The Nashville Predators have 74 days until they drop the puck on the 2018-19 season up at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s been 73 days since the final horn sounded on their Game 7 Western Conference Semifinal series loss to the Winnipeg Jets. With that in mind, I thought I’d bring back 42 Observations.
(And, yes, I know the title doesn’t fit the theme of 70-ish days but this series was based on being written in half-seasons, okay? Plus, I didn’t have to ask the graphic guy to design something new. So a little leeway would be appreciated.)
Here are my 42 Observations leading up to the 2018-19 season.
- Ryan Ellis. It seems like all the attention has been on him this summer. With one year left on his current deal — in which he’s a bargain at just $2.5 million, by the way — the Predators would love to get him signed and locked up until the middle of the next decade. A lot of people thought his camp was waiting for Washington Capitals’ defenseman John Carlson to sign his deal in order to set the bar. Carlson finally did (8 years, $65 million, $8 million AAV) but Ellis did not. Then, on Sportsnet’s 31 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the importance of a No Trade Clause to players in Nashville. Could this be the hang up?
- I was recently on Preds Insiders and we talked about that. How, if you’re a player, during any negotiation you should ask for a No Trade because it gives you some control over where you go if you’re dealt. We also talked about how Nashville General Manager David Poile doesn’t give out NTC’s like some teams do (the St. Louis Blues just gave role player Patrick Maroon one, for example) and, therefore, if he were to give one to Ellis, is he setting a precedent for future negotiations? After all, Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne is the only player in the entire organization who has one. Is this Poile’s line in the sand? And, if so, is he willing to trade Ellis simply because he’s not willing to cross his self-imposed line in the sand? You can listen to Ryan Porth and I’s discussion about all that HERE.
- As it stands today, Roman Josi, PK Subban, Mattias Ekholm and Ellis are the League’s best blueline corps. With Anthony Bitetto, Matt Irwin and Yannick Weber rounding out the depth chart at that position, Nashville looks poised to boast the best blueline in the NHL once again. The only way that statement becomes challenged is if the Ottawa Senators trade two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to the Tampa Bay Lightning. If the Bolts’ rearguard features names like Karlsson, 2018 Norris winner Victor Hedman, up-and-coming stud Mikhail Sergachev and former New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh… yikes. Some fans would take Nashville’s blueline and others would take Tampa’s but both groups would have a valid argument.
- Speaking of the defense, Alexei Emelin is going to be missed in Music City. Sure, if Bitetto can become a lineup regular who’s a physical presence then maybe that lessens the blow but Emelin’s style is not something Nashville has at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see if somebody already in the organization can take his place or if they’ll discover in, say, November that they need to fill that void.
- You have to hand it to Poile and the Preds brass. The team specifically told them during their exit interviews they didn’t want personnel to change that much. Basically that they wanted another crack at it with the core in tact. With zero NHL additions (so far) via free agency and via trade, Poile appears to have honored that request.
- If that wasn’t enough, the Nashville GM told the media that he wasn’t going to make any roster moves until he signed Ellis. Also true (so far).
- Back-up goaltender Juuse Saros was named to the 2017-18 All-Rookie Team this summer. Given that no other goalie in the system is even close to being NHL-ready — and with 35-year old Rinne having just one year left on his deal — it’s not out of the question that Saros could be one of the few “untouchable players” on Nashville’s roster, were another team to come calling.
- Also, Saros’s new contract (three years, $4.5 million) could end up being a steal if he inherits the Nashville crease after Rinne’s contract expires next summer.
- If you play fantasy hockey, you’ll appreciate the shout-out from NHL.com’s Rob Reese who named Saros one of his 10 “Deep Sleeper Candidates” for 2018-19.
- So Rinne finally won a Vezina Trophy. He’s been a finalist four times but, this summer, finally got his name on the hardware.
- When his name was read at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, he became the first Nashville Predator player to win a performance-based award.
- The non-performance-based player awards in Nashville’s franchise history are Steve Sullivan‘s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2009 and Shea Weber‘s Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2016.
