To say the least, last night was not a good night to be a Predator fan. While the Predators were taking multiple hits in a loss to Colorado, they also took one off the ice as the news broke during the first period about Predators prospect Jimmy Vesey. First off, the loss… for the second time in three games, the Predators didn’t show up to start a game, went down early, then tried to recover with a third period flurry.
Ummm… that didn’t work this time. The Preds dropped a 4-3 loss to the Avalanche and the playoff clinching celebration is on hold for another day or two. I mentioned hits above… the other indignity was the loss of a goal to a review on offside call… to Colorado… the irony is so thick I could cut it with a knife.
The Av’s staved off elimination for another game or two, but they still are making tee times come April 10, the Preds may have sealed their fate in having to play through the Pacific to make a run in the playoffs… but…
The off-ice hit stings a little more right now.
For those living under a rock for the last few days… Predators prospect Jimmy Vesey, after completing his senior season at Harvard, has decided to try his luck as a free agent. Which, let me be clear here… is his right due to a silly loophole in the CBA that allows a college draft pick to accept free development, free career advice, and free experience in NHL camps to walk away… with no compensation to the team that drafted him if he completes his four year college commitment.
Look, we all know that the NHL entry draft is a crapshoot… always has been, always will be… but this loophole is even more stupid than the draft pick compensation rule the GM’s rescinded this past December.
At the risk of sounding too much like a dad here, I am very disappointed in Jimmy Vesey’s decision (that sound you just heard was the collective wince of my kids.) While it is fully within his rights to declare as a free agent, it doesn’t make it right. We can talk about it being a “business decision… (which it was) but it doesn’t make it right. Telling the Assistant GM of the Predators that he would sign with the team back at the trade deadline was also a “business decision… … one that drove other business decisions from the franchise. I get it… people can change their mind… but that doesn’t absolve accountability for that action.
Jimmy Vesey was a third round draft pick that is the player he is right now in large part because of the Nashville Predators. Vesey accepted four years of free coaching. He accepted four years of free advice from the Predators Player Development staff. He accepted four years of free counsel in nutrition, education on being a hockey player at the next level, conditioning, all of the things necessary to bring this player to where he is and for all that time, money, effort, investment… the Predators get…
Nothing…
Nada…
Bupkas…
It may be “just business… and it may be his right… but that doesn’t make it right.
It’s a sad state of affairs when a player that seems to revere and cherish the university he has attended for the last four years, seems to have abandoned the Honor Code of Harvard University the first chance he got… you know… the one that states “We thus hold honesty - in the representation of our work and in our interactions with teachers, advisers, peers, and students – as the foundation of our community.… yeah… right…
It looks like that got thrown out the window at the altar of “just business.… I will be curious to hear how his agents spin this... All of that being said… I wish Jimmy Vesey nothing but the best in his future endeavors. He will be successful, he's got the "just business" part down pat.
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Well… we move on… tonight’s game in Dallas is a chance to hit the reset button after the egg laid last night against a team trying to hold on to the top spot in the division. The Stars have been playing inspired hockey lately and this will be a stiff test for Nashville. Tonight is the first of two visits to Dallas for the Predators in the final two weeks of the season.
The Stars have been dominant at home this season, posting a 24-11-2 record and they have won four of their last five outings. The Predators are looking to wash the taste of last night’s loss out of their mouths with a win in a place where wins have been hard to come by for this franchise.
Never the easy road… game time is 7:30pm, coverage on 102.5 the Game, Fox Sports Tennessee and the Predators Radio Network.
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Random Notes
- “Where They Stand… – Entering tonight’s play, the Nashville Predators are 4th in the Central Division with 91 points, trailing 3rd Place Chicago by 4 points. The Predators are in the first wild card slot, leading Minnesota by 6 points and Colorado by 9.
- The Predators clinch scenario tonight… Nashville needs a regulation win along with an Av’s loss in St. Louis.
- You wonder, if somewhere in Minnesota, a defenseman is thinking “thank heavens, I will no longer be the most boo’d player at Bridgestone Arena.…
- Great take on the Vesey non-signing from Admirals Roundtable.
- Admirals Roundtable is dead on it when he discusses the depth of the Nashville signed prospect pool. He is right… it is the deepest it has ever been and continuing to improve.
- I’m grabbing the popcorn for this one… rumors are flying that the Prodigal Pred could be being chased by… wait for it… The Toronto Maple Leafs… now that one could be really fun to watch.
- Fixing the loophole that allows a prospect to leave with no compensation is easy to fix. Add a year to the draft commitment for college players… five years after draft… fixed.
- Nine games in the NHL tonight, all times central – 6pm – BOS @ NJD, CAR @ NYI, BUF @ PIT. 6:30pm – DET @ MTL, TML @ FLA. 7pm – CHI @ MIN. 7:30pm – NSH @ DAL, COL @ STL. 9pm – SJA @ VAN. ------------------------------------
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