Home HockeyBuzz Register Login
"My Take On The Preds"
TN • United States • 40 Years Old • Male
The <a href="http://www.tennessean.com...;>Tennessean</a> 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!

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. 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?
June 23, 2008 11:08 AM ET | Delete
I'm with you predjoe. This team is going to have to get some more stars to get people in the seats. I hate to think of it that way but it's how it has to be. This city was a football city before the Titans got here(Vanderbilt). So, that being said they are going to go to that sport more often. No matter how exciting hockey is. So, one solution is to get someone people know, and they might just come to the games. Hopefully they can do that. And if these Marleau, Cheechoo trade rumors are true, I would pull the trigger, fast!
June 23, 2008 3:58 PM ET | Delete
Hossa is too expensive. The Preds aren't going to commit to someone...anyone, with that type of salary demand. Besides getting a 'star', the Preds need to watch the bottom line. They can't just go out on a spending spree. The corporate community needs to jump on board first and help with our paid attendance.
June 23, 2008 4:33 PM ET | Delete
i agree with pred. a MAJOR star just isnt likely. we are already at roughly 45 million salary for next season with a few more players to sign. i hope we bundle a or some d-men to get a scorer. not a hossa, but a dumont/erat type maybe with a little bigger body. i had hoped for umberger. we need a front of the net guy. a poor mans holmstrom. we miss that since hartnell left and we really dont have ANYONE that spends much time there.
June 23, 2008 4:57 PM ET | Delete
If we make a deal it would have to include a D-man...hopefully Zidlicky and his three mil! For me it's about giving this market the star that they crave. We all remember the excitement when Foppa played in Nashville...this city was buzzing with hockey talk! Deep down I think the ownership realizes that they cannot wait around for our talent to become all-stars. They need to make a move that excites Nashville. Who knows...maybe we will be pushing the max on the cap this year...did anyone ever think Nashville would be sitting at 45 million??? Not this fan!
June 23, 2008 6:09 PM ET | Delete
With the salary floor expected to exceed $40 million, and with a cap of $56/57m, we are not too far from our expected range at this point. New owners said there would be a big payroll increase and indicated that the team would be somewhere in the middle of the upper and lower figures. That would be in the $48m range. No room for a Hossa. Also, for non-hockey fans that are being targeted for attendance issues, I doubt many players outside of a Crosby or an Ovechkin would register to those not already followers of the sport. Build from within, add a UFA or two that fit the needs of our team (not necessarily a "huge" name), and continue to win and build this team and its fan base through steady growth. Quick fixes cast a lot of money and can easily backfire in the long run. We have a solid core of players, just had an outstanding draft, and are signing key RFA's. This team is being built for success. If we have an exciting, win-filled regular season and then make a deep run in the playoffs, new fans and support will materialize.
June 23, 2008 7:31 PM ET | Delete
has anyone else wonder if sully retires if he is a no go. we need a scorer and i think its pretty obvious it wont be him, but unless he retires we are on the hook for 3 mil. i guess we could buy him out, but there is still a cost to that
June 24, 2008 7:13 AM ET | Delete
I agree with the ones who say we probably won't be getting someone like Hossa. I don't think the organization is ready to shell out that kind of money. As far as getting a "star" to put butts in seats, short of someone like Ovechkin, Crosby, Jagr, Forsberg .... there's not many guys out there that people who don't follow hockey would recognize enough to want to come out and see them. I definately don't think Hossa qualifies. Sure we know him and we would be excited, but we follow hockey. Someone who mostly follows the Titans would have no clue who he was. One UFA that I wouldn't mind seeing us spend some money on is Ryan Malone. He would be a big forward who will go to the net and get the garbage goals. He would be a replacement, and IMO an upgrade, for Hartnell. Other than that, I agree about the draft and locking up our core guys, Poile has done an excellent job so far.Nice blog Joe.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to leave a comment.

Blog Archive