After their 2-1 shootout victory, that distinction is officially held by the Preds.

In front of yet another sold out crowd inside Bridgestone Arena, the host Predators didn’t get a chance to improve on their 5th ranked power play but still secured two points in the standings.

“We have to be better 5-on-5,” captain Shea Weber said. “It was the opposite last year. We were really good 5-on-5 and our power play was average but, this year, our power play has been winning us games.”

Pekka Rinne was stellar between the pipes once again. His 39 saves on 40 St. Louis shots improved him to 15-9-4 on the season and 10-5-0 all-time against the Blues.

“A lot of times, when you face 40 shots, the game gets easier,” Rinne said.

When asked if he was frustrated that his team only mustered half that many on Jaroslav Halak, Rinne brushed it off.

“I don’t worry about shots (for). I just have to focus on my own game. I don’t really care about how many shots we get, I just worry about the final score.”

The two teams went scoreless for 52:00 until Weber baited Halak and fed Martin Erat for the tap in. Mike Fisher, exhausted at the end of a busy penalty kill shift, got the puck up to Weber who carried across the blueline. Normally he would wind up and try to blow it by the goaltender. Halak thought the same and came out to challenge, allowing Erat to set up shop at the back door. Weber tossed a perfect pass across to the former Czech Olympian and all he had to do was tap it over the line, which he did, for the 1-0 lead.

“He’s walking in and the goaltender’s thinking ‘I better come out and cut the angle down,’” Head Coach Barry Trotz said. “There’s a lot of threat when you think that shot’s coming and it opens up some lanes.”

Nashville looked to have the game in hand at that point but they took an ill-timed bench minor for too many men on the ice, giving St. Louis their fifth man advantage of the evening. After four failed attempts, St. Louis finally cashed in when TJ Oshie found the back of the net to tie the game with less than 4:00 left in regulation.

An eventful overtime session took place but saw no deciding marker. In the shootout, Oshie, Fisher, David Perron, Craig Smith, and Patrik Berglund all failed in their attempts to put a puck past a goaltender. David Legwand then skated up the ice during the final round and beat Halak to win the game for the home team.

The Predators now boast a Western Conference best five-game win streak and a respectable 8-5-3 home record. Considering they were a conference worst 4-5-3 coming into this home stand, that’s saying something.

From the strange stat file: Nashville will go down as 0-for-1 on the power play even though they didn’t have a single man advantage opportunity. After the overtime whistle blew, Matt D’Agostini got called for charging. The 0-for-1 stat therefore breaks Nashville’s streak of seven straight games with a power play goal.

The Predators will now travel to Washington, DC to take on the Capitals. Washington is third in the Southeast Division and a surprising 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Puck drops at 6:00pm Central. You can see all the action on FS-Tennessee and hear all the action on 102.5 The Game.

LEFTOVER THOUGHTS:
* Through 23:30 of the game, Hornqvist had all the Preds shots on goal. And he had two.
* Hornqvist finished the contest with a team-high five shots.
* For as lopsided as the game was shot-wise, Rinne didn’t have to make a save in overtime. Nashville, by contrast, took three shots on Halak.
* St. Louis was just 37% in the face-off dot.
* Barret Jackman, Kevin Shattenkirk and David Perron were the only Blues not to register a shot on goal.
* Nick Spaling didn’t figure into the scoring but played an incredible game for Nashville. He was a ridiculous 14-of-19 on face-offs, he logged valuable penalty kill minutes and was easily the Preds’ best forward in the first period.
* Former Predators captain Jason Arnott mysteriously did not play in tonight’s contest. It would have been his first time in Nashville since being dealt to New Jersey in the summer of 2010.

MY THREE STARS (as voted on with 6:10 remaining in regulation):
1) Pekka Rinne (NSH)
2) Shea Weber (NSH)
3) Nick Spaling (NSH)

THE THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
1) Pekka Rinne (NSH)
2) Martin Erat (NSH)
3) TJ Oshie (STL)

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PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Fuqua // Flickr (used with permission)

Predators and Ducks?

All of a sudden, two teams from non-traditional markets are forming one of the most hated rivalries in sports. Obviously it would take decades upon decades to match the rivalries of the examples above but, let’s face it, those rivalries had to be born sometime. In the case of Nashville and Anaheim, the birth was in game one of the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals.

And then it grew from there.

Below is a timeline — supported by video evidence — that explains why the Preds and Ducks hate each other.

April 10, 2011 :: THE WARNING SHOT
In an interesting turn of events, it was actually the Anaheim media that fired the first shot in this rivalry. Orange County Register columnist Jeff Miller wrote a piece “previewing” the first round series and, well…. he called Nashville “Trashville.” We then fired back with the mother of all responses (complete with the Rebecca Black video) and two hockey markets had officially dropped the gloves.

April 13, 2011 :: THE BIRTH
With a 3-0 lead in their pockets headed into the second intermission, the Preds were feeling pretty good. It was their sixth trip to the post season in the last seven years and they had a commanding lead over a team that boasted several offensive threats. One of those offensive threats was Hart Trophy finalist Corey Perry. Perry decided to spear Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne after the second period horn had blown. For some, this was an obvious attempt to take Nashville’s best player off the ice for the series. For most, it was an absolutely unacceptable way to vent frustration. Why was Perry frustrated? His team was having a hard time with something that had come so easy during the regular season: scoring goals. The Predators fan base grew irate when it was revealed there was no penalty called. At that point, the rivalry was born.

April 15, 2011 :: THE STOMP
The Preds led the best-of-seven series 1-0. They’re down by one in a game that, if they win, will give them a 2-0 series advantage headed back into their home building. There’s less than 4:00 remaining in regulation. Predators defenseman Jon Blum has the puck tied up behind his own net but, in an effort to work it free, Anaheim sniper Bobby Ryan turns his skate into a weapon and  stomps on Blum’s foot. No penalty was called on this play either, further enraging PredNation. They would get some reprieve, however, as Ryan was suspended for two games but, nevertheless, the hatred for the Ducks grew.

April 15, 2011 :: THE BUTT-END
Lost in the commotion of “The Stomp” was Ducks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank butt-ending Martin Erat earlier in the contest. Deep in the Anaheim zone, Brookbank positioned himself to win a battle along the boards but, in doing so, put the butt-end of his stick into Erat’s face, forcing four teeth to pop out. Nashville Head Coach Barry Trotz called it “a hockey play” and, while it might have been an accident, it just added to the growing rivalry. I mean, have you seen Erat smile since the incident? It’s not good.

April 17, 2011 :: THE FIGHT
Ryan Getzlaf follows Preds center Mike Fisher to the boards. Not expecting a solid shoulder check, Getzlaf’s 6’4″, 220 pound frame goes flying and he’s not happy about being embarrassed. So, being the classy player that he is, Getzlaf gives Fisher a shot in the rib cage (where there’s no padding, by the way) on his way up the ice. Now, obviously, you don’t want to see your star players fighting, but the cheap shot by Getzlaf had to be defended. And, considering Sergei Kostitsyn and Patric Hornqvist were on the ice with him at the time, Fisher did the right thing and stood up for himself.

