Category: Uncategorized

Hornqvist & Spaling to Pens for James Neal

Leave a comment

JamesNealTrade

By now, you already know about the trade between Nashville and Pittsburgh involving the exchange of Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling for Right Winger, James Neal. Has it had time to sink in yet? Nick Spaling was on the radar to take flight, but Hornqvist came as a surprise to just about everyone.

James Neal, first drafted in the second round in the 2005 Draft by the Dallas Stars, was a goal collector from the get-go. Scoring no less than 20-goals a season, in the 2011-12 season, Neal topped the charts with 40 goals — as a Preds fan, could you imagine forty goals from one player, not a multitude of several together? Since the 2011-12 season, he has lost some steam, but in Predators terms, he’s still on fire (again, no less than twenty goals since).

Though the loss of Hornqvist tears deeply at the heartstrings — the price of being a fan — now that the dust has settled from yesterday’s trade, you’ll be able to see with clearer eyes that, in order for the Predators to make the move towards the ultimate prize, sacrifices must be made. Unfortunately, Hornqvist was that sacrifice (sorry, Spals). This is a great sign from the leaders of this organization that good things are on the horizon. Moves like these are (for Nashville’s sake) what it is going to take for Nashville to get back in the playoff chase and make a legitimate run towards the Stanley Cup.

Here’s an exchange between the media, James Neal and Evgeni Malkin:
james
malkin

That was a good little .gif set to find, right? Neal wants t he puck. He wants to shoot. For a defensive team like Nashville, this is the exact exchange we want to hear from former teammates. Shooting leads to goals. Goals leads to winning. Winning leads to playoffs. Playoffs lead to Cup. Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

https://twitter.com/richcluneshow/status/482690204407300096

hey

2013-14 Season

Leave a comment

Moving the 2013-14 season into a post so I can make room for the 2014-15 season! You know, saving this for archive reasons.

 

OCTOBER 2013:

  • Thursday – October 3rd @ St. Louis, 7PM – L 4-2
  • Friday – October 4th @ Colorado, 8PM – L 3-1
  • Tuesday – October 8th – Minnesota, 7PM – W 3-2
  • Thursday – October 10th – Toronto, 7PM – L 4-0
  • Tuesday –  October 15th – Florida, 7PM – W 4-3
  • Thursday –  October 17th – Los Angeles, 7PM – L 2-1 SO
  • Saturday – October 19th @ Montreal, 6PM – W 2-1
  • Sunday – October 20th @ Winnipeg, 7PM – W 3-1
  • Tuesday – October 22nd @ Minnesota, 7PM – L 2-0
  • Thursday – October 24th – Winnipeg, 7PM – W 3-2
  • Saturday – October 26th – St. Louis, 7PM – L 6-1
  • Thursday – October 31st @ Phoenix, 8PM – L 5-4 SO

November 2013:

  • Saturday – Nov. 2nd @ Los Angeles, 3PM – W 4-3
  • Wednesday –  Nov. 6th @ Colorado, 8:30PM – W 6-4
  • Friday –  Nov. 8th @ Winnipeg, 7PM – L 5-0
  • Sunday – Nov. 10th @ New Jersey, 6PM – L 5-0
  • Tuesday – Nov. 12th @ N.Y. Islanders, 6PM – L 3-1
  • Friday – Nov. 15th @ Pittsburgh, 6PM – L 4-1
  • Saturday – Nov. 16th – Chicago, 7PM – W 7-2
  • Tuesday – Nov. 19th @ Detroit, 6:30PM – W 2-0
  • Thursday – Nov. 21st @ Toronto, 6PM – W 4-2
  • Saturday – Nov. 23rd – N.Y. Rangers, 7PM – L 2-0
  • Monday – Nov. 25th – Phoenix, 7PM – W 4-2
  • Wednesday – Nov. 27th @ Columbus, 6PM – W 4-0
  • Thursday – Nov. 28th – Edmonton, 7PM – L 3-0
  • Saturday – Nov. 30th – Philadelphia, 7PM – L 3-2 SO

December 2013:

