Nashville Predators

Predators facing Tough Times

October 29, 2010

The Nashville Predators have it rough right now, while their 5-1-3 record might not show it fully they have a tough road ahead of them. Mostly right now the problem that seems to plague the Preds are ones that have plagued them for years. Everytime they seem to get on some sort of roll the injury bug bites, and it seems to bite the most important players on the team. Just 1 and a half games in the Predators lost Mathew Lombardi who was their main acquisition over the summer and suppose to be their number one centre for this year. Many fans had him pegged for more point production than last year and is seen as an overall good upgrade from Arnott. There is no current timetable for his...

Getting Burned

October 19, 2010

Greg Duley

1 Comment

The Nashville Predator’s welcomed the Calgary Flames into the Bridgestone Arena for the first time this season, as the Preds looked to get back to their winning ways. Unfortunate that would not be the case as the Flames looked to start a winning streak of their own. The Preds came into tonight’s game welcoming back two mainstays in their line-up. Both Erat and Rinne had missed at least 2 games, but not all the news was good as both Lombardi and Goc were put on IR with Lombardi missing 1-2 weeks with a concussion and Goc up to 4 weeks with a separated shoulder. The first period was a past paced one, with both teams showing good speed as well as some good hits being thrown. Unfortu...

Preying on Flightless Ducks

October 10, 2010

Greg Duley

Comments

The Nashville Predators opened their 2010-2011 season by welcoming the Anaheim Ducks into the sold-out Bridgestone Area. With a new captain and a younger look to the team it felt good to get the season underway. With the drop of the puck the first period started and the Preds looked good. Within the first 5 minutes it was already evident that this year’s incarnation of the Nashville Predators was going to be a lot faster. The forwards were able to breeze by the Ducks defenseman at points and set up chances in the slot but were unable to capitalize. IT was not all roses though in the first as just 16 seconds in Ryan Suter was penalized for holding but they managed to put that behind the...

Nashville Predators Projections

October 4, 2010

Greg Duley

2 Comments

With the new season just around the corner and the roster all but finalized it, I figured that this would be a good time for some predictions for the season. I decided that instead of doing either player or team projects I was going to do both as obviously as a team does well so do the players and vice versa. So let’s start with the team as a whole. The Preds are in one of the toughest divisions in hockey, they have to compete against the Hawks, Wings, Blues and Jackets in an already tough Western Conference. The Hawks are of course you’re defending Stanley cup champions and even though they scrapped the depth form their team their core can take them very far. The Wings are ...

Franson Signs 2-year Deal

September 9, 2010

Greg Duley

1 Comment

Yesterday GM David Poile announced that Cody Franson and been re-signed to a new contract. The extension is worth 1.6 million over two years at 800,000 per year. Franson is expected to become a full time player this coming season and possibly take a second pairing role and attempt to help the struggling power play and offense. This is the team’s press release... “Nashville, Tenn. (September 8, 2010) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed defenseman Cody Franson to a two-year, $1.6 million contract. Franson, 23 (8/8/87) posted 21 points (6g-15a) in 61 contests for the Predators a season ...

Overpriced or Steal?

August 29, 2010

Greg Duley

4 Comments

The Nashville Predators signed Patric Hornqvist earlier this week and it is a huge step for the franchise. They were able to lock up their leader in goals and points from last season. After almost two months of negotiating with GM David Poile, the two sides finally agreed on a brand-new three-year deal worth 9.25 million over three years. He is to be paid 3 million over the first two years and then a slight increase to 3.25 in the last year of this contract. The term of this contract seems like a perfect fit, if it had been a one-year deal and had Hornqvist duplicated his previous season totals then the Predators would of had to sign him to probably a 4-5 million dollar contract as...

Is there Such a Thing as too Many Players?

August 21, 2010

Greg Duley

2 Comments

The Preds may have a slight problem going into this year’s training camp. Some teams would love to have this problem, while for others it is the reason for their cap issues. The problem being too many NHL or NHL-ready players and not enough roster spots to go around. For the Predators this may be a blessing in disguise as the team can benefit from everyone having to fight for a spot and having to keep fighting to stay there. Offense Currently the main problem for the Preds may be that they have too many forwards, I know what you’re thinking now, Nashville has forwards? They may only light the lamp every couple of games, but they do their job. In all seriousness, in my mind t...

Predators trade Arnott back to New Jersey, Hamhuis to Flyers

June 19, 2010

George Prax

0 Comments

It was a busy day in Nashville today, as GM David Poile and the Predators made two moves that have significantly changed the face of their organization. First, they traded the rights of pending UFA defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for D Ryan Parent. The Flyers also received a conditional draft pick, presumably in case Hamhuis does not sign with the Stanley Cup runners-up. Rumors had been circulating that the 27 year old native of Smithers, British Columbia would not return to the Predators next season and would cash out this summer during free agency. In 483 career NHL games, Hamhuis has accumulated 32 goals and 129 assists with a +3 rating. Last week, ...

Predators Acquire Grebeshkov from Oilers

March 1, 2010

Patrick Storto

1 Comment

The Nashville Predators have acquired Denis Grebeshkov from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2010 2nd Round Pick. Grebeshkov, a former 1st round pick in 2002, has six goals and nineteen points this season.