Frustration!

[weeze]

I just knew Shea would not win the Norris, Preds not making the playoffs and are not a big time Hockey power are his downfall. I honestly do not see him ever wining it unless the Preds make it to the finals or win the SC.

Also not hearing any positive rumors or any rumors at all concerning the Preds and any top FA talent. Every team except the Preds seems to be mentioned as a destination for a FA, soooo frustrating!

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[NSH615]

I just knew Shea would not win the Norris, Preds not making the playoffs and are not a big time Hockey power are his downfall. I honestly do not see him ever wining it unless the Preds make it to the finals or win the SC.

Also not hearing any positive rumors or any rumors at all concerning the Preds and any top FA talent. Every team except the Preds seems to be mentioned as a destination for a FA, soooo frustrating!

No, the fact he plays in the south is his downfall. He could win the next 6 straight Stanley Cups and still would not win the Norris.

 

[Montross]

I just knew Shea would not win the Norris, Preds not making the playoffs and are not a big time Hockey power are his downfall. I honestly do not see him ever wining it unless the Preds make it to the finals or win the SC.

Also not hearing any positive rumors or any rumors at all concerning the Preds and any top FA talent. Every team except the Preds seems to be mentioned as a destination for a FA, soooo frustrating!

I understand what you are feeling. For the first time, I am at a low point in my Predators fandom. This is the first season that I have not renewed my tickets.

Looking back, when the city got the team, I was happy to have NHL hockey and didn't mind the bumps of the team - just loved seeing the sport. Then the team got really good. We signed Paul Kariya - it was such a big moment that we got that guy here I bought a #9 jersey as soon as I could.

Then of course we had the firesale and the team nearly moving away. Then we had this local group bad together and save the team, and once again I did not mind the small budget and lack of stardom because we had saved the team from leaving and I was just glad to still have them here.

Not too much longer after that the team was very good again and I expected a trip at least to the Conference Finals. But that came crashing down in Arizona. I guess that's when my slow descent from the team truly began.

We saw Suter hem and haw and ultimately leave. Not soon after, we heard that Weber had signed the offer sheet with Philly and that virtually every pundit out there was stating that the Preds couldn't match. Somehow the team manned up and kept him, but at what cost? An offer sheet designed where a small-market could not really afford it was indeed matched. I thought then and I think now it was a lose-lose situation for this team. They kept Weber, but are paying dearly in real dollars to do it.

So now we sit as a team with no real superstar offensive talent. We really have only one outstanding player. And Rinne? The jury is still out - we hope, but we have to wait and see how he plays next season after that injury.

Couple that with the trend that elite players don't want to play here, my outlook is pessimistic. We as a fanbase have grown up with this team, and have experienced quite a few punches to the gut. I am sick and tired of the Predator Way. I want ownership and management to go get us some scoring, and I want to see some competitive hockey again. Maybe you call me not a real fan or whatever. But that's where I'm at.

 

[Nothing Is New]

There, there. Look on the bright side. Ten reasons for optimism.

1. Norris or not, we have Weber signed for a looonng time and he's a damn good player.
2. We locked up probably the #1 free agent coach early and he's had time to assess talent and make inputs into the draft.
3. As events unfold, the Legwand trade looks better and better. We have a probable top six offensive talent and a second - in exchange for a guy who was leaving.
4. We will see OFFENSE this year!
5. The new coach should do a better job with our young offensive talent and we may see Wilson or Iron Hook really break out..
6. We draft 11th but the draft is such a crap shoot this year that a good talent could slip through to us. For instance, Red Line has Nylander 11th and Ritchie eighth.
7. Jones is a great talent but still maturing and will get better year by year.
8. We almost made the playoffs despite missing Rinne for a lot of games last year. He's tanned and ready to go this year.
9. Free agents did not help us last year. With Callahan now gone, likelihood is we will sign no meaningful FAs. Good! We don't need more third liners or ancient mariners. We'll play and develop the talent we have. Team will be very solid financially.
10. In three months to the day, there will be hockey in Bridgestone. From an Atlanta hockey fan, never take that for granted.

