Happy Monday and POTG Radio Tonight

I think we are officially into the off season now that the Predators Development camp is over. Up until this point, we have had a series of events to draw attention to hockey but we have now reached the point where there is little on the horizon for a while.

The 2009-10 schedule will be out on Wednesday which is always good for looking at dates and day-dreaming about what a Red Wings game will feel like on February 12 (example only) but it is not really an event.



We will have our regular Monday edition of PredsOnTheGlass Radio tonight at 7:00. We do not have any scheduled guests at this point. We are going to take a look at the just completed Development Camp and then take a retrospective look at the first season of POTG Radio. We hope you will join us live and if not please catch it on the podcast.

On another front, I misposted something on Twitter yesterday and it went out as a post but was supposed to be a DM. Anyway, it's out there now. POTG is in the process of building a new side project called "The Hockey Aggregator".

Basically, we are building thirty something sites, one for each team and a few specialty sites, that will try to bring links and RSS feeds into one place for readers convenience. Here is our test site that you can see. If you are reading this and want to insure your site or blog is listed, please email us at thehockeyaggregator@live.com and we will see that it is included.

In Predator Nation...

John Glennon had a story on the big goalie that we saw in camp on Saturday, Anders Lindback. At 6-6 he and Ian McKenzie were the tallest guys in camp. This morning John has a notes column that includes a piece on Nick Spalling who the Preds really like.

Section 303 has their update from the camp. It was great to see Codey and Jeremy in the locker room. Hopefully, this will be a trend that carries over into the regular season.

Jim Diamond has a closer look at the unsigned Casey Wellman who we spoke to on Saturday. He seems like a good player that the 2008 draft overlooked.

Holly Gunning was at the camp on Saturday and posts a few pictures at Prospects Annex. She has a funny story about Nick Oliver that I witnessed but didn't realize what was going on until I read the article.

David Boclair at the City Paper has a good story on Ryan Ellis.

Dirk has the Monday Round-up at On The Forecheck with a serious look at the fall in the salary cap in the 2010-11 season.

Ryan Ellis was on WKRN on Sunday night. Hopefully, the video will get posted this morning.

Around the NHL...

There are still a bunch of unsigned free agents left on the market. Ryan at the Red Light District looks at the best of what is left.

Mirtle takes a look at the situation with the bidders in Phoenix leading up to another motions hearing this morning. He questions if all the bidders are on the up and up. I would think that is doubtful.

Aaron Portzline takes an early look at the Central Division and how things stack up for the coming season. He's not real optimistic about the Preds. Still in Columbus, Eric Smith is looking at the player posibilities that seem to involve Columbus in a trade on a daily basis.

Surprisingly, the Dany Heatly episode in Edmonton still isn't dead according to the local paper.

On of our favorite writers Brian Metzer had an interview with the Pen's newest player, Jay McKee. Good stuff.

Two totally different takes on the Development camps in Tampa and on Long Island. Tampa had almost 5000 on Saturday night at their arena and had a meet and greet afterwards and the Islanders only allowed 400 in to watch on Sunday morning. So who had the better marketing plan?

Kat Kealy, who we met in Las Vegas, rounds up a two sport weekend in LA.

From Japers Rink, a couple of prospects will be Twittering from their development camp this week. Follow @washcaps to see what they say.

Smilin' Like a Butcher's Dog points to a Pens tribute video that will bring tears to your eyes (if you are a Pens fan, I assume).

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

More in depth information on the players in court and potential for nastiness at this mornings hearing in Phoenix from Kevin McGran.

Can't wait for a #followfriday, Big Country Shawn Lavigne @htmbigcountry of Hockey This Morning is on twitter starting this morning. Everyone should give him a follow.

From @brandon_felder: @PredFans The Preds have agreed to terms with Nolan Yonkman. 1 year, 2-way contract. $500,000 on the NHL level and $115,000 on the AHL level for the 28 year old D-man Yonkman. The official Preds release is here. Milwaukee Ads release is here.

