Ownership problems won’t affect Predators payroll

From John Glennon of the Tennessean:

Predators General Manager David Poile has reassuring words for fans concerned with how Nashville’s current unsettled ownership situation could impact the team on the ice.

William “Boots” Del Biaggio III, who owned 27 percent of the team, declared bankruptcy Friday after he was targeted by numerous multimillion dollar lawsuits.

The team’s other owners have been exploring the purchase of Del Biaggio’s interest or finding another investor to replace him.

“It’s obviously a situation you wish didn’t happen, but it has nothing to do with the payroll,” Poile said. “I’m not really versed in where you go from here. But Boots already had his (ownership) money in to the league and it’s not going anywhere. So as far as the payroll, I don’t feel it’s going to have any effect.”

Read the entire article here.

This is good news for Predators fans. The team has to re-sign Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, Dan Ellis and others this summer so money will be an issue. So long as this ownership problem does not change the team’s make-up for next season, the Predators should continue moving in the right direction.