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For an all-in kinda guy that I am, even I am having a difficult time trying to wrap my head around the building excitement in Nashville for the upcoming hockey season. Ok, I get it a little bit… the changes in the team, the elevated expectations and the Titans and Commodores being off to horrendous starts to their seasons.
But Saturday night in Smashville actually felt like a regular season game… the game was completely sold out, Pred Nation was out in full force, tickets were selling on the secondary market
above face value. The crowd was noisy and the players were feeding off the energy in a rather fun 4-3 win over Tampa.
Whoda thunk it? A preseason game with some energy.
Smashville got to welcome PK Subban, got to cheer their new captain and got to see goals from both… they got Frosties and went home happy… who could ask for more? Actually, I was pretty impressed with how quickly Subban shook of the rust, considering that was the first game he had played in since going down with an injury back in March. He was everything advertised, worked well with Matias Ekholm, got off a couple of cannons from the point and showed a little piss and vinegar in front of the net.
Before the game, at the Skate of the Union, there were some interesting tidbits to come out. Head Coach Peter Laviolette has his contract extended for two seasons, Gnash withdrew from the Presidential race (damn… now who am I gonna vote for???) and after the game, the Predators cut their roster down to 31, sending 15 prospects to Milwaukee, one back to juniors and releasing quite a few from their tryout agreements.
Nashville concludes the home portion of their preseason schedule tomorrow night with a tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop at 7pm, coverage on 102.5 the Game.
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Random Notes
- Countdown to hockey… 2 days to the season premiere of SlapShot Radio… 11 days to Predators season opener.
- The waiver wire was busy over the weekend as part of the send down process for Milwaukee saw Petter Granberg and Matt Irwin clear waivers.
- Former Pred Barret Jackman is retiring… he will be making the announcement tomorrow.
- Another former Pred, Eric Nystrom has been released from his PTO with St. Louis. A little surprising, Nystrom is a Hitchcock kind of player.
- Have you seen the Oilers new mascot? Don’t … unless you don’t want to sleep tonight.
- Five games on the preseason schedule tonight including a doubleheader on NHL Network – Rangers / Flyers at 6pm and Coyotes / Canucks at 9pm (all times central)
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SSR’s season nine premier is Wednesday night on 102.5 the Game. SlapShot Radio is the longest running hockey show in the mid-south and Pete Weber and I can’t wait to get it started again. We will be previewing the 2016/17 season and introducing a new player to the SSR team. Steve Wrigley, former sideline reporter for the Predators and current fill-in sports guy over at channel 5 joins us on a regular basis as our permanent guest host! And of course… it wouldn’t be a season premier without our favorite guest, Jeff Marek from Hockey Night in Canada.
SlapShot Radio has been delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio and advertising with us drives results. Our premier sponsors include day one sponsor
Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762, and Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799.
Advertisers… reach out to me for preseason specials in order to access our activated listener base via email at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1 … Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the
link.
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