Where Is PredJoe?

Many Predator fans have been wondering where Pred’s blogger PredJoe has been this off season. This article pulled from wire reports answers this question.

Ufa Russia - While the international dispute continue over young Alexander Radulov and his NHL and KHL contracts one American is also seeing if he too can strike gold in Russia.

PredJoe has been blogging about all things Predator for the past two seasons on his own blog site www.predjoe.wordpress.com as well as the popular Hockeybuzz.com site but saw an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, I too could make some big bucks by coming over here,” said PredJoe.

So he packed up his bags and he moved to Ufa Russia where he found life a bit different in the Republic of Bashkortostan than that in his home state of Tennessee.

“Well the first thing I noticed was all these long lines. At first I thought it was to see the new Batman movie until I saw people walking away from the line with blocks of cheese and toilet paper,” said PredJoe.

Still having a dream PredJoe began knocking on doors asking for a Radulov type payout. First he stopped by the local paper where he was refused job because he did not speak Russian. “I really thought that they would think outside the box and see the opportunity that I was bringing them,” said PredJoe.

Next he stopped by the local TV station hoping that his good American looks could translate into a big Russian payday but there too he was met with resistance.

“Apparently in this part of Russian having two eyebrows is looked down upon,” said PredJoe after leaving the TV station.

PredJoe would not be denied though and searched on for his millions. He went to any media outlet he could find begging for an opportunity to strike it rich but was finding nothing but rejection until he met Yiri.

“When I met PredYosef I knew that he would be the perfect fit for our firm,” said Ufa executive Yiri Kachkayev. “He has strong mind and big head so we offer him job right away.”

So with that the hockey blogger from Tennessee had his gig in Ufa. Although not exactly what he wanted when he arrived and far from the millions he expected to find in the land of plenty PredJoe is living his dream.

“I will be working daily with Radulov at Ufa Arena where his team plays. Right now I am director of fan satisfaction but it is just the first step of what promises to be a lucrative career here,” said PredJoe as he loaded another tray full of cheap Vodka for the vendors to sell in the arena to the rabid hockey fans. “Me and Rudy will make good team.”

While PredJoe believes he is living his dream this reporter was saddened by the quality of life this young blogging star will living under in Ufa. He did not find his millions but seemed content sipping an occasional Vodka while pouring them for fans at Ufa Arena. Hopefully, someday soon, PredJoe will realize that Russia is no place for dreams to come true. No place for poor men to become rich. No place for bloggers to blog.

What Does The Day Hold?

Honestly when the season ended last year I didn’t think we would be sitting in such a good place right now. I didn’t think we would have signed both Suter and Weber and am a bit surprised that we were able to lock up Dan Ellis as well. Add to those pieces the resigning of Martin Erat, the resigning last year of Jordin Tootoo and the big extension given to David Legwand and these Preds are in good shape.

So that begs the question…”what will David Poile do next?” What bit of magic does he pull out of his hat next?

I really feel that Marek Zidlicky is on his way out. I cannot get anyone in the organization to confirm that but I believe that the Preds believe his salary (3.3 a year for two more years) could be better used elsewhere. Puck moving d-men are a great asset and I am sure Poile has had his phone ring on more than one occasion. I don’t foresee any of our young D going anywhere at this point unless the deal was just too good to pass up…but I don’t see that happening.

Much has been written about the Preds needing a big tough guy. I couldn’t disagree more! Take a look at the Red Wings for instance…who is their tough guy? Can you name their goon? Can you name their Hordichuk who’s sole purpose was to get out there and fight and maybe just maybe contribute a goal or two? I thinks the Preds should focus on feisty and not goons. Give us some guys with some spunk like Nichol, Tootoo, Weber…guys that will go if they need to but who will help you when they are on the ice too. I sure hope the Preds don’t waste their time trolling for one of the ‘tough guys.’

Who knows what Poile has planned…he keeps all his moves close to the vest and never seems to disappoint.

