Fun time last night at the arena.
Some seriously funny moments with the guys as autographs were signed as well as some disappointment.

The first line we got in was the Weber line. We got down to the end with Weber and Wilson. We had been talking about how we really wanted to meet Wilson and give him some praise. We were about 20th in line and my friend looked at Colin and said "Son, I just want to tell you that you've been playing your ASS off!" Shea was sitting next to him and looked up at him and then to Wilson and nodded his head in agreement and approval. He thanked my friend than I joked with him that if he keeps it up he'll get a full seat at the table next year instead of being stuck on the end. He laughed.

Then we went and spoke with Coach Lambert and his glorious hair. I told him that this might sound weird coming from a man, but he has the most glorious hair in the entire NHL. He laughed and we joked about it abit but next to him was Mason. I asked Mason if his beard had a problem sitting next to Coach Lambert's hair. They both laughed and Chris said that this close together he felt like the universe might collapse in on itself. Laughs by all!

Then I broke the rules in the photo lien for Mike Fisher and asked for an autograph in stead of a photo. He obliged but I only had a GOLD sharpie.

Onto the next line. I hand my poster to Halischuk then onto Hannan and Spalling. The look at my poster and laugh. Spalling then says "Looks like fish had to sign this in gold" Hannan: "Yeah. I bet he brought that pen from home too!" LOLs by all.

All in all it was a great event. Pekka wasn't in the house due to illness per twitter so hopefully he got some rest. Otherwise I only missed out on Goose, Horny, and Smith.

The disappointment was the staff. Most of the arena staff were jerks. Like serious jerks. Eye rolling in your face at questions, being rude about lines, and just acting like we were a burden. Seriously arena staff needs to get a clue about how to treat the STH. I'm not saying bend over backwards, but every one of us do spend thousands of dollars a year in your facility. Act like it.

Good Morning Gentlemen (and assorted Ladies)…. Long time lurker, first time poster here. I had hoped that my first post would be something in support of Paul’s opinion, seeing as that I have known him for many years, but alas, that’s not going to happen.

Growing up in Tennessee my sports of choice included baseball, football, wiffleball, parking lot basketball and a game called “German Spotlight” (were we the only neighborhood to play that?). Where are you going with this, you ask? All of these sports had something in common; there was a certain flow to the game. We didn’t have TV timeouts, there were no instant replays, and any animals (tossed or otherwise) on the field could be considered an additional player. In contrast to the other professional sports, one of the things that I have learned to love about hockey is the continuous action, with a minimal amount of stoppages. I certainly understand that the NHL is the big leagues and grown men getting paid to play a… well, a grown man’s game. Thus the need for referees, umpires and even a war room in Toronto.

Over the course of a period, a game, a season the human mistakes even out. The flow of a game can be disrupted more by the deliberate stoppage to review, than by the actual mistake being questioned. I can just see Trotz pulling the red hanky from his pocket, while the fans are yelling “throw it” and the media team is furiously trying to put the potential violation onto the Megatron. I vote we keep the coach’s challenge where it belongs… in the post-game press conference.
- LGP_65

After Duchene's goal I have to disagree with you. I don't think we need any red hanky's coming out but, I do think the NHL should do what the NFL does and thats a review after every goal. If they do that then maybe we can eliminate more of those goals.

After Duchene's goal I have to disagree with you. I don't think we need any red hanky's coming out but, I do think the NHL should do what the NFL does and thats a review after every goal. If they do that then maybe we can eliminate more of those goals.
- LadyPred08

No, thanks!

No, thanks!
- Polecat

2nd that emphatically!!!! Review after every goal? ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZ plus

Hell no!

Enough ruinage to the game already. A small sampling of my complaints would be a hooking call that is firmly in the realm of "you've got to be kidding?!?" (a real hook is pretty easy to spot), or the abused over-the-glass delay of game call (at least give the refs/linemen some latitude in calling the penalty), and, lest I forget, the mind-numbingly boring, dull, sophomoric and anti-climactic beauty skate called the shootout. It's gag-inducing.

