Of those group...MAYBE Dumont and Sullivan...and almost definitely Gelinas. I highly doubt Legwand or Erat would be traded.
But I don't see us being "out of it" by the deadline, so...
sullivan has 2 yrs left on his deal at a VERY affordable price.
As long as he is healthy, I doubt he will be going anywhere at the trade deadline this year.
sullivan has 2 yrs left on his deal at a VERY affordable price.
As long as he is healthy, I doubt he will be going anywhere at the trade deadline this year.
Are you sure? I thought this was the last year on his contract.
Which team will beat them out in your opinion, the Blues, Jackets or Hawks?
Not to speak for Tony D (I'd be interested to see his logic expanded) but I think you listed them in the most likely order if the Preds were to miss out. I think, in particular, the Blues have to be strongly considered given how they played out the end of last year.
It is possible 3 teams from the division make it and it is possible that the Wings could slip if key injuries hit them but the most likely scenario is 2 from the division, one of which is the Wings.
Not to speak for Tony D (I'd be interested to see his logic expanded) but I think you listed them in the most likely order if the Preds were to miss out. I think, in particular, the Blues have to be strongly considered given how they played out the end of last year.
It is possible 3 teams from the division make it and it is possible that the Wings could slip if key injuries hit them but the most likely scenario is 2 from the division, one of which is the Wings.
regardless of how the playoff standings shake out, this year will be wooly in the Central!
With Sully out until December, the road to the playoffs just got a lot steeper. In my mind, the pressure is really on for Erat and Radulov to provide consistent scoring punch.
In my mind, the pressure is really on for Erat and Radulov to provide consistent scoring punch.
Erat has yet to find any consistency to his game thus far in his career. Radulov was very inconsistent last year, but was also a rookie, so he gets some slack there.
With Sully out until December, the road to the playoffs just got a lot steeper. In my mind, the pressure is really on for Erat and Radulov to provide consistent scoring punch.
Boy we do need some scoring from our wingers. Hopefully Erat and Rads can get at least 20 each. Losing Sully was a pretty big blow. Who will wear the C now? Legwand gets my vote, but I am a bit biased.
we still have as much or more talent as we had when we made it in 03-04, so its not out of the question, but we certainly cant have any big injuries or have any key players have "down" years
We are very much a playoff team. The only thing that could ruin us is a complete regression from Mason back to waiver days....Then again, things like that can bury ANY team in the league. On paper we are not as deep offensively, but we are built better and should compete better (especially with Peterson running the PP).
Check other threads and you will see that the general consensus here is that the Preds plan of rolling three offensive lines last year was against the grain of Trotz's style, fell short on the third line as we never were able to get the right three in place, led to the lack of a shut-down line and felt "soft". The emphasis was on offense rather than defense (or at least it was a struggle to play defense first). "Better built" in this context means a return to a shut down 3rd line (Bonk, Gelinas and perhaps Ortmeyer), Radulov in the top 6 and perhaps a bit more in your face, much more defense first style rather than a Sabres style.
The defensive style seems more likely to work in the playoffs.
Last edited by braindead: 08-26-2007 at 11:03 AM.
Reason: Editing, more than veggies, prevents cancer.
If Mason plays like the Mason we saw last year, we're a playoff team.
Which Mason? The one that picked up almost all of his wins against Non-Playoff teams or the one that struggled against playoff teams? Oh wait, thats the same Mason.
Which Mason? The one that picked up almost all of his wins against Non-Playoff teams or the one that struggled against playoff teams? Oh wait, thats the same Mason.
The one that finished 2nd in save percentage, 6th in shutouts, and 10th in GAA against all opponents.
So now without Sullivan (for who knows how long) and Kariya (over 70 points 7 times), we have 2 players who have ever hit 70 points in a season; Jason Arnott had 76 in his career year (contract year also) with Dallas, while Radek Bonk hit 70 in his only full season while with the high scoring Senators. Gelinas, Dumont and Legwand have all come close (68, 66, 63 respectively). Sullivan's only done it once (75) but came close with 68 and 64 also.
Its pretty safe to say Gelinas and Bonk will get no where close to 70. Arnott, Dumont and Legwand all have the most likely chance on our team to pass 70.
Without Sullivan in the lineup, Dumont picked up 16 points, Arnott picked up 8 points, Legwand picked up 13 points, Radulov picked up 13 points, Kariya put up 17 points. Note, those are regular season numbers.
Hopefully the team's idea isn't to stay alive until December. First of all, who knows if Sullivan even makes a comeback then. Second, who knows if he's likely to be the same player. Third, our schedule is pretty tough through December. Lastly, teams have often been out of the playoffs already by December. And given our track record in January through April, we need all the points we can get until then.
The one that finished 2nd in save percentage, 6th in shutouts, and 10th in GAA against all opponents.
