Predators owner-to-be puts sale of team in jeopardy

	Self-fulfilling prophecy: Crowds are likely to be sparse next season if Jim Balsillie buys the team. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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In the time it's taken to write this sentence, Research In Motion CEO Jim Balsillie has forgotten more about the art of negotiation than I've ever known. Granted, I pulled a C in the one finance course I took in university, so that's hardly bold praise. But the point is that when it comes to business, the would-be owner of the Nashville Predators is a pretty smart guy.

So why isn't he acting like one?

The news that Balsillie has entered into a deal to move the Nashville Predators to the Southwestern Ontario city of Hamilton sounds like a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. Except in this case, the horse's parents haven't even been introduced yet, and the wood for the cart is still part of a tree that is growing in some forest.

Despite the assertions of his representatives -- as recently as Tuesday -- that he has no intention of moving the Preds, Balsillie stunned the Nashville faithful -- along with the NHL's head office -- with the Hamilton deal, then compounded that shock with plans to take deposits on season tickets starting today.

Even though the deposits are refundable, they require a leap of faith on the part of Hamilton's ticket buyers. It's not just that there's no guarantee that an NHL team will move to the Steel City. The man taking those deposits doesn't yet own an NHL team. At this point all Balsillie has is an agreement to purchase the Preds from current owner Craig Leipold. That's a big step in the process, but it's just one of many that Balsillie has yet to take. His actions are making the successful completion of that deal less likely by the day.

Balsillie's short-term goal seems fairly transparent. He's heard the broken-hearted hockey fans of Nashville pledging never to buy another ticket if he purchases the team. By slapping them in the face before he takes a single step to try and build on a good local base, it's clear that he wants to give them every possible reason to abandon ship.

Of course, a large drop in attendance is exactly what Balsillie needs to exercise the option to void the team's arena lease and allow the franchise to leave Nashville as soon as the end of next season.