Today is a day that no hockey fans looks forward to. The day where the next hockey game is months away, the day when you can no longer see your hockey family that surround you in your seats. That day is today. The Nashville Predators season is finished and for the second straight year it ended without a playoff appearance. It is a sign of the growth of this franchise that expectations are heightened and, quite frankly, just making the playoffs in no longer acceptable.
In Nashville relatively short tenure as a pro sports town, the fan base has only tasted a championship game once, the Titans Super Bowl appearance in 2000. That magical playoff run captivated the city. The Predators winning a couple of first round series set Pred Nation’s taste for more as well, which makes this season doubly frustrating as expectations were a return to post season play. But as seems to always happen, key injuries impacted this team again.
It is inevitable that the change that a small pocket of fans want will happen… There has been a cadre of fans that have been screaming for Barry Trotz’s job for years, refusing to recognize that Trotz has utilized the players given to him in the best possible way for maximum results. A coach that doesn’t know how to coach players that can score doesn’t have teams that score 259 and 272 goals respectively… heck, even this year’s team has put up 216 goals… more than three different playoff qualifiers, LA, Montreal and Minnesota.
It is way too simplistic to say that Nashville only needs more goal scoring and that the loss of Pekka Rinne for 50+ games has nothing to do with goal scoring. The biggest issue this team may need to address is the -26 goal differential this season, which was improved over the -28 from last season (in a 48 game schedule.) The three playoff qualifiers that have scored less than Nashville this season have goal differentials of +32, +11 and +1. Heck, the New York Rangers only scored two more than Nashville and posted a +25.
This is a perfect example of widely held perception being flat out wrong… The problem is not just goal scoring.
The loss of Ryan Suter is still impacting this team, even though Roman Josi has effectively replaced Suter on the top pair. The problem has been that there hasn’t been a clear replacement for Josi on the second pairing and a lack of a veteran presence on the bottom two pairs. This was a season of growth for this young defense corps and you definitely saw a difference between the first 15 games of the season and the last 15. Seth Jones will continue to mature and fill out, his experience going to World’s will also be a key factor in his development. Ryan Ellis is really stepping up his play to match his potential, Victor Bartley and Mattias Ekholm have both made solid steps in their development. Michael Del Zotto is the enigma in this group. He certainly struggled to find his way with this blueline, showing some of the same issues Alain Vigneault and John Tortorella had with him in New York, throwing into question his future in Nashville.
You have to give full props to Carter Hutton. Posting 20 wins in this season and showing marked improvement after a very difficult start, he obviously was not ready to shoulder the starter role until he got his feet under him in January, fixing his penchant for giving up the one “softie” in every game. He finally increased his comfort level and posted wins in his last five starts, including his first NHL shutout.
Since the Olympic break, the team went 13-8-2, you look back at the disastrous (and rare) six game home losing streak in March as the ultimate “dooming factor" for this team. To take a positive, they did pick up points in 11 of their last 12 games. It is something to build upon next season… the question is… who will be doing the building?
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In case you missed it, SlapShot Radio’s intrepid photographer was out and about Saturday night, capturing the action on the ice and in the stands for our Sunday Shots…
Check out the entire album at
SlapShot Radio’s Website.
Courtesy DLM/SlapShot Radio
Join us on Wednesday for SlapShot Radio's playoff coverage watch party at Tavern 96. Pete and I will be there and Terry Crisp will join us as we discuss the Predators season and take a look forward. We will also get Terry's unique take on the playoffs from a player's perspective and as a coach... after all... he's won two cups as a player and one as a coach.
The show begins at 7pm ... come on out and join us!
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Random Notes
- Barry Trotz’s contract is not the only one up at the end of season, assistant coach Lane Lambert’s is also up and the one that may be the most critical… Goaltender coach Mitch Korn’s contract is up as well.
- Locker clean out, end of season meetings and wrapping things up commences today at 501 Broadway.
- Nashville’s offense finished tied for 20th in the league in goal scoring… up from last season’s 30th. Nashville has finished in the top ten in goal scoring three times (11-12, 06-07, 05-06) in franchise history.
- Nice salute from Anaheim fans last night for Teemu Selanne.
- Speaking of… nice victory lap with JS Giguerre Very touching moment in what could’ve been Giggy’s last regular season game as well.
- If I am a St. Louis fan, I am worried.
- Sending good thoughts to Daniel Sedin who was carted off the ice on a stretcher last night after an awkward hit from Flames Center Paul Byron. How dirty the hit was depends on who you root for.
- Mark your calendar for Saturday May 3rd for Petey’s 5K Face-Off, the annual run/walk to support the Peterson for Parkinsons Foundation. It was a blast to do it last year so make sure to join the SlapShot Radio team for this fun event. More information is available at the
PFP Website.
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for @PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates, but we are having a bit of fun by getting your input on Gnash introductions, weigh in on Twitter and who knows, we may use your introduction for the best mascot in the NHL at the next Preds game! You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1
Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the
link.
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SlapShot Radio, Join Pete Weber and I as we chat with hockey’s best, every Wednesday night at 7pm on 102.5 the Game and the SlapShot Radio Network. We return for our playoff run on Wednesday live from Tavern 96 at Bridgestone Arena.
Don’t forget to visit our season’s advertisers…
The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills,
Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry (615-872-7762),
Nolensville Collision Repair Center and Burger Republic, check their excellent menu out at
their website, Defend Quality… Burger Republic.
Want to be part of the SlapShot Radio family?
Advertisers… reach out to me to access our activated listener base, we have special deals available as we cover the playoffs with the best hockey talk in the mid-South. Contact me at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
Radio station owners/programmers, contact us to carry SlapShot Radio on your station, we are satellite delivered every week via SkyView on the SlapShot Radio Network.
Our podcasts are posted… Click
here to download or listen to any of this season’s podcasts.
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