The Two-Line Pass

We’re now something like four days out from the start of the NHL season, which means I have to kick these season previews into overdrive because I’m a lazy idiot. This is mainly for two reasons: 1) I am lazy and there’s no way I’ll do one of these every day, and 2) These started early enough that if I just stop doing them entirely you’ll have forgotten by October anyway. Oh and I guess also to show off my near-infinite knowledge of the National Hockey League. I’ll be previewing the teams in reverse order of finish in the 2007-08 season. Please note, though, that this is the opinion of one man, however smart and handsome he may be.

Nashville Predators, you’re on the clock.

There’s been a lot of talk about the Predators this summer, and all of it has focused on bad things.

A member of the ownership group turned out to be a fraud (and really, with a name like “Boots,” who didn’t see that coming?) and one of their best players was all like, “Screw this, I’d rather play in Russia.”

More after the jump.

So, ignoring the fact that the ownership situation is a mess, what did the Preds do to replace Alex Radulov, who combined with JP Dumont and Jason Arnott to form one of the best lines in the West? Nothing. A-Rad (I thought that up just now and I hope it doesn’t catch on) had 58 points, while both Dumont and Arnott had 72. Dumont’s point and goal totals were both career highs, and Arnott’s assist number tied his career best. One has to figure Radulov was a big reason for that. And sure, it’s a tough position. There’s no guarantee one way or the other that Radulov will come back, and if by some miracle he does, they can’t magically shed salary from the payroll, or absorb additional. The guy’s cap hit is less than a million dollars, but a similar replacement would cost far more. I get that.

But to not replace him, and indeed offload another several players important in some way to the team’s success last year (Chris Mason, Marek Zidlicky, etc.) is quite literally throwing up the white flag. Who’s going to play on the top line with Dumont and Arnott? Martin Erat or David Legwand? Yeesh. This is a bad, bad situation. The gaping void left in the offense by Radulov’s absence is unfillable for anything the Preds would be willing to pay, and because of that, the team that scored only one more goal than they allowed (230-229) is in serious trouble.

That said, I love Nashville’s defense, and the team will only go as far as the blue line takes them. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are unbelievable young defensemen, Dan Hamhuis is very strong as well. From what I saw of Ville Koistonen last year, no one will miss Marek Zidlicky. He’s going to get extra ice time in Zidlicky’s stead, and the fact that the team believes that much in him should tell you everything you need to know about Koistonen. If your fifth and sixth defensemen are Greg DeVries and Greg Zanon, you’re doing alright for yourself. Obviously this is a team built on defense, but because the offense is going to be so meager this year, any mistakes the defense makes will be very costly. Especially because of the goaltending situation. I mean, Dan Ellis as the No. 1 guy? Come on.

Ellis was admittedly very good in his 44 games, helping the Preds earn points in all but 10 of his 44 appearances. His numbers (2.34/.924 with six shutouts) were very good as well, though he was in a contract year. I belong to the school of thought that you can’t take what amounts to a sophomore goalie (even though he’s 27) and throw out there without a safety net as the No. 1 guy in a division that contains the Red Wings and Blackhawks. The team’s backup, and ONLY backup, is Pekka Rinne, who has all of 92 minutes’ NHL experience. He saw a grand total of eight shots last year. And he’s really all they have. If Ellis runs into even a little bit of trouble, he has no one to help him out, and no veterans to which he can turn because he’s the oldest goalie Nashville has. It’s lunacy that they’re starting the season like this.

The real noodle-scratcher is why Nashville opted not to even attempt to find someone in the free agent or trade market. The big get this year was Ryan Jones, who came over in the Zidlicky trade. He played in four AHL games last year. That’s AHL with an A. As in, “Are they serious?” The team scrapes into the playoffs last year, beating out Edmonton, Chicago and Vancouver by three points. All those teams improved this offseason with several key acquisitions. The Preds just twiddled their thumbs and, I dunno, listened to Carrie Underwood records. She’s big in Nashville, right?

This team is going nowhere.

The Hero: Shea Weber. Weber is one of the finest young defensemen in the Western Conference (that’s saying something), and there are some that would prefer him to a guy you may have heard of by the name of Dion Phaneuf. When you are being favorably compared to a Norris candidate, you do your job very, very well. Weber, though, is a year younger than Dion and this is going to be his breakout year.

The Darkhorse: Ville Koistonen. You could just see his game grow over the latter half of last season, and he’s being given added responsibility to prove it. Expect to hear his name a lot.

The New Guy: Patrik Hornqvist. He’s a 21-year-old wing who was fourth in scoring in Sweden last season and playing in his first season of North American hockey. He’s going to take a whack at jumping into a big role nice and early in his NHL career. For Nashville’s sake, let’s hope he works out. Who was I going to pick instead? Nick Tarnasky?

The Big Question: Where does any of this scoring come from? No, seriously, where?

Offseason gains:

• Acquired 2009 fifth-round pick from Carolina
• Acquired 2008 fourth-round pick from St. Louis (flipped to New York Rangers for a 2008 seventh-round pick and a 2009 fourth-round, used seventh-rounder on Jani Lajunen)
• Acquired LW Triston Grant and a 2009 seventh-round pick from Philadelphia
• Acquired RW Ryan Jones and a 2009 second-round pick
• Acquired C Nick Tarnasky from Tampa Bay
• G Drew MacIntyre
• LW Josh Gratton
• RW Joel Ward

Offseason losses:

• RW Alexander Radulov (to Mother Russia)
• LW Darcy Hordichuk (to Carolina)
• G Chris Mason (for St. Louis’ pick)
• D Janne Niskala (Grant deal)
• D Marek Zidlicky (Jones deal)
• 2009 conditional pick (Tarnasky deal)
• LW John Vigilante (to Columbus)
• D Alex Henry (to Montreal)
• RW Brandon Bochenski (to Tampa Bay)

Apropos-of-nothing TLP predicted finish: Third in the division, 11th in the West, 21st in the league

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.