Predators Hockey Discussion

[Porter Stoutheart]

Starting to get a little worried about the return from that Ellis trade tbh. Not sure magic beans of a lottery protected first round pick wouldn't be better at this point.

Yeah, we might end up with addition-by-subtraction only, who knows. I'd be even more disappointed if I was in Philly though... they got 4 games out of Ellis and a boat anchor long-term contract? Yikes. If what seemed like a homerun win for us turns into just a modest win, I guess we can't complain. Either way, Poile got out of another declining contract while the getting was good.

We have a good bit of time with Glass, I feel. He won't be waiver exempt next year so he'll have to be on the big team, but he'll still be cheap to re-sign. Myers they have to pay $3.8M next year... I have to wonder what the thinking is going to be there. Because of his age and back-loaded contract, his buyout is miniscule... $633k for 2 years, and on the Cap it's actually a NEGATIVE charge for the first year. What is the timeline on their project with him? If they can't convince themselves they have an asset by the end of the year, then the financial argument is pretty clear. The clock is ticking on that front. Although I'd also think with his youth, size, and prior reputation he'd still have trade value too.

 

[101st_fan]

I hear you, but Ellis was still a very, very good asset. Seems like a waste at the moment to trade him for an 8th d-man and a maybe. Can't disagree Carrier was ready, just wonder what else was available.

The team's success, while great, is starting to remind me of the Cancuks/Ducks from a few years ago. I really like our hard working guys, Trenin, Jeannot, Sissons, Novak and Kunin. I'm really not huge fan of Boro, McCarron, Benning and obviously Cousins.

Granlund remains this massive mystery to me. How was he so bad under Lavi? Completely different player now under Hynes.

There was a complete restructure of the top six and PP giving Granlund the right linemates to feed and thrive. No more Arvy or trying to run the JOFA line ... Smith gone ... a choice to run the offense more through the forwards than depending on anyone on the blueline besides Josi to rack up points ... plus the growth of a 3rd line that can score and relieve pressure off the top six.

 

[Kat Predator]

There was a complete restructure of the top six and PP giving Granlund the right linemates to feed and thrive. No more Arvy or trying to run the JOFA line ... Smith gone ... a choice to run the offense more through the forwards than depending on anyone on the blueline besides Josi to rack up points ... plus the growth of a 3rd line that can score and relieve pressure off the top six.

Yep.

I don't see Granlund as a mystery. He's been moved to a role that utilizes his playmaking and all-around skills under Hynes. I think Lavi thought he was just going to plug him in as a better sniper (Fiala upgrade) with Turris driving the play initially, and the Turris experiments turned out to be a total disaster. It was a reverse Duchene. Duchene got his game turned around when moved to the wing and decreasing his defensive and playmaking responsibilities.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

Yeah, we might end up with addition-by-subtraction only, who knows. I'd be even more disappointed if I was in Philly though... they got 4 games out of Ellis and a boat anchor long-term contract? Yikes. If what seemed like a homerun win for us turns into just a modest win, I guess we can't complain. Either way, Poile got out of another declining contract while the getting was good.

We have a good bit of time with Glass, I feel. He won't be waiver exempt next year so he'll have to be on the big team, but he'll still be cheap to re-sign. Myers they have to pay $3.8M next year... I have to wonder what the thinking is going to be there. Because of his age and back-loaded contract, his buyout is miniscule... $633k for 2 years, and on the Cap it's actually a NEGATIVE charge for the first year. What is the timeline on their project with him? If they can't convince themselves they have an asset by the end of the year, then the financial argument is pretty clear. The clock is ticking on that front. Although I'd also think with his youth, size, and prior reputation he'd still have trade value too.

I have a feeling they're not going to be worried about Myers until he doesn't perform next year. It's an assumption on my part based on the way the coaching staff has handled other players so far. If they can get him turned around before the end of the year he'll still need to beat out the 3 rhd in front of him or wait for an injury. His real opportunity to impress and surpass anyone is probably next years training camp if everyone stays healthy.

