NHL Central Division Preview: Nashville
The story of the development of the Nashville Predators has taken a backseat to the constant speculation regarding the sale of the team and the substantial financial hurdles to making hockey a going concern in Tennessee. That’s too bad because Dave Poile has done a fine job putting together a team that looked like it was set to become a regular part of the conversation as one of the more competitive teams in the Western Conference. In a way they are a bit like the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been more successful in a small southern city than they were when they were located in Vancouver. Neither team has made a big splash in the playoffs - they’ve never made it out of the first round - but have both been competitive almost from the get go in an unconventional professional sports market.
The pesky financial troubles have put a serious crimp in the Predators lineup this season and as a result its become a bit of a vicious circle. The Forechecker touches on this in the intro to his preview of the Predators:
FORWARDS
Who’s Out: Scott Hartnell, Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg (presumably).
DEFENSE
Who’s Out: Kimmo Timonen, Vitali Vishnevski
The team also lost Tomas Vokoun in a trade that was made partly because Chris Mason looks like he could handle #1 netminder duties, but also to cut salary. Mason looked pretty good in the games I saw last season, and James Mirtle suggests that backup Dan Ellis has been very solid during preseason play.
Nashville has some very solid talent remaining. Alexander Radulov is coming off an impressive rookie season and should thrive with loads of ice time to be had. J.P. Dumont and Dave Legwand should be amongst the leading offensive threats for the Preds. I agree wholeheartedly with the Forechecker’s take on Radulov:
Who to Watch: While Alexander Radulov’s talent entices the locals with dreams of an All-Star caliber sniper…A healthy increase in ice time should help him tally upwards of 150-200 shots…Figure him for something like 200 shots, a 13-15% scoring rate, and 25-30 goals. Anything above that would be a huge bonus to the Predators.
As much as Nashville has lost amongst their forwards, the blueline is either going to make or break this team. Teams that feature young and inexperienced rearguards tend to struggle in the NHL. The Preds do have plenty of talent but their key d-men - Shea Weber, Dan Hamhuis, and Marek Zidlicky - have very limited NHL experience. Weber has one full season under his belt, Hamhuis has two, while Ziklicky has three years of NHL experience but has loads of experience playing in Finland.
The other big question that Dirk touches on is whether Chris Mason is up to handling the load as the #1 goalkeeper. There’s nothing to suggest he’s not, but he’s never played more than 40 games in an NHL season so there’s obviously a risk there. Nashville is going to have to have everyone chip in to play sound, defensive hockey to provide support for their defensive pairings and their netminders. However I just don’t see the Preds having an answer for the departure of Timonen. With that being said, I agree with Dirk that they will be the team to beat for at least second place in the division and should be in contention for a playoff spot.
Central Division Preview Nashville Predators Red WingsNo Comments
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