Tag: Predators

Schedule Excitement & a Marty Party

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Just a few more days… Can you handle the anticipation?

Last night was a big one for NHL fans – the much anticipated schedule was released, thus sending a bunch of us into a calendar blowout, cramming the newly slated games into our already busy schedules. But we must say, what a relief! With the schedule officially released, it’s starting to feel as if the season really is about to start (ahem, finally).

We promptly posted the schedule in our schedule section last night, in case you missed it. It’s there in its entirety for your viewing pleasure (though we believe you have already run your feasting eyes across it elsewhere).

What games have you circled (and circled, and circled) on your calendar? The Predators will host the first two games at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 19th, followed by the St. Louis Blues on January 21st. Then it’s off on a seven-game road trip across the Western Conference. Some key games most fans and analysts are interested in are the games against both the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild. Any Preds fan will tell you why; Jordin Tootoo and Ryan Suter. The Predators will face Suter and the Wild on January 22nd in Minnesota, but Preds fans will have their shot at the runaway on March 9th. Jordin Tootoo will be visiting Smashville on February 19th, though I don’t believe many fans will be blowing their Tootoo whistles. The Predators will then travel to the Motor City on April 25th. On a personal note, one particular Lady Pred is excited about April 2nd, when the Colorado Avalanche come marching into Music City (we miss you, Shane O’Brien! ahem).

To be officially official, the actual Lockout ended last night after it was confirmed that the Memorandum of Understanding was completed. Who cares… NHL HOCKEY IS BACK NOW!

NHL training camps opened today, but the Predators stuck to their normal “preseason” routine of training off-ice to start out. However, tomorrow begins the on-ice practice at Centennial Sportsplex which, good news for fans, is open to the public. The practice will run Monday through Friday, 10AM to 11:30AM. Though we’ll be at work, we’ll try to slip in an early lunch break to come soak in the fact NHL hockey is truly back in Nashville.

Martin Erat was named the new Alternate Captain today, stepping up into Ryan Suter’s once shoes. Shea Weber is, of course, still Captain, along with Mike Fisher as the other Alternate. Pekka Rinne has also been given a leadership role this season, which is not surprising by any means. And yes, David Legwand is still the alternate Alternate Captain.

Tickets for the first two home games are on sale now via TicketMaster, while the rest of the regular season will go on sale Friday, January 18th at 10AM.

Have you gotten your tickets for Saturday night? We hope to see you there!

CBA Voting, GM Firing & Red Line Designs

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The wait is OVER!! … Umm.. Schedule, please?

What a good afternoon it was for the fans of the National Hockey League as the NHL Board of Governors approved the new CBA deal with a vote of 30 to 0, thus allowing the fact that the season really is set to start within the next week.

However, the players must also ratify the the new deal, which isn’t set to happen until Friday. The voting will be electronically over a two-day process, with the deal needing the majority of the vote in support of the CBA (there are give-or-take about 740 union members…). If all goes to plan (fingers crossed), training camps should begin on Saturday, with a 48-game season beginning January 19th.

Rumor has it that the Predators could possibly be opening the season at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on the 19th. We’ve run across this snippet a few times, but we aren’t promising anything. We’ll know as soon as you know… When the schedule’s released.

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In bizarre news, Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke was fired today, but kept on as a corporate advisor, with no authority over Hockey Operations. The details over his step down is not fully known at this time, but due to the Leafs disappointing performance under his leadership could have played a deciding factor. Dave Norris will take on both GM and VP responsibilities from this point forward.

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New for 2013, a few leagues have found their creative, inner designer bug and have set forth to make a few tweaks on the ice. Enter, the new center ice red line designs, each unique for its prospective team. Here are a few teams that have dipped into their creative side:

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Calagary Flames

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Winnipeg Jets

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Dallas Stars

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St. Louis Blues

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Nashville Predators

Well how about that! Even the Predators have tried out the new center line. Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Wait a minute – I saw this last season!” Test run, folks; test run. The debut was set for the beginning of this season, but it looks like January was the right time (thanks, lockout). The other teams trying out the new look include the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Carolina Hurricanes, the L.A. Kings, the Montreal Canadiens, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the Ottawa Senators.

We are so close to a season, we can almost taste it! We will keep you updated as news is released regarding CBA voting, scheduling, and everything in between. Follow us at @lady_preds on Twitter and our Facebook page.

SK74 voted Starter in KHL All-Star Game

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Welp, the results are in for who will be in the starting lineup in the KHL All-Star Game and it looks like Sergei Kostitsyn has made the cut.