 

[Paranoid Android]

If Nashville makes the playoffs and Weber isn't a minus I think he wins it. Yes, the voters are that shallow. The award lost all credibility years ago anyway.

 

[preds1]

Also not hearing any positive rumors or any rumors at all concerning the Preds and any top FA talent. Every team except the Preds seems to be mentioned as a destination for a FA, soooo frustrating!

Weber stuff aside, it is frustrating to see Dallas, Minny & Colorado improve each year while we pretty much stay stagnant, or overpay for "character".
Central is tough.

 

[Predsrule]

he lost because media doesn't care about Nashville. small market team that doesnt have near the amount of media followers as the noth east or other big markets are not going to win a media award.. these guys make a living off getting more people to follow/read/ext thir stuff... thus small market wont win. put it this way
Writer a- I voted for Keith/Chara
Writer b- I voted for Weber
who gains more followers and readers and such? easy choice ah

 

[Byrddog]

Weber stuff aside, it is frustrating to see Dallas, Minny & Colorado improve each year while we pretty much stay stagnant, or overpay for "character".
Central is tough.

This is he exact thing I get bashed for. Our team is not competitive in the central now. It was not last year and it will not be this season as well. I like PL as a coach he can and will get every ounce of offense out of any tem. The problem is this team does not have the high end talent to be competitive right now. Many are just fooling themselves to think that Hook, Foresberg Smith, Horni, Fish, Wilson are going to have a chance in Hattie's to be a productive top 6 no matter what system or coach we have. Smith, Horni, Fish, Wilson have huge holes in there game and are remarkably inconsistent. Granted the last three weeks of the season they came around perhaps trying to save Trotz job.. Who knows, but look back at the goaless streaks of these guys many of the happened at the same time. A team can not survive in the central like that absent elite talent. A Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin type player makes up for the blank periods of average players.

I really hope that some of these guys can step up. Heck even Smith and everyone here knows I dispise the guy. It is depressing to realize that ion a little over two months the season is cranking up with camp and preseason and while a coaching move has been made Lavy is far too short on talent for his system. I hope DP suprises us all again and snags a couple difference makers if not we are in for another very long year. I do not recall where I saw it but there was a spot about the Preds defense being allowed to pinch in and become more a part of the offense next year I think it was an interview with Ellis and wish I could produce the spot but none the less. Even with a spectacular Rinne the team paid for defense lapses with goals over the past two seasons so it is a concern is Lavy turns them loos I think.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Weber stuff aside, it is frustrating to see Dallas, Minny & Colorado improve each year while we pretty much stay stagnant, or overpay for "character".
Central is tough.

Each year? Dallas and Colorado just had flash in the pan good seasons after being poor for many seasons before that (Colorado just had the #1 pick last year!). Minnesota has been a perpetual bubble team that now barely has a playoff win under the belt despite Liarpold setting money on fire to bring players in. We're a whopping two years removed from being a perennial playoff team and advancing to the second round twice. It really hasn't been THAT bad (don't get me wrong, losing DOES suck, and we're still under-talented), and those teams really haven't gotten THAT much better.

 

[triggrman]

..... A team can not survive in the central like that absent elite talent. A Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin type player makes up for the blank periods of average players...

Man, I hate that teams in the central can't survive without a Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin type player. Wait, no one in the central has those type players......

 

[RaiderDoug]

Weber will win the Norris when we win as a team. There's no bias. Both Chara and Keith are not only major contributors on the ice - their team wins as well. This isn't some conspiracy.

If the franchise ever actually accomplished something on the ice other than a few meaningless regular season point totals - he'd have won one already.


Next, who knows what'll happen next year. The way some folks talk - I don't even know why they would bother watching next season.

I prefer to be excited for the season. If we fizzle - so be it. There's always the next year.

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Walk back from the ledge. Webs lost because he was a minus on a non-playoff team. Feel good he got nominated and Suter didn't. Anytime Suter gets dissed in favor of Webs, we've had a good fan base day.

