Iron Crotch

Well played! :thumbsup:

Page after page of uneducated opinions in this thread... and we'll leave it at that. ;)

On my college football message board, everyone incessantly refers to players by their initials (LT, JM, TR, etc.). It is hugely annoying since there are 85+ players and figuring out each by their initials is confusing. Have we gotten so lazy that we have to type 2 letters instead of 5 or 6? :D

Two big, physical teams just hammering each other out in LA. Games like this are why I've always thought some guys are made for the regular season and some for the post-season.

I think we'll take Bennett if Florida takes Ekblad. But, if Bennett is gone then it gets interesting. Not sure if Murray would favor Draisaitl's size and power over the less physical, but (arguably) more skilled Reinhart.

:D ...sword fight edition.

Sacco, Teppo, Corsi .... F those guys. :devil:

You can't say k raut, but you can talk about fisting all you want.

I believe it was a shitload. ;)

Zibanejad, Zack Smith for Ottawa... all of the deadline moves that brought back young forwards were for bigger guys (Deslauriers, Carrier, Fasching)... again, this is pure conjecture, but I think he likes size up front.

All things equal, Murray has always like the big, powerful forwards. So, I think he might like Leon. All of these guys are great prospects, of course... but I just wonder if size isn't the difference in Murray's mind (just a guess).

I posted this elsewhere, but I'm not sure Murray wants one of the two Sams (or Ekblad).

Why does everyone automatically assume the Isles will be a lottery team next year? They could easily make the playoffs with some goaltending.

They'll take Bennett.

Do we actually get to see the lottery balls? Or will they just do the "turn the card over" type of unveiling? .... I wanna see balls. B-)

He was always going to be bought out. I'm not even sure why people think there is any question about it...

He said he wants free agents (he mentioned wanting a couple) but I think he merely pointed out that it is a two way street and they also have to want to come to Buffalo. His choice of words was awkward... but people are reading way too much into it. He'll go after some free agents.

What if Tim Murray is so high he has no idea what is going on? http://youtu.be/1Y_7P9Ce9Uc

The Edmonton press thinks Murray wants Draisaitl if he can't get Bennett. I think the Oilers want Draisaitl as well, even though their fans will surely want Ekblad.

Every year in every sport, the draft never plays out as assumed. Don't be so sure Tim Murray isn't the one throwing the curve ball. I think he'd take Bennett at #1, but if we pick 2nd and Bennett is gone, he may not have the other Sam in mind...

David Poille just sent this letter to the Preds season ticket holder (of which I am one)... The last two seasons have not produced our collective desired results nor what you, as our most loyal supporters, expect or deserve. It is with that background that I have had to make the most difficult decision in my 30+ year General Manager career. As you have heard by now, we will not be renewing Barry Trotz’s contract and will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Nashville Predators. After many days and weeks, along with countless sleepless nights, I have concluded it is time for a new direction and a new voice. It is not a decision I wanted to make, but a decision I feel we need to make in order to drive our organization to a higher level. This decision is a message to everyone within our hockey operations that our recent performance is unacceptable. We started making changes a year ago and will continue to do so in order to take steps forward. Changing our course essentially began in March, 2013, when we acquired Filip Forsberg in exchange for Marty Erat. We then added Phil Housley to our coaching staff in an effort to improve our power play and tutor our young defensive corps. We were then fortunate enough to draft top-ranked Seth Jones in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Earlier this season, we added Michael Del Zotto in return for Kevin Klein. And, most recently, we acquired Calle Jarnkrok and a second round pick for David Legwand. None of these decisions, as well as today’s, were easy, but signal that it was and is time to make changes to improve our team for the future. Our team did not live up to our and your expectations and we pledge to improve. From August 6, 1997 until today’s announcement, Barry Trotz has been everything we could have hoped for as a head coach and an ambassador for the Predators and Nashville. It was Barry who defined, established and exemplified The Predator Way and developed our culture that led to so many highlights over the last 15 seasons. His record and place in history—both here in Nashville and within the NHL—are obvious and significant. But his character and sense of family and community are what set him apart and define him as person. I have known and worked with Barry for 30 years. I have watched him grow professionally and watched he, his wife Kim and their family grow and flourish. Though he will not be behind our bench next season, Barry and his family will always be an integral part of our history and will always be welcome by our organization and throughout our community. We will always be grateful to Barry for bringing us our first win in franchise history, our first playoff berth, our first playoff series win and back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Semi-Finals. He was a finalist for Coach of the Year honors twice, but deserved more consideration on other occasions. We do take pride in being a family and an integral part of this community. No one showed that more than Barry. His work with My Friends House, Best Buddies and so many other charitable organizations is legendary and deserving of our gratitude. He set the example not just for the Predators’ organization, but for many others within our community. Our mission is to continue to make the necessary changes for the 2014-15 season and beyond to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Our first goal is to get into the Playoffs. Once a team is in the playoffs, anything can happen. There will be additional changes as we move forward this off-season in an effort to improve our team. The search for our next coach begins now. You have my pledge that we will conduct a thorough search to bring in the best candidate for our team and market. In addition to identifying our next coach, we will also explore any and all other avenues to improve our team during the coming months. We do have some key pieces for a successful team, beginning with Norris Trophy candidate Shea Weber, goaltender Pekka Rinne and several other top young players such as Roman Josi and Seth Jones on defense along with forwards such as Mike Fisher, Patric Hornqvist, Craig Smith, recently-acquired Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons, Filip Forsberg and several others developing in our system. But simply standing pat and waiting for prospects to develop is not enough. It is why we were active in free agency last year in adding players that could help us immediately. We have to get better in all areas and will work towards that goal. We are looking forward to Pekka Rinne returning in September at 100%. We have one of the top young defensive corps in the NHL, anchored by Shea Weber and emerging star Roman Josi and joined by youngsters such as Seth Jones, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis and Victor Bartley. Our leadership group, including forwards Mike Fisher, Patric Hornqvist, Paul Gaustad and others, showed its true colors down the stretch this season as the team gave everything it had right to the very end. It is my hope that a new voice and direction will drive some of our players who had off-seasons in 2013-14 to productive seasons in 2014-15. There is no doubt that if all of our players play to their potential and our expectations, our team is capable of making the playoffs in 2014-15. That is what excites me and our organization as we look to the coming season, a new and exciting chapter in our history. Your support is never taken for granted but always appreciated. I hope you will join me in thanking Barry Trotz and his family for everything they have given to our franchise and community. And I look forward to an exciting summer of developments and progress as it relates to the Nashville Predators. Sincerely, David Poile President of Hockey Operations and General Manager

My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ville Leino pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.

Trotz was the only coach the Preds have ever known. He was there from Day 1 of the franchise. So it is a pretty big change for the Preds. I hope David Poille steps down as GM, but we'll see. A couple of years ago, Poille said (at that time) he only had a few more years left. But, he just seems to keep on going...