Can’t Stop Thinking About Barry

Ever since the news of the return of Barry Melrose was announced I can’t get it out of my head. I just find it odd. I think Barry made a fine contributor to ESPN’s attempt to cover the NHL but there was something about the bloodshot eyes and the Suave hair product dripping from his mullet that have me wondering if this is the right move by Tampa.

A few questions I have:

Will the players respect Barry? This is a question that I have pondered here in Nashville when the ‘fire Barry Trotz talk’ would surface because people would always throw Terry Crisp’s name into the ring. I wonder once a guy is away from the bench for so long and is more friend than mentor to the player can the relationship/or assumed relationship change? I think the right person can change it but it may take a while. There could be unneeded growing pains.

How is he with his X’s and O’s? Despite hearing him breakdown games I have never really thought of Barry as an X’s and O’s kind of guy. Tampa has some great young players and one incredible talent in Steven Stamkos and these players really need someone who can teach them the ins and outs of the NHL game. Maybe Barry can do that but that doesn’t strike me as his strong suit.

What does Tampa expect from him? Does Hollywood producer and new owner of the Lighting Oren Koules want to put a little star power behind the bench? Do they think they need an ESPN figure to help sell seats? If Stamkos alone doesn’t sell an extra 2,000 in season tickets then you have a problem. Yes, I know Barry has won at every level and even took the Kings to a final but does anyone else say ‘but he had Gretzky on his team’ when that is brought up?

Don’t get me wrong Tampa fans. I wish you and Barry well. I think getting some new/old blood back behind the bench is a good idea. We’ve seen the same players on the coaching carousel for a while now…bringing back someone like Melrose could be good for hockey in Tampa and might be good for some good sound bites as well.

If Eklund is right and Barry is looking at trying to bring in Ray Emery I think it’s a great idea. Ray has talent. He is a freakin head case but he has talent. I would like to take a chance on a guy who is trying to prove to the entire league that he belongs!

Now that I’ve talked about this I feel better…thanks for listening and letting me talk about something non-Preds related.

Weber Signed

The Tennessean is reporting that Shea Weber has signed a three year 13.5 million dollar deal to remain a Predator. Great signing…David Poile continues to work his magic and get things done. This sets up our blue line for the next three years. Weber and Suter are just going to get better and better!

Draft Over…Now What?

The first big hurdle in the hockey off-season took place this past weekend as giddy teenage hockey players felt like Cinderella at the ball getting drafted by NHL teams. Not sure if they were as nervous as I was prior to my 4th grade class kickball draft but I’m sure the kids had some butterflies!

Overall I feel really good about the Preds draft. I am not a prospect geek…I spend some time on boards and looks at player rankings but by no means am I an expert. I especially liked the Preds first pick, Boston University Center Colin Wilson. The part that made me smile was when I heard on of the analysts say during the draft that when Colin was asked if he could play at the NHL level next year he said “yes.” Barring an unbelievable camp Wilson will, more than likely, go back to Beantown. He may be part of the extended roster come playoff time if the Preds elect to sign him at the end of the year like they did Legwand.

I’m a big sap (some of you may remember my tears during the first extended standing O near the end of last season) so seeing boyhood friends get drafted by the same team (both first rounders) was pretty cool! How awesome would that be to be having the best day of your life and be able to share it with your best bud who is also having the best day of his life!

Some Pred fans have made issue with drafting a goalie so high (Chet Pickard with the 18th overall pick). I did not have issue with it at all. Yes we have Ellis locked up and yes we have Pekka but we have to look beyond the next two or three years. The careers of goalies are quite a roller coaster…the more top notch talent you have to pull from the better.

The Tennessean reports that the Preds are close to signing Shea Weber. I am hoping that the deal looks similar to that of Ryan Suters in length…would love to lock Shea up for four more years. Having that tandem locked up is key to our success over the next few years.