April 18, 2011 :: THE ACCUSATION
This rivalry wasn’t contained just to the ice, you know. Anaheim Ducks General Manager Bob Murray helped fuel it off the ice when he told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register that “We’ve got to start diving because it’s working (for them). They’re getting power plays because of the diving. I can go through the list of players. You already know who they are. You’ve seen them. It’s ridiculous.” Unlike Murray, Trotz was too smart to get involved in a war of words. His response? “I’m not going to say anything about that.” Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle knew it wasn’t smart to give the Preds any more bulletin board material but still managed to back up his boss, saying “I’ll just say the video doesn’t lie.”

April 20, 2011 :: THE HIT
Jarkko Ruutu has long been a player known as “dirty.”  Let’s see… he’s had THIS clip on Martin St. Louis, he’s had THIS incident where he bit Andrew Peters and then, of course, he had THIS ridiculously late and dangerous hit on Petr Schastlivy during international competition. So, during game three of the first round, Ruutu found yet another opponent to hit. This hit, coming in open ice, caused Erat to miss the rest of the series. Thankfully, the Preds advanced and Erat would take the ice again. Ruutu, by the way, was suspended one game for the incident.

April 22, 2011 :: THE SURPRISE FINISH
The series is tied 2-2. The Ducks have home ice advantage and are playing the critical game five in their own building. They’re up 3-2 with less than 1:00 left. Nashville has never been up 3-2 in a series, let alone had a chance to advance in the playoffs on their home ice. Enter Shea Weber. The Predators’ captain winds up and blows a puck past Emery to tie the game with only 0:36 left. Enter the fourth line. Nick Spaling gets a puck up to Jordin Tootoo who feeds a perfect pass from behind the Ducks net to a streaking Jerred Smithson who scores the first ever playoff overtime winner in franchise history. In short, Anaheim was less than 1:00 from a commanding lead in the series. Instead, the Preds pulled out a victory and stunned the Ducks in front of their own fans.

April 24, 2011 :: THE TEE TIME
Despite Anaheim scoring first and despite Anaheim tying the game late in the second period, the Preds ended the Ducks’ season with a 4-2 victory. Nashville had never ended a team’s season before and Anaheim went down in the history books as the first. The Ducks were heavily favored in the series as well, having tons of offensive talent in Getzlaf, Ryan, Perry and Selanne. Considering the Predators had scored the least amount of goals among Western Conference playoff teams, it looked as if it was the worst possible match-up for Nashville. Could Nashville muster enough offense to outscore a potent offensive team, and then do it four times in the same series? To put it in perspective, some Preds fans were even asking to play the Detroit Red Wings. Nevertheless, the hockey gods smiled on the Preds and the Ducks’ summer started.

October 29, 2011 :: THE HIT II
Mike Fisher, who missed all of training camp and the pre-season recovering from shoulder surgery, was playing in just his third game of the year. Ducks blueliner Francis Beauchemin leveled Fisher while he received a pass from Erat in the neutral zone. While Beauchemin was slapped with a double minor, some thought it was a relatively clean hit. Others thought it was dirty and called for a suspension. The league decided not to suspend the Anaheim defenseman, however, further fueling an outcry from PredNation. Fisher would miss the next game with an injury he sustained on the play.

October 30, 2011 :: THE ACCUSATION II
Getzlaf, obviously frustrated that his team couldn’t beat the Predators, chose to vent through the media as opposed to taking care of things on the ice. The Ducks captain told Eric Stephens “I’m tired of watching Jordin Tootoo out there, a guy who runs around and hits and does everything else but the first little slash, he’s laying on the ice and he’s out the next shift. It’s embarrassing and I’m sick of it. If they want to change the game and they want things to be better and they want more respect on the ice, get guys like that off the ice then. I’m sick of it.” Getzlaf was referring to the play below in which his teammate (our friend Corey Perry) once again used his stick as a weapon, slashing Tootoo. Did Tootoo dress it up a little? Maybe. But using your stick as a weapon is never okay and, if you’re going to give a smart player the opportunity to call attention to it, you darn right he’s going to.

November 9, 2011 :: THE FOURTH STRAIGHT
The mighty Ducks had lost eight of their last nine coming into the night and left having lost nine of their last 10. But, to add insult to injury, they had now lost four straight (going back to last year’s playoff series) to the Predators, a team they are superior to on paper. This couldn’t possibly sit well with Getzlaf who, once again, couldn’t back up his accusations by actually playing well. Getzlaf finished the contest with no points and only one shot on goal. Heck, even Selanne (the Predator killer himself) finished pointless and with a minus-3 rating. You have to wonder if Nashville is in their heads.

Will these two teams add another chapter to their rivalry tonight in Nashville? You better be there to find out.

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UPDATE: Through a little research, it just so happens that this was NOT Corey Perry’s first time cheap shotting a goaltender. Check out THIS cross-check on former San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Later in the video, we see him take a swing at another former Sharks goalie, Brian Boucher, while he’s down.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Fuqua // Flickr (used with permission)

This weekend, 501 Broadway will host it’s 1,000th regular season NHL game.

Below are some fun facts and interesting figures about Head Coach Barry Trotz, General Manager David Poile and the Predators organization as a whole, all of whom will be celebrating their 1,000th contest in Nashville.

HEAD COACH BARRY TROTZ
* He will coach his 1,000th regular season NHL game.
* It will be his 1,046th NHL game (including the playoffs).
* He has never coached for another NHL team.
* His tenure has never been interrupted by another coach (see: Paul Maurice in Carolina).
* Only Lindy Ruff (Buffalo Sabres) has been with his current team longer (1,080 games).
* Ken Hitchcock, who has coached in 1,043 games, is on his fourth team during the Preds’ existence.
* The New York Islanders have had 12 different head coaches since Trotz was given the job on August 6, 1997.
* He has coached all 193 players that have donned a Preds sweater.

GENERAL MANAGER DAVID POILE
* Poile has drafted 127 players in the 13-year history of the club.
* 46 of those 127 have played at least one game in the NHL.
* 15 of those 46 are on the current roster.
* 16 if you count Alexander Radulov.
* He’s the only back-to-back nominee in the two year history of the NHL’s GM of the Year award.
* Saturday may be his 1,000th game as the GM of the Preds but it will be his 2,180th as a GM in the NHL.

THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS ORGANIZATION
* While Saturday will be their 1,000th regular season game, it will also be their 1,046th game if you include the playoffs.
* The organization’s all-time regular season record is 463-403-60-73.
* The Preds have been to the playoffs six of the last seven seasons.
* Nashville has won 14 playoff games and one playoff series in their 13-year history.
* The Florida Panthers franchises have yet to win a single playoff game since Nashville came into the league (1998).
* The Phoenix Coyotes haven’t won a playoff series since the Predators were awarded a franchise.
* The Columbus Blue Jackets (2000) and Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets (1999) organizations have never won a playoff game in their history, let alone a playoff series.
* David Legwand is the only Predator who’s played in at least one game in each of the team’s 13 seasons.
* The only opening night roster Nashville Predator still playing in the NHL is Chicago’s Andrew Brunette.
* The Preds have scored 2,630 goals in their history.
* There have been six captains in team history: Tom Fitzgerald (1998-2002), Scott Walker (two weeks in the 2002-03 season), Greg Johnson (2002-2006), Kimmo Timonen (2006-2007), Jason Arnott (2007-2010) and Shea Weber (2010-present).
* Only 12 different goalies have tended the pipes for the Preds. Tomas Vokoun (383 games), Mike Dunham (217), Pekka Rinne (191), Chris Mason (135), Dan Ellis (110), Anders Lindback (24), Eric Fichaud (9), Jan Lasak (6), Brian Finley (2), Wade Flaherty (1), Michael Leighton (1) and Mark Dekanich (1).