  • Tue. Dec. 3 Vancouver, 7PM – L 3-1
  • Thu. Dec. 5 Carolina, 7PM – L 5-2
  • Saturday – Dec. 7th @ Washington, 6PM – L 5-2
  • Tuesday – Dec. 10th @ N.Y. Rangers, 6:30PM – W 4-1
  • Thursday – Dec. 12th – Dallas, 7PM – W 3-1
  • Saturday – Dec. 14th – San Jose, 7PM – W 3-2
  • Tuesday – Dec. 17th – Chicago, 7PM – L 3-1
  • Thursday – Dec. 19th @ Tampa Bay, 6:30PM – L 4-2
  • Saturday – Dec. 21st – Montreal, 6PM – L 4-3 OT
  • Monday – Dec. 23rd – Boston, 7PM – L 6-2
  • Friday – Dec. 27th @ Dallas, 7:30PM – L 4-1
  • Saturday – Dec. 28th – Los Angeles, 7PM – W 3-2
  • Monday – Dec. 30th – Detroit, 7PM – W 6-4

January 2014:

  • Thursday – Jan. 2nd @ Boston, 6PM – L 3-2 OT
  • Saturday – Jan. 4th @ Florida, 6PM – L 5-4 SO
  • Sunday – Jan. 5th @ Carolina, 6PM – L 2-1
  • Tuesday – Jan. 7th – San Jose, 7PM – W 3-2
  • Thursday –  Jan. 9th – Anaheim, 7PM – L 4-3
  • Saturday – Jan. 11th – Ottawa, 6PM – L 2-1 SO
  • Sunday-  Jan. 12th – Minnesota, 6PM – L 4-0
  • Tuesday – Jan. 14th – Calgary, PM – W 4-2
  • Thursday – Jan. 16th @ Philadelphia, 6PM – W 4-3 SO
  • Saturday – Jan. 18th – Colorado, 7PM – L 5-4
  • Monday – Jan. 20th – Dallas, 7PM – W 4-1
  • Thursday – Jan. 23rd @ Vancouver, 9PM – W 2-1
  • Friday – Jan. 24th @ Calgary, 8PM – L 5-4 SO
  • Sunday – Jan. 26th @ Edmonton, 7PM – L 5-1
  • Tuesday – Jan. 28th @ Winnipeg, 7PM – W 4-3
  • Friday –  Jan. 31st – New Jersey, 7PM – W 3-2 OT

February 2014:

  • Saturday – Feb. 1st @ St. Louis, 7PM – L 4-3 SO
  • Thursday – Feb. 6th @ Minnesota, 7PM – L 3-2 OT
  • Saturday – Feb. 8th – Anaheim, 7PM – L 5-2
  • Thursday – Feb. 27th – Tampa Bay, 7PM – W 3-2

March 2014:

  • Saturday – March 1st – Winnipeg, 1PM – L 3-1
  • Tuesday – March 4th – Pittsburgh, 7PM – L 3-1
  • Thursday – March 6th – St. Louis, 7PM – L 2-1
  • Saturday – March 8th – Columbus, 7PM – L 1-0
  • Monday – March 10th @ Ottawa, 6:30PM – W 4-3 OT
  • Tuesday – March 11th @ Buffalo, 6PM – W 4-1
  • Friday – March 14th @ Chicago, 7PM – W 3-2
  • Saturday – March 15th – St. Louis, 7PM – L 4-1
  • Tuesday – March 18th @ Edmonton, 8:30PM – L 5-1
  • Wednesday – March 19th @ Vancouver, 9PM – L 2-0
  • Friday – March 21st @ Calgary, 8PM – W 6-5
  • Sunday – March 23rd @ Chicago, 6PM – W 2-0
  • Tuesday – March 25th – Colorado, 7PM – L 5-4 SO
  • Thursday – March 27th – Buffalo, 7PM – W 6-1
  • Friday – March 28th @ Dallas, 7:30PM – L 7-3
  • Sunday – March 30th – Washington, 7PM – W 4-3 SO

April 2014:

