Sunday's Dump & Chase: Preds Training Camp Opens

Nashville Predators News

Nashville Predators hurry up to shape up as camp begins | The Tennessean
There's no time to waste, the Preds need to sort out some lines and get ready for game action.

Predators start process of wooing fans back | The Tennessean
Teresa Walker patrolled the arena yesterday to get a sense of the mood.

Nashville Predators' second-year center Craig Smith shows fourth gear | The Tennessean
I hope Smith's in good shape, but he spent most of the lockout back in his college town. I'd be loaded up on pizza & beer by now.

Q&A With Preds Assistant GM Paul Fenton | Admirals Roundtable
Ryan gets input from Fenton on how the Admirals are shaping up, and how close Austin Watson is to the NHL.

Smashville 24/7 - Call-ups have chance to make early mark
Blum still looks like the odd-man out, but Ryan Ellis will certainly play a major role.

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

NHL training camp: Scott Gomez to stay home, be bought out in summer | Puck Daddy
There had been speculation about this type of move while teams wait for the window to buy out contracts in a few months. Rather than risk seeing him get injured in the minors (leaving the team on the hook for the rest of his contract), Montreal will have Gomez sit out the season.

Islanders Sign Radek Martinek; Strome, Reinhart Among Call Ups For Training Camp | The Hockey Guys
At least Martinek looks like he wants to play on Long Island.

Johnny Canuck returns from the wilderness to celebrate end of NHL lockout (VIDEO) | Puck Daddy
This will get the maple syrup pumping through your veins...

Who Should Be The Panthers Captain In 2013? | The Hockey Writers
Jerred Smithson or Marcel Goc, right?

Brashear delivers cheap head shot in LNAH game | Backhand Shelf
How very Bertuzzi-like of him.

Watch Henrik Lundqvist rock out to Guns N’ Roses on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ (VIDEO) | Puck Daddy
That's one way to use that NHL-NBC tie-in...

And lastly, now we know why Ilya Kovalchuk wanted to stay in Russia. As part of the KHL's All-Star skills competition (details on the game are here), he went up against Alexei Morozov in pairs figure skating:

You know, I give these guys a ton of credit - it's hilarious, but they went out there and had fun with it. Two thumbs up here...

Monday's Dump & Chase: SK74/Fisher/Erat Is Still a Thing

Nashville Predators News

Sergei Kostitsyn returns to Nashville in time for camp - Nashville Predators Examiner
It sounds like the SK74-Fisher-Erat line will be together to start the season. It will be interesting to see how Sergei Kostitsyn (who has been playing in the KHL) will mesh with his two elder linemates, who have been working out informally for the last few months.

Preds name Erat alternate captain - Predators Insider
This sounds like a permanent deal, he's not just taking that "A" for a spin.

Predators think season will be as challenging mentally as it is physically - Nashville Predators Examiner
Any time you can work Yogi Berra into a hockey article, that's a good thing.

The Checklist for Ryan Ellis | The Predatorial
I think we all need to be patient with Ellis, who holds great potential.

Barry Trotz had mentioned that he wanted to have 8 D on hand for training camp, so here you go:

Off to Nashville!

— Victor Bartley (@VicBartley8) January 14, 2013

Admirals Lose in Shootout to Rivermen, End Weekend 0-1-1-1 | Admirals Roundtable
Last night, Milwaukee skated without any players with NHL experience, thanks to the moves being made ahead of the season.

Get yourself a Nashville Predators T-Shirt for the new season!

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

Ducks have stars Getzlaf and Perry in their sights - latimes.com
This season it's Anaheim's turn to cope with major stars heading towards free agency.

Chance Will Be a Powerful Contributor to the Playoff Bound - Fear The Fin
Many people hate to read this stuff. In hindsight, the winners will be credited as being more "clutch".

NHL intermissions are now one minute longer - Puck Drunk Love
I wonder if this might help with ice conditions in the 2nd & 3rd periods.

Winners and losers in NBC Sports’ 2013 NHL TV schedule | Puck Daddy
Same story, different day - the Preds will be among the least televised teams by NBC & NBC Sports.

Canes Now - Ellis signs one-year contract with Canes | newsobserver.com blogs
Alexander Semin in practice. #DanEllisProblems

Maple Leafs Sign RFA Cody Franson - Pension Plan Puppets
Will the former Preds D-man find more ice time under Randy Carlyle than he got with Ron Wilson?