From @Forechecker: A very good read... RT @behindthejersey Interview with Ben Wright of Atlanta Thrashers. This is a good story about what the Thrasher's web coordinator does. This whole series that Sports PR Blog is doing is good reading.

From the Two Line Pass at Puck Daddy's comes some odd news about the two Winter Classic teams sharing the same dressing room. That should be interesting. He also calls Colin Wilson "The Handsomest Man in Hockey."

From Puck Daddy himself, did you know that Gary Bettman makes almost as much as Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky.

What has been rumored became true, Jacques Lemaire returns to New Jersey to coach the Devils.

Predator Development Camp and More

It just doesn't get any better than to see hockey in July, especially when it involves a lot of eager teenagers getting their first (or second) taste of what it takes to be an NHL player. It was fun to get out of the office and see all the other bloggers, tweeters, and qik videographers that have been my lifeline over the last few days.

Here is the neat little 500 word wrap up for The Daily Herald that will appear on Sunday.
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Predator Prospects Compete at Development Camp

Thirty of the Nashville Predators top prospects spent the last several days at the team’s Development Camp held at Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville.

The camp is held annually and is by invitation, generally to younger players who have been drafted within the last few years.

Eleven of the players this year are still in college and had to pay their own expense to attend in order to preserve their NCAA eligibility.

All ten of the players that the Predators drafted in last month’s entry draft were able to participate this year. Eighteen-year-old defenseman, Ryan Ellis, who the Preds took 11th, overall, received considerable attention.

Ellis was already a fan favorite and gave fans that attended Saturday’s open session a preview of things to come. As the workout was winding down, in a shoot-out drill, Ellis wound up and fired a point blank slap shot at the net that drew cheers from the crowd.

Asked what he learned at the camp Ellis explained, “How big of a jump the NHL is from Junior ranks and how much you need to put in to it to get to the next step.” Ellis is probably headed back to Junior hockey where he will play for the defending Memorial Cup champions, the Windsor Spitfires.

Several other prospects were more focused on the opportunity to land a position with the Predators when training camp opens in September. Forwards Colin Wilson and Nick Spaling and Defensemen Jonathan Blum and Teemu Laasko are considered to have the best chance of those in camp to stick with the Preds in the fall.

Colin Wilson, who was one of the Preds two first round picks in 2008, was a standout in the workouts and is destined to spend time with the Predators at some point in the coming season.

The always-smiling Wilson, will be a fan favorite, not only for his high level of play on the ice, but for his positive attitude and the appearance that he really enjoys playing the game.

When asked if the team’s high expectations added pressure to the camp, Wilson responded, “I kind of like the pressure. It’s a bit of a challenge for me to make the team, but at the same time the option is there. It’s what motivates and drives me in the weight room and out on the ice.”

The Predators other first round pick in 2008, goalie Chet Pickard, is expected to play in Milwaukee of the AHL this year but that has not slowed his competitive spirit.

When asked about the coming season, Pickard clearly stated, “ My plan obviously is to make this team here. When everyone comes to camp, they want to do whatever they can to make the Nashville Predators, and I’m going to do everything I can to prepare myself for that.”

For most in attendance, the camp was one of many steps in the long road to their NHL dreams.

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Here are a few interviews from after the session with Colin Wilson, Ryan Ellis, Chet Pickard, Ian McKenzie and Casey Wellman.


Around Predator Nation...

A couple of rumors to start with. Forechecker points to a story from San Jose that indicates that Scotty Nichol may become a Shark. From @brandon_felder: "Oh yea. Forgot to pass along the rumor that Pihlstrom may not accept NSH QO and play in Europe instead. Just a lil rumor I heard."

Forechecker has a great article from the last day of camp that throws kudos to the whole Nashville blogging community and others. It was really good to see everyone today and seeing all the fan's having a great time. September will never arrive soon enough.

Here are a couple of videos from Predators.com. The first is from Saturday's camp with Comments by Barry Trotz and others.


The second video is one from Colin Wilson, Chet Pickard and other's visit to Children's Hospital on Friday. Enough good things can't be said about Colin Wilson. He is the real deal, on and off the ice.


