SWOT Analysis - Opportunities for the Nashville Predators

by Dirk Hoag on Feb 17, 2010 4:33 PM EST

Our four-part analysis on the state of the Nashville Predators moves now to the environment within which the team operates, and the positive external factors that help them succeed in the NHL.

There is still time to contribute to our lists of the team's internal strengths and weaknesses, in case you're just jumping on board with this exercise. As you'll find after the jump, what we're aiming to assemble here is an all-around view of the Preds' situation, to get a better handle on where the team needs to head in the weeks and years ahead...

What is SWOT Analysis?

SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Oppportunities, Threats) is a common tool used in the business world to assess an operating group and the environment within which it operates, in order to determine what steps are needed to help that organization achieve its goals. Just as one applies this tool to a factory or a sales force, it can be used with a hockey team as well.

Opportunities

We've previously looked at the internal strengths and weaknesses of the team, and as I mentioned, I highly recommend you head over to those discussions and contribute to the list. Over the weekend, I'll bring all four points together into a single picture that should serve as the jumping-off point for a dialogue on what the Predators should do in the near- and long-term future.

For today, then, I ask you to consider the Opportunities that the Predators can take advantage of to better pursue a Stanley Cup. I'll start you off with a pair of suggestions:

Older AHL players with extensive professional experience may well prove to be a viable, affordable source of "role players" to complement the core personnel who command the majority of the payroll (i.e. Joel Ward).
W. Brett Wilson - the Calgary entrepreneur has often been touted as a potential member of the ownership group once the "Boots" Del Biaggio bankruptcy ever gets cleared up. That could help shore up the finacial strength of the organization considerably.

So chime in, folks. What factors out there offer a chance to help the Nashville Predators succeed?

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Nashville as an opportunity

Nashville’s youth movement should be mentioned here. It may seem like something that won’t pay off in the short term, but it has to be getting close because I’ve heard more about high school hockey in 2010 than I have since I moved to Middle TN in 1998.
I like how baseball uses “Little League” to keep children’s interest in the game. If a league can bring their teams to a game or two, the chances of those kids asking their parents to bring them back are pretty good. The “Tweens” are emerging as the most influential generation in history, so the Preds should do their due diligence to keep children in the seats and their parents(Gen Xers) and grandparents(Baby Boomers) dishing out the dollars.
Demographics is a major part of marketing, and, I don’t mean to be offensive, there are a lot of African-Americans in the south. My neighbor, who is an older black man, locked himself out of the house the other day, so he knocked on my door, and I let him in while he tried to find someone to let him in. This was while the Preds v. Pens game was on TV, so we watched some hockey together. When he saw Joel Ward on the ice he seemed impressed that the Preds had a black player. My point is this: Why not put Joel Ward in some of those United Way commercials? I’m not saying that he should be exploited for some Preds dollars, but the more people see how diverse our team(and a lot of hockey teams for that matter) is, the more diverse our fan base can become. Ward’s story is a great story, and you don’t have to be black to appreciate him, but people that don’t care as much about hockey(i.e. the African-American demographic) could see that and suddenly decide they need to check out what all the fuss is about.
As far as the AHL goes, I think that should fall into the strength category, but sometimes I wonder if the team relies on the farm team a little too much. I don’t know too much about the roster, but who besides Arnot and Sullivan aren’t home grown talent?
The local media is another opportunity, but, to jump on the “criticize 104.5” bandwagon, I can’t believe they dropped Jim Rome for ANOTHER LOCAL CALL-IN SHOW. Luckily they moved the “Hockey Zone” show to a different time slot instead of washing it out all together. If the media can’t get on board AND KEEP IT UP(George Plaster) then all we may have to look forward to is UT gossip, Lipscomb v. Belmont, and BGA football.

by NikoliVoltron on Feb 17, 2010 9:43 PM EST reply actions

An excellent point

Just look at how Nashville is growing as a city. I’ll have to find the link, but in the discussions about public transit that are starting to get underway, I read a projection that said the metropolitan Nashville area is supposed to roughly double in population over the next 25-40 years. That’s a nice tailwind to have with you as a business here, and quite a difference from Detroit, where I grew up, which has been steadily heading in the opposite direction.

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Feb 17, 2010 11:06 PM EST up reply actions

And by the way, thanks for joining the site!

More fun than a stick to the face!
On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators.

by Dirk Hoag on Feb 17, 2010 11:07 PM EST up reply actions

I think they do a pretty good amount of marketing centered around Joel.

by Sam Page on Feb 18, 2010 12:06 AM EST up reply actions

not to contradict what you said

but they do put him on the billboards and signs along side Weber and Suter.

by Sam Page on Feb 18, 2010 12:12 AM EST up reply actions

opportunities

i think the older ahl players has merit, and certainly never occured to me. i actually thought the p/u of scatchard was useless at the time , but liked what he brought to the preds. exploring that avenue would seem to run parallel to the type of deadline move we often consider and poile has mentioned for this year. a face off guy that can kill penalties. they are cheap and usually very short term so not to logjam the up and coming youth. never know what you will find. i would hate to see our team the last 2 seasons w/o ward.

by predswilrule on Feb 17, 2010 10:13 PM EST reply actions