  • Friday – April 4th @ Anaheim, 9PM – W 5-2
  • Saturday – April 5th @ San Jose, 9:30PM – W 3-0
  • Tuesday – April 8th @ Dallas, 7:30PM – L 3-2 SO
  • Thursday – April 10th – Phoenix, 7PM – W 2-0
  • Saturday – April 12th – Chicago, 7PM – W 7-5
  • Sunday – April 13th @ Minnesota, 7 PM – W 7-3

Laviolette named Head Coach of Predators

Leave a comment
Courtesy: Yahoo! Images

Courtesy: Yahoo! Images

Sorry I’m late to the party — I was actually at LP Field (where the Tennessee Titans play, for those of you who are NFL-challenged) on a tour with my company when the news broke. Any who, so by now you know Nashville has hired Peter Laviolette as the new Head Coach, the second HC in Predators franchise history. Laviolette has had his name in the hat since Trotz was handed the pink slip, so it was no surprise when it was finally announced that he would be taking over the coveted position.

Laviolette agreed to a multi-year contract and is a former head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders. He ended up winning a Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Hurricanes and went to the Cup Final with the Flyers in 2010. Philadelphia then fired him early in the 2013-14 season, though Laviolette has a 389-282-25-63 overall NHL record; Trotz’s record? 557-479-60-100.

With the presence of a new HC, you know that means some of the pieces to the Trotz administration will change. Though Lane Lambert and Phil Housley are expected to stay with Nashville, goal-tending Coach Mitch Korn will more than likely go with Trotz on his future endeavors, which is a detrimental loss for Nashville.

The Predators will be having a formal presser at 2PM CT and we will add more details as they arrive.

Highlights from the press conference:

Weber Finalist for Norris Trophy

Leave a comment
Courtesy: Yahoo! Images

Courtesy: Yahoo! Images

As we all expected, Nashville Predators Captain Shea Weber was named one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy. This is Weber’s third time being nominated for the James Norris Memorial Award, given out to the League’s top defenseman who displays the greatest efforts in the position. Being the only player with 20+ goals (23), 150+ hits (169), and 150+ blocks (173) over the past nine seasons, is this finally Shea Weber’s year? Is the third time really a charm? We hope so. His competition for the Norris? Boston’s giant, Zdeno Chara and Chicago’s Duncan Keith. Chara won the Norris back in 2009 and was nominated in both 2011 and 2012 for the award. Keith has also been awarded the Norris Trophy in the past, collecting the award in 2010.

Trade Deadline: David Legwand Traded to Red Wings

Leave a comment
Thanks for the memories, Leggy.

Thanks for the memories, Leggy.

There were talks for weeks and rumors spread, but today, the whispers were confirmed: David Legwand was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Legwand is a native of Detroit, so for all the teams for him to make the leap towards, the Red Wings was a given. But, even for all those Legwand Haters, after all the years, doesn’t it hurt just a bit to see him actually leave?

We all know the hockey history of David Legwand: Nashville’s first-ever draft pick, franchise record holder, rode the wild wave that is the Nashville Predators organization. He was Mr. Predator; but not forever.

Contrary to popular (Preds fans) belief, Legwand is an outstanding player and will fit in well with Detroit’s system; it will be a breath of fresh air for him under a new lineup. With Pavel Datsyuk on the mend, Legwand will be thrown into the fire at first go, but it isn’t anything he cannot handle.

But how was he traded? Didn’t he have a No Movement Clause? Glad you asked: Yes, he did indeed have a NMC. So how did this happen?
In a nutshell, Legwand (in the end) called the shots. David Poile would work out a possible trade with another organization (in this case Detroit) & present it to David for consideration. Basically, he could either accept the trade or give Poile the stiff arm and say, “No deal”. So why, after always saying, “I will retire a Nashville Predator” did he take the trade offer?
After acquiring Matt Cullen and signing him to a two-year contract during the summer, Legwand’s trade immunity began to fade in the organization and, no offense to Patric Hornqvist, but after getting the shaft as alternate captain enough times, you start to feel a bit… underrated and taken for granted. In my opinion, he was. That, and he is getting up there in age (hockey life, that is) and who wouldn’t want to go home? Come now, that was Ryan Suter’s idea, right? All kidding aside, life with the Detroit Red Wings may just be what the doctor ordered when it comes to lighting a fire under Legwand’s remaining years in the NHL.

