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Forums :: Blog World :: Paul McCann: Goodbyes and Hellos
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Paul McCann
Nashville Predators
Location: Nolensville, TN
Joined: 09.15.2005

Oct 10 @ 1:18 PM ET
Paul McCann: Goodbyes and Hellos
Squatchy
Nashville Predators
Location: Clarksville, TN
Joined: 05.09.2018

Oct 10 @ 5:24 PM ET
The Bonino trade was for two picks, not one. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if it had only been on pick involved. If he needed to trade Bones to clear up cap space fine, but why did he have to include two draft picks to do it? It's not like Bonino was making 8 mil a year and you needed to add a sweetener. Is there something about Kunin nobody knows about? And no, I don't care that the Preds got a pick back in return, there's no reason to trade your most consistent player from last season and have more assets going the other way than you have coming in... Oh, and Kunin is a RFA so you still have to sign him!

The Turris buyout was inevitable. I don't care if it is 2m for 8y, I'd rather pay the 2mil to keep him off the ice, than pay the 6m to watch him play. I truly hope he turns it around in Edmonton, but that contract needed to go away.

The rest of the signings feel like classic Poile window-dressing. Guys you've barely heard of, that you have to dig to find reasons to try and convince everyone why this was a good signing. I'm reserving judgement on the D-men until I actually see them play in the Preds system. Hopefully they won't be Weber/Irwin 2.0. Maybe Poile thinks they'll fit better within Hynes system, we'll see.

The Hall talk is a load of BS. He makes no sense here other than the fact that his MVP year came under Hynes. Preds are already shelling out big money to just a handful of players, and Hall would've been more expensive than all of them. He's a good player, but I don't see him as a franchise savior either. If this had happened a couple of years ago when the Preds may have been one player away from a serious cup run I'd be all for it, but now... Soft pass on Hoffman too, I get a sinking feeling he'd wind up being Matt Duchene all over again. Fast, would've been a nice addition, but of course that's the one that didn't happen.

I was wondering how Poile was going to try and dig himself out of the mess he's made, and so far... Woof... He's cleared up some cap space, and now I'm scared to think what he's going to try to do with it. With our luck, he'll overpay some overrated player to come here for far too long, or swing and miss entirely.
Polecat
Nashville Predators
Joined: 11.01.2006

Oct 10 @ 9:29 PM ET
The Bonino trade was for two picks, not one. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if it had only been on pick involved. If he needed to trade Bones to clear up cap space fine, but why did he have to include two draft picks to do it? It's not like Bonino was making 8 mil a year and you needed to add a sweetener. Is there something about Kunin nobody knows about? And no, I don't care that the Preds got a pick back in return, there's no reason to trade your most consistent player from last season and have more assets going the other way than you have coming in... Oh, and Kunin is a RFA so you still have to sign him!

The Turris buyout was inevitable. I don't care if it is 2m for 8y, I'd rather pay the 2mil to keep him off the ice, than pay the 6m to watch him play. I truly hope he turns it around in Edmonton, but that contract needed to go away.

The rest of the signings feel like classic Poile window-dressing. Guys you've barely heard of, that you have to dig to find reasons to try and convince everyone why this was a good signing. I'm reserving judgement on the D-men until I actually see them play in the Preds system. Hopefully they won't be Weber/Irwin 2.0. Maybe Poile thinks they'll fit better within Hynes system, we'll see.

The Hall talk is a load of BS. He makes no sense here other than the fact that his MVP year came under Hynes. Preds are already shelling out big money to just a handful of players, and Hall would've been more expensive than all of them. He's a good player, but I don't see him as a franchise savior either. If this had happened a couple of years ago when the Preds may have been one player away from a serious cup run I'd be all for it, but now... Soft pass on Hoffman too, I get a sinking feeling he'd wind up being Matt Duchene all over again. Fast, would've been a nice addition, but of course that's the one that didn't happen.

I was wondering how Poile was going to try and dig himself out of the mess he's made, and so far... Woof... He's cleared up some cap space, and now I'm scared to think what he's going to try to do with it. With our luck, he'll overpay some overrated player to come here for far too long, or swing and miss entirely.

- Squatchy


Not sure what you were expecting. They flat out sucked last season. They were lacking grit and character guys. Poile is trying to fix some of his mistakes and get back to something that looks more like the cup run team. I do agree that the Bonino trade was more in favor of the Wild.
Squatchy
Nashville Predators
Location: Clarksville, TN
Joined: 05.09.2018

Oct 10 @ 10:13 PM ET
Not sure what you were expecting. They flat out sucked last season. They were lacking grit and character guys. Poile is trying to fix some of his mistakes and get back to something that looks more like the cup run team. I do agree that the Bonino trade was more in favor of the Wild.
- Polecat


Honestly, pretty much everything that's happened minus the Bonino trade. Their should've been plenty of teams interested in him, you'd think he could've done better than a trade that made it seem like he was forced to trade him and had to throw in extra assets to get a team to take him off his hands. I'm just not buying it. Especially for a guy on the last year of a deal that's not for outrageous money. The Watson trade makes this move make even less sense, unless Poile has something else in the works. Poile could've done everything he's done so far, kept Bonino for one more year, and those two picks, and still had around 10 million in cap space. Unless the ownership group wanted him to shed some money.

What I'm hoping for, with all the freed up roster space, is that maybe we'll see some of the young guys get a reasonable chance to play next season, and see if we have anything there.
Polecat
Nashville Predators
Joined: 11.01.2006

Oct 11 @ 5:54 PM ET
That’s the key. The window to win it all closes fast. You have to have younger talent in the pipeline who are anxious to prove themselves. The pipeline has been depleted the last 2 or 3 seasons. Young players hungry for contracts; not a bunch of over?/well-paid veterans. I see this as more of a re-tooling than a complete rebuild. The Hawks are a prime example. They are trying to get younger and shed salary, but at least they have 3 cups to show for the money they spent. Bones is playing good now, but he is 37. Age eventually gets all of us
- Polecat

Squatchy
Nashville Predators
Location: Clarksville, TN
Joined: 05.09.2018

Oct 12 @ 11:54 AM ET
Almost half of the forward core from last season is gone. Assuming Poile is done for now, the Preds aren't going to have any other choice but to give some of the young guys a chance. Cousins will fill one of those spots obviously, but that still leaves four open for the other guys. Trenin will have one, you have to think Poile will almost be obligated to give Kunin one considering what he gave up to get him, like he was the big prize in that trade. You'd think they almost have to give a spot to Tolvanen too. I don't see what another year in Milwaukee is going to do for him. It's time to give him a shot and see if he can play in this league or not. He either succeeds, or you need to admit you botched another high round forward pick and move on.

There's always the chance Poile stumbles upon a garage sale before next season starts, and picks up a couple of grinders to eat up a couple of those spots but I can hope. David, if you happen to see some washed up fourth-linger who can't skate anymore standing in front of somebody's garage, just walk away.