I finally got to meet fellow Inside Hockey contributor Wes Cunningham who does a great job as a photographer at a lot of Pred games. Here are some great shots he took at Saturday's final workout.

Jim Diamond has a great "feel good" story about Predator's 4th round pick Nick Oliver over at the Examiner.

Around the NHL...

In Phoenix, The "mystery bidder" has shown their face. The CBC has details here. While the investment group are allegedly Canadian, the plan is to keep the team in Phoenix. The nasty side of the story in the desert today, involves Wayne Gretzky filing legal action against the City of Glendale to protect his monetary interest in the sale.

The Devils are set to open their rookie camp on Monday with no head coach. Lou Lamoriello hopes to have a coach in place by the end of the week.

On Long Island, Newsday has a story about John Tavares and Brian Trottier's first meeting. Their individual arrivals on the Island are stark in the contrast.

With the announcement set to ne made on Wednesday for this Years Winter Classic in Boston, Ryan at the Red Light District has a few suggestions to make it even better.

From Inside Hockey is a list of AHL players that have changed teams. Milwaukee is the quietest of all with only Drew MacIntyre going to the Thrashers.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Finally Friday Update

Coming off a long weekend, this week has lasted an eternity. It hasn't helped that there has been on ice action at the Development camp and I've been sitting in the office. Tomorrow, I'll get to make up for lost time and actually get to attend.

In Predator Nation...

John Glennon has his initial impressions of the second day of on ice workouts at Inside Predators. This morning he has a story on Colin Wilson as well as a notes piece that covers several prospects futures.

Forechecker gives his impressions of Thursday's workout session and the potential that the Preds will have a very young 5-6-7 group on the defensive side when camp breaks. Dirk also has his daily roundup here.

Brandon Felder has a great bunch of quotes from the kids that he interviewed at camp for Hockey Buzz.

The City Paper has a piece about Zach Budish and how he is different from the other prospects at the camp.

Paul McCann posted his pictures from camp at HockeyBuzzRadio.

The Preds announced a "Skate of the Union" Night on Thursday July 23, that will inculde Sully with his Masterton Trophy, and address by David Poile, and a used equipment sale. I am assuming that if anyone just happened to want to buy tickets that they would be able to do so .

The Predators.com video from Day 3 has a focus on the four goalies in camp with comments from Goalie Coach Mitch Korn.


Around the NHL...

E J Hradek covers several topics including the fact that the NHL schedule will most likely be revealed next Wednesday. A press conference at Fenway to announce the Winter Classic between the Bruins and Flyers on New Year's Day is also likely.

Pierre LeBrun waxes poetic about Joe Sakic after his retirement on Thursday. I am a little surprised that they are doing the jersey retirement on opening night. It would have been better marketing to do it stand alone on a low selling game early in the season.

Save the Coyotes has an interview with Don Maloney about the Coyotes on the ice activities. Off the Ice, the NHL is accusing Jerry Moyes of interfering in the proposed sale of the team. There is also more information on the Canadian group putting together a second bid.

Storming the Crease has a good interview with Shawn Lavigne of XM HomeIce's Hockey This Morning.

The Puck Report has a few interesting scheduling suggestions including opening night being a Stanley Cup rematch in a stand alone game.

More later...

Buddy Oakes fro PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

Probably not an issue we will face anytime soon, but the Islanders have a capacity issue at their rookie camp and are issuing wristbands, first come, first served to folks who want to watch.

Jay McKee signed with Pittsburgh for less than $1 million for the season. I'm sure he wanted to be a part of a team with another potential cup run, but he would have been a great addition at the right price for the Preds.

More issues between the KHL and NHL over the Jiri Hudler signing. In the long run the KHL is cutting off their nose to spite their face by not getting with the NHL on a transfer agreement.

Mirtle goes into more detail on the Hudler contract here.

From @MichelleKenneth: Could this be the official Winter Classic announcement?

