2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Nashville Predators

by James Mirtle on Sep 25, 2009 11:00 AM CDT Comment 3 comments

More photos » Frederick Breedon - AP

Who's in: Marcel Goc, Ben Guite
Who's out: Radek Bonk, Greg de Vries, Vernon Fiddler, Ville Koistinen, Scott Nichol, Greg Zanon

Outlook: Life's not easy as one of the league's low budgeted clubs.

The Predators watched as six role players left the roster — the most glaring loss being useful stay at home defender Greg Zanon — and no free agents of note were added to the mix as the team's payroll sunk down close to the $40.8-million salary floor. The only good news in free agency was that GM David Poile was able to lock up Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward, both of whom should play bigger roles this season.

With Alex Radulov committed to staying in Russia another season, the Predators are going to have to get more offence from within and there aren't a lot of scoring options in the system. Cal O'Reilly, who had a decent 11-game audition at the end of last season, may be an option on a scoring line, as will NCAA standout Colin Wilson, but for the most part, it's going to fall to the incumbents like Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont and Martin Erat to drive the offence.

Other causes for concern come on the blueline, where the losses will mean a promotion from the AHL for Cody Franson and far bigger roles for players like Alexander Sulzer and Kevin Klein. Poile will likely opt to bring in another veteran defender at some point, but for the most part, huge minutes will continue to fall on the trio of Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Dan Hamhuis. Nashville very likely has the youngest defence core in the NHL this season.

Even so, this is an underrated group, and if Pekka Rinne can turn his star performance in a half season into more of a full-time showing, the Predators do have a chance to return to the playoffs. Everyone will be betting against them, but when hasn't that been the case?

X-factor: Colin Wilson

For a more in-depth Preds preview, visit On The Forecheck
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Preds finish in the Western Conference this season?

1

4 votes

2

0 votes

3

0 votes

4

2 votes

5

5 votes

6

5 votes

7

11 votes

8

26 votes

9

19 votes

10

25 votes

11

13 votes

12

16 votes

13

16 votes

14

3 votes

15

9 votes

154 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

This is still a good team, but the division is so much more competitive now. There isn’t a weak link in the group. The battle for 3rd in the division will be intense, assuming Detroit and Chicago are battling for 1 and 2 again.

I realize James did these a while ago, but it’s worth including Francis Bouillon as one of their guys on the “Who’s in” list, presumably as Greg Zanon’s replacement. That move was a subtle one, but a good one for the group as a whole.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Sep 25, 2009 11:15 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Bouillon isn’t signed yet though. He still has trouble with the groin injury that goes back to last February, so he’s presently on a tryout. Nashville definitely needs to add a veteran defenseman, but whether it’s going to be Bouillon in the end, who knows.

by bearhunter on Sep 26, 2009 9:01 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ve only seen Colin Wilson play twice, so small sample size warning, and some (but not all) BU fans I talked to said that he’s not usually like this, but he was one of the biggest puck hogs I’ve ever watched. In the NCAA semi-final against Vermont, which shouldn’t have been close, he almost gave the game away with some awful turnovers when he refused to pass and the Catamounts made him cough up the puck.

He wasn’t as bad two nights later, at least relative to his team, but Miami managed to completely choke the life out of the Terriers’ ability to get the puck across the red line for about 25 consecutive minutes down the stretch, and it’s not like Wilson was much help. If the Redhawks hadn’t gotten scared and tentative over the last 90 seconds, BU would have headed home the victim of the biggest Frozen Four upset in a long time, maybe even bigger than their own upset of Michigan in the 1997 semi-finals.

by J. Michael Neal on Sep 25, 2009 1:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

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