Sergei Kostitsyn is just one of three forwards starting for Team East, paired alongside Evgeni Malkin of Metallurg and Evgeny Kuznetsov of Traktor. Defense on Team East includes Ilya Nikulin of AK Bars and Sergei Gonchar of Metallurg MG. The starting goal is Michael Garnett of Traktor.

The starting line up for Team West is a bit more starstruck, with Alexander Ovechkin of Dynamo Moscow, Pavel Datsyuk of CSKA, and Ilya Kovalchuk of SKA rounding out the forwards. Zdeno Chara of Lev Praha and Alexander Ryazantsev of Severstal make up the defense of Team West, with Semyon Varlamov of Lokomotiv in goal.

One name that was not named in the lineup (who held a lead up until the end of the voting period) that is a bit surprising is Predators goalie, Pekka Rinne. However, with his recent groin injury, it explains why he did not make the starting lineup. It also brings up the speculation of if his injury is more severe than we know. Hopefully not.

The KHL All-Star Game will take place on January 13th, 2013 at the Traktor Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

12/12/12 proves Newsworthy for the Predators

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Day 88 of the NHL Lockout produced little insight on the CBA talks, but there was plenty of news on the home front for the Nashville Predators. Okay, so it was both good news and bad news…

Let’s begin with the bad news, shall we?

– Word out of Minsk, Belarus today was a bit disheartening. Though details haven’t made their way to us yet, it looks like Pekka Rinne suffered a groin injury, which has him sidelined for a while. Rinne, as you know, is currently goaltending it up for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL whilst the lockout continues to ruin the NHL as an organization. As we stated, not much more has been released, but if the lockout were to end relatively soon, it looks like Chris Mason would be taking the reins.

While you lick your wounds from that punch in the gut, we will go ahead and let you know that’s the only bad news from today. So let’s bring on the good news:

– Continuing with Pekka Rinne, although he is injured, he is still leading the goaltenders in the KHL’s ballot for their All-Star Game. Although Peks hasn’t exactly had the best luck in the KHL, he is obviously doing something right to get the fans of Dinamo Minsk to vote for him.

– Like Rinne, Sergei Kostitsyn is leading the ballots in the forward category. Yes, we said Sergei Kostitsyn. He’s been on fire since joining up with Avangard Omsk, putting up points in just about all of his games. It’s no wonder he’s been vocal about hoping the lockout continues; he’s the star he’s always wanted to be without ever leaving home (err… sort of). When you’re beating out more notable forwards such as Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Evgeni Malkin, it’s completely understandable why you’d want to stay in the KHL.

– Patric Hörnqvist is leading a ballot of his own; one that consists of frequent flier miles. Horny has joined up with the Swiss club Fribourg-Gotteron during the Spengler Cup. This is Hörnqvist’s third club since the lockout began (if you do not include his minor stint with Tre Kronor) and his second Swiss team. Horny first joined Switzerland’s Martigny Red Ice before changing over to a familiar Swedish team, Djurgardens. Can’t quite get his bearings or does he just miss Nashville and the NHL that much?

So, although not much progress was made during today’s CBA talks (surprise, surprise), it was an eventful news day regarding the Predators. If you are interested in following the KHL All-Star standings – seeing as how our dreams are dashed – check out the site here.

Here’s to hoping Peks heals quickly and holds his lead in the ballots, to Sergei remembering the NHL is better, and to the airline points Horny has accumulated during the lockout.

Hörnqvist to Play for Tre Kronor

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We’ve been quiet lately with the lockout in full force, but the life of a writer always gets the best of us. We are tired of not discussing hockey-related material that is worthy of a blog post (if you follow us on Twitter and Facebook, we are always blabbering).

The news we have tonight will come to no surprise to most Predators fans (Horny fans) that Patric Hörnqvist will be teaming up with Tre Kronor as the start of the 2012 Karjala Cup begins.

With the European leagues taking a two-week break, many players have made their way back to North America as the NHL and PA have resumed talks since the letdown of October 18th. We would like to remain optimistic about the meetings (with both sides meeting for eight hours today and are expected to resume tomorrow), but it is a tad bit difficult.

Back to Hörnqvist, the Predators’ right wing will be representing Sweden’s national team alongside Carl Söderberg and Gabriel Landeskog, the youngest player named captain in NHL history. We attempted to read the Swedish news release, but Google Translate can only help you so far.