 

[Soundgarden]

Starting to get a little worried about the return from that Ellis trade tbh. Not sure magic beans of a lottery protected first round pick wouldn't be better at this point.

I wouldn't get worried. We pretty much dealt Ellis to get rid of his contract and to make room for Fabbro and Carrier, anything positive we get out of Glass and Myers is a plus IMO. Ellis has already been injured twice his first year away from us, it could turn out badly for Philly.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Yep.

I don't see Granlund as a mystery. He's been moved to a role that utilizes his playmaking and all-around skills under Hynes. I think Lavi thought he was just going to plug him in as a better sniper (Fiala upgrade) with Turris driving the play initially, and the Turris experiments turned out to be a total disaster. It was a reverse Duchene. Duchene got his game turned around when moved to the wing and decreasing his defensive and playmaking responsibilities.

A lot of what ailed Granlund was independent of coaching and on-ice utilization too. His off-ice issues are well-documented, and it's entirely understandable that he wasn't himself for a while there after the trade. Which only coincidentally aligned with having Laviolette as coach.

Of course, Hynes also gave Granlund a huge immediate boost in icetime and responsibility that helped too... although I would argue that even while Granlund's production improved with that initial Hynesian boost, he still wasn't quite the player he subsequently became the next season - when he was presumably more fully recovered mentally.

 

[Armourboy]

I think moving him to center did a lot for him too. He kind of never really got much opportunity to play it in Minnesota after that first year or so and I think given the opportunity again really bolstered him. Sometimes having confidence in a guy really does a lot for them mentally. Not to mention you essentially got a top 6 center out of a trade where you sent back a winger. It took a bit for him to get there but really hard to complain about it now.

 

[adsfan]

A lot of what ailed Granlund was independent of coaching and on-ice utilization too. His off-ice issues are well-documented, and it's entirely understandable that he wasn't himself for a while there after the trade. Which only coincidentally aligned with having Laviolette as coach.

Of course, Hynes also gave Granlund a huge immediate boost in icetime and responsibility that helped too... although I would argue that even while Granlund's production improved with that initial Hynesian boost, he still wasn't quite the player he subsequently became the next season - when he was presumably more fully recovered mentally.

Dean Evason? I heard that he signed a multiyear extension.

That will be good for Nashville in the long run!

 

[hockey diva]

He got traded the day he and his partner had their first child. They also had a pregnancy loss during season after that, I believe.

 

[Kat Predator]

Dean Evason? I heard that he signed a multiyear extension.

That will be good for Nashville in the long run!

Evason was hired by the Wild after Granlund was gone. (Boudreau was the coach.)

Somewhat ironically, some of the moves Paul Fenton made in his extremely brief run as a GM turned out pretty well. (And the new GM continues to collect ex-Predators too.)

 

[Kat Predator]

He got traded the day he and his partner had their first child. They also had a pregnancy loss during season after that, I believe.

Yep. He was traded when his wife Emmi was in labor with their son. The next season, their daughter was stillborn.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

It was interesting to watch the 2020 winter classic this morning. This team is sooooo far removed from that mess it's almost startling how far and how quickly it's happened.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Pretty hard to imagine Forsberg would choose to walk away from this team.

 

[101st_fan]

A month ago this team was giving up a PP goal per game (15 PP goals allowed in 19 games from Oct 30 - Dec 9, 6 of those goals in the last six games of that run). Starting Dec 10th ... 7 games played, 1 goal allowed while shorthanded. The PK% is trending in the right direction and is finally above the midpoint in the league.

 

[hockey diva]

Chicago had a lot of good chances and a lot of zone time on the pp. Jusse saved our a lot today. I think we definitely have room for improvement there.

 

[101st_fan]

Chicago had a lot of good chances and a lot of zone time on the pp. Jusse saved our a lot today. I think we definitely have room for improvement there.