Thursday Morning Takes

After a big slow down the last few days, the Development Camp has reinvigorated the local Predator news so there are several interesting items today. Unfortunately, due to work obligations, I won't be visiting the camp until Saturday's session so I will have to live vicariously through the tales form others until then.

In Predator Nation...

John Glennon at the Tennessean has a couple of stories today, one about Zach Budish, the big 6-3 defenseman taken in the second round of last month's entry draft, and the other about Blake Geoffrion who could become the first NHL player from Tennessee in a few years.

Fellow Predator Inside Hockey contributor Wes Cunningham has pictures from the first day of the prospect camp.

Forechecker Dirk has his observations from the camp and points to John Glennon's Inside Preds blog for more. He updates us this morning with his Thursday news.

Brandon Felder has a good wrap-up to Day One of the public sessions and talked to several campers and includes his interviews.

Paul McCann has first day observations at Hockey Buzz.

The City Paper reports that Colin Wilson had to sit out Wednesday's first on ice work out due to "clerical problems".

Predators.com has an interview with Milwaukee Head Coach Lane Lambert who discusses the camp and the Ads past season. Here is the Preds.com news from Wednesday's workout. A video follows with Marty Gelinas leading off the discussion.


The North Bay Nugget has an article about Steve Sulivan and his attraction to Nashville.

Around the NHL...

The big news around the NHL today will probably be the retirement presser of Joe Sakic which is set for 1:00 Denver time. Adrian Dater looks at where history will place Sakic among the great forwards.

Several more signings on Wednesday including Saku Koivu to the Ducks where that he will team with Teemu Selanne during his final season. TSN's FA tracker is here.

Episode #14 of my favorite podcast, The One Percentile with Mick Kern and Eric Gage from XM Home Ice is now up.

Seventh Woman gives her thoughts from the John Tavares coming out presser on Long Island on Wednesday.

The latest round of NHL-KHL contract disputes involves Joel Kwiatkowski who is jumping his KHL contract to return to the Thrashers organization.

The Hockey Writers looks at the top ten teams from last month's entry draft. Look here to see where the Preds landed and to see who they thought was #1.

One final wrap-up from the NHL Tweetup in Montreal, Kate AKA @antheia posts her blog describing the whole event.

Since it's the off season SI has the time for a top hockey announcers piece to ponder.

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

The Long Island Tweetup from last night appears to have been a big success. Pictures and other stuff can be found at LITweetup.com. That is cool that they have their own permanent web site.

The Globe and Mail reports a new bidder for the Coyotes who wants to keep it local.

From Bruce Dowbiggin at the Globe and Mail, "Well, if the media can call Michael Jackson a great humanitarian then we suppose murdered NFL QB Steve McNair - found dead next to his mistress - can be called an “inspiration to youth” by the same talking heads. May we all be afforded the same latitude."

From @PredPAPaul: Day 2 of conditioning camp.. Ellis looking good... Surprise is free agent Casey Wellman.

Darren Pang is leaving the Phoenix Coyotes broadcast booth to replace Bernie Federko in St. Louis. This is a real blow to those trying to maintain a stable face of the team in the midst of bankruptcy in Phoenix.

Midweek Musings

The off season appears to be in full swing with news around the hockey world slowing substantially. The Nashville press is full of stories about Steve McNair and a situation that appears to worsen by the hour.

All that could be said is being done by others so we'll leave it at what I wrote on Sunday. I am amazed that the short piece I wrote has gotten more positive response than anything I have ever had published. It was the same advice I give my kids everyday so I didn't think that much about it but in today's world it appeared somewhat revolutionary to some.

The Predator prospects hit the ice this morning at the Centennial Sportsplex for the first scrimmage of the Development Camp. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend until Saturday so I'll have to run with the updates of others until then.

In Predville...

From the first day of the Predators Development Camp comes this video from Preds.com.


John Glennon takes another look at Ryan Ellis and has nothing but good things in his story. The more I read, heard and talked to others, the better Ellis looks as a choice for the Predators. It may be a few years but we may finally have the answer to our power play deficiencies. Russ Cohen has a new story about Ellis coming out soon that should be good.

