It is only fitting that I take a moment to recognize someone who will more than likely not be returning to the Predators next season. He has served as a great masthead for this blog over the past couple of years. It pains me to think that I should probably retire the picture in favor of someone who will actually be ON the team next season.
But what’s not to love about Dan Ellis? Sure, some of you will find it easy to answer that question. He lets in easy goals. He’s not consistent. He’s not Pekka Rinne…blah, blah, blah. However, I’d like to remind you of the journey that led him to where he is today. Remember three seasons ago when he showed up at training camp and no one knew who he was? At that point in time, Chris Mason had inherited the starting goaltender title after Tomas Vokoun was traded away. One of the many unanswered questions going into that season was who would serve in the back up role. Most speculated that Pekka Rinne would get his shot and yet…Dan Ellis found himself with a spot on the team at the end of training camp.
From that point on, Dan Ellis steadily climbed the ranks on my list of favorite hockey players. His story of new found success was inspiring and served as my reminder of patience and perseverance. Everything I read about him, including a City Paper feature about his time at a Christian camp as a teenager that turned his life around, only amplified my admiration. His lovable on-air personality often spotlighted during in-game interviews with Pete and Terry and his affinity for Twitter were icing on the cake. If you can't tell, it’s no secret how much I admire Ellis as a player and a person.
Though I would much prefer to see him in a Predators jersey as long as possible, I know his time with Nashville has drawn to a close. In some ways, I am happy that he will be moving on since I think he deserves a #1 role just as much as Pekka Rinne does. The Predators have too much of a good thing and Dan Ellis is the unfortunate casualty. But will I miss him?
Oh, absolutely.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
A Change Is Gonna Come
David Poile wasn't playing around yesterday, was he?!
I think we can all say that Dan Hamhuis' rights being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers wasn't too entirely surprising. Hammer has been on many teams' radar since Trade Deadline and after the Francis Bouillon extension, it was only a matter of time before we would hear something about Hamhuis' fate. While I don't think many people would have guessed that Philly would be the takers, especially when Vancouver had recently been mentioned, it really can't be that much of a shocker. The Predators have a long standing history of trades with the Flyers, including sending Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell that way a few summers ago. The fact that they are bringing Ryan Parent back into the organization shouldn't really come as a surprise either. Just another way to keep it all in the family, so to speak. As I said on Friday, I'm going to miss Dan Hamhuis. The Predators (as I knew them) won't be the same without him. I wish him all the best in his new hockey life, be it with Philadelphia or somewhere else.
Now the bigger news of yesterday is obviously the Jason Arnott trade to the New Jersey Devils for forward Matt Halischuk (who?!) and a 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft. Arnott was going to be in his fourth and final year of a $4.5 million NTC contract. After the season was over, there were rumblings that Jason might retire (due to more and more frequent head injuries) or at the very least, be stripped of his 'C', in favor of someone younger **cough**SHEA WEBER**cough**. But I don't think anyone was expecting him to be traded. I know I wasn't. Based on my reaction when I found out, everyone at the pool with me yesterday knew I was shocked by the news as well. Certainly Arnott is worth more than a 4th round draft pick player who has only played 21 NHL games. That and a 2nd round draft pick makes it seem as though the Predators got the raw end of the deal here. But knowing David Poile, this is just the tip of the iceberg. During his tenure as captain, Arnott had a lot of doubters. I wasn't one of them. But I will say that over the past two seasons, I have seen Shea Weber mature into a captain-in-waiting (if you will). I will be quite disappointed if he is not awarded the C on his jersey before the start of the 2010-2011 season. In any event, I will still miss Jason Arnott in a Predators jersey. There haven't been big shakeups like this in a few years and seeing Jason go is somewhat like losing an old friend. Despite all of his supposed shortcomings, he was still a big points producer for this team. As far how the team moves on from here, that is for David Poile to know and for us to find out...eventually.
This is going to be an interesting off-season for sure.
I think we can all say that Dan Hamhuis' rights being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers wasn't too entirely surprising. Hammer has been on many teams' radar since Trade Deadline and after the Francis Bouillon extension, it was only a matter of time before we would hear something about Hamhuis' fate. While I don't think many people would have guessed that Philly would be the takers, especially when Vancouver had recently been mentioned, it really can't be that much of a shocker. The Predators have a long standing history of trades with the Flyers, including sending Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell that way a few summers ago. The fact that they are bringing Ryan Parent back into the organization shouldn't really come as a surprise either. Just another way to keep it all in the family, so to speak. As I said on Friday, I'm going to miss Dan Hamhuis. The Predators (as I knew them) won't be the same without him. I wish him all the best in his new hockey life, be it with Philadelphia or somewhere else.
Now the bigger news of yesterday is obviously the Jason Arnott trade to the New Jersey Devils for forward Matt Halischuk (who?!) and a 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft. Arnott was going to be in his fourth and final year of a $4.5 million NTC contract. After the season was over, there were rumblings that Jason might retire (due to more and more frequent head injuries) or at the very least, be stripped of his 'C', in favor of someone younger **cough**SHEA WEBER**cough**. But I don't think anyone was expecting him to be traded. I know I wasn't. Based on my reaction when I found out, everyone at the pool with me yesterday knew I was shocked by the news as well. Certainly Arnott is worth more than a 4th round draft pick player who has only played 21 NHL games. That and a 2nd round draft pick makes it seem as though the Predators got the raw end of the deal here. But knowing David Poile, this is just the tip of the iceberg. During his tenure as captain, Arnott had a lot of doubters. I wasn't one of them. But I will say that over the past two seasons, I have seen Shea Weber mature into a captain-in-waiting (if you will). I will be quite disappointed if he is not awarded the C on his jersey before the start of the 2010-2011 season. In any event, I will still miss Jason Arnott in a Predators jersey. There haven't been big shakeups like this in a few years and seeing Jason go is somewhat like losing an old friend. Despite all of his supposed shortcomings, he was still a big points producer for this team. As far how the team moves on from here, that is for David Poile to know and for us to find out...eventually.
