Tag: Preds

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…

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.

Predators announce Skate of the Union Schedule

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Brian McGrattan will be there. Will you?

After many began to wonder if the organization would be hosting the annual Skate of the Union event, the Predators finally announced the event to the relief of the fans.

So, wether you’ve been to every single on since the beginning or your a newcomer to the Town Hall scene, here’s the rundown of what to expect and who to see on Monday, August 20th:

4-5:30PM – Open skate at Bridgestone Arena
4:30-6PM – Select players will be on hand to take photos
5-6PM – Same select players will be on hand for autographs
6:15-6:45PM – Q&A with select players
6:45-7:45PM – Annual Town Hall Meeting with Tom Cigarran, Jeff Cogen, David Poile, Sean Henry, and Peter Horachek.

What players are expected to attend? Well, from the photo above, you can expect Brian McGrattan to attend, along with Kevin Klein, Jon Blum, Colin Wilson, Mike Fisher, Paul Gaustad, Hal Gill, Chris Mason, and Craig Smith.

Before you ask where Shea Weber is, he has a prior commitment to teach a hockey school and to attend NHLPA meetings. Completely understandable, as we do not want a lockout to occur.

If you are suffering from withdraws, here’s your chance to get your hockey fix until preseason; well, that’s unless the NHLPA and NHL cannot come to an agreement…

Sigh of Relief: Preds Match Flyers’ Offer to Weber

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Better get used that country music, Shea…

To say Preds fans are sighing with relief is quite an understatement. After much anticipation – and many ruined manicures – Music City and the rest of the hockey world was greeted with this:

Follow Kevin Wilson on Twitter at @KWilsonPreds

Moments later, the Predators released the official press statement, just to clarify:
Nashville, Tenn. (July 24, 2012) – In the most important hockey transaction in franchise history, Nashville Predators Chairman Tom Cigarran, President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile and CEO Jeff Cogen announced today that the team has matched the 14-year, $110 million offer sheet between the Philadelphia Flyers and defenseman Shea Weber, insuring that the Predators’ captain will remain with the franchise for the next 14 years.
The decision to enter into the largest contract in franchise history was made by all parts of the organization, including ownership, hockey operations and business operations.

Although the largest in Predators franchise history, Weber’s $110 million, 14-year contract still falls to Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals’ 13-year, $124 million deal. Wowza.

Throughout this gut-wrenching ordeal, one thing that cannot be overlooked is that, not only did Nashville hang onto their captain, they also stuck it to one of the wealthiest, most-powerful franchises in the league. By doing this, the Predators proved themselves as more than just a development team for higher powers, such as the Flyers, the Rangers, the Penguins, for example. Writing out a check for that much is painful for a adolescent team such as Nashville, but matching that offer means so much more in the long run for the Predators than just nabbing their most-influential captain for fourteen years.

Cowgirl butts will continue to drive him nuts for the next three years.

Overshadowed by the matching offer, the Predators also signed another key component to Nashville’s run towards the Cup. Forward Colin Wilson was signed a few hours before the news release of Shea Weber, shaking hands on a three-year, $6 million deal. Though we questioned wether Wilson would remain a Predator due to his run-ins with Coach Barry Trotz, we are glad to see such a valuable player sticking around for three more years.

Again, with this matching offer, the Predators take a swing at the bigger brothers of the NHL, proving that “little brother” isn’t afraid to grab the bull by the horns and hang onto what belongs to them.

 

Preds Sign S. Kostitsyn & Maclellan amidst Weber Watch

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Sergei has no problem committing during the Weber ordeal.

Though the fans and media have basically been left in the dark during this Weber Watch (Poile Watch, whichever you prefer), the Predators haven’t been sitting blindly on their stumps, fully concentrated on to match or not to match Philly’s Weber offer.

News was released late this morning of the Predators signing youngster Jack Maclellan to a one-year, two-way $600,000 deal. The 24-year-old signed as a free agent after finishing up his collegiate career at Brown University this past Spring. You may recognize the name, he was listed on the roster during the playoffs this past season. Maclellan will join the Milwaukee Admirals in the mean time.

And, following shortly in the early afternoon, news broke that the Predators and Sergei Kostitsyn reached a two-year, $6 million contract. As we reported earlier in the year, SK74 was seeking a long-term contract with Nashville and, although two years isn’t exactly career-length, it is a step in the right direction for Sergei, one that he and his agent obviously felt comfortable with. Maybe this will kick Sergei into shooting more, eh?

The rest of the hockey world was on its toes as well this afternoon, with the announcement of Rick Nash, Columbus’s last link to a successful franchise, was traded to the New York Rangers for two centers (Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov), defenseman Tim Erixon, and first round draft pick. Although Nashville is far, far from being in Columbus’s shoes, the Predators should take note of what is happening with the Blue Jackets and heed the warning.

We are hoping maybe, just maybe, David Poile was waiting out for what would happen with Rick Nash (it was obvious he was out of there) and now that the Rangers have him, he’ll go ahead a M A T C H – T H E – O F F E R.

Here’s to hoping.