Jim Diamond at the Examiner talks about the college players at the camp being a special group because they have to pay their own expenses due to NCAA regulations.

Rachel at What The Puck checks out the roster situation and reminisces about a few players and bids good riddance to others.

The City Paper got Barry Trotz's thoughts on the preseason schedule released yesterday.

Forechecker has his daily round-up and again we are thinking along the same lines on several stories. This time of year there is only so much news to go around.

Paul McCann is headed to the camp and has a few items.

Around the NHL...

With the signing of Chris Pronger the Flyers have serious cap issues with several spaces to fill. Daniel Briere's contract is one of the worst in the league for the production they have gotten from him.

Sad news from Colorado that as one blogger put it "the snow blower won". Joe Sakic is set to announce his retirement on Thursday. As he retires he currently holds the best point per game total of any active player. He will be missed by all when the Avs come to town.

Puck Daddy had an interesting article about how Twitter has changed the agent-player game with examples of recent tactics during negotiations.

When you win the Stanley Cup, it appears that you get to do the weather. Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy were out promoting their new cup video and got to do the weather for KDKA-TV. Fairly good entertainment for the off season.

I met a new friend in Las Vegas with a site called Hockey54. He has a few videos from the Awards show and one with Kevin Smith. As part of his deal, he wears a hockey helmet, which seams to draw attention when getting interviews. He and his wife are a cool couple from Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @Hockey54FOTG.

The Hockey Writer tipped us off to a neat story about Tim Thomas from a few weeks ago at the Arm Chair GM. That was a highlight of the Awards show to see how appreciative Thomas was for winning the Vezina Trophy.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

One that I missed earlier from NHL Digest was the Hawks ending their mail issue by signing Chris Versteeg to a 3 year deal. One issue that has arisen now is serious cap issues in Chicago that will have to be resolved fairly quickly via some type of trade.

From @reporterchris: #sharks forward Claude Lemieux announces retirement.

From @nhldigest: Jim Kelley posts a very nice article about another side of Joe Sakic. This is a really good story that shows what a class guy Joe Sakic is.

First Qik video from rookie camp is from Mike Barnes.

From @umassdilo: #ducks sign koivu

Tuesday Happenings, POTG Podcast Available

Thanks to our guests on Monday night's PredsOnTheGlass Radio which is also available on podcast.

Steve Wilson of Blackstone Sports was on early and discussed new skate sharpening technology that has the potential to impact the way hockey is played. Blackstone’s revolutionary Flat Bottom V skate sharpening technique, increases the ability for players to make sharper cuts on the ice without sacrificing the speed and glide that traditional methods do not allow.

The Nashville Predators were one of the first NHL teams to have access to the equipment that Blackstone produces. Steve is Vice President and co-founder of Blackstone Sports and admitted that they can't make the equipment fast enough because so many folks want it.

I know this probably doesn't sound very exciting but it really is a breakthrough. Check out the podcast or go to their web site and you will see what I mean.

The rest of the show was an exclusive one on one with XM Home Ice's Jamie Shalley. Jamie is one of Jackson and my favorites and it was a real treat to talk to him again after meeting him in person at the award show. We covered a wide range of topics and really had a good time doing so.

Jackson found out a little secret after the show about BlogTalkRadio. For those that don't get enough in the first hour, the after show discussion is also available on the podcast. Monday's show had another 30 minutes of bonus talk.

In Pred Nation...

The big news in Nashville is the Predator's Development Camp that is hitting full stride today and runs through Saturday. Forechecker has a much better roster than the one on the Preds site.

Preds.com had a good article about Mark Dekanich, who is the lesser know of all the goalie prospects.

Mark at The View From 111 has another thoughtful piece on "When the Game Ends" for athletes that is a must read. It's not just about the untimely death of Steve McNair but goes in to the whole pro sports arena and the issues athletes face in making life choices in the midst of fame and fortune.