Breaking down the Anthony Stewart/Kevin Westgarth trade: What did the Kings just get? - Jewels From The Crown
The Hurricanes and Kings got the trade market rolling with a minor deal.

Martin Erat Season Preview: An "A" For Effort

---

Martin Erat

#10 / Left Wing / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-0

Weight: 201

Born: Aug 29, 1981

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	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM	Shots	Avg Ice Time
2011-12	71	19	39	58	+12	30	107	18:29
Career	687	159	301	460	+12	400	1257	16:48

Last Season

Marty is the model of consistency, having totaled between 49 and 57 points for seven straight seasons, before blowing the roof off with a 58-point effort in 2011-2012 (I kid, I kid). While he's not the most boisterous, flashiest guy on the ice, his dagger-in-the-heart goal against Columbus on December 22nd (capping off a 6-5 comeback win) showed Erat at his most enthusiastic:

Of course, his mesmerizing puckhandling skills led to a dandy assist in the playoffs, too:

Outlook

As a newly-ordained alternate captain, Erat will be relied upon as a leader for a young group of forwards who are still finding their way in the NHL. As we've seen for the last few years, he'll play a ton against other teams' top lines, skate on the top power play unit, and chip in as a secondary figure on the penalty kill (where he's highly underrated).

At this point in his career (he's only 31, but it seems like he's been around forever) it's not about fulfilling any untapped potential so much as delivering on what he's established himself as - a legitimate top-line winger who can create offensive opportunities while taking care of business on the defensive end.

The Question

In each of the last six seasons he's missed at least 8 games. Can Marty withstand the condensed schedule, and play a full 48-games (or something close to it)?

NHL Travel Miles: Super Schedule 2013 is Here!

This year's title for Most Traveled NHL Team will go to the Minnesota Wild, who will log almost three times as many miles as the New Jersey Devils (in a typical season, that spread is more like 2-to-1).

This is the fifth season for which I've taken the newly released NHL schedule and traced the path of each team on its journey, summing up the miles as the crow flies from one arena to the next. Thankfully, this year's edition was a little easier to produce, as I didn't have to worry about inserting a trip home for the All-Star break.

You can click on the column headings, and the table will re-sort on that value.

Team	2013 Miles	Back-to-Back Sets
Anaheim Ducks	21,007	10
Boston Bruins	16,597	7
Buffalo Sabres	15,749	9
Carolina Hurricanes	19,912	9
Columbus Blue Jackets	22,380	11
Calgary Flames	27,539	9
Chicago Blackhawks	24,931	12
Colorado Avalanche	26,125	9
Dallas Stars	29,482	9
Detroit Red Wings	27,471	12
Edmonton Oilers	26,500	8
Florida Panthers	25,059	7
Los Angeles Kings	28,132	8
Minnesota Wild	31,345	9
Montreal Canadiens	16,612	9
New Jersey Devils	11,659	10
Nashville Predators	23,811	9
New York Islanders	12,159	7
New York Rangers	12,048	6
Ottawa Senators	15,173	8
Philadelphia Flyers	14,648	10
Phoenix Coyotes	28,089	8
Pittsburgh Penguins	16,894	7
San Jose Sharks	24,748	9
St. Louis Blues	22,691	10
Tampa Bay Lightning	20,592	8
Toronto Maple Leafs	19,049	9
Vancouver Canucks	29,117	7
Winnipeg Jets	27,431	8
Washington Capitals	17,763	8

Follow @Forechecker

By extending the regular season into late April, the league has avoided having to condense the schedule too much, as we see in the number of "Back to Back Sets", the number of times a team has to play a game on consecutive nights. Over the last several seasons, teams that are playing on the second-half of a back-to-back set have a winning percentage about 5% lower than otherwise.

On average, each team will play 8.6 such sets, as opposed to 13.4 under the original 82-game schedule.

So which teams "got screwed" by the NHL, and which have it easy? As you can expect, the Winnipeg Jets travel the most in the Eastern Conference, but considering the geography, the difference could have been much worse. The secret is that the Jets have only two one-game trips during the season, so when they go out on the road, they knock out several games at a time, rather than zip back & forth to Manitoba.

