One Huge Caveat

Included in the tape of the season opener was the press conference with Mario and the new owner. My initial gut reaction was: Wow, if only there were an arena already built.

Because here is everything I liked about the man behind Blackberries. He was smart and articulate. He was no-nonsense, blunt, and direct. More importantly than those character traits, however, he was so excited to be purchasing the Penguins. He really, really, really wanted a hockey team. Even more so than really, really, really wanting a hockey team, I could immediately perceive that the new owner wanted to win. He knew the players on the team, he knew the promise of the team, and he wasn’t buying a hockey team just for the sake of making money. In all of 5 minutes, I could clearly tell this new owner wants to win the Stanley Cup.

Can you see everything good about the new owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins? Unlike the ownership of the local baseball team, this man wants to win. More so than just wanting to win, he has the money to make sure winning happens. If, in about three years’ time, the Penguins are a player away from the Cup, this new owner is going to bite the figurative bullet and spend the money on that player (salary cap permitting, of course). The new owner loves the game, and more than that, he already loves his new team—and he already wants to win it all. How can you not love a deep-pocketed, passionate owner who wants to win?

However, everything good about the Pens’ new owner comes with a giant caveat, or asterisk, or whatever you want to term it, and that caveat/asterisk comes because ground has yet to be broken on a new arena for the city of Pittsburgh. All the character traits of bluntness and intelligence, which could help the Penguins franchise immensely, can also lead to the Penguins becoming known as a different franchise than the Pittsburgh Penguins. To put it frankly: the man behind Blackberries isn’t going to fool around or be patient with government officials who can’t figure out how to get a new arena constructed and constructed as quickly as possible. The new owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins is not going to ensure the team remains the Pittsburgh Penguins if a new Pittsburgh arena isn’t built pronto. This man is insanely wealthy, has a Harvard MBA, and while he wants to win, he didn’t buy the Penguins to lose money. Fact of the matter is, the team is going to lose money if it stays in Mellon Arena indefinitely. Likewise, as much as the new owner wants to win, he’s not going to have the amenities of a new arena that will enable him to shell out the dollars that will help the team when the time comes to add the last pieces to transform a contender into a champion. Simply put, everything that makes the "Blackberry guy" a potentially terrific owner also makes me wary and—honestly, yes—a little afraid.

Because I like the new owner already. I’m also aware of how fast I could not like the new owner because of how fast he can up and move my team out of my hometown. Here’s the thing: the new owner wouldn’t be wrong to do that if a new arena doesn’t get built. He wouldn’t be. Because his goal, as a owner, are two things: to turn a profit and to win.

The reason I like the new owner—giant caveat aside for the moment—is because he’s already proven he knows how to run a successful business and is clearly capable of applying his intellect to owning a NHL franchise. Yet beyond business success, I already love the new owner’s clear desire to win. This guy wants a winning team. I’m not going to go in-depth on analyzing his Canadian background, his personal hockey coach, and maybe his desire—through ownership—to make a childhood dream of winning the Stanley Cup become reality in too much detail (though perhaps I just did). But if there already were a perfect new 21st century arena in Pittsburgh, I’d be embracing this new owner with everything I’ve got. Because he’s got it all—business sense, money, and the desire to win.

Yet with all those good things comes a giant caveat. This new owner’s not going to wait or tolerate idiocy. Not when he wants to run a successful franchise that wins it all. And if the people who have to pull their strings to get a new arena don’t start pulling their strings, it’s not Mario Lemieux or the new owner I’m going to want to boo. No. My booing will be reserved for the people who couldn’t get their acts together to get a new arena. I’m going to want to chase those officials who couldn’t get their acts together out of town—or at the very least, out of office.

Hear me clearly, elected officials?

Oh, and to the new Pens owner: Welcome to Pittsburgh. I hope the Penguins win several more Stanley Cups, in Pittsburgh, under your ownership. I hope you get a new arena and get a new arena fast.

To the elected officials: Get the arena taken care of. Pronto. Fast. This new owner, he doesn’t play.
‰