Paul McCann has a short piece about the prospects camp and a rumor that Tampa is interested in Dan Ellis. Jim Diamond also has a story about the camp at the Examiner.

From @cellblock303: JUST ANNOUNCED: The 303:30 will be bi-weekly throughout the season! Regular season debut = 10/3. Season preview = 9/26.

Around the NHL...

The problem with the contract mailings in Chicago, that was mentioned yesterday, has ended up being a much bigger deal than anticipated. The NHLPA did file a grievance and amazingly, all but Kris Versteeg were resigned within a couple of hours.

Several others including Francois Beauchemin (Leafs), Andrew Raycroft (Canucks), Alex Kovalev (Senators), and others were signed after a slow weekend. TSN's tracker keeps you up to the minute on signings. Ryan at the RedLightDistrict gives you all the analysis.

I took a look at an updated version of Mirtle's top 100 free agents to look for some potential affordable choices for the Preds and it was surprising that I found Radek Bonk looking pretty good if he could come back a little cheaper than the $1.475 than he made last season.

Chris Pronger met the press on Monday in Philadelphia in a fairly light-hearted interview. It's worth a look at the video. The Flyers will be a team everyone will be watching in the fall. I'm sure they will make the highlight films every night on Hockeyfights.com.

In Phoenix, a Sporting News article opens the can of worms that the NHL doesn't want to hear about Jerry Reinsdorf's bid not bringing any cash to the table. While things are quiet now, I'm sure the Balsillie bid still has another round or two to go before all is said and done. Another article in the Arizona Republic discusses if Moyes and Gretzky will be paid after the sale.

Also in Arizona, is an article about ex-Pred Vern Fiddler. We will miss him in Nashville. Another ex-Pred type, Drew MacIntyre finally has a story on his signing with the Thrashers at BlueLandBlog

Finally, another day at the office for the Brian Burke crew in Toronto. They may be investigated for tampering over remarks Ron Wilson made about the Sedins prior to July 1st.

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

This is about as weird as it gets from Japers' Rink on Hockey in Hawaii.

After all the hoopla, Jonas Gustavsson signs with the Leafs. It's a match made in hockey heaven. P T Barnum would approve of all the publicity generated by Burke and the goalie. Now he has to live up to his billing on the ice.

Mirtle adds the defensemen list to his remaining UFA analysis. Since David Poile says we need another one, let's go shopping.

Forechecker adds his daily roundup to the mix.

After reading John Glennon's update at Inside Predators, it sounds more and more like the Preds are done dealing for now. He also confirms pretty much the same preseason schedule with 2 games versus Columbus and Carolina in addition to the two against Atlanta that we heard about on Monday.

The Pred's pre-season schedule is officially out and includes home games on Sept 17, 19 and 26. Training camp will open Saturday Sept 12 with the first on ice workout on Sunday Sept 13.

Where has Jackson been? Part One

You probably couldn't tell, but I haven't made a post on here since a few weeks before the end of the 08-09 season. I felt that I should explain myself and tell you what's going on.

From the time that I stopped writing till May 24th, I was busting my butt trying to get SIX months of school work done in TWO months. I was swamped to say the least. That month consisted of many Cokes, very many late nights, and have no social life. It was probably one of the worst periods of my life, but I eventually got through it.

During the playoffs, I did some writing for Ryan at the Red Light District. I had a lot on my plate in real life at this point and I eventually stopped writing there because I was literally never at a computer with enough time to throw ANYTHING together.

I then went on a huge spree of vacationing for three weeks. Starting in Cocoa Beach, Florida with my father and my brother, flying up to Boston with my brother to meet my mom and step-father, home for a couple of days, and Pensacola, Florida with a friend.

We were in Florida for game three-seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. I only was able to see the last period of every game, other than seven, because of the nightly event hosted by the surf camp that we go to every year. I'm sure my father had something up about the surf camp we do every year, but just in case he didn't, I will give a short little background of it.

The camp is hosted by a local church in Cocoa Beach, Florida. This year they had 300 kids attend. They pretty much teach you how to surf, help you improve, or you can just go out and surf.