Saturday will also be a very special day for Cell Block 303 as it was created by Mark Hollingsworth and his band of rowdies 1,000 games ago. While the banner didn’t hang behind the section at it’s inception, Hollingsworth and those that were there at the beginning — October 10, 1998 — laid the foundation for what would eventually become a tradition recognized league wide.

It’s with tears in our eyes, we thank them for being loud 1,000 games ago.

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SPECIAL THANKS to the Predators media relations department for fact checking!

In the second segment, we sit down with former New York Islander (and current Predators) defenseman Jack Hillen. He shed some light on what it’s like to transition from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference, what the Preds need to do on the west coast trip in order to be successful and whether or not the players ever get any time to be tourists in visiting cities.

As always, we encourage you to follow us on Twitter and to subscribe via iTunes. While you’re at iTunes, please rate and review us as well.

To hear the extended version of The 303:30 (Coach Trotz’s full post game press conference from Thursday’s win over Tampa Bay), keep your radio dial locked to102.5 The Game this weekend.

CREDITS:
Music: Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes), Salute Your Solution (The Raconteurs), This Is Halloween (Danny Elfman), Jump Around (House of Pain), Murder Ink (Dr. Dre)

Staff: Kent Harris (voice over)

This game is being called the 2011 Baltimore Hockey Classic and will take place at 1st Mariner Arena. Head Coach Barry Trotz called this building home for three years, an assistant coach from 1990 to 1992 and then a Head Coach for the 1992-93 campaign.

Fun trivia fact: Barry Trotz was the last head coach of the Baltimore Skipjacks of the AHL. (They moved to Portland, Maine following the 1992-93 season where they went onto win the Calder Cup).

For great stories on Trotz’s time in Baltimore, check out puckscene.com’s blog Trotz Prepares for Baltimore Return and Preds On the Glass’ blog Barry Trotz’s Return to Charm City. Both are excellent reads.

The rosters for tonight’s Baltimore Hockey Classic are below. You’ll notice no Joel Ward in the lineup for the Capitals but you’ll also notice that former Cap Tyler Sloan will be in the lineup for the Predators. This will also be the first time that former Windsor Spitfire teammates Ryan Ellis and Philipp Grubauer will face each other in a professional game. If Grubauer sees time in the Washington nets, of course.

Don’t forget! Full coverage will be on 102.5 The Game tonight!

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Preds vs. Caps – 6:00pm Central

NASHVILLE PREDATORS
FORWARDS
Martin Erat
Craig Smith
Cal O’Reilly
Chris Mueller
Niclas Bergfors
Zack Stortini
Matt Halischuk
Jerred Smithson
Kyle Wilson
Colin Wilson
Taylor Beck
Gabriel Bourque
Juuso Puustinen
Jani Lajunen
Ryan Thang

DEFENSE
Teemu Laakso
Shea Weber
Ryan Suter
Mattias Ekholm
Ryan Ellis
Jeff Foss
Roman Josi
Tyler Sloan

GOALTENDERS
Pekka Rinne
Jeremy Smith

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS
FORWARDS
Nicklas Backstrom
Jay Beagle
Chris Bourque
Cody Eakin
Stanislav Galiev
Kyle Greentree
Christian Hanson
Samuel Henley
Marcus Johansson
DJ King
Mike Knuble
Brooks Laich
Garrett Mitchell
Alexander Ovechkin
Ryan Potulny
Joel Rechlicz
Alexander Semin
Mattias Sjogren 

DEFENSE
Karl Alzner
Sean Collins
John Erskine
Brett Flemming
Mike Green
Patrick McNeill
Zach Miskovich
Dmitry Orlov
Danny Richmond
Patrick Wellar

GOALTENDERS
Philipp Grubauer
Michael Neuvirth
Dany Sabourin

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PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy K. Gover // section303.com

In the second segment, not only do we go  ”Around the Central Division” with Angie from RedWingsGuy.com, John from LightTheLamp.com, Amanda DiPaolo of InsideSmashville.com, Ryan Hackett of NHL Hot Stove and Lou Korac of In the Slot, but we also hear from Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne. In an exclusive interview with section303.com, Rinne talks about his summer away from the game, his excitement for the new season and even breaks a little news regarding NHL Network. You don’t want to miss it.

As always, we encourage you to follow us on Twitter and to subscribe via iTunes. While you’re at iTunes, please rate and review us as well.

To hear the extended version of The 303:30 (our interview with Milwaukee Admirals Head Coach Kirk Muller), keep your radio dial locked to102.5 The Game this Sunday morning. And, as always, we’ll update you via Facebook and Twitter.

CREDITS:
Music: Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes), Salute Your Solution (The Raconteurs), Telephone (Lady Gaga), Time to Start (Blue Man Group), Kush (Dr. Dre)

Staff: Kent Harris (voice over)

Buddy Oakes of Preds On the Glass captured the moment on tape and, while you can’t hear the fan’s question very well, the moment is absolutely not to be missed.

In short, Trotz turns into a salesman (“You have to make a choice: have fun or no fun.”), Poile gives him a dose of reality (“Nashville has to want you.”) and, later on, Gnash comes into the stands with a new hat, puts it on his head and everyone in attendance stood in applause, welcoming the new fan to Music City.

NOTE: Fast forward to 9:07 of the clip and then, once they move onto another question, 12:25 for “the baptism.”

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PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy K. Gover // section303.com

Trotz received just eight first place votes compared to Bylsma’s 29.

The only head coach the team has ever known, Trotz did a masterful job this season. Not only did he lead his team to their sixth postseason appearance in seven years but he had to do it with a decimated lineup to key players. Rinne (11 games), Matthew Lombardi (80), Cal O’Reilly (44), Martin Erat (18), David Legwand (18), Steve Sullivan (38), Francis Bouillon (38), Marcel Goc (31) and Ryan Suter (12) all missed extended periods of time with injuries and all fit specific roles on this hockey club.

Rinne went down on opening night and then again in December, Lombardi was the key summer acquisition but ended up only playing four periods for his new team, O’Reilly was second on the team in scoring when he went on the injured reserve, Erat finished as one of the team’s leading scorers despite missing action four seperate times, Legwand is the team’s shutdown center who always plays against the other teams’ top line, Sullivan started the season as a point-per-game guy before hitting the IR, Bouillon is a true stay-at-home defenseman that gives the Preds a consistent, physical force on the blueline, Goc has tremendous versatility and can play anywhere in the lineup and many thought Suter should have represented the Preds at this year’s All-Star Game. All of these players missed extended time yet Trotz still propelled his team to fifth place in the uber-competitive Western Conference.

Oh yeah, and Trotz also surpassed the great Toe Blake in all-time coaching wins this season.

So congratulations to Barry Trotz on a much-deserved nomination and award.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy K. Gover // section303.com

Lambert has been the head bench boss for Nashville’s AHL affiliate for four seasons, putting together an incredible record of 178-103-39. Additionally, the Admirals never missed the playoffs and never won less than 41 games under his direction. On the flip side, however, Lambert never won an AHL Championship either. He had four post season visits with two first round exits and two second round exits.

A coaching position came open on the Predators staff when Assistant Coach Brent Peterson retired from coaching due to complications with Parkinson’s disease. Peterson, thankfully, will stay in the organization just in a different capacity.

