Going Down The Tubes in Nashville
by BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru Rink Rat
The Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League traded Cliff Ronning
to the Los Angles Kings at last season's trading deadline. Sort of a reward, giving
the aging centre a shot at a Stanley Cup playoff run. Bad idea. Nice for Ronning, of course. The Predators have hardly won a game since, producing a dismal 4-15-3-4 record since. They are currently bottom of
the Western Conference and show little signs of improvement. On Oct. 26 they had one of the franchise's great victories, beating the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings 3-1 at home. Four nights later they were swamped 7-0 by the St. Louis Blues. The Rat was surprised that coach Barry Trotz wasn't fired over that one. Since that Blues horror the team has lost 6-5 and 2-1 in overtime. Respectable results, all considered.
However, Nashville is treading on dangerous ground these days, having lost this season 8 times by one goal. Good teams have bad losses; crappy teams have good losses. Coaches and players of bad teams losing well insist they are just a smidgen away from winning all those games. Nonsense. Bad teams lose by
one goal over and over because no-one takes them seriously. The Predators are closer to emulating the Atlanta Thrashers than the Minnesota Wild.
Two years ago this franchise had 80 points and briefly flirted with a play-off spot. Last year they had a paltry 69 points and are on similarly depressing pace right now. General manager David Poile should give this team a shaking. The plan appears to be: bring in a few gritty players such as warrior Scott Walker,
draft well and wait. The only part of the plan working is the bit about waiting. Nashville's performance is below ordinary in practically every respect. The collective save percentage of the goalkeepers is ranked 24th (.889), the goals for is an arid 2.18 and defensively they allow a leaky 3.36 goals per game -numbers which guarantee failure. Their penalty killing ranks 25th, having conceded 13 goals. That's not as bad as the New York Islanders' bloated 19 but far behind Vancouver's league leading 5. About the only ray of sunlight is an 8th ranked power play.
There is little immediate respite because nine games in November are against Stanley Cup contenders or teams with legitimate play-off ambitions. Conventional wisdom has long insisted that proper team building begins with solid drafting which builds up the foundation blocks of the team. Free agents and smart trades serve the purpose of filling holes and pushing a club into the upper echelons of the league. Nashville has opted for this route. The blueprint can work but rigid adherence might not be the best idea because expansion has shaved the odds. Thirty teams now clutter the landscape. Twelve years ago a number 25 draft pick was the top of the second round; that same second round pick is now #31. Building through the draft requires astute drafting, heavy emphasis on the 'astute.' Nashville is in only its fifth season so results are thin. But indications are they are no better or worse than most teams - which means spotty.
The Rink Rat analyzed successful teams and their drafting and found those teams assembled a group of dominant players, from stars to grinders, between 6 and 9 of them, from 3 successive drafts. These players set the personality of the club. Nashville doesn't look to have achieved this success yet. The Rat's opinion is that having a plan such as Nashville's isn't a bad idea but casting it in stone is. A snappy little trade could do this team wonders. The Vancouver Canucks are more or less doing what the Predators are doing, yet when they hit a roadblock G.M. Brian Burke makes a move. Nashville should try it - either that or they fall back on that stale cliché, which is bye, bye, Barry.
Owner Craig Leipold guaranteed a play-off spot during the summer and promised to refund price increases if the Preds failed. That refund cheque is going to be a nice little bonus for the fans come Christmas time.
Rink Rat can be reached via email @ rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
by BookieKiller.com's NHL Guru Rink Rat
The Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League traded Cliff Ronning
to the Los Angles Kings at last season's trading deadline. Sort of a reward, giving
the aging centre a shot at a Stanley Cup playoff run. Bad idea. Nice for Ronning, of course. The Predators have hardly won a game since, producing a dismal 4-15-3-4 record since. They are currently bottom of
the Western Conference and show little signs of improvement. On Oct. 26 they had one of the franchise's great victories, beating the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings 3-1 at home. Four nights later they were swamped 7-0 by the St. Louis Blues. The Rat was surprised that coach Barry Trotz wasn't fired over that one. Since that Blues horror the team has lost 6-5 and 2-1 in overtime. Respectable results, all considered.
However, Nashville is treading on dangerous ground these days, having lost this season 8 times by one goal. Good teams have bad losses; crappy teams have good losses. Coaches and players of bad teams losing well insist they are just a smidgen away from winning all those games. Nonsense. Bad teams lose by
one goal over and over because no-one takes them seriously. The Predators are closer to emulating the Atlanta Thrashers than the Minnesota Wild.
Two years ago this franchise had 80 points and briefly flirted with a play-off spot. Last year they had a paltry 69 points and are on similarly depressing pace right now. General manager David Poile should give this team a shaking. The plan appears to be: bring in a few gritty players such as warrior Scott Walker,
draft well and wait. The only part of the plan working is the bit about waiting. Nashville's performance is below ordinary in practically every respect. The collective save percentage of the goalkeepers is ranked 24th (.889), the goals for is an arid 2.18 and defensively they allow a leaky 3.36 goals per game -numbers which guarantee failure. Their penalty killing ranks 25th, having conceded 13 goals. That's not as bad as the New York Islanders' bloated 19 but far behind Vancouver's league leading 5. About the only ray of sunlight is an 8th ranked power play.
There is little immediate respite because nine games in November are against Stanley Cup contenders or teams with legitimate play-off ambitions. Conventional wisdom has long insisted that proper team building begins with solid drafting which builds up the foundation blocks of the team. Free agents and smart trades serve the purpose of filling holes and pushing a club into the upper echelons of the league. Nashville has opted for this route. The blueprint can work but rigid adherence might not be the best idea because expansion has shaved the odds. Thirty teams now clutter the landscape. Twelve years ago a number 25 draft pick was the top of the second round; that same second round pick is now #31. Building through the draft requires astute drafting, heavy emphasis on the 'astute.' Nashville is in only its fifth season so results are thin. But indications are they are no better or worse than most teams - which means spotty.
The Rink Rat analyzed successful teams and their drafting and found those teams assembled a group of dominant players, from stars to grinders, between 6 and 9 of them, from 3 successive drafts. These players set the personality of the club. Nashville doesn't look to have achieved this success yet. The Rat's opinion is that having a plan such as Nashville's isn't a bad idea but casting it in stone is. A snappy little trade could do this team wonders. The Vancouver Canucks are more or less doing what the Predators are doing, yet when they hit a roadblock G.M. Brian Burke makes a move. Nashville should try it - either that or they fall back on that stale cliché, which is bye, bye, Barry.
Owner Craig Leipold guaranteed a play-off spot during the summer and promised to refund price increases if the Preds failed. That refund cheque is going to be a nice little bonus for the fans come Christmas time.
Rink Rat can be reached via email @ rsbookiekiller@hotmail.com /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