 

 

From Weber Watch to Poile Watch: Matching Philly’s Offer Sheet or Not

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How will not matching Philly’s offer impact Nashville’s young franchise?

As you all know by now, the Philadelphia Flyers have offered up a 14-year, $110 million offer sheet to the Nashville Predators captain yesterday, with the news hitting the media outlets at 12:30AM CST this morning. Unfortunately, some of us work 9-5 and are asleep at that time in the morning, so we are just now sitting down to gather all the facts of today’s shindig in order.

David Poile (Predators General Manager) as but two options: Match Philadelphia’s offer or let Philly have Weber.
Simple, right? In a fan’s perspective, um yes; very simple. However, trying to look at it from the outside in, we can see why Poile might want a moment to reflect on the perpetual decision he is about to make… but will he flake like times before?

After losing two of the biggest names in franchise history, with Suter signing with the Minnesota Wild and Jordin Tootoo signing with the awful Detroit Red Wings, Nashville can’t afford to lose yet another face of the franchise in one off-season. Not only will it take a toll on the team, it will also be a huge blow to the fan base. Loyal Predators fans will back the team no matter what, but after losing big names to bigger franchises and players avoiding Nashville as a whole, eventually even the loyalist of fans get the wind knocked out of their sails.

It’s pretty clear the Predators need to match Philadelphia’s offer and, if worse comes to worse, trade Weber after a season and gain a whole team of draft picks with it. If Nashville just lets Weber go to Philly now, all the franchise will get is four 1st round draft picks for next year’s draft. That sounds okay, right? Wrong. That couldn’t be more of a 50/50 chance of good luck vs. bad luck. Just because you are a first rounder doesn’t mean you’ll end up being a Sidney Crosby or a Steven Stamkos. Heck, look at Patric Hornqvist, for instance.

The clock is ticking for Poile and the Predators and, what’s funny, is that the Philadelphia Flyers were able to sign Shea Weber within a month what has taken David Poile almost two years to do. All kidding aside, by signing an offer sheet, Shea Weber is openly saying to David Poile that he is wanting to speed the signing process and make a career-long agreement, wether Nashville wants it or not. Weber would not have signed the offer if he wasn’t willing to play fourteen years with the Predators, so don’t assume he wants out.

Seven days. Wednesday night at 11:30PM. That’s all David Poile has to decide wether or not to match Philadelphia’s offer. Will he take that much time? Let’s hope not. Though we will never GMs of a professional sports team by any means, when you weigh the factors, to advance your franchise in the best way possible, there’s only one choice:

MATCH THE FLYERS’ OFFER.

Photo courtesy of: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Tootoo Whistles Silenced: Jordin Tootoo takes Deal from Detroit

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Tootoo heads North to Nashville’s rival.

Welp, weren’t we all thrown for a loop? One move we did not see coming came from Jordin Tootoo himself. Tootoo chose to accept the Detroit Red Wings’ three-year, $1.9 million contract after turning down Nashville’s almost identical offer.

When Tootoo decided to turn down the Predators’ offer, it was clear he was letting everyone know his distaste in being benched late in the past season. Of course, as a free agent, Toots was given free range to dip his feet in other franchises’ waters, but when TSN announced Jordin Tootoo’s decision, all of Nashville went silent, as jaws hit the floor.

Detroit. He chose Detroit.
Not Vancouver, not Anaheim, not Chicago (granted, we aren’t sure if these teams even offered him anything, but he admitted three other teams made him offers). Detroit.

His decision to head North to Nashville’s rival “big brother” can be seen in many, many different lights. Either Nashville’s “sizable” three-year contract was bogus or Jordin Tootoo just made it very, very clear to Nashville and its fans he was an unhappy camper by giving them a big middle finger.

It’s hard for us to believe that, after everything Nashville has done for Toots (along with vise versa for what he’s done for Nashville), the enforcer would up and leave to, of all the teams, the Predators’ biggest rival just because he was benched for the later half of the season.

“It’s definitely a great opportunity to put on that Red Wings jersey and play for an Original Six team,” Tootoo stated on a conference call with the Red Wings. This whole sentence feels like, in essence, a knife digging deeper into the backs of the Predators and its fans. Playing for an Original Six team is truly a great feeling for an NHL player but, again, it comes down to which team he ultimately signed with and its history with Nashville.

Although we ultimately have to thank Jordin Tootoo for all that he did for the city of Nashville, we can’t help but refer back to his final ‘Tootoo on 2’ video. The whole “only wanting to hold the Cup in Nashville” and “Nashville is my home”; was that all a lie just to warm our little hearts?

In the end, Toots has signed the papers and is on his way to Detroit, wiping his hands of Nashville for good. Toots, of all people, should know, Predators fans don’t take players leaving on bad terms easily (ask Dan Hamhuis). If he had chosen to go to any other team, Predators fans should be more than happy to cheer for the enforcer when he returned to play against Nashville. However, since he will be wearing red and white, Toots better prepare for the Tootoo whistles to be chucked at him. Nashville and Detroit open the 2012-13 in Motor City on October 12th at 6:30PM.