What will the Preds do come July 1st? There have been some rumors floating around (I guess we can put the Olli Jokinen rumors to bed now) but I have begun to try not to get too excited. I am hopeful that the Preds are active in the free agent market as we are still looking for that ‘face of the franchise’ that will but some butts in the seats and get this football town excited about a true star. I would hope that they make a play for Hossa at least. What do you guys think?

Draft Day Begins With A Bang!

David Poile should play poker professionally. He should. I saw him on local news tow nights ago saying “I am not confident at all that we will be able to sign Dan Ellis. I think he wants to test the free agent market.”

Well…I’ll be jiggered if he didn’t go and pull off a deal that cleared the way to get Ellis to sign by trading Mason away to the St. Louis Blues. This is a good deal for the Preds…while I am a bit sad to see Mason (I’ll never forget our meeting Chris!)leave he really seemed to lose a step last year. Not sure what it was but he did not look like a number one goalie. Somehow Poile talked St. Louis into thinking that he was and that he is worth six million over the next two years. Ouch!

I think the tandem of Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne will be perfect for the Preds heading into next year. Dan played great all last season and seemed to thrive under the pressure of the playoffs. Pekka is, hopefully, our goalie of the future and if we can get him 20-30 starts next year that would be perfect.

It was also sad to see Preds tough guy Darcy Hordichuk get traded to the Hurricanes. Darcy has been a class act during his time with the Preds. I hope that the Canes can use him a bit more than the Preds did last year. I know he could not have been happy with his lack of starts but he never let it show.

What else does draft day hold? Will anything come of the “preds interested in Cheechoo” comment that is floating around. It’s going to be an exciting day.

No Bigger Than This

Games don’t get bigger than this. Win or go home…it will be written countless times about this game so why not one more here too! The Predators face the Red Wings in game 6 of the eastern conference quarterfinals today at 2pm CST…the Wings lead the best of seven series 3-2.

Getting Caught Up: Sorry I did not have a chance to post reactions to game 5 yet. Sometimes life with two daughters (ages 2 and seven weeks) just happens and blogging takes a backseat. I have been so out of it that I have no had a chance to check and see what others have said so I am sure this will not be ‘breaking news’ to anyone. Some reactions…

Not having Legwand and Arnott seemed to kill us before the game even started. It seemed to kill the teams will before the puck even dropped. There was very little positive play from the Preds especially in the first two periods.

Dan Ellis was unreal! Seriously he was the ONLY reason we were in this at the end. Shot after shot he was there with the big save. Sometimes impressive…sometimes routine but either way he was there. It’s sad to think that Ellis probably doesn’t figure into the Preds future plans.

I don’t want to say it was all our fault that we lost game five because it’s not. The Wings played a great game. They were solid at both ends of the ice and Osgood gave them what they needed in net. Yes the game ended on a sloppy neutral zone turnover by us but the fact remains that the Wings executed far better than we did.

Did anyone else find it odd that Arnott had ‘the flu’ the other night? Flu season is pretty much over down here. My guess is that it’s something else. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arnott was suffering some back or shoulder problems from the slam Radulov gave him after his goal in game three. this smells of post season trickery if you ask me.

Game Six: This is a little sad to me. Life is happening once again and I will miss my first ever Predators playoff game today (I have been at every other home playoff game). I am bummed but thank goodness for DVR.

I have not read any updates yet but hopefully the Preds will get Arnott and Legwand back tonight. If not I fear that this could be a repeat of game 5. The Preds need to once again assert themselves and set the tone physically and do it early. A couple big hits early would be in order.

Ellis needs to continue to wear the ‘S’ on his chest as he will, once again, be peppered with shots.

The crowd needs to do their part and will this team (if playing without Arnott and Leggy you could say ‘under matched team’) to victory again. They will need everyone last bit of energy if they are to go all Hulk Hogan on the Wings today.

While I will not be there in person I will be there in spirit!