There are no style points. There are always aspects to tighten up but 1 goal allowed while shorthanded across the past seven games and up to 81.8% for the season and approaching the top ten in the league show effectiveness. Now if they would just stop taking so many minor penalties ...

 

[101st_fan]

I genuinely dislike the Twitter presence surrounding the Preds. The rush to claim we’re in first when it was impossible to end the day that way … the so and so has a better xg/60 than Forsberg while ignoring the glaring actual performance difference … the absolute lack of any depth of coverage. That includes the team, local traditional media, bloggers.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Even if we just end up in a Wild Card spot at the end of the race... I feel like this is going to be a very fun team to watch in the playoffs. A heated playoff series with this crew will be highly entertaining. Even if we face a really good team and ultimately lose in Round 1. It's still going to be great to watch. And really be another important stepping stone for some of the younger players in the lineup.

 

[Scoresberg]

The reshaping of John Hynes and the Predators: How coach and team overcame COVID-19 obstacles

Suddenly, I have a lot more respect towards Hynes. Basically, he came in and demanded that same drive and accountability from the top guys as to whoever else in the roster.

The top guys have obviously responded to this pretty well and delivered the results. Johansen especially speaks highly of him in the article. Hynes is big on identity and it finally has started to show on the team.

 

[GoldOnGold]

The reshaping of John Hynes and the Predators: How coach and team overcame COVID-19 obstacles

Suddenly, I have a lot more respect towards Hynes. Basically, he came in and demanded that same drive and accountability from the top guys as to whoever else in the roster.

The top guys have obviously responded to this pretty well and delivered the results. Johansen especially speaks highly of him in the article. Hynes is big on identity and it finally has started to show on the team.

Not many coaches have seemingly been able to motivate Johansen so that's actually a really good sign.

 

[Armourboy]

I'm not sure how much I give Hynes credit for motivating him although he deserves some. Being left hanging in the expansion draft and following the rest of his teammates I feel like has played a bigger role.

 

[GoldOnGold]

I'm not sure how much I give Hynes credit for motivating him although he deserves some. Being left hanging in the expansion draft and following the rest of his teammates I feel like has played a bigger role.

I feel like Hynes probably talking to him all the time probably has more of an influence on his play than a one-time event, no matter how unhappy he was with it.

 

[Armourboy]

I feel like Hynes probably talking to him all the time probably has more of an influence on his play than a one-time event, no matter how unhappy he was with it.

Dunno. Realizing your play had slipped enough that a team was willing to let you go for absolutely nothing to an expansion team can be a pretty big kick in the butt. Especially for a guy that is supposed to be a 1C and is making 8 million a year.

 

[101st_fan]

I'm not sure how much I give Hynes credit for motivating him although he deserves some. Being left hanging in the expansion draft and following the rest of his teammates I feel like has played a bigger role.

His cap hit coupled with the last few seasons served as a de facto protection.

 

[Adz]

I genuinely dislike the Twitter presence surrounding the Preds. The rush to claim we’re in first when it was impossible to end the day that way … the so and so has a better xg/60 than Forsberg while ignoring the glaring actual performance difference … the absolute lack of any depth of coverage. That includes the team, local traditional media, bloggers.

You know, I agree but casual fans are not up to date and there are a LOT of nuances in the rankings. We know about games in hand and ROL and other things, we know they'll only be number one for an hour, but others do not. Is it deceptive? Maybe. But over the holidays I talked with 3 family members (2 out of town, other from N'ville) who said something to the effect of "sorry about how the Preds are doing this year" and I said "we're second in the division" and they couldn't believe it. Between the negative hype before the season and losing those first games that put the team firmly in the basement 3 months later because they aren't invested that much. Team is trying to hype up the rankings to change the perception. People don't know we're good! Could the writers improve? Sure. Provide accounts/content for those with a general interest and those for people wanting the in depth material. They could do it, but they probably don't want to pay for that. Ay there's the rub. No one wants to pay for these things, we just want them available.

If it was up to me, I'd just sneak up on everyone. That approach may fool the opponent but probably doesn't sell too many tickets.