- Speaking of the former Preds captain, here’s to hoping he recovers completely and returns to the ice soon.
- Of course, Weber isn’t the only former Nashville defenseman dealing with an unfortunate injury right now. Minnesota Wild blueliner Ryan Suter is dealing with a broken ankle that has him on the sidelines indefinitely.
- While Subban finished third in the Norris Trophy voting, he was named as EA Sports’ cover athlete for NHL19 and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.
- Did you know Rinne is just eight wins shy of Miikka Kiprusoff? If you combine playoff victories and regular season victories, Rinne already is the greatest Finnish-born goaltender ever but, once he wins his ninth game of 2018-19 (November?), he will officially become the undisputed winningest Finnish-born goaltender in the NHL’s 101-year history.
- Saros, by the way, is just one win shy of 18th on that list. He’s currently in a tie with Markus Mattsson (who won his last game in 1984) with 21.
- One subtraction Nashville did have this summer came in the front office. And it was a significant one. Assistant GM Paul Fenton is now Poile’s equal counterpart in Minnesota. Fenton had been instrumental in every decision the Preds made and had even run the teams’ draft since 2003. Time will tell if he can bring a Nashville-level of success to Minneapolis/St. Paul but it’ll also be interesting to see if there’s a ripple effect in Music City.
- Congratulations to Scott Nichol on being named the GM of the Milwaukee Admirals upon Fenton’s departure and, of course, Jeff Kealty and Brian Poile for being named co-Assistant General Managers.
- The first true post-Fenton test came in Dallas last month when the League held the 2018 NHL Draft. The Preds went into the weekend without a pick in the first two rounds thanks to trades with the Chicago Blackhawks (for Ryan Hartman) and the Ottawa Senators (for Kyle Turris), respectively. They ended up trading their third round pick to the Florida Panthers for a third round choice in 2019 and, therefore, made their first pick in the fourth round, becoming the last of the 31 teams to make a selection.
- All four of Nashville’s draft picks — Jachym Kondelik (fourth round pick, 111th overall), Spencer Stastney (fifth round, 131st), Vladislav Yeryomenko (fifth round, 151st) and Milan Kloucek (seventh round, 213th) — all took part in Development Camp last month.
- Preds fans will be paying a good deal of attention to Hockey East this season. Prospects Patrick Harper, David Farrance and Dante Fabbro will all continue to play at Boston University while Kondelik will join 2017 pick Tomas Vomacka at the University of Connecticut.
- I spent a few minutes with Vomacka during Development Camp and you can hear that conversation HERE.
- Pending RFA Ryan Hartman signed a one-year, $875,000 deal last week. That’s an interesting term considering Poile put an emphasis on the fact Hartman would be around a while when he traded Chicago that first round pick. Did they over-estimate his worth or do they just want to see how the shoulder heals before they promise him multiple years? Either way, only signing him to a one-year deal almost undercuts all the confidence we were told they had in him when they acquired him at the trade deadline.
- With Saros and Hartman re-signed, the only RFA left is Miikka Salomaki. His arbitration date — if he makes it that far — is scheduled for August 2.
- One of the biggest questions going into the 2018-19 campaign is the second line. Can Kevin Fiala put together an entire season of production like he did once Turris arrived via trade from the Ottawa Senators? Was Turris’ lackluster playoff performance (three points in 13 games) simply a slump or something to be concerned about going forward? Will Craig Smith come off that line in the hopes that blue chip prospect Eeli Tolvanen can develop into the phenom they think he can be?
- Some statistical milestones to keep in mind come October: Josi is just nine points shy of Kimmo Timonen for fourth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list (301 points).
- With another 30-goal season, Viktor Arvidsson will pass James Neal, Josi, Timonen, Cliff Ronning, Greg Johnson, JP Dumont, Colin Wilson and Scott Walker to be in sole possession of 11th on the franchise’s all-time list with 98 goals.
