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NHL Photo of the Day

Feb 8

Posted by EB in NHL Photo of the Day | No Comments

John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images

Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks got the scoring started against the equally red-hot Nashville Predators. The two teams fought hard, taking the game to a shootout. Six rounds in found Alexander Edler of the Canucks netting the game winning goal.

As stated, the two teams have been red-hot as of late. Both can be attributed to their netminders. Pekka Rinne of the Predators, who had a 11 game winning streak was, beat by Roberto Luongo who made 37 saves of 40 shots.

Seen above, Ryan Kesler of the Cancucks screens Pekka Rinne. I could be mistaken, but it looks like Kesler received his new Bauer Nexus 1000 hockey stick. Must be that new stick that picked him up the first goal. Is he wearing the Bauer Nexus 1000 ice hockey skates too?

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Nashville Predators

Sep 30

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Niclas Bergfors, Jack Hillen

Key Offseason Losses: Marcel Goc, Joel Ward, Steve Sullivan, Shane O’Brien

Last Season Ranking: 5th in the West

Offense: Leading the way on offense this season for the Nashville Predators will be Sergei Kostitsyn. His 23 goals and 50 points lead a Predators team that struggled offensively last season. He’ll be joined up front by another talented winger, Patric Hornqvist, who managed 21 goals and 48 points in 79 games last season. These two will see plenty of ice time, and have to make the most of it.

The veteran leadership on offense will come from Martin Erat, who is much more skilled than his career high 57 points would lead on. Spending his entire NHL career thus far with the offensively lackluster Predators, Erat has failed to produce the big numbers associated with other players of his talent. He will continue to be a sound threat any time he’s on the ice, and is looking at another season around the 50 point mark.

Centering some of the aforementioned wingers will be David Legwand, a Detroit native. Legwand, who had a bit of a bounce back year last season despite only playing 64 regular season games, will be expected to keep the steam rolling on his production. If Legwand finds his touch early this season, things could be looking up in Nashville.

Unfortunately, the Predators suffered a huge loss when Joel Ward signed with the Capitals. Ward, who had a modest regular season with 29 points, really turned on his game during the playoffs. Losing that kind of production could come back to haunt this squad if no one else steps up. The losses of Marcel Goc and Steve Sullivan, who combined for an additional 46 points last season, will only hurt the Predators even more. For a team that doesn’t score a lot, those three losses will make for some big shoes to fill.

Defense: This team is lead by its defensive abilities every season, and anchoring that defense once again is Shea Weber. He is a top-notch defenseman who will see continue to see big minutes this season, and be relied on to play against the opponent’s best players every night. Right alongside Weber on the blue line will be Ryan Suter, who finished last season as a plus 20. He’ll be working harder than ever to ensure he puts up similar numbers this season.

Rounding out the defense will be Jack Hillen, Kevin Klein, and Jonathan Blum. Each will be heavily relied on to play shut down defense, because Nashville will continue to win low scoring, one goal games. Hillen will see some additional time on the power-play, however, and have an opportunity to contribute offensively as well.

Goaltending: In net for the Predators will be Pekka Rinne, who is one of the best goaltenders in the game right now. Rinne had another successful campaign last season, leading the Predators into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. His 2.12 goals against average was a career high, all while starting a career high number of games with 64. Rinne will see around 60 games again this season, but load could be increased depending on where they are in the playoff race.

Backing up Rinne will be another solid netminder, Anders Lindback, who was a 7th round Predators draft pick in 2008. Lindback saw significant playing time last December, and made the most of it with a five game winning streak that included back-to-back shutouts.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not Playoff bound. Despite the tremendous defense and goaltending, the Nashville Predators don’t have quite enough to put them over the edge this season. They’ll fight for it down the stretch, but come up just short, after a solid effort. Keep them in mind as contenders all season long though as coach Barry Trotz is one of the best in the league, and absolutely knows how to make his players work for him.

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Shea Weber arbitration could have league-wide ramifications

Aug 2

Posted by Chris in News, Soap Box | 7 Comments

Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber could be the first restricted free agent this offseason to go all the way to arbitration after months of negotiations between Weber and the Predators have yielded no results in terms of a contract extension for next season – and after.

Weber, whose arbitration hearing was scheduled for this morning, was rumored to be seeking roughly $8 million a season. However, Nashville reportedly wants to lock up Weber long-term for $4.5 million a season – a ludicrously low salary if indeed that rumor has any factual merit. However, Nashville certainly could be looking to retain Weber with a long-term front-loaded contract that could keep his cap hit relatively low, but for a team with one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL, it appears as if the Predators would like to retain their top talent for as low as possible – something highly unlikely if negotiations proceed to arbitration.

Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs will make $6.5 million this season. Both Phaneuf and Weber share similarities in their size and punishing style of play, but Weber, who is a year younger, is a better defenseman and was even nominated for the Norris Trophy last season as the league’s best defenseman. Phaneuf was nominated for the Norris in 2007-08. Weber’s camp will likely cite some of these similarities during the arbitration hearing to convince the arbitrator that Weber deserves at least $6.5 million a season, and likely more.

