At this point taking a regular shift doesn't mean squat. The Preds need a guy that can actually fight to calm down some of the bigger teams that have been abusing our smaller players.
I like the deal and really think it'll have an immediate impact on the team. Tootoo and Nichol have been playing very tenatively this season. They have not been the same players they have been in the past and a lot of that had to do with the fact that we didn't have an enforcer to back them up. Well, now we do...and we got a heavyweight enforcer to boot.
Nichol, Tootoo, and Pihlstrom can now operate at full speed knowing that they have a teammate that is willing to stay in the league putting out the fires that they start with their tenacity. Does this mean that they won't have to fight? Of course not...you run around and hit people...someone is going to make you answer for it. However, what this does mean is that we will now see more even fights with our lightweights going against middleweights (and they can handle it), but not heavyweights because if a team tries to pull that card...we no longer have to sacrifice DeVries or heaven forbid Weber...we will send out Belak to address that matter.
Tarnasky was a liability anytime he was on the ice. I actually liked the acquisition when it was made, but Nick never turned out to be what the Predators wanted. Far too often he trapped his own line in the defensive zone by bringing the puck back into the zone, over-stickhandling, and just making poor decisions with the puck. He didn't serve as an enforcer very well either, but rather played the role of punching bag too often.
The experiment is over for now, but certainly not dead. We will continue to pursue an enforcer that can take a regular shift (just like the other 29 teams in the league), but now instead of trying to fill both roles with players that can't fill either...we will fill the enforcer role with a player that is expected to fight and nothing else whenever he steps foot on the ice.
Hey preds' fan, panthers fan passing by here. Just want to say that you'll love what wade brings to the locker room and his physical assets on the ice. You're also getting one of the Funniest players as well in Belak, i bet he scores 30 goals - 40 assists - 100 pts for you guys now
Definitely not sure. I may have witnessed some of Tarnasky's best games last season, I guess, judging from the general consensus on his abilities that I've seen here and on the Bolts forums.
LOL. Neither can Belak. I hope he works out for you guys though. He seems like a good guy, and he's real funny and good in the room supposedly, he just wasn't fitting in well in Florida. DeBoer wasn't impressed with him and an agitator like Tarnasky who has more speed is a better fit for his system. Problem with Belak is nobody wants to fight him. He's one of the best fighters in the league and everybody knows that, and he tried to exact revenge on some pests this season, and they all just ran away and it didn't deter them from doing their job one bit. This is also, however, because he didn't get a lot of playing time, sometimes only a couple minutes a game. Other teams knew he wasn't a real threat. If you play him a lot, he'll be more useful as he might actually be on the ice when something occurs.
If he's great in the locker room, can fight and brings a physical presence to our team, then we won this trade. I think that San Jose game really pissed Poile off, YA THINK???
LOL. Neither can Belak. I hope he works out for you guys though. He seems like a good guy, and he's real funny and good in the room supposedly, he just wasn't fitting in well in Florida. DeBoer wasn't impressed with him and an agitator like Tarnasky who has more speed is a better fit for his system. Problem with Belak is nobody wants to fight him. He's one of the best fighters in the league and everybody knows that, and he tried to exact revenge on some pests this season, and they all just ran away and it didn't deter them from doing their job one bit. This is also, however, because he didn't get a lot of playing time, sometimes only a couple minutes a game. Other teams knew he wasn't a real threat. If you play him a lot, he'll be more useful as he might actually be on the ice when something occurs.
Our pests can match their pests. We need that heavy to calm down the bigger guys.
. I think that San Jose game really pissed Poile off, YA THINK???