Lambert’s hire comes on the heels of fellow Assistant Coach Peter Horachek interviewing last week for the Dallas Stars’ head coaching position and Nashville re-upping goaltending coach Mitch Korn on Tuesday.

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SPECIAL THANKS to @adsroundtable on Twitter for the tip!

Head Coach Barry Trotz has been nominated for the Jack Adams Trophy for the second straight year. The Jack Adams is handed out annually to the coach who is “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”

In short, it’s the Coach of the Year award.

Trotz did a masterful job this season. Not only did he lead his team to their sixth postseason appearance in seven years but he had to do it with a decimated lineup to key players. Rinne (11 games), Matthew Lombardi (80), Cal O’Reilly (44), Martin Erat (18), David Legwand (18), Steve Sullivan (38), Francis Bouillon (38), Marcel Goc (31) and Ryan Suter (12) all missed extended periods of time with injuries and all fit specific roles on this hockey club.

Rinne went down on opening night and then again in December, Lombardi was the key summer acquisition but ended up only playing four periods for his new team, O’Reilly was second on the team in scoring when he went on the injured reserve, Erat finished as one of the team’s leading scorers despite missing action four seperate times, Legwand is the team’s shutdown center who always plays against the other teams’ top line, Sullivan started the season as a point-per-game guy before hitting the IR, Bouillon is a true stay-at-home defenseman that gives the Preds a consistent, physical force on the blueline, Goc has tremendous versatility and can play anywhere in the lineup and many thought Suter should have represented the Preds at this year’s All-Star Game. All of these players missed extended time yet Trotz still propelled his team to fifth place in the uber-competitive Western Conference.

Last year I went on record saying that Trotz’s nomination was a make-up nomination. Almost as if the league said “we know you’ve been really good for a long time and Phoenix’s Dave Tippett’s already got this in the bag so here you go.” In other words, I thought he’d done a better coaching job in other years that he wasn’t nominated for the Jack Adams then the year he was nominated. This year, however, is the complete opposite. He deserves this award hands down and absolutely should win. The other nominees are Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Alain Vigneault and Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Dan Bylsma.

While an argument could be made for Bylsma as he lost the face of the NHL in Sidney Crosby and all-world winger Evgeni Malkin but still got his team to the playoffs, Vancouver was supposed to be good. And they were. That’s hardly a reason for any coach to get recognized as the Coach of the Year. You have to ask yourself, “could any other halfway decent coach gotten this team to win their division?” If the answer is “yes,” then he shouldn’t win the award, period. So Vigneault is out, in my opinion.

So the Jack Adams trophy comes down to two men: Trotz or Bylsma. And bias aside, the winner absolutely has to be the only Head Coach the Nashville Predators organization has ever known, Barry Trotz.

And deservedly so.

So what does he have to prove?

He has to prove that he can continue that kind of production in the post season. SK74 collected 15 points in the last 12 games of the regular season but he only had one in the 10 games before that. Which Kostitsyn will show up in the playoffs? Was the last game of the season an anomole? Or was it the start of yet another down swing in his offensive production? The Predators absolutely need him to produce as he’s one of the guys they rely on for scoring. Especially since only 13 of his 50 points came on the power play. Nashville has outscored the Ducks at even strength this season and they’ll likely need to do it again in order to get out of the first round for the first time in franchise history. Kostitsyn needs to be the guy that leads that charge.

4. JOEL WARD
Predators fans may remember Chicago’s overtime winning goal in Game 5 last year. Just maybe. Anyway, on that goal, Marian Hossa jumped out of the penalty box, raced down the ice and planted himself just to the left of the crease. Hossa, who scored the goal, was Ward’s man. Ward failed to lay a body on him, tie up his stick or just flat out clear him out of the area. As a result, Hossa cleanly one-timed a shot past Pekka Rinne for the winning goal that gave the eventual champs a 3-2 series lead.

Aside from needing to make ammends for last year, Ward has struggled at times this year. So while he had an incredible month of March where he posted eight points, when the Preds were still trying to get into the post season dance in April, Ward didn’t find the scoresheet in any capacity and even finished the month with a minus-2. Not exactly clutch play.

All that being said, Ward did chip in with huge goals this season. Half of his 10 scores came on the power play and four of them proved to be game-winners. He even had a short-handed assist.

Ward isn’t the first player that comes to mind when you think “who’s going to score goals for this team?” but he is the kind of guy who comes to mind when you think ”who works the hardest?” So while Ward doesn’t necessarily need to show up in the box score, he does need to do all the little things that are expected of him so his teammates can benefit.

3. PATRIC HORNQVIST
His only NHL playoff experience came in the first and last games of the post season last year and he was hardly a factor. While it came out later that he was hurt, he still wasn’t the factor that he needed to be for the Predators to be successful. With his lack of experience, it’s a real wild card as to how he’ll perform in clutch situations like the everyone-takes-it-up-a-notch playoffs.

Hornqvist could not rekindle his 30-goal season a year ago but, many would argue, he played a better all-around game this season. His balanced 21 goals and 27 assists certainly suggest he added an element to his game in the past seven months and, quite frankly, that makes him more dangerous against the Ducks. And he’s hot at the right time. He’s got seven points in his last four games and he’s got 14 points since March 19.

“Horn Dog” got the big raise after his breakout year last season and now it’s time earn that paycheck when it matters most.

2. MARTIN ERAT
Do we really need to explain why here? Okay fine. But only one last time!

With a one goal lead and a 3-2 series lead a mere 1:00 away, Erat was the Predator in the corner of the Blackhawks zone in the waining moments of Game 5 last April. Instead of tying the puck up along the boards to kill precious seconds off the clock (like you’d do on any penalty kill, for example) Erat elected to throw a blind backhand pass toward the slot. Naturally — because everyone was supporting him along the wall so they could tie up the puck if it came to them — nobody was home and the Blackhawks raced down the ice and scored the tying goal. They would eventually go on to win the game, giving them the 3-2 series lead instead of the Predators going back into their building with the chance to advance for the first time ever. Among the fanbase, Erat has never lived that down.

So, more than any other Nashville Predator player, Erat has something to prove. He must show that he has learned from his mistakes and can now make better decisions throughout the game, not just in the final minutes with a critical lead. He can go out and score five goals a game, but if his poor decision making leads to another playoff exit, it could get ugly in Music City.

1. BARRY TROTZ
He’s a great coach. A guy who constantly gets a lot out of his team. Matter of fact, he’s the only head coach this franchise has ever known. But, because this franchise has never gotten out of the first round of the playoffs, that means he has to own that distinction too. So for all the amazing things he does in the regular season, he’s been less than stellar in the post season.

Take the 2006 first round match-up against the San Jose Sharks for example. The Sharks dominated the face-off dot all series long but Trotz elected to bench their best face-off man Yanic Perreault in favor of forwards who maybe had a little more defensive upside. Last year, the Preds went and acquired offensive-minded defenseman Denis Grebeshkov at the trade deadline. He was hurt during the last part of the regular season but, in the four games he did play in a Preds sweater, he tallied two points. The playoffs came around and Chicago’s offense was intense yet Trotz opted to keep Grebeshkov out of the lineup until the final two games of the series.