Again, this news should come as no surprise to Hörnqvist fans. The 25-year-old has given a majority of his time to his national team over the years.

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We may or may not be ready to see him in the blue and gold…

It’s Off to Europe for Rinne, Hornqvist, & Josi: Who’s Next?

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Pekka Rinne, Patric Hornqvist, & Roman Josi have hit the trail to Europe.

With all of September’s preseason games cancelled and three already missed, the Predators (along with players across the league) are struggling with the decision of wether to wait out the NHL Lockout or head over seas to continue what they do best.

Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Alexander Semin have been vocal about their departure for the ‘Mother Land’, prompting fellow NHLers to consider the same decisions, wether they nestle in the KHL or not.

Rumors have been swirling around particular Preds, with Martin Erat supposedly returning to the Czech Republic and Sergei Kostitsyn possibly signing with a KHL team, but the only truth for Predators fans is this: Pekka Rinne has signed with a KHL team, Patric Hornqvist signs with Sweden, and Roman Josi (who actually made his announcement earlier in the week) returns to Switzerland.

Amidst rumors of him signing with the Finnish Elite League, Pekka was adamant about settling with a KHL team instead of one in his native Finland. Rinne will be goaltending for Dinamo Minsk out of Belarus during the duration of the lockout.

Patric Hornqvist naturally returned to Sweden, signing with Djurgården, a key team of Sweden’s Allsvenskan league. Preds’ first rounder Pontus Aberg is active on Djurgården’s roster, giving Hornqvist the opportunity to help the youngster prepare for (maybe one day) a shot in the National Hockey League.

Roman Josi was the first to announce his departure to Europe under the Predators roof, shipping back to S.C. Bern of Switzerland. Former Pred J.P. Dumont played for S.C. Bern last season, gaining eight goals in just 31 games. Josi is expected to hit the ice for S.C. Bern on September 29th.

With Pekka, Patric, and Roman packing up and heading overseas, it’s only a matter of time before the other members of the Nashville Predators inevitably agree to the same decision. As mentioned, SK74 and Martin Erat are already in negations with European teams, so only time will tell when they sign.

The NHL and NHLPA have scheduled a formal meeting on Friday to discuss options on the current lockout, hopefully coming to some sort of an agreement.

From AHL to College Teams; Where to Find Hockey during Lockout

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From the Knoxville Ice Bears to the Mississippi RiverKings, there is hockey if you know where to find it.

Welp, Day 1 of the NHL Lockout is coming to a close and, as you might have expected, the NHL and the NHLPA are nowhere near coming to an agreement. Fans across North America are teary-eyed and sort of lost, not exactly knowing what to do without a hockey season to look forward to. Where as prominent hockey communities like New York and all of Canada have other outlets to cling to other than the NHL, those of us in non-traditional markets are left twiddling our thumbs, wishing on stars every night for the big wigs to come to an agreement… or are we?

Many would believe the South is a non-traditional hockey market and, in all fairness, it truly is. Baseball and college football rule this area, with hockey clinging like icicles in certain parts of the region. With Atlanta losing yet another NHL expansion team to Canada, it’s hard to believe hockey could survive somewhere like Georgia, Alabama, or even Mississippi, yet it thrives if you know just where to look.

For those who believe the South cannot withhold and establish a thriving hockey franchise, I give you the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).

Yes, the South has its own professional league.

If you’re a devoted hockey follower, you have probably heard of the SPHL, but for all the newcomers that have never dealt with a NHL Lockout before, there is still hockey to be found! Teams in the SPHL include:

– The Huntsville Havoc – Huntsville, Alabama
– The Knoxville Ice Bears – Knoxville, Tennessee
– The Augusta RiverHawks – Augusta, Georgia
– The Columbus Cottonmouths – Columbus, Georgia
– The Mississippi RiverKings – Southaven, Mississippi (Memphis)
– The Fayetteville FireAntz – Fayetteville, North Carolina
– The Mississippi Surge – Biloxi, Mississippi
– The Louisiana Ice Gators – LaFayette, LA
– The Pensacola Ice Flyers – Pensacola, Florida

Although there have been many franchises that have folded over the years, from the teams listed, hockey has managed to thrive in the South, even before the Nashville Predators arrived in the Music City. For Predators fans, the Knoxville Ice Bears, the Mississippi RiverKings, and the Huntsville Havoc would be the nearest teams to visit, with the Havoc being the closest (2 hours). Although it isn’t exactly the boys we are used to cheering for, you could end up finding your own Pekka Rinne or Shea Weber in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Let’s also not forget our college teams also have a love for hockey. Wether it’s an actual team or just a club, you’d be surprised who has a hockey setup on campus. Here’s a list of a few colleges with hockey outlets:

