Soooo… Nick Bonino was designated as a non-roster player along with Ryan Ellis. Both players are recovering from serious injuries, Ellis may not be back until after American Thanksgiving… Bonino? That is a little more murky...
The Predators free agent acquisition did practice all through training camp, showing that he appears to be recovered from the broken leg he sustained in June, but the move is a bit disquieting. Especially as the move was made with little additional comment. Bonino was NOT placed on IR, which means he would be available for tomorrow night's season opener in Boston. More information on this should come out today.
The other surprise may be the scenario I laid out in my blog on Monday… while it was widely assumed that Nashville would send down a forward and a defenseman… I thought the choice would be between Freddie Gaudreau and Vladislav Kamanev… but…
However, as I write this… another fairly strange but sensible option comes to mind…Keep the defensemen and send both Gaudreau and Kamanev down. OK, before you start flaming me, hear me out…
If you keep Bitetto and Girard, you get a chance to get at least nine games worth of look at Girard… to see if he can hold up in the NHL… and you don’t lose a player to the waiver wire, extending your decision-making window for a couple of weeks. If Girard doesn’t appear to pan out… you can get him back to Shawinigan by the middle of October and the prospect has a clear understanding of what he needs to do for long term NHL success.
And that is exactly what the Predators did. I like the move. It allows Samuel Girard to get a little bit longer look to see if he can handle the rigors of an NHL season. A decision will have to be made in October… Girard can only play in nine NHL games without burning a year on his entry level contract and he can only be sent back to juniors, he cannot go to Milwaukee.
The other positive is that the Predators did not have to expose a player to waivers and most likely lose that player, which would have been Anthony Bitetto. Both Kamanev and Gaudreau are not subject to waiver exposure to be sent to Milwaukee.
So, we have a roster… now let’s take a look at my crackpot predictions for the upcoming season… We will do the East today… the West tomorrow
In the East I have the following team making the playoffs.
Atlantic – The top three… Tampa Bay, Toronto, Ottawa – For Tampa, health and goaltending are the issues, but this is a very highly skilled team… If Stamkos stays healthy and Vasilevsky can handle the goal this is a Cup contender. Toronto is loaded with talent and their cup of coffee in the playoffs last season will be a boon to their success, expect them to contend for the division. Ottawa just seems to always be there, they ain’t sexy, they don’t jump off the page at you, but they will be a playoff team.
Metro – The top three… Pittsburgh, Washington, Columbus – Will the Penguins make it a three-peat? They have the talent, but they have also played a lot of games over the past two seasons. That being said, I see Pittsburgh winning the division. The enigma that is the Washington Capitals remains… they will be a playoff team, but that isn’t the measuring stick anymore… it’s how they do in the playoffs and =who knows about that one? Columbus is a team on the rise… a great young defense led by Seth Jones and Sergei Bobrovski between the pipes. If the offense comes together , this team may do some damage come spring.
The Wild Cards – Buffalo, Montreal – The Buffalo Sabres are definitely a team on the rise and I see them squeaking into the playoffs. Montreal… what the heck are they doing in Montreal? This is a solid team, and any team with Carey Price and Shea Weber will be in the mix, but I don’ see a strategy here, and I see a shot run come April.
Knocking on the door – Boston, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, Carolina – I can see any of these teams going on a run and knocking out one of the wild cards or even rising to third in their respective divisions. The most interesting team in that group is Carolina, they are building that team well and if their goaltending can hold up, they could be there in April.
I’ll take a look at the West tomorrow…
-----------------------------------
Join us on SlapShot Radio tonight as JP Dumont and I welcome the author of “Behind the Bench: Inside the Minds of Hockey's Greatest Coaches… … one of the best hockey writers out there… The Athletic’s Craig Custance. His new book is a really interesting read… he sat down with ten of the best coaches in the NHL and reviewed game film with them at their home or office and got insight on the strategy behind some of their more interesting games. Craig will also help us preview the season.
Join us at 7pm tonight for SlapShot Radio on 102.5 the Game.
If you are outside of the listening area, listen live online at The Game website or check out the podcast about two hours after the show at on SoundCloud.
-----------------------------------
Random Notes
- Preview pics are out there for the Predators first conference championship banner… it ain’t the big one, but we’ll take it… for now.
- Also, season ticket holders got a preview of the new 7th man banner, with the names of all the members of the Loyal Legion inscribed on it. Cool stuff…
- Austin Watson led an effort to collect gently used suits and dress wear to donate for efforts like Room at the Inn, Nashville Rescue Mission, Dismas House and Oasis Center for use to help those who can’t afford a suit to buy for job interviews.
- KHL Watch – Another goal and an assist for Eeli Tolvanen as his Jokerit team won their 10th consecutive game yesterday. Tolvanen now has 10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points in 14 games so far. I think I need a bib, cause I start drooling uncontrollably every time I see his stats…
- The countdown to Opening Night is on… the Oct. 10 game against the Flyers is sold out, however limited tickets are available to next Thursday’s early season showdown with Dallas.
------------------------------------
------------------------------------- SlapShot Radio has an exciting season in store for our tenth anniversary season. As the longest running hockey show in the region, SSR feeds hockey fans what they crave… intelligent, fun, entertaining talk about their favorite sport and we do it from the opening of training camp all the way through UFA day… the only local hockey show that does that.
We are on every Wednesday night at 7pm on the Predators flagship station, 102.5 the Game. Our new co-hosts are ex-Preds Dan Keczmer and JP Dumont bringing a true insiders perspective to the show. This week is our annual season preview show.
We have been delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio and advertising with us drives results at a reasonable price. Just ask our sponsors… including day one sponsor Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762, Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799, and TurfMasters… check out their great service at TurfMasters.com.
We are also welcoming a new sponsor to the SlapShot Radio family… The Crag… Nashville’s premiere location for indoor rock climbing. Newton Dominey and his awesome crew have a great location in Cool Springs and they are opening a new location in South Nashville at the corner of Old Hickory Blvd and Nolensville Rd. Check out their website at ILoveRockCLimbing.com If you’ve never done it before… you need to try, they specialize on helping first timers.
Advertisers… reach out to me in order to access our activated listener base though great season long advertising deals available for our tenth season when you email me 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.
-------------------------------------
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Predators Buzz, a one-stop feed for all things Predators-related on HockeyBuzz. Your subscription includes a free 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month thereafter. For more information, click here.