The point is, the knock against Trotz has long been the idea that he can’t make adjustments mid-game. He can gameplan with the best of them but, once the puck drops, he can be out-coached in a heartbeat. And, whether you believe that or not, the stats don’t lie: he has never won an NHL playoff round.

So, more than anybody else in the Nashville Predators organization, it’s Head Coach Barry Trotz who has the most to prove. He absolutely must get his team past the first round because, let’s face it, this ownership group wants a winner. They’ve proved that by green-lighting Poile to go out and get Mike Fisher. They’ve talked about bringing a Stanley Cup to Nashville for a while. They’ve sold the idea that this is a hockey market to the fanbase. Now it’s time for Trotz to deliver.

We don’t want to hear “the sale of the franchise caused a lot of drama” like in 2007. We don’t want to hear “we were riddled with injuries” like in 2008. We don’t want to hear “well, if Marty doesn’t turn that puck over” like in 2010. We want a first round playoff victory. Period.

And, until he’s no longer behind the bench, Trotz has to deliver.

—

PHOTO CREDIT: Jay Levin // Nashville Predators

Last season, Trotz earned his first Jack Adams Award nomination, finishing second to Phoenix’s Dave Tippett. In 2006-07, he was named the Coach of the Year by The Sporting News but wasn’t even a finalist in the official Jack Adams voting.

With all of the incredible coaching jobs done around the league this season, is this finally Trotz’s year to win the highest honors among bench bosses?

The front runners for this year’s award seem to be the names you’d expect to hear. Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals changed their offense-first mentality to a more balanced style. He did this in the midst of a long losing streak in the middle of the season, yet here they are trying to catch the Philadelphia Flyers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

What about Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma? In short, when you’re highest scoring healthy forward is Chris Kunitz, you’ve got injury issues. Bylsma lost the face of the league in Sidney Crosby and another one of the NHL’s best in Evgeni Malkin but should still finish high enough in the standings to have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. 

Or how about New Jersey’s Jacques Lemaire? While typically your team must qualify for the post season to be recognized as a finalist, Lemaire may be the exception to the rule. All he’s done since taking over the league’s worst team in December is post a 27-11-3 record. They will miss the playoffs but, certainly, an argument could be made that, were Lemaire to have taken over a week before he did, New Jersey gets in the dance. After all, it’s not his fault General Manager Lou Lamoriello waited too long to replace John MacLean. Lemaire did his job once he got behind the bench.

And then there’s Trotz.

The Predators — uncharacteristically – made a splash on July 2 by signing a big name free agent in Matthew Lombardi. Lombardi was supposed to supply some offense and, at the very least, provide speed and discipline in all situations. Instead, he played a whole four periods in a Nashville sweater before suffering a concussion that kept him out all season long.

Then there was the injury to Cal O’Reilly. Sure, that name may not mean much around the league but, if you recall, he was the second leading scorer for Nashville when he broke his fibula and, as a result, was forced to sit out the majority of the season.

Then there was veteran Steve Sullivan. Then Francis Bouillon. Then Marcel Goc. And don’t forget the two different injuries to Pekka Rinne that kept him out of action for a combined four weeks.

So, if you’re keeping track, that’s the projected leading scorer (Lombardi), the leading scorer (O’Reilly), the career point-per-game-in-a-Preds-jersey guy (Sullivan), the only purely stay-at-home, physical presence on defense (Bouillon) and the jack-of-all-trades (Goc). All hurt long term.

Which begs the question, could any other coach in the league survive those kinds of loses and still put his team in position to challenge for the Central Division crown? Because, until this past Saturday, that’s exactly what Trotz did. With four games left in the season, Trotz not only had his Predators getting into the playoffs despite 332 man games lost to injury, but actually within reach of hanging a Central Division Champions banner in the Bridgestone Arena rafters for the first time.

Coming into the year, there were some who actually thought Nashville would finish high enough in the standings to have home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But they thought that with a healthy roster. Trotz, the only coach this franchise has even known, has them doing it anyway.

And that’s why, more than any other year, Barry Trotz deserves the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best head coach.

—

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Nicholson // special to section303.com (used with permission)

You be the judge.

This did not sit well with the Predators. First, Rinne sounded off about the controversial goal.

“If that’s not a goalie interference (call), I don’t know what is,” Rinne told Inside Hockey. “The guy hit me on my blocker-side shoulder and there was no way I could try to make a save. I don’t get it. I was furious. We didn’t lose because of that, but still, that’s not a goal.”

Rinne is clearly speaking out of emotion there. Even when not using emotion-based words like “furious,” he’s stating his opinion with the phrase “If that’s not goalie interference, I don’t know what is.” All borderline language in regards to criticizing an on-ice official.

Head Coach Barry Trotz, on the other hand, was not borderline.

“The third goal shouldn’t have been a goal,” Trotz said in his post-game press conference. “It was totally interference. Please! We scored a goal in Philadelphia, we never touched the goaltender and it got called back. Peks gets run over and they allow it.”

First of all, if you’ve listened to Trotz for any length of time, you know he’s not one to call out a referee. He’ll tell you what he thinks but he’ll refrain from using hard-stance language like “That shouldn’t have been a goal,” or a sarcastic “Please!” Not to mention comparing two games to one another and basically saying both calls were wrong. His usual way of handling controversy is something along the lines of “I wouldn’t have called it that way but…” or “I couldn’t see it from the bench the way they saw it on the ice but…” Almost never does he take a matter-of-fact stance on how the officials got it wrong.

Obviously this is hardly a Dean Lombardi-type case where the Los Angeles Kings GM made a ridiculous statement accusing an NHL War Room official of being bitter because Lombardi got the LA General Manager job instead of him. (He was fined $50,000 for those comments, by the way.) To an even lesser extent - and less dramatically - this is closer to when Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was fined $10,000 in 2009 for saying the officials “ruined a good hockey game and absolutely destroyed what was going on the ice.”

In my opinion, I don’t think Trotz should be fined for his comments. Were they more abrasive than usual coming from him? Absolutely. But did he accuse the referees of blowing the game or giving the opponent two points? No. And I think for that reason alone, we won’t see a fine come Trotz’s way.

I would not be surprised to hear that the NHL sent him a warning letter though.

—

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Nicholson (used with permission)

That may change soon.

Not only are the Predators in the midst of a three game win streak and a stretch of 12 where they’ve won 10 but now The Hockey News has taken notice.

In the most read hockey publication in North America, The Hockey News published a story today asking why Nashville Head Coach Barry Trotz hasn’t earned more recognition for the job he’s done in Music City. You won’t want to miss the story as Rory Boylen speaks in glowing terms about the only coach the Predators organization has even known.

THE LINK TO THE STORY IS HERE.

—

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Nicholson (used with permission)

The Nashville Predators lost a heartbreaker to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, 5-4 in front of 13,520 at Honda Center. Nashville got goals from Steve Sullivan, Patric Hornqvist, Cal O’Reilly and Cody Franson in the losing effort.

The loss was the fifth in a row for the Preds and was the first loss of the season when they’ve scored four goals.

Nashville goaltender Anders Lindback had a respectable 32 saves, including 14 in the final period to keep his team in it but it wasn’t enough.

The Ducks wasted no time getting on the board. Just 0:52 into the contest, Teemu Selanne scored one of the easiest goals of his career (with a goaltender on the ice). With Lindback still commited in the direction of the initial shot, the rebound came to Selanne who had spun off Shea Weber in front. While standing at the top of the crease, Selanne just tapped it home uncontested.

