The Predators start shedding talent...

Timmonen and Hartnell become Flyers - in exchange for that very same 1st rnd pick that they gave Philly in order to aquire Forsberg.

Looks to me like Jim Balsillie is making sure his team doesn't get the 14,000 in attendance required by the contract to keep them in Nashville.

If they let Kariya go elsewhere you'll know that the team is serious about tanking it for a high pick/and or looking to ensure a smooth ride out of town on the way towards Southern Ontario.

Next up we can watch as JB negotiates his way towards getting his team placed in Hamilton or Kitchener/Waterloo.

Hamilton looks to have the inside track despite the fact that JB would in theory have to pay territory fees to Toronto and Buffalo. I say 'in theory' because we are already seeing him lay the groundwork for a lawsuit on unfair competition grounds against having to pay anybody anything more than he already has.

Will the Governors have the guts to stop him by voting against his approval as owner of the team knowing his desire to move it to S.Ontario?

Here's my two cents worth;

- I think JB essentially got the word out to Bettman and Co. when he surfaced in talks to buy the Penguins that he wanted a team, and that he wanted to move that team to Ontario.

- I think Bettman used JB and his big bucks to get Lemieux the leverage he needed to ensure an arena deal.

- The payback for JB is that he gets to buy the Predators (at an inflated price).

- I also think that all the talk about Winnipeg was A - smokescreen, and B - a trial balloon for investors to consider in the event another team comes up for sale (i.e. Florida Panthers). In effect, Bettman is laying the groundwork to move a team (not the Predators) to Winnipeg in the future.

I also have to admit, it seems totally bizarre to me that we are seeing the same tactics as previously went down in Winnipeg, Quebec and elsewhere, but in reverse.

Instead of Norm Green buying up the North Stars so he can make a bundle by moving them to Dallas, we have a guy wanting to buy up a struggling team in Nashville and move them to Ontario!

Poetic Justice. Unless you live in Winnipeg or Quebec.