– Vanderbilt Commodores – Nashville, TN
– The Tennessee Ice VOLS – Knoxville, TN
– The Ole Miss Ice Rebels – Oxford, MS
– Georgia Tech – Atlanta, GA
–  Memphis Tigers Hockey – Memphis, TN
– The Alabama Frozen Tide – Tuscaloosa, AL
– Florida Gators Hockey – Gainesville, FL
– The UGA Ice Dogs – Athens, GA

Who knew the SEC was prominent in sports other than football, baseball, and basketball? Now, that’s just a handful of colleges with hockey clubs and/or teams; we can’t list them all. Your best bet to see if your college (or one near by) has a hockey club or team is to check out your college’s website.

If the SPHL and the college teams just don’t do it for you, there are always the AHL and ECHL teams across the country, all affiliates with the NHL teams. As you know, the Milwaukee Admirals are the farm team to the Predators, but Wisconsin’s a good distance away from Nashville, Tennessee. The closest AHL team to Music City would be the Charlotte Checkers out of Charlotte, North Carolina. If you have a soft side for the Carolina Hurricanes, this would be the AHL team for you. For all of the AHL teams across the country and their NHL affiliates, just visit the AHL site here.

As for ECHL, the closest to the Nashville area are the Greenville Road Warriors of Greenville, South Carolina and the Gwinnett Gladiators of Duluth, Georgia. The Road Warriors are the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the Gladiators are the Phoenix Coyotes affiliate.

As you can tell, there’s still hockey to be found, even if the NHL and NHLPA can’t come to a logical agreement. And, may we add, the hockey to be found is not limited to this list alone. So plan a day trip, road trip, or whatever to support these minor league and college teams. Heck, even if the NHL Lockout comes to an end, it’s still a great idea to support these smaller, lesser known teams. Truthfully, they are the teams that keep hockey alive in the South.

What hockey team will you be supporting during the lockout?

CBA Talks Halt; 2012-13 Season Hangs in the Balance

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Whatever he’s thinking about, it isn’t the fans.

You are probably wondering why we haven’t covered the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that haunts the future of the 2012-13 NHL season. Welp, we figured you were hearing enough from everyone else, but also because we just didn’t want to discuss it. Bad juju, really.

Well, after trying to ignore the potential lockout like a five-year-old (if you close your eyes and cover your ears, it’s not real, right?), we finally hiked up our big girl undies and weighed the pending situation at hand.

As of Friday, the NHLPA and the NHL have come to no conclusion, with no intentions of meeting again before the CBA expires on the 15th. The meeting lasted a whopping 90 minutes. That gives these two knot-heads twelve days to agree to disagree or say bye-bye to the 2012-13 season (that, or it’ll be delayed).

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn’t seem worried about a potential lockout, claiming that, because the league survived the last lockout (2004-05 season), it will be just fine if another one occurs. Fans and the media, however, beg the differ.

The strength of hockey will not be effected in certain places such as Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, and all of Canada, but for non-traditional markets, the event of a lockout could be disastrous. The Columbus Blue Jackets are walking a very, very thin wire and, after losing Rick Nash to the New York Rangers, a lockout could be the scissors that cut their lifeline. Hosting the All-Star Game won’t help much if there isn’t one, and it sure won’t bring an already waning fan base back on board, either.

The Phoenix Coyotes, still floating on Cloud 9 after making it to the third round of the playoffs, will soon find their cloud bursting into flames if the lockout does indeed occur. What fan base they generated during the playoffs will enviably die off due to lack of a season, sending the Coyotes back into the limbo that is “What Canadian city will be getting an NHL team”. Now, not to bash the Coyotes, as they do have a committed, loyal fan base, but I am talking about those who jumped on the bandwagon and/or those Arizonians who were introduced to hockey during that time.

Though we do not want to discuss it, Nashville will be effected as well. The Predators have nestled themselves into Music City just fine, and the team managed to survive the 2004-05 season without fail. However, although the fan base is strong and loyal fans have began to emerge, Nashville is still a non-traditional market and, enviably, will be damaged by a potential lockout. The Predators bring fans from across the South, from Alabama to Arkansas (most notable Preds fans from Arkansas? The Duggar Family from 19 Kids and Counting) and, without a season, but in a lockout situation, those fans will revert back into college football drones.