The problem is that there aren’t many contracts for solid, young defenders to compare to. In fact, Weber’s arbitration award could set the curve for other young restricted free agent defenders such as Zach Bogosian of the Winnipeg Jets and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings. In fact, there has been speculation that negotiations between Doughty and the Kings have been so slow because both sides are waiting to see what kind of deal Weber gets and use that deal as a starting point for negotiations.

Going to arbitration could have ill effects on the relationship between Weber and the Predators as well. If rumors are true that Nashville was trying to secure Weber for $4.5 million a season, Weber could see that as a sign that the team isn’t willing to spend to retain their top talent and build a winner, giving Weber incentive to leave when his arbitration awarded deal ends and he can become an unrestricted free agent. With Weber’s size and shot, surely any team would be happy to give Weber what he deserves in a heartbeat.

Since Nashville opted to initiate the arbitration, they are required to submit to the arbitrator’s award no matter what the outcome, as opposed to player-requested arbitrations where a team can choose to walk away from the award if they don’t agree with the amount and allow the player to become a free agent. This makes it hard to believe that Nashville would low-ball Weber with $4.5 million a season knowing he will likely recieve $6 million per season or more through arbitration, lending credence to rumors that perhaps Weber was looking for a higher salary, shorter term deal that would allow him to test the market as an unrestrtced free agent in a couple of years.

Regardless the outcome, Weber’s arbitration hearing today could have drastic ramifications both for Nashville and Weber, but also throughout the league as other teams will look to use his salary award as precedent for signing their players. And take note – Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne and defenseman Ryan Suter will also be watching this scenario unfold very closely as both are set to become unrestricted free agents next season. If Nashville isn’t willing to spend the money on Weber, a proverbial tent-pole of the team, then why would they be willing to spend on Suter and Rinne? Both could opt for greener pastures when their time comes.

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Pekka Rinne getting the best of the Sedin twins thus far

May 1

Posted by Chris in News, Soap Box | 1 Comment

The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, are two of the best talents in the NHL. Daniel Sedin secured the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the regular season with 104, the only player to score more than 100 points this season in the NHL, and is also nominated for the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. Not to be outdone, brother Henrik posted 94 points this season, including a league-leading 75 assists. Needless to say, these are two dangerous players and together they form one of the most formidable lines in the NHL.

So where have they gone?

Both Henrik and Daniel started off the 2010-11 playoffs exactly where they left off in the regular season. Daniel began the playoffs by scoring three goals and adding two assists in his first three games of the playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks while Henrik posted four points, all assists, in his first three games of this year’s postseason. Together the brothers were a plus-7 in those first three games.

The past six games have been a different story for the Sedin twins however. Together, they have only managed only three points in their last six playoff games, four games against the Blackhawks and two against the Nashville Predators, and have been a combined minus-13 throughout the past six games. For two players that were combining for an average of three points a game during the early stages of the playoffs, both Sedins have been notably absent from the score sheet throughout the Nashville series thus far and even in Game 7 of the first round against the Blackhawks where both brothers posted goose eggs in the box score.

This trend has got to be somewhat worrisome for the Canucks as their two best players are slumping at exactly the wrong time against a team whose goalie is incredibly hot and practically single-handedly stole Game 2 for the Predators. That’s not to say the Sedin twins aren’t trying, though. Daniel has rifled off an incredible 12 shots on goal in the first two games of the Conference Semi-Finals while Henrik has levied seven shots of his own against Pekka Rinne. Plus, the Twins have generated great scoring opportunities, only to be thwarted by Pekka Rinne’s stellar efforts. Check out the video below of Daniel Sedin’s cross-ice pass to a streaking Kevin Bieksa who was denied at the goalmouth by a diving Pekka Rinne.

Rinne is a big reason why Henrik and Daniel have gone scoreless thus far against the Nashville Predators, and Corey Crawford played an amazing game in Game 7 against Vancouver to account for the Twins going scoreless in their past three playoff games. But at this time of year, teams count on their best players to carry the load and perform at the highest level possible night in and night out. Those star players are the ones looked at to beat the hot goaltender and show everyone that he isn’t Superman. But so far, Rinne is getting the best of the Sedin twins and the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks have good depth, which has helped them to this point while the Sedin twins are slumping, but they need to break out of their slump if they are to best a defensive-minded squad like the Predators. And when the Sedins break out of their slump, watch out. Rinne has looked nearly invincible so far in the playoffs, but he is also staring down the best offensive duo in the NHL. They are like a ticking time bomb, and when they explode, your team is all but doomed. While the Predators have played solid enough to split the first two games with Vancouver, they need to continue to keep the Sedins in check and hope that bomb doesn’t go off anytime soon.