Nashville bounced right back, however. O’Reilly saw Hornqvist in front of Jonas Hiller and fired a soft wrist shot on net. Hornqvist did what he does best and tipped it home for the equalizer.

Anaheim re-took the lead with just over half the period gone. Saku Koivu beat Shane O’Brien off the boards and got a clean shot off from point-blank range on Lindback, putting the Ducks ahead 2-1.

The Preds would have an answer before the period was over, luckily. Sullivan made a sweet move down low and put a back hander over a n out-stretched Hiller for his fifth goal of the season and his first since October 14.

After a second period in which Nashville couldn’t convert on several power plays, the Ducks struck first in the third. Lubomir Visnovsky found himself all alone in the slot with, once again, all the Predators watching the puck and not taking a man. He wristed a shot into the Nashville net to put his team up 3-2.

Minutes later, Franson then put an innocent shot toward the net and the puck deflected off of Anaheim’s Cam Fowler in front and in to tie the game once again.

After O’Brien took a penalty for holding, Anaheim found themselves on the man advantage and Koivu bagged his second of the game to put them back on top.

But, in keeping with the pattern both teams had established thus far, Nashville answered. With just under four minutes remaining in regulation, O’Reilly scored his second of the year on a sweet one-time defelction from Franson.

Here’s where it gets bad.

The Predators manage to kill off a Jordin Tootoo slashing penalty just seconds after O’Reilly’s game-tying goal and it looks like they’re actually going to get at least a point out of this game. Which, given the previous two games, they’d love to have. Instead, after a flurry of chances (but no shots) in the Anaheim end, Bobby Ryan hits a breaking Paul Mara with a cross-ice feed who put it in the back of the net with less than two seconds on the clock. In case you were wondering, there were three Preds defending in those final seconds and yes, per usual, all three were watching the puck and not taking a man. Mara got free, nobody saw him and, by the time the pass hit his stick, the result was decided. Look at the picture here. Weber, Francis Bouillon and Marcel Goc are all looking at the puck carrier, Ryan. Mara, with his stick on the ice, is breaking toward the net with nobody even aware he’s there.

It’s been those kinds of plays that have gotten Nashville into their current five game losing streak. Yes, not being able to score goals has helped but they did score three in the Phoenix game on Wednesday in a game they should’ve won and, in tonight’s contest, they broke out with four. It’s their lack of attention to detail that has dug this hole and, in order for them to dig their way out, they need to take a Hockey 101 class and start doing the fundamentals.

The good news is that with the strong start to the season, they’re not too far behind. The other good news is that they hit a really rough slide last year around this time and still made the playoffs. So, while there’s a silver lining, it’s tough to watch this kind of effort game in and game out from a team who can play much much better.

Nashville has three long days off before they’ll get an opportunity to try and right the ship again. St. Louis, Missouri is where they’ll have their next chance and that’s on Thursday night.

LEFTOVER THOUGHTS:
* Head Coach Barry Trotz coached his 915th game on Sunday, moving him past the legendary Toe Blake for 5th on the All-Time “Games Coached with One Franchise” list.
* Wade Belak almost got himself an assist tonight. He found JP Dumont at the side of the net but, when he one-timed the pass, he hit the post.
* Nashville only had three shots on goal in the third period, two of them went for goals. The lone shot that didn’t convert was a long dump-in on goal by Nick Spaling.
* Koivu tallied his 700th NHL point in the contest.
* O’Reilly had a goal, an assist and finished a plus-3 despite his team allowing five goals.
* Nashville is now 2-5-1 with Suter out of the lineup.

THREE STARS:
1) Paul Mara
2) Saku Koivu
3) Teemu Selanne

As it turns out, 42 years after he coached his final NHL game, Toe Blake was surpassed by the Nashville Predators’ Barry Trotz.

When the puck dropped in Anaheim, California on Sunday night between the Predators and the Ducks, Trotz began coaching in his 915th game for Nashville. Trotz is now fifth all-time on the NHL’s all-time games coached with a single franchise list.

So while he may not have passed Blake in Stanley Cup’s won, playoff appearances or even regular season victories, that many games with one team is impressive in it’s own right. Especially considering today’s era in sports where head coaches are changed as often as players change underwear.

Another legendary coach — so legendary that he has an award named after him, actually — Jack Adams is the next coach for Trotz to topple. Adams’ 964 games behind the Detroit Red Wings bench has him at fourth all-time.

If all goes well, Trotz will pass Adams on Saturday, February 26 in Dallas.

After taking Adams’ place on the all-time list, Trotz would be gunning for Lindy Ruff. But Ruff is tacking onto his own numbers up in Buffalo so don’t count on Trotz surpassing Ruff any time soon.

—-

To help bridge the gap between now and the regular season, we will be doing a series called Three Minutes With. Every installment will be with a different member of the Nashville Predators family. Could be players. Could be coaches. Could even be fans.

In the tenth installment we have the only head coach the Nashville Predators franchise has ever know, Barry Trotz. Barry spoke with section303.com recently about the difficult decisions he has ahead of him in training camp, the back-up goaltending position and, of course, the dirty hit on prospect Linus Klasen at the rookie games in Florida this past week.

Jeremy K. Gover: As the head coach that has to call the shots, would you say you’re completely confident if you have to go into the season with a back-up goalie who hasn’t seen a single minute of NHL action?
Barry Trotz: Well, I am. I’d be lying if I said “yeah, I’m totally confident,” no. I have a lot of trust in our ability to develop goaltenders and I have a lot of trust in the ability of Mitch Korn who is our goaltending coach. I like our goaltenders. They’re big, athletic kids and you can do a lot with that. They’re great putty right now and hopefully Mitch can mold them and turn them into good goaltenders. We’ve done a really good job in that area, you just have to look around the National Hockey League for guys that have developed in Nashville at the goaltender position. So, not totally confident but confident enough that I’m not that worried about it.

JG: Do you have any comment about Chris Clackson’s dirty hit on Klasen during the rookie games in Florida?
BT: Well, I saw it on YouTube. It was a late hit. That’s exactly what the NHL’s trying to get out, head shots. With the shoulder and anything that’s at the head is fundamentally a real tough thing right now. Or even if it’s a shot to the knee. Those two areas are being targeted by the NHL and, to me, that was a late hit. It was dangerous on the part of the Florida Panther player doing that but it was also dangerous on the part of our player, not realizing that cutting across the middle like that, you’re going to get hit. The game has changed, guys are tracking you down and you can get hurt if you cut to the middle and are not real aware. (Klasen) lost some awareness there and there was a little bit of a late hit.

JG: Do you think that’s just a product of the two different styles, between the NHL and Europe?
BT: Well, I think in Europe, it’s a little less physical. We use the term tracking in the National Hockey League and guys come back in numbers and herds and, if you get in the middle of the pack, that herd can run you over sometimes and that’s really what happened on that play that Klasen got hit.

JG: Lastly, there are going to be some real battles at the bottom of the forward depth chart and, of course, the bottom defensive pairing. That’s not to mention the back-up goaltender position. Is there any competition that you’re especially looking forward to?
BT: Well, I’m really excited about all of them but I really think the toughest decision, for me, is going to be at the forward position. We’re really deep on the wings and we’re deep at center. There’s a number of players that, if they have a good camp, just might start here. Every year we find the Joel Ward, the Danny Ellis, you know, a guy that you didn’t expect to be on your hockey team but earns his right to at least start with your hockey team and I see that happening again.

