With (booooo) the (boooooooooooo) Fantasy (booooooooooooo) Snore… err… Draft over, today is a quiet day in the NHL. A great time to take a look at wants and needs when looking at the last 32 games for the Nashville Predators.

Want – More veteran depth on the blueline.
Beyond Nashville’s superstar d-pair, the youngsters on the Nashville blueline, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis have comported themselves well so far in their brief time in the NHL. Josi continues to build on his improvement, getting folks thinking about what might have been if he didn’t go down with an injury for most of last year. Ellis doesn’t look like a player with only 14 games of NHL experience. He is a +6 with 2 goals and five assists in his brief time with the big club and is making a big case to remain in Nashville. Kevin Klein has amped up his game since returning from the “flu” at the beginning of the year. Jack Hillen has been serviceable. Jonathan Blum is struggling to regain his game in Milwaukee. I see this as a want, more than a need to help the youngsters handle their first playoff run. A reasonably priced vet would serve this well.

Need – A solid top six forward.
So, why is this a need? The Predators have nine players at double digit goal scoring, one of only two teams in the league that can say that. The chemistry is there and the team has taken care of business… so why another top six? Two reasons… One, you can never have enough scoring, the defenses lock down as the playoffs get closer and goals get even harder to come by. Two… sending a message to Ryan Suter. Adding more offensive pop at the deadline may be the thing that shows Suter the franchise is serious about a cup and gets his signature on a new contract. Suter signs and Shea Weber is sure to as well.

The complicating factor in all of this is who may be available… There may be big names (Jeff Carter, Zack Parise) and not so big names (Ray Whitney, Tuomo Ruutu) but the most important factor is the chemistry this player needs to have with the team, think Mike Fisher more than Peter Forsberg. That’s what makes this need so risky.

Predator’s GM David Poile is walking a bit of a tightrope here.

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Random Notes

- Time to start checking in with my favorite website SportsClubStats.com… The Predators stand with a 96.3% chance of making the playoffs.

- In the “I’m Praying This is the Only Time I See This for a Long Time” department – Ryan Suter and Shea Weber were split between the two teams last night.

- OK… we get it… Ottawa fans don’t like the Leafs but at some point they needed to show a little respect to Joffrey Lupul, I have to give him credit for getting through the draft last night.

- To whatever so-called fan that shouted out “Wade Belak” as a draft suggestion… you need a beat down of epic proportions.

- I have to admit, when the NHLPA hired Donald Fehr, my first reaction was “uh-oh!” Now, I believe it may be a good thing… successful negotiations need a balance of power, and after the NHLPA got routed in the last round, Fehr will bring that kind of balance. I’m actually more hopeful for a successful CBA negotiation than I was at this time last season.

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On the next SlapShot Radio, built by RiverBirch Homes

Wednesday’s episode is posted on the podcast page at SlapShotRadio.com, getting you ready for the All-Star game with an exclusive segment featuring all three Nashville All-Stars, we also chatted with Katie Baker author of Coldhearted, the great hockey blog on ESPN.com’s Grantland and discussed the season ticket holder protest with Columbus Dispatch Blue Jacket beat writer Aaron Portzline. All this on the SlapShot Radio podcast, built by RiverBirch Homes

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