How can people say we're not "competitive" in the Central. We didn't miss the Dance by much last year without Pekka.

This year our younger players will be better, Pekka will be healthy and good, and Lavy will make it fun to watch. We'll battle for the #7 or #8 spot, it'll keep the drama going all season, and maybe we'll sneak in. Plus, it's going to feel different. Different system, different values, and hopefully different moves by DP with prodding from Lavy.

Now is not the time to give up your tickets. We've fought off so much adversity to keep a team in Nashville. Why surrender your ticket to the sport you love and the team you love. Being a rabid fan is like a marriage. It can be a rollercoaster but you stick with what you love and you see the good.

I'm feeling the Atlanta peeps. They know what it's like to lose it. I was a Hartford Whaler season ticket holder. I still get goosebumps when I hear Brass Bonanza (Whaler goal song).

This franchise may not have banners hanging, but it's given me and my family thrills and something to bond with for 15 years. Section 318 is family and so are the Preds.

Enjoy it, man. Smashville is from the heart.

 

[originalpredfan]

I have been playing, coaching, or watching Hockey since the 1940's. I couldn't wait for Saturday night to hear the words on a black and white TV announce "Esso and Esso Extra bring you Hockey Night in Canada". I agree the Predators could use a stud forward at this point, but I don't agree with the assessment that some have of Smith, Wilson, Jarnkrok, and Forsberg. This is how a great a Hockey team is built. With young talent that gets developed. I never felt that the previous coaching staff could develop young offensive talent. I do feel confident that the new regime can get these guys developed, and I do believe it will be sooner than many expect.

 

[triggrman]

I have been playing, coaching, or watching Hockey since the 1940's. I couldn't wait for Saturday night to hear the words on a black and white TV announce "Esso and Esso Extra bring you Hockey Night in Canada". I agree the Predators could use a stud forward at this point, but I don't agree with the assessment that some have of Smith, Wilson, Jarnkrok, and Forsberg. This is how a great a Hockey team is built. With young talent that gets developed. I never felt that the previous coaching staff could develop young offensive talent. I do feel confident that the new regime can get these guys developed, and I do believe it will be sooner than many expect.

This is what I want to believe and what I'm hoping for, and I totally agree with your assessment of the previous coaching staff.

 

[Armourboy]

The Preds are my team, good, bad, or whatever else comes I will support them and root for them as long as they are here. Yes this season may not be pretty, yes we may not be a cup contender, no we may not sign some big name FA, but in the end it doesn't change the fact that I will still be cheering.

I may not like every move that is made, I may not like every decision or the way it is handled, but damnit this is my team, no matter who is on the ice.

 

[PredsV82]

Weber lost because the writers who vote are either homers or lazy. The homers are the idiots that didn't even have Weber in the top 5. The lazy are the ones who saw the way Keith started the year and mentally cast theur votes by december and didn't bother to notice Sheas blistering 2nd half of the year(which went unnoticed because we were effectively assumed to be out of the playoffs before he got hot.

For Shea to win the Norris he has to start the year strong and the Preds need to start strong. That will generate media chatter about what has turned the Preds around and will generate attention for Weber if he is tearing it up, and get Lavy some Adams talk too.

 

[RCola88]

I've said it before guys, this is our re-build. Every team goes through this, Chicago, Pittsburgh, LA all do. It's just the way of sports, it's rough and I hate as much as anyone but it happens. This team is so young and full of a huge amount of potential. Poile knows he needs to make a move, and while he is so frustratingly conservative, I think he does.

Another positive note is that Stasnty is hitting the market, this either means heart break because I just know rumors will come out that we are in the mix (like usual), then we lose it to some team with deeper pockets.

 

[101st_fan]

Weber lost because he was a minus player (3 Norris winners with a minus rating in history, one was Lidstrom's final award) with a bipolar season with the turning point in the days before New Years. A full season of play similar to his last half and he walks away with a trophy.