- Steve Sullivan‘s 100 goals, by the way, would be next up.
- Subban’s next point will be his 100th as a member of the Predators.
- And, finally, from the “fun” file… with one more point, Rinne will tie Andrei Kostitsyn for 113th on the franchise’s all-time list with 12.
- Congratulations to Arvidsson who got married Friday, July 20.
- Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Josi, Smith, Ekholm and Fiala were all in attendance for Arvidsson’s wedding.
- It was nice to see Smith bounce back with nearly a career year after turning in the worst full season of his NHL tenure. In 2016-17, the former Wisconsin Badger posted just 29 points in 78 games, hardly what the Nashville organization expects out of their fourth round pick in 2009. In 2017-18, however, he returned to form, impacting the scoresheet 51 times (one point from his career best) and found the back of the net 25 times (eclipsing his personal record by one). If the Preds can get consistent 22-goal and 45-point seasons out of Smith, they’ll be pretty happy with what he can provide from that second or third line position.
- Switching the attention to the Milwaukee Admirals for a second… here’s to hoping goaltender Anders Lindback finds an NHL landing spot this off-season. He has yet to be signed but he certainly earned himself another chance at a North American gig thanks to his stellar season last year. His 31 wins were tied for the most in the AHL, he played more games than any other goaltender — which led Nashville to acquire Troy Grosenick from the San Jose Sharks organization at the deadline last year — and faced the second most shootout attempts (37) while having the best success rate among all AHL goalies who faced more than 13 attempts (.811).
- Nashville did address their “farm system” depth issues this summer. They added former first round pick Jarred Tinordi (22nd overall, 2010, Montreal Canadiens) as well as former Florida Panthers second round picks Rocco Grimaldi (33rd overall, 2011) and Connor Brickley (50th overall, 2010).
- Tinordi had a career year at the AHL level last year, posting 21 points in 62 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He hasn’t played in an NHL game since 2015-16 and hasn’t registered an NHL point since the season before that but, then again, he doesn’t necessarily play an offensive style.
- Grimaldi is an intriguing piece. Since turning pro in 2014-15, the Southern California native has played at both the AHL and NHL levels in each of his four seasons in the Florida and Colorado Avalanche organizations. He’s also tallied at least a point in each of those annual NHL appearances. Considering there are always injuries throughout the course of an 82-game calendar, I expect the five-foot-six forward to get some time in gold at some point. And, if nothing else, he’ll give prospect Emil Pettersson a creative (and proven effective) linemate in Milwaukee.
- And then there’s Brickley. While he does have extensive AHL experience in his five professional years, the former Vermont Catamount didn’t play a single game in the minors last year but rather logged 44 games for the Panthers, amassing four goals and 12 points in those contests. Could he have an outside shot at making Nashville’s opening night roster?
- As mentioned above, the opening night roster appears to be set. Rinne and Saros in goal of course, Josi, Subban, Ekholm, Ellis, Bitetto, Irwin and Weber patrolling the blueline and Johansen, Forsberg, Arvidsson, Smith, Turris, Fiala, Jarnkrok, Nick Bonino, Hartman, Colton Sissons, Salomaki and whatever comes of Austin Watson and his pending legal issue. Even Tolvanen isn’t considered “new” because he appeared in three games at the end of last season and was around the team for the entirety of their post-season run. With all that in mind, if Brickley earns himself an NHL roster spot come October 4, he would be the only new face in the room which, if you think about it, is pretty remarkable in today’s sporting landscape.
- Everyone’s always looking for a great underdog story and, for that, I suggest reading about undrafted Preds Development Camp invitee Zach Magwood.
- Can we, once again, praise Subban and his Blueline Buddies program? With yet another kneeling-during-the-anthem controversy on the horizon thanks to the NFL’s ruling earlier this summer, it’s a breath of fresh air to know there’s an athlete (with as high a profile as Subban, no less) who is willing to find a creative solution to bridge the social gap that started the kneeling-during-the-anthem gesture in the first place.