i hope you're kidding about klein. he will never have more points than suter. even if he was equally skilled, which he isnt, suter is a #1 PP unit set up man. klein doesnt even play on the PP. also, i think we need to be more worried that suter carried weber. not better, but suters d-1st approach allowed weber ALOT of freedom. he knew suter had the backend. josi<<<<< suter defensively speaking so that will be a work in progress. same for any other dman pairing w/ weber.
- predswilrule

Wow, I haven't seen this opinion too often whether it be Preds fans or hockey fans in general, but I have to agree with you. Don't get me wrong, there isn't a D-man in the league that I would take over Weber, but I do think he needs a strong defensive-oriented partner in order to do the things he does. I do think you guys are going to be fine with Klein (who has really impressed me), and the little I know about Josi. Good luck this year Nashville!

As for "D".
No Eaton but will take Franson back.
- wrister

I agree. I thought it was wrong to let Eaton go at the time. He can only be better now but he's much older so upside might be limited. Franson, however, would be nice to have back. Won't happen though.

I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but I have a general question for Predators' fans:
Being as Shea Weber was willing to leave Nashville for more money, do you have any ill feelings about him retaining his captaincy? Do you feel that a captain should show more commitment to the team?
I'm just curious.
- jmatchett

Whether Shea actually WANTED out we'll never know but he did nothing wrong going for all the money he could. Suter did it the way he had to in order to get max dollars. However, he was straight up lying to DP the whole time. That rubs me the wrong way. All boo's forthcoming are richly deserved. As far as Weber's commitment to his team and his captaincy, he's been in town and running practices the whole lockout,so I'm not worried about his commitment to our team.

i hope you're kidding about klein. he will never have more points than suter. even if he was equally skilled, which he isnt, suter is a #1 PP unit set up man. klein doesnt even play on the PP. also, i think we need to be more worried that suter carried weber. not better, but suters d-1st approach allowed weber ALOT of freedom. he knew suter had the backend. josi<<<<< suter defensively speaking so that will be a work in progress. same for any other dman pairing w/ weber.
- predswilrule

Dead serious, don't think Suter can handle the pounding. I don't see him playing all 48 games when talking about point totals. Players laid off Suter because they didn't want the wrath of Weber. Ryan wasn't a physical player when he had the chance to be but I could be wrong since he got paid. He played timid and held back last year, it cost the preds in the playoffs! Weber will suffer without Suter but as a whole, the team will be better off in the long run. Players like Josi and Klein will step up!

I agree. I thought it was wrong to let Eaton go at the time. He can only be better now but he's much older so upside might be limited. Franson, however, would be nice to have back. Won't happen though.
- R4Z0R

There is no room for a 6'4 D man who plays like their 5'8 on this roster. If Ellis ever lives up to his billing, nobody will mention Franson's name again.

Dead serious, don't think Suter can handle the pounding. I don't see him playing all 48 games when talking about point totals. Players laid off Suter because they didn't want the wrath of Weber. Ryan wasn't a physical player when he had the chance to be but I could be wrong since he got paid. He played timid and held back last year, it cost the preds in the playoffs! Weber will suffer without Suter but as a whole, the team will be better off in the long run. Players like Josi and Klein will step up!
- slash&smash

wish i had a frosty beverage on this

There is no room for a 6'4 D man who plays like their 5'8 on this roster. If Ellis ever lives up to his billing, nobody will mention Franson's name again.
- slash&smash

I hope so. The last Milwaukee update I read said he wasn't doing as well as he should be.

"... but the best defenseman in the league is still patrolling the ice in a Predator gold uniform.". We Pred fans know this to be true but seeing it written, gets the hockey blood pumping. Well said Paul. I really loved that line from the story.

You know it's finally hockey season when fans of other teams come into Paul's blog's comment page and give the Predators back-handed compliments! Woo-hoo, drop the friggin' puck already ...

(just think ... a Dshiddy/ScoobyDoo appearance can't be far off ... of course, he has to go to the Red Wings blogger to bash Tootoo)

There is no room for a 6'4 D man who plays like their 5'8 on this roster. If Ellis ever lives up to his billing, nobody will mention Franson's name again.
- slash&smash

im w/ you on this

im w/ you on this
- predswilrule

Same here. Franson was both a likable player and person but imo one w/limited upside. His pinnacle might have been reached while a Pred.

Lombardi dump w/Franson as the sweetener looks better all the time.

I hope so. The last Milwaukee update I read said he wasn't doing as well as he should be.
- R4Z0R

Ellis broke his wrist in training camp or early in season. He was brought back slowly, he will be fine.

Dead serious, don't think Suter can handle the pounding. I don't see him playing all 48 games when talking about point totals. Players laid off Suter because they didn't want the wrath of Weber. Ryan wasn't a physical player when he had the chance to be but I could be wrong since he got paid. He played timid and held back last year, it cost the preds in the playoffs! Weber will suffer without Suter but as a whole, the team will be better off in the long run. Players like Josi and Klein will step up!
- slash&smash

Weber will be fine. Truth be told, Rinne made both Weber and Suter (and our entire defense) look better than they were. His record when facing over 30 shots in a game was phenomenal, and it happened quite a lot. It will be interesting to see if the MN goalie can bail out Suter the way Pekka did. Weber still gets the benefit of Peks in net.

I have a good deal of faith in Josi, but there are going to be some growing pains as we saw during the playoffs. That being said, Klein is another year older, and he gets 10xs better every season. The biggest reason for my optimism where Josi is concerned is how well he played on the first D pairing with Suter when Weber was out. He didn't seem out of place at all.

Having Gill to help out Ellis is huge for us. No pun intended. Our forwards will do their usual 'scoring by committee' routine, although I do think Hornqvist will be our leading scorer. It's contract time for him, right?

Nope. I honestly expect to read in his biography after he retires that the whole situation was a setup before the CBA expired. Everybody knew what was going on.
- iamageek

Total conspiracy! back and to the left, back and to the left....

Total conspiracy! back and to the left, back and to the left....
- holygoat

Weber will be fine. Truth be told, Rinne made both Weber and Suter (and our entire defense) look better than they were. His record when facing over 30 shots in a game was phenomenal, and it happened quite a lot. It will be interesting to see if the MN goalie can bail out Suter the way Pekka did. Weber still gets the benefit of Peks in net.

I have a good deal of faith in Josi, but there are going to be some growing pains as we saw during the playoffs. That being said, Klein is another year older, and he gets 10xs better every season. The biggest reason for my optimism where Josi is concerned is how well he played on the first D pairing with Suter when Weber was out. He didn't seem out of place at all.

Having Gill to help out Ellis is huge for us. No pun intended. Our forwards will do their usual 'scoring by committee' routine, although I do think Hornqvist will be our leading scorer. It's contract time for him, right?
- Predaceous

I like the way Ryan plays....I think he'll have a real good year. He will play more & more on the Power Play (oops!) Man Advantage.