20 of Mason's 24 wins were against Non-Playoff teams. Those stats are misleading because he picked up so many against Non-Playoff teams. Those 6 shutouts for example, 4 were against Non-Playoff teams, while picking up one against the Senators and receiving credit for a shutout in the Vancouver game where he played one period.
I like Mason, I really do. His shoutout against Colorado last season was one of the best goaltending displays I've seen. I'm glad he wants the team to stay here and says the right things. He played well without Vokoun in the lineup, and played alot of games without getting a rest. But the guy still has alot to prove. This year, all the pressure will be on him and he won't have the same fire power in front of him this season. I think we have a chance to be a tad bit better defensively (assuming we can hold the puck in the offensive zone), but Mason will have his work cut out for him this year.
I'm not saying he can't get the job done, but he's going to have to improve his play in big time games. However, I also think that that element plagued the entire team last season too.
So now without Sullivan (for who knows how long) and Kariya (over 70 points 7 times), we have 2 players who have ever hit 70 points in a season; Jason Arnott had 76 in his career year (contract year also) with Dallas, while Radek Bonk hit 70 in his only full season while with the high scoring Senators. Gelinas, Dumont and Legwand have all come close (68, 66, 63 respectively). Sullivan's only done it once (75) but came close with 68 and 64 also.
Its pretty safe to say Gelinas and Bonk will get no where close to 70. Arnott, Dumont and Legwand all have the most likely chance on our team to pass 70.
Without Sullivan in the lineup, Dumont picked up 16 points, Arnott picked up 8 points, Legwand picked up 13 points, Radulov picked up 13 points, Kariya put up 17 points. Note, those are regular season numbers.
Hopefully the team's idea isn't to stay alive until December. First of all, who knows if Sullivan even makes a comeback then. Second, who knows if he's likely to be the same player. Third, our schedule is pretty tough through December. Lastly, teams have often been out of the playoffs already by December. And given our track record in January through April, we need all the points we can get until then.
I agree with all this. It's going to be tough, and if we come out with an attitude to just get by until Sully gets back, we are toast. What do you think our PP units are going to be. This is where we will really miss Sully; however, at least Trotz can't mis-use him at the point now. With that said, it looks as if Hammer and Suter may see more PP time this season. Our fowards are going to be tough. First unit of Arnott, Rads, Erat Second Leggy, Dumont, and insert a foward Gelinas, Fiddler, (Hornquist, Setzinger, UFA)? I hope they do give Hammer some PP time.
20 of Mason's 24 wins were against Non-Playoff teams. Those stats are misleading because he picked up so many against Non-Playoff teams. Those 6 shutouts for example, 4 were against Non-Playoff teams, while picking up one against the Senators and receiving credit for a shutout in the Vancouver game where he played one period.
I like Mason, I really do. His shoutout against Colorado last season was one of the best goaltending displays I've seen. I'm glad he wants the team to stay here and says the right things. He played well without Vokoun in the lineup, and played alot of games without getting a rest. But the guy still has alot to prove. This year, all the pressure will be on him and he won't have the same fire power in front of him this season. I think we have a chance to be a tad bit better defensively (assuming we can hold the puck in the offensive zone), but Mason will have his work cut out for him this year.
I'm not saying he can't get the job done, but he's going to have to improve his play in big time games. However, I also think that that element plagued the entire team last season too.
While he won't have the same firepower offensively, let's hope some of the newly aquired fowards are a bit better defensively and get our shots on goal and scoring chances down. I feel this will happen with both Bonk(who played fairly well as a shut down center last season), Gelinas and Orts in our line-up. I agree that Mase does have huge pressure on his shoulders. He has some pretty big skates to fill as Vokoun, when healthy, is one of the best goal tenders in the league.
I agree with all this. It's going to be tough, and if we come out with an attitude to just get by until Sully gets back, we are toast. What do you think our PP units are going to be. This is where we will really miss Sully; however, at least Trotz can't mis-use him at the point now. With that said, it looks as if Hammer and Suter may see more PP time this season. Our fowards are going to be tough. First unit of Arnott, Rads, Erat Second Leggy, Dumont, and insert a foward Gelinas, Fiddler, (Hornquist, Setzinger, UFA)? I hope they do give Hammer some PP time.
It will be interesting, especially if Peterson changes up the PP tactics.
Zidlicky and Weber will most likely be the top PP pairing. Our second PP defensive unit could easily have Suter, Hamhuis, Koistinen or Klein, with Suter and either Koistinen/Klein being what I think will happen.
For our forwards, I'd like to see Arnott downlow in front of the net instead of on top of the face off circle. If one was to view Arnott's goals with Dallas in in his final season with them before we signed him, almost all of the videos had Arnott around the goal banging one in.
I think we could see Gelinas - Arnott - Dumont and Radulov - Legwand - Erat, with Bonk perhaps grabbing some time on the PP too.
It all really depends on the style with go with this year. We lost some key PP guys in Timonen, Kariya and Hartnell.