Good luck in Detroit, Jordin… but don’t expect fans to welcome you back with open arms.

(Photo courtesy of Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

Predators stay Busy while Suter Watch Continues

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McGrattan, Gaustad, Mason, and Gill all quipped for Nashville next season.

The Predators made some key moves before and on July 1st, the day that Free Agency went into effect. Though many eyes are watching the Suter and/or Parise situation, the Predators weren’t going to hold off until #20 finally came to a decision.

On Friday, just two days before his chance at Free Agency, Nashville signed the Goliath himself, Hal Gill to a two-year, $4 million contract, sealing himself to Predators gold for the 2012-13 season. With the size, strength (and surprisingly a bit of speed – when he gets moving), Gill will continue to shine alongside Roman Josi for two more years.

Fairly late last night, Nashville released the news of the signing of another trade deadliner – Paul Gaustad. Obviously, Poile recognized his expertise in Face Offs and Penalty Kills, signing Goose to a four-year, $12 million contract. Wowza. There is much debate about wether Nashville overpaid for Gaustad, but his last contract was for $9.2 million; of course he wasn’t going to go for anything less. Plus, Gaustad’s consistency rules him as a green flag for Nashville; something they’ll really need if Suter bails.

The Predators decided, for their first ever July 1st signing, to chose goalie (and former Predator) Chris Mason to a one-year, $1.25 million contract as a backup for Pekka Rinne. Though many were lead to believe Milwaukee’s Jeremy Smith was going to jump over to Nashville and cover Rinne, Poile did not lie when he said he wanted a veteran goalie to take the backup position. However, one-year contracts can mean many a thing; Wether Nashville brought Mason back aboard to help get Smith ready to take over or what, we don’t think Mason will be with Nashville very long. The Predators have never had a veteran backup before, so it will prove interesting to see how Mason will do behind the Finnish phenom.

And, as of a few moments ago, Brian McGrattan posted an excited tweet about returning to Nashville (to counteract a previous disheartening announcement from Jordin Tootoo…). The Predators confirmed that they did, in fact, sign enforcer Brian McGrattan to a one-year, $600,000 contract to wear the gold once again in the 2012-13 season. With Tootoo’s signing with Detroit (we’ll have a whole separate post about that one), it seems like Big Ern will be the new favorite of the Predators. After being picked up in October of last year, Preds fans fell in love with the big guy, thanks to his beloved antics, wild fights, and heartbreaking struggles off the ice. Like we said, McGrattan will be replacing Toots very quickly as everyone’s favorite tough guy.

As of 8:30, that is all Nashville has locked in for certain, but Ryan Suter watch is still having some of us bite our nails until the bitter end. As we mentioned earlier, Jordin Tootoo split for Detroit, leaving a bunch of bewildered, speechless fans in his wake. Like we said, we’ll have a complete post dedicated to his “unjustified” decision momentarily. Besides Tootoo, Nashville said au revoir to veteran Francis Bouillon, as the Montreal Canadiens took him back for a one-year, $1.25 million contract. Bouillon is a bit of a hometown hero in Montreal, so returning to Canada is a welcoming sign for the Cube. He was a class act in Nashville and we wish him all the best with the Habs.

It’s getting late, but the night’s not over; anything is bound to happen now that the free agents are on the loose. Stay tuned for more information with the Predators as it comes through the media.

No Love for Hillen: Predators extend Qualifying Offers

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Poile: “Hey, did we forget anybody?” Trotz: “Nope.”

Poor, poor Jack Hillen! The Predators extending Qualifying Offers out to their Restricted Free Agents this afternoon, but the team left the 26-year-old defenseman off the list.

To add insult to injury, we weren’t surprised when Hillen was not extended an offer. Jack Hillen did well with the Predators for the one season he’s been with the team, but his skills did not shine through and make an impression. In fact, we were surprised he wasn’t traded before the deadline in the Spring.

Jack Hillen wasn’t the only one to not get an offer, technically. Milwaukee Admirals Zach Stortini and Brodie Dupont also will hit the unrestricted market on July 1st.

In case you forgot who the RFAs for Nashville are, here they are in all their glory:
Sergei Kostitsyn
Colin Wilson
Jonathon Blum
Alexander Radulov
Teemu Laakso
Jack Maclellan
Jeremy Smith
Atte Engren
Ryan Thang
Shea Weber

You’re probably wondering why Radulov, Laakso, and Thang are still on this list and why would Nashville extend offer to these three. Well, extending an offer does not mean the Predators and said player have reached a deal. Nashville simply offered base-line agreements, meaning any team that wishes to snag the rights to said players will have to counter-match what the Predators offered. In a nutshell, Nashville will take whatever they can wether the player stays or not.  So, although we know the Predators have parted ways with Radulov, they still, if possible, want to get vital draft picks, for instance, for his rights.

So, needless to say, the team and the players still need to eventually reach an agreement and work out a contract, but Nashville has taken the first step in offering these players a chance to wear gold once again in Smashville… except for Jack Hillen.

(Photo courtesy of Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)