So, what does Nashville get for their longest-serving representative?
https://twitter.com/GMillerTSN/status/441319181909102592

  • PicMonkey CollagePatrick Eaves: You probably recognize his name, though he is a sufferer of chronic injuries, including a broken jaw at the hands of a Roman Josi slap shot back in 2011.  The right-winger currently has two goals and three assists this season and becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Calle Jarnkrok: Another Swede! Jarnkrok is 2nd-Rounder from the 2010 draft currently with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate team. He’s tearing up in the AHL right now, but this is his first stint in the North American hockey system and may want to return to Europe. Let’s hope not.
  • 3rd-Round Draft Pick: Draft picks are good, but it gets better: if the Red Wings secure a place in the playoffs, that 3rd-rounder turns into a 2nd-rounder. Go Red Wings…?

You can question Poile and his motives, but the man knows how to get the better end of a deal (for the most part).

We will miss David Legwand, there’s no doubt. We only wish him the best with the Detroit organization and thank him for all the memories.

https://twitter.com/richcluneshow/status/441328045832425472

Trade Deadline: MTL nabs Dubnyk

Leave a comment
Dubbie's off to Montreal

Dubbie’s off to Montreal

So this comes as no surprise that the Predators needed to pass Devan Dubnyk on to greener pastures, but in all honesty, I expected him to fall down to the Admirals. That, my friends, was not the case today. Around noon, TSN confirmed that the Predators had traded Devan Dubnyk to the Montreal Canadiens for “future considerations”. Carey Price has been suffering from an injury, but Montreal refuses to say that is the reason for picking up Dubnyk.

That being said, Dubnyk has had a rough, but interesting, season thus far; Montreal will be his third team and he is yet another backup for an injured goaltender. That doesn’t seem to phase Dubnyk much, though; he still believes he has the ability and talent to be a starting goaltender. It’s good to have ambitions. Unfortunately, we just got word that Dubnyk is, for now, being assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs, which is Montreal’s farm team.

Dubnyk isn’t the only goalie who has been traded thus far, though; he joins the ranks of six other goalies who are making the move, which consists of Roberto Luongo (VAN-FLA), Ilya Bryzgalov (EDM-MIN), Viktor Fasth (ANA-EDM), Ryan Miller (BUF-STL), Jaroslav Halak (STL-BUF) & Jacob Markstrom (FLA-VAN). It truly is the Goalie’s Deadline this year.

We wish Dubnyk well on his ventures with the Canadiens and we hope than not too many fans ran out and grabbed up a Preds Dubnyk jersey. We must say, though, Dubnyk lit a fire under Carter Hutton’s bottom when it came to who would hang onto that backup position. For that, we thank you.

We’ll keep you updated if Nashville decides to do something productive or absolutely asinine.

https://twitter.com/smashville/status/441269676882919424

Rinne Returns; Dubnyk on Waivers

Leave a comment
peks

Guess who’s back…

He’s Back! …And apparently, so are we (blog wise). The return of Pekka Rinne has been much anticipated and, for everyone who was patient, your Finnish prayers have been answered.

Mid last week, the Predators announced that Rinne would be making a trip to Milwaukee to get in some ice time conditioning with the Admirals. After knocking off the Iowa Wild 9-1 and pushing past the Rochester Americans 2-1 in OT, Pekka was given the green light to return to Nashville and return to his beloved goal posts.

Rinne has missed a total of 51 games since being placed on the IR due to an E.Coli infection in his surgically-repaired hip, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing whatever it took to get back on the ice. Rinne has officially been given the all clear to start in the net tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With that green light for Peks, that also means someone has to be booted and, unfortunately, that goaltender is Devan Dubnyk. The Predators have placed Dubnyk, who was picked up from a trade between the Edmonton Oilers on January 15th for Matt Hendricks. Sadly, Dubnyk was given only two chances in net, all of which were not exactly NHL backup worthy. With Carter Hutton clawing for the position, it was easy to push Dubnyk aside and thus his current condition.

