Team Valuations Special Report Wednesday. The Nashville Predators were ranked 27th in value, finishing ahead of the New York Islanders, Atlanta Thrashers, and Phoenix Coyotes. 
Nashville’s valuation was pegged at $156 million, a decrease of five percent from last year. There are numerous other figures posted in the piece, but there is no evidence given to support any of them, so as far as the numbers are concerned, I wouldn’t believe any of it. That is unless they gave Predators President of Business Operations Ed Lang a call and asked him to open up the books for them that is, they are Forbes you know. They threw the colorful pie chart on there to make you think their information is credible.
Where I went to business school, we had to rely on actual data before coming to any kind of conclusions such as Forbes developed.
The narrative included in the piece is also somewhat fuzzy in its accuracy. Included in the narrative is a statement that said, “The rumor mill is buzzing that the owners are looking to sell the team, which has sizeable debt and has had a hard time attracting season ticket holders.”
Way to go to the rumor mill card Forbes. Hockey’s rumor mill has been ever so reliable over the years, so I think they are safe reporting something that is not only in the rumor mill, but something that has that rumor mill buzzing.
That’s hard-hitting journalism folks.
Comments
We're doing our best Jim. See when we go about researching an article of this nature we ask all 30 NHL teams to open their books up so we can give a correct analysis. The problem is not one team accepted our request.
During this past lockout the NHLPA and there lawyers wanted NHL clubs to open their books up to determine how much money they were earning. Zero teams accepted this request back then, even when they were proposing the NHLPA and the league become partners. What a great partner the NHL and its owners are...they offer a partnership where they get to see all the others earnings, yet won't show the same.
So in closing, we really tried our best this year Jim. It's just no NHL club wants to provide us with data. But if you really think we're that off the mark about Nashville, a team that loses $20 million a season, draws under 13,000 fans a night and has owners activly looking for investment or buyer (wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Brett_Wilson), then wed love to hear your take.
2 of the 3 closing remarks are wrong there mr. forbes writer. and they were researchable w/o opening any books.
All I can say right now is wow. A response to "Forbes writers" will be forthcoming in a new article. There is no way I could do it in 1,000 characters or less here in the comments section. Again, wow.
Wow Forbes Writer - really? First the days of the 20 million per year loss are in years past. The last 2 years have seen the club make money or break even. This year they are on track to do the same with paid attendance ahead of last year's figures. Are you really going with a wikipedia article to support your sale rumor? How about a comment from the owner of the team. I cant post a link, but the principle owner of the club stated today in the Tennessean that the team is not for sale.
Weak journalism.
Wow indeed. Brett Wilson doesn't want to buy the team. He wants to invest in the portion of the club that has found itself in bankruptcy court... oh and he and Freeman are partners in other ventures. They own a soccer club together for example. That really is weak journalism. I'm very glad to hear the team isn't for sale. I would have to move if the Preds did.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment predswilrule, Jennifer Graham, and Amanda. Reader feedback is very important to me, and this page is better when readers like you lend your voices.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!