This is going to be an interesting off-season for sure.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Big Day for Homegrown Hockey
Nashville Predators sign hockey legacy Blake Geoffrion to an entry level contract
As the son of Montreal Canadien Danny Geoffrion, grandson of legendary Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion and great-grandson of three time Hart trophy winner Howie Morenz, Blake's roots run deep. Not to mention that both grandfathers are also NHL Hall-of-Famers.
Geoffrion's signing with the Predators is not only another story to add to his family history but a major coup for local hockey. As mentioned in the link above and in many other articles today, Blake is the first native Tennessean to be drafted and signed to an NHL contract. Who says hockey doesn't work in the South?! By the looks of the turnout at his signing this afternoon, the Brentwood-born forward is already generating plenty of buzz.
Welcome to the team, Blake!
As the son of Montreal Canadien Danny Geoffrion, grandson of legendary Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion and great-grandson of three time Hart trophy winner Howie Morenz, Blake's roots run deep. Not to mention that both grandfathers are also NHL Hall-of-Famers.
Geoffrion's signing with the Predators is not only another story to add to his family history but a major coup for local hockey. As mentioned in the link above and in many other articles today, Blake is the first native Tennessean to be drafted and signed to an NHL contract. Who says hockey doesn't work in the South?! By the looks of the turnout at his signing this afternoon, the Brentwood-born forward is already generating plenty of buzz.
Welcome to the team, Blake!
Monday, June 14, 2010
2009-2010 Season Wrap Up: Part Three
Who finally has her very own internet connection? This girl does. And I must confess that while I had every intention to resume my season review this weekend, I spent an embarrassingly large portion of Saturday and Sunday stockpiling my Instant Play Queue on Netflix instead. Now that a new week has started and the World Cup has reminded me of how my love of sports is ever-growing, it is only right to continue on with the write ups of the one sport I love over all others. So, to continue…
Up next: Jason Arnott, Ryan Suter, Jordin Tootoo, Jerred Smithson
11 David Legwand – forward
If Martin Erat has 1,000 doubters, David Legwand has 3,000. His contract is equally as hefty as his Czech team mate and yet, the criticism he receives borders on the ridiculous. Not that the criticism (and sometimes ridicule) is unfounded. Legwand manages to fall far short of expectations on a regular basis. Even I am not immune to his extremely long draughts of goal scoring. But, I believe I have mentioned this on more than one occasion in the past and it bears repeating. Leggy has been given the moniker of being the Predators “franchise guy” and with that, there is certainly a heightened expectancy placed on his head. He has yet to live up to this expected potential but I’m not so sure it won’t ever happen. He had a great run in the post-season so something changed his mindset. I hope he can carry that over into training camp and next season. The routine Legwand-bashing is starting to get old.
14 Dustin Boyd – forward
Honestly, I can’t say too much about Dustin Boyd’s performance this season. He was a late Trade Deadline day acquisition for the Predators and he wasn’t on my radar much at all; as evidenced by the fact that I refered to him as Nick Boyd even into the post-season. He seems like a decent enough player but also much like a third/fourth line grinder type. The roster is already chock full of those guys though I’m sure David Poile had a very good reason for picking him up. I’ll reserve judgment until I see more from him.
16 Cal O’Reilly – forward
Not to name names but SOMEONE **cough**Jeremy**cough** was absolutely positive that this would be Little Baby Cal’s year. Things didn’t quite work out that way, however. I think Cal still has some maturing to do, something that could be much better achieved with a good solid year in Milwaukee. I’m all for working out the kinks with the Admirals and then bringing him back to the Predators, with added confidence that he can skate with the big boys. I always got a sense of timidity from him while he was on the ice, not to mention his deer-in-the-headlights look during warm-ups. When everything finally clicks for O’Reilly, he’ll be a solid player. I just think he needs a little more time.
18 Michael Santorelli – forward
I only mention Santorelli in these write ups because he seemed to be unstoppable on shootouts. Unfortunately, that’s where the goodness of his play stopped. Like Cal O’Reilly, Santorelli just needs a little more maturing and I think he probably got a healthy dose of that during his season with the Admirals. I’m interested to see what he looks like during training camp this year. I’d like to think he’d find himself with a spot on the roster, but we all know anything is possible when it comes to training camp outcomes.
Friday, June 4, 2010
A Quick Note
Due to the unfortunate lack of accessible internet at my apartment, my season wrap ups have come to a screeching halt. And I have been far too busy at work to even attempt to post from there; not that I would ever post from work...[insert sheepish grin here].
Now, to let you in on a little secret, I haven't paid for internet EVER because my philosophy has always been if someone is nice (or stupid) enough to leave their connection open, then who am I to pass up free access? As a blogger, this might seem like the craziest idea ever but it has worked out extremely well for me over the last 8 years or so. However, like a thief in the night, all my available wifi signals up and disappeared. Since I have been wandering in a wifi wasteland for almost two solid weeks now, I finally accepted the inevitable: I am going to have to start paying for internet. It pains me to type it almost as much as it pains me to say it out loud. As I mentioned in a tweet a couple of days ago, all good things must come to an end sometime. It was awesome while it lasted.
As soon as I can bring myself to call Comcast and add internet to my package, I'll get back on a regular posting schedule. Until then, you can find me quietly sobbing in the corner at the thought of having to spend money on something that you can get for free at Starbucks.
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