Regarding bad calls from the officials, lay a stiff fine on offending linesmen and refs, or put 'em on a Rogue's Gallery mug-shot list at NHL.com for a few weeks, or make 'em wear a dunce hat for the next three games they officiate - something, anything, but please, no more bs reasons to stop the game.

And while I'm ranting, linesmen, drop the damn puck! The game is not about you.

Let them play!

2nd that emphatically!!!! Review after every goal? ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZ plus

Hell no!

Enough ruinage to the game already. A small sampling of my complaints would be a hooking call that is firmly in the realm of "you've got to be kidding?!?" (a real hook is pretty easy to spot), or the abused over-the-glass delay of game call (at least give the refs/linemen some latitude in calling the penalty), and, lest I forget, the mind-numbingly boring, dull, sophomoric and anti-climactic beauty skate called the shootout. It's gag-inducing.

Regarding bad calls from the officials, lay a stiff fine on offending linesmen and refs, or put 'em on a Rogue's Gallery mug-shot list at NHL.com for a few weeks, or make 'em wear a dunce hat for the next three games they officiate - something, anything, but please, no more bs reasons to stop the game.

And while I'm ranting, linesmen, drop the damn puck! The game is not about you.

Let them play!
- blueline

Yes. Can we please get rid of the shootout. Not because Nashville cant seem to win one, but because its the worst thing in hockey. Lets go back to tie games please!

I have talked about something very similar with friends at work. You can only make a challenge after play is dead. Delay of game called to team issuing the challenge if their assumptions are incorrect.
Edit: Can make the penalty a major if the challenger is wrong more then once in a game. Would really make it rare to use.

It really is tough to judge a situation when you're not sitting right in the middle of it. If it was that bad in Buffalo then a change should have happened a long time ago.

Personally, I'm glad we still have Trotz. I have issues with how he runs the team sometimes (putting certain players in the doghouse while letting others get away with tons of the exact same crap), but in general, he is still very much respected by the team and the community. I'd love to see the Preds win the Cup, but more than that, I'd love for Trotz to be the coach when that happens. As a matter of fact, I can't imagine Trotz and the fans here having the same dynamic as you described between Ruff and the Sabres fans. Three years and constant booing? Seriously, I can't imagine that in our arena. Then again, we've never been to the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm sure expectations completely changed after that series.

D
- Predaceous

The Cup will never be in Smashville with Trotz.

I've been hearing the "It's only 8 games" comment regarding Viktor Fasth all over the HF boards but I'm surprised to hear it from you, Paul.
Viktor has been playing amazing hockey in the Swedish Elite League for a while now and he came to the NHL and he's barely missed a beat. He deserved the extension for what he has done for his entire career, not just for 8 games.
- duxcup07

in the nhl his entire career IS 8 games. paul is right. could be a steal and could be a knee jerk over-reach. time will tell.

2nd that emphatically!!!! Review after every goal? ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZ plus

Hell no!

Enough ruinage to the game already. A small sampling of my complaints would be a hooking call that is firmly in the realm of "you've got to be kidding?!?" (a real hook is pretty easy to spot), or the abused over-the-glass delay of game call (at least give the refs/linemen some latitude in calling the penalty), and, lest I forget, the mind-numbingly boring, dull, sophomoric and anti-climactic beauty skate called the shootout. It's gag-inducing.

Regarding bad calls from the officials, lay a stiff fine on offending linesmen and refs, or put 'em on a Rogue's Gallery mug-shot list at NHL.com for a few weeks, or make 'em wear a dunce hat for the next three games they officiate - something, anything, but please, no more bs reasons to stop the game.

And while I'm ranting, linesmen, drop the damn puck! The game is not about you.

Let them play!
- blueline

Damn Blue someone hit a nerve.

I agree with you on less stoppages in play and the shootout. I doubt the Refs association would stand for the fine/mug shot etc but something surely needs to happen.

And they dont drop the puck anymore they throw the frigging thing like they were Bob Feller or Bob Gibson. E.G. the one that Goose "hand-passed" bounced 3 feet in the air.

I would dump the shoot out maybe add a 3 on 3 5 minute period after the 4 on 4 OT then let it be a tie.