JG: Thank you.
BT: Yeah.

It didn’t matter. I was going to have my own draft board no matter how I had to do it.

I’d been watching and following the NHL Draft ever since 1991 when the San Jose Sharks started to build their expansion franchise around Spokane Chiefs winger Pat Falloon. The Sharks couldn’t draft Eric Lindros because the league decided that an expansion team would ruin his potential so they unfairly awarded the Quebec Nordiques the first overall selection.

It didn’t matter. I was hooked. This Lindros guy was supposed to rival Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux in skill level, this Falloon guy was about to become the face of my young hometown franchise and some guy drafted sixth overall named Peter Forsberg was about to prove he was better than both Lindros and Falloon combined.

But I was in California. Before the internet. Newspapers ran NHL box scores but zero NHL content, hockey cards were hard to come by and magazines that actually covered the sport were impossible to find. The San Francisco Bay Area wasn’t exactly the best place to get information about the draft prospects.

It didn’t matter. The do-it-myself draft board would help that. I figured, if I had those teams and players on my wall, I would see them every day and be able to commit them to memory. Who drafted who and what number overall and what Junior team they played for. It was the least I could do to learn more about this game I loved so much.

Fast forward 14 years.

My wife Lynn and I are planning on going to Las Vegas in the hopes I get media credentials through the National Hockey League so I can cover the NHL Awards for section303.com. All on hope, we book a room at the MGM Grand and book our flights on Southwest.

While waiting to hear back, I find out that Ryan Porth of RLD Hockey is also trying to cover the Awards but that he’s also applied for credentials to the NHL Draft in Los Angeles, just 260 miles away. I like the idea so I bring it up to my wife and propose to her that it might be a good idea career-wise if I try for the Draft too. She agrees and I submit my application for that event as well. Besides, worst case scenario, I don’t get approved for either event and we have a great week in Vegas and we keep our plane tickets status-quo.

A couple weeks later, I get an e-mail that will change my life (and career) forever. The NHL has approved me for media credentials to cover not one, but both annual events.

I always try to stay as professional as possible, always asking myself “what would a journalism-educated, print media member do in this situation?” Usually, the answer is one of the following: “stay professional,” “don’t get emotionally involved” or “don’t be a fan.” That usually keeps me pretty grounded and acting as I should. I’ve never been one to get star struck. I’ve interviewed a lot of athletes, comedians and musical artists over the past seven years and, while I’ve enjoyed the experiences, I’ve never once broken my professional character.

So while I was very excited about the opportunity to cover the events, I always kept my composure, even in the privacy of my own home when my wife and I would talk about it.

It’s time to leave. As you probably know, I work for a nationally syndicated radio show that airs it’s live show on Sunday nights from 9pm-2am. So, with my flight departing at 7:10am, there was no way I was going to sleep when I got home at 3:00am and had to be in a car at 5:00am. I used John Lennon: Imagine to stay awake until our good friends Kim and Richard, who were going to Vegas with us, came to pick us up at the aforementioned 5:00am.

Now, I’m not a good flier. As a matter of fact, I hate flying. It’s probably the only thing on this Earth that terrifies me. I spend most of the flight praying, griping my wife’s hand or listening to my iPod while trying to not remember that I’m on a plane. Let’s be clear though, if you’re in the seat in front of me – or even across the aisle – you wouldn’t know I’m scared. I’m not vocal, I don’t make animated movements and I don’t even get sick. It’s all in my head. So, basically, I’m in my own personal hell for about four hours en route to Vegas anytime there’s the slightest bit of turbulence.

Go ahead and add that fear of flying to the fact that I’ve been up for 18 hours straight and I’m exhausted.

We land in Vegas at about 9:30am local time and catch a cab to the MGM. Once we get to the hotel, we find out we’re not allowed to check in until 1:00pm. Which, in case you’re keeping track, means I’ll be up for 21 consecutive hours before I’m even allowed to look at a bed. Luckily, I’m just so thrilled to be on land that I’m confident I can make it.

1:00pm comes along and I’m dragging, big time. We go to check in at the front desk and they’re having computer issues and are checking in guests – get this – by hand. They’re literally imprinting people’s credit cards and handing out room keys from a slew of rolodex boxes. Oh, and they were sold out of rooms for the night. I don’t need to remind you how big the MGM Grand is and how many hotel rooms it has, do I?

Finally, at 1:45pm I get our room keys (we were third in line, by the way) and head up to room 8-552 and take a nap. It’s now been 22 straight hours that I’ve been awake and I’m probably asleep within five minutes of hitting the pillow.

Tuesday gets here and, thanks to Inside Hockey blogger Michelle Kenneth, I hear about the Second Annual NHL Charity Shootout poker tournament going on at the Rio that afternoon. I have to head over to The Palms for the media access hour at 3:00pm anyway and the Rio is right across the street so I grab my laptop, my Kodak Zi8 and my voice recorder and jump in a cab.

I show up at The Rio without my press credentials as I have yet to go to The Palms to pick them up. I walk around the corner and see Nashville Predators Head Coach Barry Trotz (who is apparently playing in the poker tournament) and Preds Senior Vice President Gerry Helper. I introduce myself to Gerry and ask if I can speak with Barry for a little bit. He graciously agrees and my first interview of the week turns out not to be at either event I came to cover, but rather at a poker tournament that I only found out about an hour before hand thanks to Twitter.

Trotz and I talk for about 10 minutes about everything from his nomination of the Jack Adams Trophy to the poker tournament to the Jason Arnott trade.

After the interview, I head into the poker room and watch the final table of Dustin Brown (player, LA Kings), Jimmy Howard (player, Detroit Red Wings), Matt Barnaby (former player), Mark Napier (former player), Dennis Phillips (poker pro) and Kevin Sorbo (actor). All media was asked by the NHL to not reveal the winner of the tournament as ESPN was taping the event for air in December. So, all I can tell you is that two players (either current or former) went heads-up for the championship.

After the tournament was over, I walked across the street in the 103 degree heat to The Palms, the site of the NHL Awards the next night. It was time for the media availability portion of the event where the league brings out all three nominees of a particular award so they can be interviewed. I’ll spare you the play-by-play for this event but I will share with you that Calder Trophy nominee Tyler Myers was the first player I talked to, Trotz was interviewed the longest out of any of the nominees in any category (which I found odd) and I finally had my “is this really happening” moment when I talked with Hart Trophy nominee Henrik Sedin.

Just 11 years ago, I remember watching the 1999 NHL Draft where then-Vancouver Canucks General Manager Brian Burke engineered several trades that eventually gave him both the second and third picks overall. He then took the stage and drafted both Henrik and Daniel Sedin to ensure the twins would continue to play on the same team, like they had their entire lives. (If you need a reminder of exactly how hard it was for Burke to make that trade, read this.) I remember that like it was yesterday and here I was, in Las Vegas, Nevada asking an MVP candidate, that I watched get drafted, how his career has gone since then.

At this point in the day, I had probably talked to seven or eight different players but this was the first time that I realized what I was doing. It was the first time that I realized that I had “made it.” It was the first time that I realized that I’d dreamed of doing this since I was a teenager and here I was doing just that.

For the record, I kept my composure. The epiphany was all mental. After he was done answering the question, I had to step away and just smile to myself.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Got the interviews I wanted (except Martin Brodeur who was an unexpected no-show) and met back up with my wife and friends so we could watch the Fremont Street Experience that night.