I'd be interested to get your take on the schedule in the comments below, and for more details, I've posted a Google Doc that is available for download.

To browse through previous editions of the NHL Super Schedule, just check out our archive, which dates back to the 2009-2010 season.

Nashville Predators 2013 Schedule Released!

For the Preds, it all starts January 19 at home against the Blue Jackets, and it ends April 27, that time at Columbus. That's 48 games in 99 days. Are you ready?

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Nashville Predators Schedule 2013

Date	Opponent	Time	Date	Opponent	Time
19-Jan	Columbus	7:00 PM	09-Mar	Minnesota	7:00 PM
21-Jan	St. Louis	5:00 PM	12-Mar	at Dallas	7:30 PM
22-Jan	at Minnesota	7:00 PM	14-Mar	at Vancouver	9:00 PM
24-Jan	at St. Louis	7:00 PM	15-Mar	at Calgary	8:00 PM
26-Jan	at Anaheim	9:30 PM	17-Mar	at Edmonton	7:00 PM
28-Jan	at Phoenix	8:00 PM	19-Mar	at Columbus	6:00 PM
31-Jan	at Los Angeles	9:30 PM	21-Mar	Calgary	7:00 PM
02-Feb	at San Jose	9:30 PM	23-Mar	Columbus	7:00 PM
05-Feb	at St. Louis	7:00 PM	25-Mar	Edmonton	7:00 PM
07-Feb	Los Angeles	7:00 PM	28-Mar	Phoenix	7:00 PM
09-Feb	at Minnesota	7:00 PM	30-Mar	at Colorado	2:00 PM
10-Feb	Chicago	7:00 PM	01-Apr	at Chicago	7:30 PM
12-Feb	San Jose	7:00 PM	02-Apr	Colorado	7:00 PM
14-Feb	Phoenix	7:00 PM	04-Apr	Columbus	7:00 PM
16-Feb	Anaheim	7:00 PM	06-Apr	Chicago	2:00 PM
18-Feb	at Colorado	2:00 PM	07-Apr	at Chicago	6:00 PM
19-Feb	Detroit	7:00 PM	09-Apr	St. Louis	7:00 PM
22-Feb	Vancouver	7:00 PM	12-Apr	Dallas	7:00 PM
23-Feb	at Detroit	6:00 PM	14-Apr	Detroit	6:30 PM
25-Feb	Dallas	7:00 PM	15-Apr	Vancouver	7:00 PM
27-Feb	at Anaheim	9:00 PM	19-Apr	at Chicago	7:30 PM
02-Mar	at San Jose	9:30 PM	23-Apr	Calgary	7:00 PM
04-Mar	at Los Angeles	9:30 PM	25-Apr	at Detroit	6:30 PM
08-Mar	Edmonton	7:00 PM	27-Apr	at Columbus	6:00 PM

Follow @Forechecker

A few of the highlights are as follows:

• Jordin Tootoo comes to town wearing the red & white of Detroit on Tuesday, February 19
• Ryan Suter visits with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, March 9
• Phoenix returns to Nashville on February 14, will last summer's playoff series add some juice to that matchup?
• The Preds catch a bit of a break, as they get 5 games against Columbus (yay!) & Chicago, and 4 games against St. Louis & Detroit. Thanks to the 48-game schedule, teams won't play their division rivals an equal number of game.

I count 9 sets of games on back-to-back nights, slightly down from the 11 that were originally planned for the 82-game schedule, but of course cramming 48 games into a condensed schedule leads to a rise in games on back-to-back nights. I'll have a complete Super Schedule (detailing team-by-team travel miles and # of games on back-to-back nights) within a few hours...

Nashville Predators Training Camp Schedule

On Sunday, the plan is for team meetings & testing, so the on-ice work won't begin until Monday. Next week, from Monday-Friday, they'll have daily skates at Centennial Sportsplex (free & open to the public) from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Nashville Predators Season Preview: The Depth Centers - Chris Mueller, Michael Latta, Austin Watson

Chris Mueller

Mueller has the benefit of experience, having served as a depth call-up for the last two seasons. Back in December 2010, the Predators were a mess:

Injuries have stricken 5 of their top 6 forwards, a top-pair defenseman in Ryan Suter, and their #1 goaltender, Pekka Rinne, causing all of them to miss significant playing time. Now we also have Jordin Tootoo entering the NHL's Substance Abuse Program, taking away another regular contributor for an indefinite amount of time.