If they are going to keep OT and Shoot out, I have always been in favor of 3 point games. 3 regular win 0 regular loss 2 OT win and 1 OT loss. IT wouldnt work in Preds favor this season but overall i think it would be the most equitable.

Regarding bad calls from the officials, lay a stiff fine on offending linesmen and refs, or put 'em on a Rogue's Gallery mug-shot list at NHL.com for a few weeks, or make 'em wear a dunce hat for the next three games they officiate - something, anything, but please, no more bs reasons to stop the game.

Tim Peel has a permanent dunce hat on his head. I cringe every time I see him on the ice.

The issue is hockey is a continuos game. There's no one play. So how far back can you go to challenge? If there was a missed offside call, and the play continues for 5 minutes and someone scores, can you then go back and challenge the offside call?

That's why you can't implement a challenge.

My take on refs? Go back to 3 on the ice and don't have any linesmen. Have that automated by super-puck esque technology and people on video. Have a visual indicator for the players (other than ref arms) so they know what the status is.

More looking into penalties, infractions, all the little stuff that can be automated with at least as good results should be automated.

Having said that, worst thing in sports (other than soccer flailing)? The measuring the football by 2 dudes trotting out with chains. Really? Can't they get rid of that in a heartbeat? Dumb.

2nd that emphatically!!!! Review after every goal? ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZ plus

Hell no!


Regarding bad calls from the officials, lay a stiff fine on offending linesmen and refs, or put 'em on a Rogue's Gallery mug-shot list at NHL.com for a few weeks, or make 'em wear a dunce hat for the next three games they officiate - something, anything, but please, no more bs reasons to stop the game.

And while I'm ranting, linesmen, drop the damn puck! The game is not about you.

Let them play!
- blueline

If you had a child play travel hockey, I would think your rant is towards Tony Paradise!!!!!

Damn Blue someone hit a nerve.

I agree with you on less stoppages in play and the shootout. I doubt the Refs association would stand for the fine/mug shot etc but something surely needs to happen.

And they dont drop the puck anymore they throw the frigging thing like they were Bob Feller or Bob Gibson. E.G. the one that Goose "hand-passed" bounced 3 feet in the air.

I would dump the shoot out maybe add a 3 on 3 5 minute period after the 4 on 4 OT then let it be a tie.

If they are going to keep OT and Shoot out, I have always been in favor of 3 point games. 3 regular win 0 regular loss 2 OT win and 1 OT loss. IT wouldnt work in Preds favor this season but overall i think it would be the most equitable.
- im4preds

All good ideas im4! Count me in for some kind of change that screams hockey over figure skating.

The 3-on-3 after a 5-min 4-on-4 is an idea that I have always thought might work.

Anyone notice how good OT play has been lately? Real hockey!!!! OT's are great and if you remove the lame, lazy, fake-point producing shootout, OT's would be even better.

And yes, a 3-point system has also always intrigued me and would certainly change the dynamic for the better over what we have now.

However, wanna get really radical? Not sure if I'd like this or not, but how about no more loser points at all. 3-on-3 until a winner! 2-points or none. That's it. Talk about intensity. (I realize that idea would never even be considered - just idle thoughts on my part.)

If you had a child play travel hockey, I would think your rant is towards Tony Paradise!!!!!
- slash&smash

Rants are so beneficial at times. Liberating!

By the way, Go Preds!

Rants are so beneficial at times. Liberating!

By the way, Go Preds!
- blueline

Amen!!!!

Fun fact of the night, Who has the best +/-, points & paid the least that was drafted by DP? Franson, Hamhuis, Klein, Suter, or Weber?

Amen!!!!

Fun fact of the night, Who has the best +/-, points & paid the least that was drafted by DP? Franson, Hamhuis, Klein, Suter, or Weber?
- slash&smash

Fun fact #2 of the night, who is 2nd on the preds in PIM? 1st if you don't count 5 minutes for hugging.

I have long been interested in/imagined a rule change that would implement the following:

Go to 2 referees on the ice. Both have full reign. This will free up more space on the ice.

