Another era ended in Nashville yesterday with the Predators announcing the hiring of a new goaltending coach, Ben Vanderklok. Vanderklok has spent the last five seasons as the assistant to goalie Zen master Mitch Korn and obviously has been deeply involved in the development of the Predators goaltenders. Working with Korn over five seasons will certainly help blunt the loss of Nashville’s only goaltending coach.
Korn is rumored to be on his way to the Washington Capitals. My sources tell me that Korn and current goaltending coach Ollie Kolzig will work together with the organization’s goaltenders. It wouldn’t surprise me to see other former Predator coaches show up in the Caps organization as Barry Trotz builds his staff, including former Panther head coach Peter Horachek.
The Capitals have not confirmed this hire as of the time of this writing.
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Four games in and LA has a 3-1 lead, saving the league from having its championship awarded on something other than a broadcast network. Don’t get me wrong, NBCSN does an awesome job covering hockey… with more focus and flair than the so-called “worldwide leader… could ever muster… that being said… you want your championship awarded in front of as many eyes as possible. Even in this day and age… that means broadcast networks, for now.
Lord Stanley’s mug will be in the house for every game left in this series, racking up some frequent flyer miles as this series now may go the distance, with a different call than I made before it began. If this goes the distance, the LA Kings have a chance to be the first team to play four seven game series in a single playoff run and be the first team to have three game losing streaks in three of their four series. The Rangers broke an NHL record with their win last night… they won their eighth straight elimination game. Those stats are just nutty!
But these playoffs have been a little nuts. A couple of teams that no one seriously picked to be here going at it… the hockey has been intense, but frankly… more than a little sloppy. It’s been a long time since I can recall “puck luck… playing such a HUGE role in a Stanley Cup Finals series. I mean really… two pucks in one game stopping ON the goal line?
Game five tonight on NBC… I do expect there to be a couple of more cross-country trips for these teams so we can finish the series out with a SlapShot Radio Watch Party next Wednesday night at Tavern ’96… which of course means that LA will take care of business tonight…
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Friday Random Playoff Notes
- In the “Thank You Mr. Obvious… department… ummm … duh! Shea Weber is not being traded. Thanks to NHL.com’s piece from Dan Rosen for repeating the mantra… again.
- Josh Cooper has identified five forwards that the Predators should consider… Paul Stastny, Thomas Vanek, Matt Moulson, Mikhail Grabovski and Derek Roy. Yup.
- Neat story about former Pred (and current Dallas Star) Vernon Fiddler catching George Strait’s hat at the legend’s farewell show in Dallas.
- The NHL Salary cap could be going up to over $70 million, up almost $6 million over this past season.
- News out of the GM meetings has the coach’s challenge as being a real possibility… for the 2015-16 season. There may not be enough time to get it approved and implemented for the upcoming season.
- So, Ottawa’s Jason Spezza has officially requested a trade. Now the question becomes, what team will he approve a trade to? Reports are out that he has identified 10 teams he will not approve a trade to as part of his modified no movement clause in his contract.
- A lot of pregame speculation about whether or not Alain Vigneault would use Daniel Carcillo. He ended up being a scratch for game 4.
- SlapShot Radio returns Wednesday, live from Tavern ’96 at Bridgestone Arena with a season review show… mark your calendars.
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SlapShot Radio, Join Pete Weber and I as we chat with hockey’s best, every Wednesday night at 7pm on 102.5 the Game and the SlapShot Radio Network. Our next show will be back at Tavern ’96 on Wednesday with a possible Game Seven watch party! We will have a special guest co-host… Stu Grimson.
Don’t forget to visit our season’s advertisers… The Wine Shoppe at Green Hills, Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry (615-872-7762), Nolensville Collision Repair Center and Burger Republic, check their excellent menu out at their website, Defend Quality… Burger Republic.
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