Since making the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017, the Nashville Predators have not even come close to reaching that level. They have won a single playoff series despite showing up to the dance several times, and in some years they have been downright bad, all as a result of poor front office decisions.
This has understandably led to fan frustration and apathy over the years, and the biggest thing people have become upset by is constant mediocrity and being stuck in mud. Many of those fans have pointed to ownership as a huge reason why, as they have hardly said or done anything to address the poor state of the team.
Even when making a GM change, they immediately hired Barry Trotz -- a former head coach and organizational icon -- instead of conducting a real search. It has not yielded positive results so far and only contributed to more distrust among the fanbase.
Recently, however, the Predators made a move to make Nick Saban -- the former legendary college football head coach -- a minority owner in the organization. He may not provide much in terms of pure hockey operations, but his winning experience while coaching could be an invaluable asset for this ownership group.
Nick Saban is joining Nashville Predators to actually build legitimacy
Let's get one thing right here -- Saban is not just joining the Predators to collect more money or fame, he has more than enough of both of those things. He is joining the organization because he wants to build something and more importantly, contribute to it.
Even if he does not know enough about hockey to provide much insight on any actual hockey moves, he certainly knows what is acceptable when it comes to building a winner. And more importantly, he knows what is not acceptable when it comes to building a winner, which is where the Predators could use some help.
Saban is not just going to tolerate mediocre results from now on, and if he keeps seeing that throughout his ownership, he will push for changes. Even with the reports of Barry Trotz having some runway in his job, Saban knows the team really has gone nowhere recently, and will put some heat on Trotz if things do not change soon.
Now, one area where Saban's ownership could hurt the Predators is how used he is to winning, in the sense that he may only want to see moves that directly to being a contending team.
Many Predators fans have rightfully complained over the years that this team has wrongly refused to rebuild, so that is where the front office would have to convince him and the rest of ownership of a real direction should they look to rebuild.
Some might also look to a guy like Barry Trotz having a winning track record and being part of the Predators, and it not contributing to winning now. The difference is that Saban is in ownership, and ultimately everything in professional sports stems from the top down.
The biggest thing for him, Bill Haslam, and the rest of ownership will be them putting the right hockey people in charge, and not meddling in hockey operations like many other owners do.
Who knows if this actually translates to winning, but the bottom line is that when you look at a guy like Saban, you automatically respect him because of his accomplishments. He truly exemplifies legitimacy, culture, winning, and all of that, and bringing his experience to the Predators can only be a good thing.