There are linesmen, but they call the game from the press box or at ice level. The lines on the ice (blues and goals) get a light up feature under the ice (maybe) as well as along the walls. When a play is offsides or there is an icing, there will be both a visual indicator (the light up) as well as an audible whistle over the PA system (like the buzzer). This helps the players see it and hear it in real time as well as the fans getting to experience it as it happens. You post up one linesman on each blue line and they make every and only the calls in regards to that blue line (offsides and icing warnings). On an icing, the secondary linesman would have the right to negate the initial call, much like they do in the current system.

Automatic icing becomes a part of the NHL game. This will speed things up and avoid injury.

More space, more focus by the linesmen, more consistent and accurate calls, fewer big injuries (on the touch-ups).

I have long been interested in/imagined a rule change that would implement the following:

Go to 2 referees on the ice. Both have full reign. This will free up more space on the ice.

There are linesmen, but they call the game from the press box or at ice level. The lines on the ice (blues and goals) get a light up feature under the ice (maybe) as well as along the walls. When a play is offsides or there is an icing, there will be both a visual indicator (the light up) as well as an audible whistle over the PA system (like the buzzer). This helps the players see it and hear it in real time as well as the fans getting to experience it as it happens. You post up one linesman on each blue line and they make every and only the calls in regards to that blue line (offsides and icing warnings). On an icing, the secondary linesman would have the right to negate the initial call, much like they do in the current system.

Automatic icing becomes a part of the NHL game. This will speed things up and avoid injury.

More space, more focus by the linesmen, more consistent and accurate calls, fewer big injuries (on the touch-ups).
- jmayfield

That might work really well - I'm trying to think what the downsides are but my brain is too slow tonight. (Or always, maybe.)

Anyway, now that you've planted the seed, we are talking about mostly black and white calls (offsides & icing) and the idea that you could free up space is intriguing, as it would open up the ice somewhat.

What about fights? Hire bouncers? Tasers! That would be a fan spectacle!

All goals are already reviewed. It only slows the game down when there is something controversial. However, the war room is limited in what they can review, such as knocking the puck in with a high stick or illegally directing the puck toward the net with something other than the stick. I think many officials would welcome the chance to review goaltender interference and offsides. Limit it to something like up to 5 seconds before the goal as reviewable. That way, if the defending team had time to recover from a bad call, it is not reviewable.

Also, every major penalty and ejection should be reviewable. If what the refs think they saw didn't happen, the penalty can be commuted to a 2-minute minor and the player returned to the game. The major penalty can even be reviewed with action on the ice continuing.

There is no way to remove human error from officiating, but there is a way to deal with obvious screw-ups besides an admission by the league post-game. I do wish that when the league creates new rules, that the Preds wouldn't be the team that always gets screwed by the thing that nobody thought about: The Goose face-off penalty, the double-shot on a shootout not being reviewable because replay wasn't included for the shootout. These things got corrected by the league quickly, but still directly resulted in losses for the Preds.

Rants are so beneficial at times. Liberating!

By the way, Go Preds!
- blueline

Yo! You back at the game on Friday?

Yes. Can we please get rid of the shootout. Not because Nashville cant seem to win one, but because its the worst thing in hockey. Lets go back to tie games please!
- Pig

Tie games!!!!!! NEVER....EVER....EVER.....EVER AGAIN. A tie in ANY sport is totally unacceptable. Why keep score at all? Ties in sports were the dumbest idea in the history of sports. It's a contest. Contests are decided by a winner and a loser. Tie indicates wasted minutes of life. Okay, I'm done now.

Yo! You back at the game on Friday?
- wings-suck

May be back by Mar 8th game. Could hobble there now but probably not too wise.

I'm counting on you to keep the rowdies inline. (That includes you!)

Tie games!!!!!! NEVER....EVER....EVER.....EVER AGAIN. A tie in ANY sport is totally unacceptable. Why keep score at all? Ties in sports were the dumbest idea in the history of sports. It's a contest. Contests are decided by a winner and a loser. Tie indicates wasted minutes of life. Okay, I'm done now.
- R4Z0R

Amen!