At center, Matthew Lombardi had been out since the second game of the season, and David Legwand was on the shelf as well, so the Preds hastily signed Mueller (who was on an AHL contract with Milwaukee) and promoted him for 15 games that season. He held the fort down admirably at the time, notching only 3 assists but distinguishing himself by playing a safe, hard-working type of game that helped Nashville weather the storm.

Last season he played four games for the Preds in a similar role, and was rewarded with a new contract last summer. He currently leads the Milwaukee Admirals with 12 goals and 87 shots on goal through 34 games, and would appear to have the inside track on a center spot in Nashville should the need arise. Based on reports earlier this week out of Milwaukee, he's expected to attend Preds training camp in a few days.

Michael Latta

A 3rd-round draft pick in 2009 (selected two spots after Taylor Beck), Latta has developed steadily during this, his second full season with Milwaukee, and has the makings of an agitating, physically aggressive forward. He's the 2nd-leading scorer on the Admirals this season with 5 goals and 16 assists, but also leads the way with 102 penalty minutes. If the Predators had a need for a depth-line banger, Latta might prove to be the appropriate choice.

Check out this short video, in which Latta catches Edmonton's Jordin Eberle (playing with their AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City) with a nice hit as the opportunity presented itself:

Austin Watson

Watson was Nashville's 1st-round selection in 2010, and spent the last two seasons wrapping up his junior hockey career (which included a spot on Team USA in the 2012 World Juniors) before joining Milwaukee full-time this fall. The Predators have no need to rush Watson along the development path, but despite this being his first professional season, he's off to an excellent start. With 12 goals, he's tied with Mueller for the Admirals' lead, and certainly doesn't seem shy about heading to the front of the net:

So which of these three Milwaukee Admirals centers will suit up the most for Nashville this season? Let's have a poll...

Poll

Which of these will play the most games in the NHL this season?

• Michael Latta
• Chris Mueller
• Austin Watson

  116 votes | Results

Saturday's Dump & Chase: Kickoff at Bridgestone Arena Today

Nashville Predators News

Nashville Predators need to avoid injuries in shortened season | The Tennessean
Injuries could play a tremendous role in determining teams' fates over the next three months.

Nashville Predators defensemen try to earn chance to stay in NHL | The Tennessean
Jonathon Blum & Ryan Ellis look to be competing for the final spot in the lineup right now.

Rivermen Have Easy Time With Admirals | Admirals Roundtable
Milwaukee took a 5-2 beating, but Austin Watson scored again.

Under pressure: 10 people in the NHL that simply can’t afford to fail in 2013 | Puck Daddy
Can't argue with Shea Weber's presence on this list.

Three Ways The Predators Can Seize This Nashville Moment - Predlines
The Preds have to work a tie-in to ABC's "Nashville", right? That is, if the NBC relationship with the NHL doesn't get in the way.

Milwaukee players back in Nashville - Predators Insider
Well, look who's in town!
You can't ask for more as a young defenseman than to get the chance of playing alongside Shea Weber.

Once the season starts, who has the advantage: the rested or the battle tested? | Section 303
There certainly isn't much time for guys to get up to speed.

The Hippodrome: They Stopped Pucking Around | Pith in the Wind
J.R. notes how the NHL will now help provide funds for Bridgestone Arena to attract non-hockey events, thanks to a detail of the new CBA.

Here's Preds COO Sean Henry on 102.5 The Game yesterday, talking about today's events at the arena:

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Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

The Apology : Tom Benjamin's NHL Blog :: CanucksCorner.com
Tom strikes the right notes here. Bettman's apology wasn't phony, but it wasn't any indication that he wouldn't do exactly the same thing again in a similar situation.

Brad Boyes didn’t become an Islander to do the little things, or something | Backhand Shelf
Yeah, this doesn't sound like it will work out well.

The failure that isn’t: Burke’s Toronto tenure defined by Kessel deal | Backhand Shelf
Cam argues that Brian Burke's most infamous move in Toronto wasn't really that bad.

Eye injury sidelines Jones for several weeks - Edmonton Oilers
Former Nashville Predator Ryan Jones took a puck to the eye and will be out until next month, at least. He's also wised up and will wear a visor from now on.