Tag: NHL Preseason

Ryan Ellis Re-Signs with Predators

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Late yesterday afternoon, word was released that the Predators and Ryan Ellis had finalized a contract to stay with the team. Both sides settled on a five-year, $12.5M contract, with it being broken down as:
First Year – $1.5M
Second Year – $2M
Third Year – $2.5M
Fourth Year: $3M
Fifth Year: $3.5M

Back on the 20th, David Poile had stated that “we want Ryan Ellis. We’re not trading him. He fits here. We just disagree on dollars. It’s that simple” and it looks like – now that the dust has settled – that is what it truly came down to. Honestly, dollars walk hand-in-hand with business so don’t get irked if you think Ellis would’ve walked without coming out with $12.5M. Chances are, he probably would have if someone had offered him more money elsewhere. I know we’ve all tried blocking the “Weber Watch” of 2011 out of our minds, but both these situations are along the same lines. Hockey is a business and luckily, we dealt the right hand for Shea Weber three years ago and now Ryan Ellis yesterday.

Ryan Ellis is expected to join up with the team today at some point to get-to-gettin’ in some practice time with his fellow teammates through the rest of training camp.

Roster – Preseason vs. Lightning

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c3c4736eda313461a153118a09e33706Earlier this afternoon, the Predators released who will be hitting the ice tomorrow night for the first preseason game on home ice.

DEFENSE:

PicMonkey Collage

On Defense: Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Johan Alm, Joe Piskula, Mattias Ekholm, and Anton Volchenkov.

FORWARDS:
PicMonkey CollageqList of Forwards: Eric Nystrom, Austin Watson, Calle Jarnkrok, Filip Forsberg, Gabriel Bourque, Kevin Fiala, Paul Gaustad, Olli Jokinen, James Neal, Taylor Beck, Vanilla Ice Mike Ribeiro, and Rich Clune.

GOALTENDERS:
PicMonkey Collage2Goalies: Pekka Rinne and Marek Mazanec.

Noticeable players taking the night off are:
– Colin Wilson, who collected an assist on Filip Forsberg’s wrister.
– Derek Roy, who assisted in Craig Smith’s goal.
– Craig Smith, who picked up a goal in yesterday’s game in Tampa Bay.

Why are You Panicking? It’s Preseason.

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Okay yes, the Predators lost their first preseason game last night to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2… but what’s with all the panicking? Who’s panicking, you ask? Let’s take to the Nashville Predators Facebook page for inspiration (courtesy of @PredsFacebook on Twitter):

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Okay so most of us have not tried jumping ship like the above samples, but those were just the tip of the iceberg (there are a ton more that’ll make you smack your mama). Look, if you are already having mild heart palpitations and feel a panic attack coming on, you must not have been a Preds fan for far too long. Take in a deep breath and repeat after me: It is preseason. Yes, it feels wonderful to win – preseason or not, there’s nothing like it – but this is the time when teams get a feel for the ice and who pairs well with who. Coach Laviolette is not going to send them out in a blazing glory, though they should go out there with the intent to win. Overall, if you listened to the game at all, I’d say that is exactly what they did. Had they not, we would be reflecting on a 4-0 loss rather than a 4-2, where Nashville lead for a while.

Yes, it is good to win in preseason, but it’s not the end of the world. Yes, it does somewhere reflect on how the team is doing, but this is the period of time when they work out those differences, those problems before October 9th.

So again, if you are already writing Nashville off after the first preseason game, by all means, get off this train. For all of you who have not lost your mind and are quite sensible, I expect to see you tomorrow at the Bridgestone Arena, say around 7PM.