Tag: Tom Cigarran

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.