This was a top ten scoring team with the top PP when eliminated 25 months ago. I'm sorry if that doesn't fit the "we never score" diatribes that are so routine around here, but reality matters. Go back about five years before that and we had three 25+ goal scorers in a single season and six 20+ goal scorers the season prior... but we never score. As frustrating as barely missing the playoffs last season and missing in two consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-03 might be, I find the inability to acknowledge both the good and bad and discuss them here even more frustrating. It seems that it is easier to make absolutist rants that don't withstand scrutiny than it is to realize this team had recent good years where they did many things right (including score) and others where things on the ice were annoying to watch.

 

[preds1]

I realize we weren't even in the bottom 10 in goals for last year 101.
What's our biggest need to push us from a wild card hopeful to a contender?

Just curious..... I'll be at the games either way.

 

[jwhouk]

Man, I hate that teams in the central can't survive without a Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin type player. Wait, no one in the central has those type players......

Messrs. Kane and Toews say hello.

 

[Enoch]

101, interestingly Trotz and Poile and the people who matter in regards to nashville predator operations completely disagree with your assessment of Webers season, as do I and many others.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

101, interestingly Trotz and Poile and the people who matter in regards to nashville predator operations completely disagree with your assessment of Webers season, as do I and many others.

poile disagrees with his stance on our current roster make up, too. it's not all sunshine and roses .. our forwards are bad. no way around it.

 

[Byrddog]

Man, I hate that teams in the central can't survive without a Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin type player. Wait, no one in the central has those type players......

WHEN a Team relies on scoring by committee. Many 20 goal scorers that go into a slump at the same time can be hidden by a Stamko's Crosby, Malkin type player. The Predators the past two years have had these 20 goal scorers just plaingo ice cold for long periods. And they do not have the elite 30+ goal scorer that picks up the slack on any given night.

 

[101st_fan]

101, interestingly Trotz and Poile and the people who matter in regards to nashville predator operations completely disagree with your assessment of Webers season, as do I and many others.

They have reason to paint his season as 100% perfect. I don't. If he succeeds or fails has no impact on my professional reputation as it does to theirs. He was one dimensional offensively for the first three months of the season and during that time dug himself into a defensive hole that he could not climb from before the end of the season in spite of one hell of a 2014. It never ceases to amaze me how much hell both Trotz and Poile get here but when they make a self serving comment, it gets latched onto as though life depended on it.

poile disagrees with his stance on our current roster make up, too. it's not all sunshine and roses .. our forwards are bad. no way around it.

I never said it was sunshine and roses. Resorting to misrepresentation of what others say is not participating in adult discourse. If that's all you have to offer ... well ... that's sad.

 

[101st_fan]

I realize we weren't even in the bottom 10 in goals for last year 101.
What's our biggest need to push us from a wild card hopeful to a contender?

Just curious..... I'll be at the games either way.

We need players to play near their potential year in, year out. Guys like Stalberg scoring fewer goals in a full season as a Pred than he did in the lockout shortened season is unacceptable. Bourque disappearing is unacceptable. Wilson's struggling to score is unacceptable. There's three of our alleged top nine when the season started that failed to perform. Forsberg needs to adjust to the NA game and at least pretend to honor his responsibilities in the defensive end ... nobody expects him to compete for a Selke but honoring is zone is a must.

The fact that the team reached the four 20+ scorer level (about the league average per team for any full season since the 04-05 lockout) is astounding ... but below that the scoring dropped off significantly with only four other players scoring more than 10 (three of them at 13 or below). Only six players reached 40 points ... and that included Legwand's total before the trade.

Team defense struggled putting the team in positions where it needed to score more to have a chance to win. A 25th ranked PK didn't help either did a 23rd ranked goals against ranking or 25th ranked 5on5 for/against ratio. This is a team that found a way to lose a game with Nystrom scoring four goals.

Scoring more helps but it does little good when the team allows more. Depending on the PP when drawing so few penalties does little to help overall goal totals ... a 12th ranked PP% but 29th in PP opportunities. Losing the special teams battle coupled with losing the 5on5 matchups equals a long, disappointing season ... yet the team remained in contention until late in the season as it tried to sneak in.