But, for Pekka Rinne, tomorrow is the true test; is he ready to be back full time? We certainly hope so and we certainly hope he does not hide any issues he may still have with his hip.

If you don’t have tickets for tomorrow, go ahead and get them now.

Poile, P. Weber Hospitalized

Leave a comment
Photos courtesy: Zimbio.com

Photos courtesy: Zimbio.com

Today just wasn’t a good day for the Predators organization. Both the Predators GM & one of the Predators TV broadcasters were hospitalized today in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Pete Weber, the long-time TV broadcaster alongside the colorful Terry Crisp, suffered a heart attack last night and spent the day in a St. Paul hospital today recovering. The news of his heart attack came just a few hours after the news that David Poile, too had been sent to a St. Paul hospital. Thankfully, once the news was released, Weber was already relaxing and recuperating nicely in his hospital room & made certain to let everyone know via Twitter that he was in his usual high spirited mindset (even while attached to IVs and in a gown):

As you may guess, Pete will not be joining Terry Crisp on the television coverage tonight, rather radio broadcaster Willy Daunic will be his replacement.

Though Pete’s condition is good, David Poile’s condition is relatively unknown. While watching the Predators morning skate at the Xcel Energy Center, an errant pass from Shea Weber ricocheted the puck off a wall and into David Poile’s face. The puck hit just above Poile’s eye, though it did not knock him out. In fact, Poile was said to have walked over to a chair to sit down, but was hurried over to a stretcher and sent to the hospital for further evaluation. Shea Weber was quick to make certain his GM was alright after the accident.

For what we know of right now, David Poile will be staying overnight in the hospital and is said to have a fractured orbital bone, which needed 30-40 stitches. He was scheduled to fly out to Sochi, but per recent tweets, it doesn’t look like he will be going any time soon.

We are praying for quick and full recoveries for both Pete Weber and David Poile.

https://twitter.com/apmanley/status/431593212361183232

Preds Trade Klein for Del Zotto

Leave a comment

PicMonkey Collage

The Preds have made yet another surprising roster move, this time coming in the form of a trade between the New York Rangers. Nashville agreed to exchange defenseman Kevin Klein for New York’s defenseman, Michael Del Zotto this afternoon. Here is the official press release from Nashville:

Nashville, Tenn. – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Michael Del Zotto from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Kevin Klein.

“Michael gives us another young, gifted left-handed shooting defenseman with significant offensive upside,” Poile said. “We look forward to his presence on our already talented young blue line, further balancing our defensive corps.”

Del Zotto, 23 (6/24/90), has 11 points (2g-9a) in 42 games this season for the Rangers while averaging 17:44 of ice time. In 292 career NHL games – all with the Rangers – the 6-0, 195-pound native of Stouffville, Ont., has amassed 121 points (26g-95a), including 37 (9g-28a) in 80 games in 2009-10, being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. Del Zotto has also appeared in 32 postseason contests over the past two springs, posting 12 points (3g-9a).

The New York Rangers’ first choice, 20th overall (first round), in the 2008 Entry Draft, Del Zotto posted 183 points (39g-144a) in 190 Ontario Hockey League games with Oshawa and London from 2006-09. He also represented Canada at the 2010 World Championships.

https://twitter.com/Realkevinklein8/status/426075965257961472

Though it sucks to see someone go who has been a face of the Predators like Klein, it was actually a very smart trade move by David Poile, whether fans like it or not. With both Weber and Jones being right-handers, it only makes sense for Nashville to trade for a left-hander so that it evens out (Josi is the other lefty).

What are your thoughts on this trade and do you think Nashville is finished trading?

Shea Weber named Alternate for Team Canada

Leave a comment

Getty Images

Team Canada announced the captains for their designated teams for the Winter Olympics this morning, with Shea Weber serving as an Alternate Captain for the Ice Hockey Team. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins will hold the title of Captain & Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks will hold the second Alternate title.