Thu Sep 20 14:52:53 2007

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2007-08 Nashville Predators Preview

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(Sports Network) - For the Nashville Predators, being a small market team in the post lockout era was supposed to be a good thing.

After advancing to the playoffs last season for the fourth straight year, the Preds were a victim of free agency this offseason as team captain and stalwart defenseman Kimmo Timonen, gritty forward Scott Hartnell and sniper Paul Kariya all left for greener pastures as ownership continued to say they were bleeding money.

Nashville was so convinced that they financially couldn't afford to sign its own free agents, Timonen and Hartnell's rights were traded to Philadelphia a week prior to the start of the free agency period in a desperation move.

The franchise also cut ties with longtime veteran Tomas Vokoun, shipping the Czech goaltender and his $5 million-plus contract to the Florida Panthers.

Peter Forsberg, who the Preds paid a hefty price for at the trade deadline, also looks as if he was just a playoff rental, as the Swedish superstar, who is a free agent, has not announced his plans for the upcoming season. Reports are that Forsberg will either retire or return to the league at mid-season, however, Nashville isn't listed as one his suitors if he does decide to return to the ice.

After compiling a franchise best record of 51-23-8 last season as well as establishing team records for points (110) and goals (274), this upcoming campaign was supposed to be an optimistic one, but instead it's filled with question after question.

One of the biggest question marks of the offseason for the Predators surrounded whether or not the franchise would even stay in the "Music City".

After a potential sale of the team to an owner who would have likely moved the club out of Nashville, Craig Leipold signed a letter of intent in the beginning of August to sell the team to a group of local investors for nearly $200 million. The new ownership group plans to keep the team in Nashville, although nothing is certain.

With enough drama surrounding the team, head coach Barry Trotz enters his ninth season with the club and will face some of his biggest challenges yet.

FORWARDS - With Kariya gone after signing with the St. Louis Blues, Nashville lost its top points leader from last season. He had 76 points and also led the team with 52 assists. His production will be sorely missed and almost impossible to replace.

The good news for the Predators though is that their offense was pretty spread out last year and while Kariya led the club in points, he wasn't necessarily the go-to guy up front.

David Legwand, the former second-overall pick, finally showed some life last season and tied for the team-high with 27 goals. He was also the plus-minus leader on the club at plus-23. With not as much depth this year up front for the Preds, Legwand will be counted on more then ever and the club needs him to play even better then last season.

J.P. Dumont was a pleasant surprise last year after he put together a career- high 66 points (21 goals, 45 assists) in his first season with the team. For the first time in his eight-year career, Dumont played a full season and avoided injury. The Predators need Dumont on the ice and can't afford for him to be injured as he usually is.

Steve Sullivan, the heart and soul of Nashville's offense, is another question mark, as the veteran will be sidelined for the first three months of the season due to lingering back problems. Since last February, Sullivan has undergone two operations, and at age 33 three months recovery seems a little too optimistic. Not having the competitive Sullivan around is another huge loss that the Preds need to overcome.

Jason Arnott, who was recently named captain for the upcoming season, netted 27 goals and added 27 helpers last season. Arnott has a huge responsibility this year, as with so many key players gone, the team desperately needs a veteran presence to keep the locker room together.

Players like Martin Erat, Vernon Fiddler and Alexander Radulov were all efficient role players last season. This year though they will be counted on heavily to add more scoring depth.

Keep your eyes on Radulov, who notched 37 points in 64 games last season, as he looks like he is poised to develop into a top-scoring winger for many years to come.

The Predators came up small in attempting to replace Hartnell, Forsberg and Kariya in the lineup through free agency. Radek Bonk and Martin Gelinas were added to the fold and shouldn't be counted on to do much and will likely be third and fourth line role players.

DEFENSE - While the forward group lost Kariya, the loss of Timonen on the blueline could be Nashville's biggest setback of the offseason. Timonen logged a ton of minutes last year and was used in all situations. Not only will the Preds struggle this season at even strength without him, they will also miss his quarterbacking of the power play and penalty killing ability. Not to mention, his 55 points will be tough to replace along with his veteran leadership to a rather young defense corps.

With Timonen gone, Nashville will be looking for impressive youngsters Shea Weber, Dan Hamhuis, Ryan Suter and Kevin Klein all to take on much more responsibility and step up in the absence of their former captain.

Weber burst onto the scene last year and tallied 17 goals and 23 assists while Hamhuis and Suter both played extremely well in their own end and chipped in moderately offensively.

Klein, who is chock full of offensive potential, will be given every chance in training camp to make the team with the Preds sorely looking for more offense from the back end with the departure of Timonen.

The normally reliable Marek Zidlicky had an off year last season and will be counted on more this time around to return to his play of 2004 when he tallied 53 points. He brings a solid two-way game to the table and will look to act as an anchor on the blueline along with veteran free agent signee Greg de Vries.

Greg Zanon, who was a plus-16 in limited action last year, will likely be the team's seventh defenseman or could rotate in the sixth spot with Klein.

GOALTENDING - The emergence of Chris Mason last season paved the way for Vokoun's departure, but how Mason responds as the No. 1 guy this year will be a story line to follow.

The 31-year-old won a career-high 24 games last year for Nashville and posted a .925 save percentage to go along with a 2.35 goals-against average. Mason got the opportunity to play after Vokoun battled injuries and he relished the opportunity.

While Mason clearly had a strong season last year, it remains to be seen if he is a starting goaltender in the big leagues. Prior to last season's 40 games, he had never played in more then 23 contests in any year at the NHL level. Despite his age, experience is not on his side.

If Mason fails as the go to guy, rookie netminder Pekka Rinne will likely be the fall back option. After missing the first half of last season following shoulder surgery, the 24- year-old Rinne went 15-7-6 with a 2.34 goals- against-average in 29 games for the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. He has played in just two games in his NHL career.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The question marks just seem to be too much for Nashville. They had the right plan for the last few seasons and were on their way to becoming Stanley Cup contenders, but the business side of playing in a small market finally cracked ownership.

While still a talented, well-coached team with an impressive group of youngsters ready to shine, the loss of key veteran leaders like Timonen, Kariya and Vokoun will hurt the Predators chances of making the postseason, which would be a tremendous step back for a team that was on the right path.