Then came Awards Day Wednesday. I headed over to The Palms and got my seat alongside Porth and Buddy Oakes of Preds On The Glass. The entire Preds media contingency was right there in one row. No Tennessean. No City Paper. No 104.5 The Zone. Just three Nashville bloggers spending their own money, using their own vacation days and spending their own time in order to bring you the news from one of the NHL’s biggest days of the calendar year.

Surprisingly, media has to watch the Awards on TV monitors inside a media room and not inside the actual venue. This proved great for accessibility to the winners but terrible for covering the event as the TV’s had to be muted while the award winners were on the podium taking questions. Luckily we did get to watch the Bobby Ryan vs. Ryan Getzlaf bit because that crap was hilarious.

Anyway, so once the show was over, most of the nominees mingled in the media area talking to old friends, taking pictures with kids and signing an autograph or two. This is where I finally got a chance to interview the best goaltender of all-time Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. I only got to ask him three questions but it was a moment I will remember for a long long time.

In Brodeur’s rookie season, I watched him play an amazing playoff series against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Not only did the series go all seven games but it required double overtime to decide who played for Lord Stanley. Brodeur was absolutely spectacular and every bit as good as Mike Richter at the other end of the ice. He single-handedly turned me into a Devils fan that day and it’s still the best hockey game I’ve ever seen. So, to be able to interview him 16 years later, even for just five minutes, was an honor and an experience that I’ll be telling my children about.

Friday came and it was onto Los Angeles, California, home of the 2010 NHL Draft. I arrived, picked up my press credentials, met up with Porth with whom I was rooming with for the night and we headed to Staples Center. We were able to take in all the event festivities out front, watching kids play street hockey, seeing just about every jersey you can think of, including a guy who had used masking tape to personalize his Edmonton Oilers jersey with “Hall 4.” It was outstanding seeing all those people, from all walks of life, celebrating hockey in a non-traditional hockey area like Southern California.

We then headed into the venue and found our assigned seats. Thanks to alphabetical order, we were only seated three seats away from each other and our view of the Draft was absolutely amazing. It was like we’d bought tickets at center ice for the biggest game in town. Just one more bonus in an otherwise already amazing week.

All of a sudden it hit me. 14 years ago I was printing out team logos and player names to make my own draft board and here I was today looking at the real thing. And not only was I looking at the real thing, I was wearing a lanyard that gave me privileges I never thought I’d really have: access to the draft picks and general managers.

I always wanted to go to an NHL Draft and always vowed I’d get to one. Instantly it became worth it. I had waited all these years and my first draft was more special than I could imagine. I was like a six-year old on Christmas morning. I couldn’t contain my smile. I was really there. This was really happening. I was really wearing that lanyard. Words could not describe my enthusiasm but despite that, all I could do was prepare blogs for what was about to go down over the next few hours.

It’s no secret that I wanted the Predators to pick Emerson Etem at #18 overall. I’ve blogged and tweeted about it many times and there was no hiding my bias. So, when he was actually available when Nashville picked in the first round, Porth looked at me and said “Uh-oh” and I smiled with excitement.

The Preds ended up passing on Etem and selecting Austin Watson with their first pick but that was just fine with me as Watson was my back-up choice. But, honestly, who Nashville picked didn’t matter. They could’ve taken a defenseman for the fifth time in eight years and I still would’ve been absolutely elated to report it. The fan part of me would’ve been pissed but the media part of me would’ve been elated.

And that’s what I was doing there, being a member of the media. For the first time. Oh sure, I’d covered the Predators during Training Camp and the pre-season last year but this meant something more. This was a league event that was being broadcast all across North America that was going to change people’s lives forever one pick at a time. And, to top it all off, the NHL themselves approved me to be there, with the same access ESPN, TSN and CBC get.

It’s amazing to think that this opportunity presented itself. And it’s incredible that the league, which often gets things wrong, fully acknowledges that social media and blogs is the wave of the future. It’s very comforting to know that one of the four major sports – and I do mean one – has the foresight to get it right and is embracing it. And I’m just so blessed and thankful to be apart of it.

I just know that there’s a kid, in a non-traditional hockey market somewhere, that dreams of doing what I just did this past weekend. Well kid, you’re me 14 years ago and, now, I believe in you.

After all, if I can do it, you can do it. Just remember: work hard, embrace your passion and surround yourself with good and supportive people. If you do those things, it’ll be you who’s writing this blog in 14 years.

14 different coaches recieved votes but only Dave Tippett (the winner of the Jack Adams) and Detroit’s Mike Babcock received first place votes.

Tippett, as expected, won in a land slide. He got 57 (out of 59) first place votes and finished with 291 points. Compare that with Trotz’s 60 and you see how lop-sided the race was.

The Jack Adams Trophy is given out annually to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”

The other nominees are Colorado’s Joe Sacco and Phoenix’s Dave Tippett.

If you’re an outsider looking in, Trotz seems like the quintessential candidate year-in and year-out in Nashville. He’s the only head coach the organization’s ever known, he continues to field competitive regular season teams despite a shoe-string budget and his club is rarely picked to make the post season but always seems to be in the mix once April comes around.

But that’s only if you’re watching this team on paper.

If you’re a Predators fan who watches this team every night, you know this team doesn’t play with the same kind of discipline every game. You know that the big money forwards don’t make good decisions on a regular basis (opting to pass rather than shoot when they have a clear shooting lane, watching the play instead of watching their man, etc.). You know that this roster has plenty of talent despite the absence of a true superstar and that the roster consistently underachieves when it matters most. A great coach – notice the word “great” – doesn’t let those things happen so often that they’re recognized as a problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Trotz isn’t a good coach, because he is. I’m not saying that he hasn’t deserved a Jack Adams nomination in the past, because he has. And I’m certainly not saying that he didn’t do a marvelous job this season, because he did. (remember October?). All I’m saying is, the nomination seems to be a bit of a make-up nomination. Clearly Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings deserves to be in the mix considering his Detroit Red Wings lost over 300 man games to injury, he handed over the goaltending reigns to a rookie and his team played in the tough Central Division yet still finished in the top five in the West. That’s ridiculously impressive and, even over Sacco, I would’ve given Babcock the nod.

But, no matter who you would put in your top three, the winner is going to be Tippett. The guy came into a volatile situation in Phoenix. He took over a team from previous Head Coach Wayne Gretzky (who wouldn’t even show up during the early stages of training camp, mind you) and single-handedly changed the attitude in the locker room. He made those guys believe they could win in the ultra-competitive Pacific Division. Much like Trotz in Nashville, he didn’t have a single superstar to call his own but did have an elite goaltender and that was all he needed. He got production all season long out of his battalion of blue collar warriors and even turned some of their trade deadline acquisitions into short-term stars with what he got out of them.

Bottom line is Tippett took a bunch of guys who didn’t have anything going for them, who were in the middle of a horrible legal battle (that’s still going on today) with BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsille, the NHL, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Ice Edge Holdings, Montreal businessman Steve Stotland and your cousin Arnold and created a winner.

So even though there may be some argument as to who the other two nominees should be, hardly anyone will argue the winner of the 2010 Jack Adams Award will be Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes.

The NHL Award show can be seen June 23 live on Versus. In addition, section303.com will be there covering the event.