First off... congratulations to the LA Kings on winning their second cup in three seasons. They simply were not to be denied.
-----------------------------
Silly season is officially on us as the NHL opens up the window for compliance buyouts today. This is the second compliance buyout period and it lasts through June 30th. There are a few teams with cap issues (even with the expected rise) and they have already used their buyouts but there are plenty of buyout candidates to keep an eye on…
The New York Rangers are taking a hard look at Brad Richards, he of 6 years and the $6.6 million annual cap hit left on his contract. Richards had a decent regular season and early playoffs, but underachieved in the last two rounds, only posting a single point in the final and was busted down to the 4th line. We’ve heard this one being rumored for quite awhile.
The Pittsburgh Penguins may look to go in a different direction in net as Marc-Andre Fleury may be a buyout candidate and the interesting part of the next two weeks will be the trade possibilities that come from buyout consideration. Carolina could play a role as Cam Ward has been floated as potential trade bait to San Jose (as reported by Ek yesterday.) If he is not traded, the ‘Canes may buy him out.
Other names being floated include Buffalo’s Ville Leino who has never lived up to the big bucks he’s been paid, Marin Havlat’s name has been bandied about and Detroit will probably use a buyout on former Pred pest Jordin Tootoo.
I don’t really see any buyouts coming from Nashville this year, and 501 Broadway certainly isn’t giving any hints. I would expect the Predators to be active in the pre-draft trade market, especially given the new coaching staff and what has to be a desire to get their stamp on this team. New head coach Peter Laviolette has to be looking for a player or two that he knows can bring knowledge of his system and can work it from inside the room.
-------------------------------
SlapShot Radio is back this week, live from Tavern ’96. The weather looks to be great, so come on out and join us for our annual Season Review. Stu Grimson will be filling in for Pete this week… we’ll be Sean Henry
-------------------------------
Random Notes
- The Predators are starting to show up on the Rumor Chart more… the Preds being listed as in on quite a few UFA’s including Jason Spezza , Brian Boyle, Paul Stastny, Milan Michalek, Lee Stempniak and others.
- Wanna see some future prospects? It’s time for the annual Elite Edge showcase being held at A-Game Sportsplex this week. The brainchild of Predators Manager of Hockey Operations Brandon Walker, Elite Edge, brings in players from all over the world and coaches/executives from dozens of college and junior programs. The camp runs through Wednesday.
- News has come out that former Predator JP Dumont is now the owner of the Nashville Junior Predators NA3HL team.
- solid ratings for this year's Cup finals, the LA/NYR matchup ended up the 5th most watched Cup final on US TV.
- The Western Conference has been dominating since three straight Eastern Conference teams won it in 2003,2004 and 2006, the west has won it six of the last eight times and the last three.
- The Hockey News lists the top five sophomore slumps of the past season. Three of them belong to the Edmonton Oilers.
- HNIC’s production team went out with a bang with their outstanding season ending montage set to Queen’s “The Show Must Go On.…
- The Colorado Avalanche doesn’t want to go through another round of fun from RFA Ryan O’Reily, so they are electing to take the young forward to arbitration.
--------------------------------------
You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for @PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates, but we are having a bit of fun by getting your input on Gnash introductions, weigh in on Twitter and who knows, we may use your introduction for the best mascot in the NHL at the next Preds game! 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.
-------------------------------------
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! 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.
Radio station owners/programmers, contact us to carry SlapShot Radio on your station, we are satellite delivered every week via SkyView on the SlapShot Radio Network.
Our podcasts are posted… Click here to download or listen to any of this season’s podcasts.
-------------------------------------
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.