No matter if the team is settled in a non-tradition market or in a thriving, hockey-centered community, every city with an NHL team will be affected negatively. Wether it be monetarily, numerically, physically, whatever- Bettman can easily shrug off the fact he will lose no more than chump-change and a few “bandwagoners” if a lockout occurs. The fans, however, lose out in every aspect of the situation. Cities that don’t even have teams will be affected.

“Once we get past Sept. 15, I think the dynamic changes,” Commissioner Bettman stated. “The damage to the business changes the dynamic of the negotiation. So, from our standpoint, we’re hoping to make a deal by Sept. 15. That’s how we’ve positioned the offers we’ve made. And I’m hopeful that it can still be done. There is enough time if there is a willingness to negotiate.”

As stated above, the NHL and NHLPA have not set another meeting to discuss the CBA any further, leaving the 15th of September looming over every fans’ head.


Check out this video by Janne Makkonen – If this doesn’t make you want to punch Gary Bettman, I’m not sure what will. It gives an example and statistics of people will be affected if a lockout occurs and how fans can make a difference.

Here’s to hoping the NHL and the NHLPA get their butts in gear and finish these CBA talks before the 15th. Even if the season is pushed back, we’d rather see that than an entire lockout. Though it looks like neither side is going to back down, something’s got to give soon. For the fans sake.

 

Predators nab Honors in Toast of Music City

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Chris Parker picked up one award for the Nashville Predators

The Tennessean released its winners of the 2012 Toast of Music City today, revealing that Nashvillians are quite fond of hockey in the South and the Nashville Predators.

The Taste of Music City bundles different local businesses, personalities, and restaurants into a city-wide (heck, nation-wide) online voting, separating into like categories, such as Best Restaurant, Best Wedding Venue, Best Hair Salon, etc. The Predators landed in the top three of three different categories: Best Place to Take the Kids, Best Blog, and Best Local Pro Athlete.

– The Predators came out on top under the Best Place to Take the Kids category, overshadowing the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere and the Adventure Science Center.

– Pekka Rinne knocked off Chris Johnson, Frank Wycheck, and Cortland Finnegan (who tied Wycheck for 3rd) for Best Local Pro Athlete. We aren’t sure how Pekka feels, but seeing hockey knock off three NFL players is a good sign for hockey in Nashville.

– Although the last winner isn’t officially with the Predators, they still are the leading blog for Nashville Predators information. OntheForecheck.com nabbed third in overall Best Blog, with Holly Stokes of myravenblog.com and Styleblueprint.com rounding out the Top 2. With all the sports blogs bouncing around the Internet, it is refreshing to see a hockey blog round out the Top 3 blogs of Music City.

Although it was only three categories of many, the Predators came out on top sports-wise in the Nashville community. No other sports team, besides the three Titans that finished behind Pekka Rinne, made the list. So, as Predators fans, you can’t help but beam with pride knowing that, despite the lingering nag of being a non-traditional hockey market, hockey is alive and thriving in Music City.

For all the winners of the Toast of Music City presented by the Tennessean, click here!

Preds sign Veteran D-Man Scott Hannan

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Is Hannan the veteran d-man the Predators have been searching for?

A little before noon this morning, the Predators reached an agreement that hit the cap floor and gained the franchise yet another defenseman.

Nashville signed former Calgary Flame free agent, Scott Hannan to a one-year, $1 million contract, giving the team the veteran strength and experience it was looking for. Here’s the official statement from the Nashville Predators:

Hannan, 33 (1/23/79), has amassed 197 points (33g-164a) and 522 penalty minutes in 908 regular-season games and 15 points (1g-14a) and 89 penalty minutes in 82 playoff games with San Jose, Colorado, Washington and Calgary since the 1998-99 season. The 6-1, 225-pound blueliner enters the 2012-13 season having played more games than any NHL defenseman in the last 10 seasons (798). Hannan dressed for 75-or-more games for the 11th consecutive season (78), and averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons (20:21) with the Calgary Flames a season ago.

Hannan has bounced around to a few teams, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth keeping for the long run. Hannan has proved to be a reliable, well-versed d-man who will work well with both vets like Hal Gill and young guns like Roman Josi.

Will the Predators keep Hannan around for longer than a season? Time will tell, but we have a feeling, from the videos we have seen of the 33-year-old, the fans will latch on quickly. Although, he will have to find another number; we don’t think Brian McGrattan will give up 23 easily.