 

 

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Nashville Predators

Sep 29

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Dan Hamhuis, Dan Ellis, Jason Arnott

Key Offseason Additions: Matthew Lombardi, Sergei Kostitsyn, Ryan Parent

Last Season Ranking: 7th in West

Offense:

Patric Hornqvist looks to build on the success that he had last season

Patric Hornqvist looks to build on the success that he had last season

Leading the way on offense for the Nashville Predators, after a breakout season last year, will be Patric Hornqvist. The 2005 7th round draft pick hit the 30 goal mark last season, only his 2nd in the NHL, en route to a 51 point campaign. His stellar season tied him for first on the team in points, along with Steve Sullivan. Hornqvist should see continued success this season as his role will be expanded. Sullivan, as mentioned before, was also great last season, his first healthy season since 2002-03. The Predators hope Sullivan has finally put his injuries behind him, and can come out with the same skill and finesse he’s displayed throughout his career.

Martin Erat will provide steady scoring throughout the season for the Predators. He’s likely to pick up about 20 goals and 50 points again this season. Along with Erat, the Preds should expect similar results from newcomer Matthew Lombardi. He will prove to be a valuable free agent signing, especially after losing Jason Arnott. Providing additional depth will be David Legwand. He struggled to produce goals last season, but played outstanding in the teams first round playoff loss to the Blackhawks. The Predators, their fans, and Legwand himself are all hoping he can maintain that touch.

Players such as Joel Ward, Marcel Goc, J.P. Dumont, and newcomer Sergei Kostitsyn, will all be counted on to provide secondary scoring. Their contributions will be important to the club, especially down the stetch. Beyond that, Jordin Tootoo will continue to ruffle some feathers up front by throwing some big hits, creating momentum with his speed and energy, and he will drop the gloves when necessary.

Defense:

Shea Weber will once again be the leading man on the blue line. His blazing shot and great puck movement makes him a threat offensively, especially on the power play, where he picked up 7 goals and 20 points last season. Ryan Suter will also be huge in shutting down the blue line. He’s entering only his sixth season in the league, but has already proven he is very valuable to the Predators on defense.

The loss of Dan Hamhuis is big for Nashville, but the team will be hoping that young defenseman such as Cody Franson and Ryan Parent can step up into a bigger role. Their development, along with that of Kevin Klein, will be huge for the defensive depth of this squad. Regardless, you can still expect Weber and Suter to see a lot of ice time, and will be relied on heavily for their shut down capabilities.

Goaltending:

Pekka Rinne will be back between the pipes this season. He posted great numbers last year as the starter, including 32 wins, a .911 save percentage, 2.53 goals against average, and seven shutouts. Rinne has been a solid goaltender for Nashville, and we should expect to see more of the same this season.

Season Outlook:

While the Nashville Predators have never been the most skilled team, coach Barry Trotz always knows how to rally the troops for a great season. Last year was no exception, as the club finished with 100 points and grabbed the 7th seed in the playoffs. Losing players like Dan Hamhuis and Jason Arnott will be tough to overcome, but the addition of Matthew Lombardi will help tremendously. You won’t see the Predators turning heads this season, but behind the strong play of their defense and goaltender, the Predators could quietly put together another outstanding season. Expect them to battle for, and earn, one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.

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Nashville Predators

Sep 28

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Can Pekka Rinne lead the Predators back to the playoffs?

Can Pekka Rinne lead the Predators back to the playoffs?

Last season, the biggest story for the Nashville Predators was rookie goaltender Pekka Rinne. Despite starting the season in a limited role, Rinne outplayed starter Dan Ellis and earned himself the starting position in late December. Throughout his rookie season, Rinne posted stellar numbers. He finished the year with a 29-15-4 record, .917 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average. He also posted 7 shutouts in his 49 starts. This season, Rinne will start between the pipes, and should help the Predators get off to a strong start.

Along with the young goalie, Nashville returns their same top line of Martin Erat, JP Dumont, and Jason Arnott. Last season, the trio combined for 66 goals, 106 assists and a total of 172 points. In order for Nashville to improve this season, these guys are going to have to increase their productivity.

After struggling recently with a back injury, the Predators are also hoping for a healthy season for winger Steve Sullivan. His age might soon become a factor in decreased production, but last season Sullivan proved that if healthy, he can still be counted on for some big points. In 41 games last season, he recorded 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points. Not too shabby after missing the entire 2007-08 season, and the first half of last season as well. Sullivan is fresh off a brand new two year contract as well, and can definitely play around a point per game average if he stays healthy.

Defensively, the Predators are in need of a couple stronger players for added depth. The first defensive pair will be relatively strong with Shea Weber and Ryan Suter leading the way. Weber should prove to be quite effective on the power play again this season. Last year he chipped in 10 goals and 9 assists on the power play. Beyond that, the Predators will feature Dan Hamhuis on the second defensive unit, and two rookies, Cody Franson and Alexander Sulzer, on the third unit.

Success this season for the Predators will be largely based on the play of rookie goaltender Pekka Rinne. If he plays as well as last year, Nashville might be able to overcome their defensive and scoring deficiencies to squeeze into a playoff spot during the end of the season.

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