Go Preds…let’s get it done and go to our first game seven in franchise history. We all know that in a game seven anything can happen!

Interesting Quote…

Sitting in my car and heard a Mike Babcock quote saying that going with his plan B (Chris Osgood) is not bad.

“He won 29 games and had the best goals against average in the league,” said Babcock.

Wrong…Dan Ellis had the best goals against in the NHL…sorry Mike.

Updated:

Whoops…this is what I get for writing a blog in the car in the parking lot while listening to the radio! Ellis was first in Save percentage not GAA…sorry for coming out and slamming Coach Mike there. Eating crow while egg is dripping down my face after removing foot from my mouth!

Heard Trotz on local radio this am and he said all the right things. Saying that the change in goal had more to do with Detroit needing a change than Hasek’s play.

Tonight the Preds need to continue to set the tone physically. If the Preds can do that it will go a long way towards coming away with a win.

In response the Legwands play since he returned Trotz said that prior to game three he said the staff was in a quandary as to whether to play. They started him slow with the fourth line. They then saw him really playing well and not being winded. Leggy’s return gives the Preds two solid scoring lines and gives the Wings more problems than games one and two.

Game starts at 630 tonight on FSN…go Preds!

Osgood To Start Game Five

TSN is reporting that Chris Osgood will start game five for the Red Wings. You can read the story HERE.

This is not the news I was hoping for. Who would have thought there would be a time that I was hoping my team would get to face Hasek instead of the back up. Osgood is not your traditional back up goalie however. He is coming off a career year posting a 2.09 GAA and a .914 saves percentage. The 35 year old seemed to not only regain some of his youth in his play this year but improve on it as well. Osgood has the experience and I expect the Wings will play a solid game in front of him. This decision makes this series a whole lot more interesting!

Preds Chase Hasek…Even Series

Yet another roller coaster of a game between the Red Wings and the Preds. Say what you will about either team but one thing is for certain they are giving hockey fans a great series to watch.

Last night the quick strikes continued as the Preds we able to score 32 seconds apart (first a goal by Hamhuis then by Weber) and followed up Pavel Datsyuk’s goal with one by Greg de Vries 11 seconds later killing any momentum that the Wings had gained by cutting the lead to 2-1. If a Hollywood writer scripted these games it would go to rewrites because it would just no be believable.

One thing that got lost to me last night was the fact that all of our offense came from our D-men last night. We expect big Shea to put up some points and not shocked by Hamhuis but getting a goal from de Vries is not what you expect (though he has a flair for the clutch goals, scoring the game winner against St. Louis in the home finale this year). Getting the production from the D is a huge lift for the team and bodes well moving ahead in the series.

Is there a goalie controversy in Detroit? Depends on who you ask. It sounded like Babcock had made up his mind who would start game five tomorrow night but stopped short of naming the starter. “I always like to take a deep breath first and then decide what I’m gonna do,” Babcock said.

Osgood played very good in relief and gave the Wings a chance to win however if Babcock decides to go with Osgood it’s, in my opinion, a one way bridge that he cannot go back on. I think, at this stage in his career, Hasek is not good at ‘battling’ for playing time. He wants to be the guy and does not take well to being benched in favor of someone else. Babcock needs to remember the stellar play of his 43 year old net minder that he got in games one and tow of the series. He is one of the main reasons that Detroit was able to take games one and two. It is a very interesting dance that they will have to do.

Even though these teams have been in this exact situation before I feel different about this one. The last time we met in the playoffs it was the Preds virginal voyage to the post season. We might of even still be a little intimidated by the Winged Wheel. Those days are gone. We do not have the experience that Detroit has in the post season (and truth be told we never will…they have a wee bit of a head start!) but this is the fourth time we have been here…now we just have to learn how to close the deal.

If you don’t have plans to watch the game tomorrow night head on down to the Sommet Center to watch it on the big screen. Admission is free and there will be prizes and entertainment at intermission. Doors open at 6 pm.