They also have an event every evening for you to come and just hangout, win prizes (I won a surfboard my first year :D), and worship.

It's a lot of fun. Every year I meet a lot of good friends that I still keep up with.

But that's pretty much what we did for the first four days we were down there.

The day after that, we went to Disneyworld. We had a killer time, although we had to call it quits early so we could see game seven of the SCF. Totally worth it! What a game!

After a great week in Florida, my father dropped us off at the Orlando airport to fly up to Boston to meet my mom, my step-dad and his family.

This is part one of I don't know how many more posts.

I WILL BEE BOCCKKK...It's late, don't hate.

Jackson Oakes for Preds On The Glass

Monday Roundup and POTG Radio Tonight

On tonight's PredsOnTheGlass Radio, we will have something a little different. We have never had anyone from the equipment side of the game but that will change tonight.

We will have Steve Wilson of Blackstone Sports who will discuss Blackstone’s revolutionary Flat Bottom V skate sharpening technique, which is used by the Nashville Predators. Steve is Vice President and co-founder of Blackstone Sports so this will be a chance for us to learn about new technology that is changing the ways skates are sharpened and allows more precise moves on the ice.

We will also have another guest that will be on once he is re-confirmed and we will discuss where things stand after the initial flurry of free-agent signings. We can now reveal that Jamie Shalley of XM 204 NHL Home Ice will be the other guest. I met Jamie at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas after knowing him on the radio and internet for four years since XM hockey coverage began. I'm really looking forward to it, so please join us.



In Pred Nation...

We have definitely hit the quiet part of the off-season where updates will become more limited as the free agent signings have slowed and less real "news" is actually happening.

The highlight of the next few days will be the gathering of prospects in Nashville for the Predators annual Developmental Camp which starts tomorrow and runs through Saturday.

On ice workouts will be open to the public at Centennial Sportsplex at the following times:
Wednesday, July 8 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Thursday, July 9 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Saturday, July 11 9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m.

John Glennon has an article about Steve Sullivan's back being uninsurable which was widely known when he was on the free agent market briefly. The end of the article has a note about former Pred Coach Paul Gardner who is in Germany coaching.

Mark at the View from 111 found some information on the total fan experience across all four major league sports. The Preds fare well in some areas and not so well in others. Mark covers the information well with insightful commentary.

Around the NHL...

Twenty NHL players filed for salary arbitration before Sunday's deadline. No Predator players were included in the filings. Hearings will be held in Toronto between July 20 and August 4.

In what should be a non-issue (but it is a slow news time) the Chicago Blackhawks did not properly deliver the qualifying offers to their six RFA's as laid out in the CBA. They did get the offers to the NHL office but none of the players or agents have physically received the offers. We will see if anything actually comes of it.

Michelle Kenneth throws in her two cents on the plight of her Devils and has a funny slant on resigning Brendan Shanahan.

Our friend Chasta at Love the Game has a story on sports using Social Media with a focus on her Caps.

The Oilers are looking at placing their AHL team in Oklahoma City for 2010-11. I have been to OC's minor league baseball facility and it is first rate. It's good to see another non-traditional market getting a shot at high level hockey.

NHL Digest started a permanent feature in something we experimented with during the first two days of free agency with tweets being posted on their site. It combines the best use of 140 blogging with the traditional blog.

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

@FlyersOnTheFly "Chris Pronger press conference at noon today, will be streamed live on philadelphiaflyers.com."

Mirtle takes a look at what's left on the FA market for forwards. There's still plenty of good players left for the picking.

Sam McCaig at The Hockey News looks at a few "value signings" during the frenzy.

Forechecker has an update today with links to a story about why Jordan Schroeder fell to the 22nd pick. After reading this, I can see why the Preds (and others) passed. This type of attitude would not fit Barry Trotz's "Band of Brothers" type team.

Good advice on landing a internship from Christy Hammond who has been with the Wings for a couple of years.

John Glennon takes a look at what wingers the Preds my be able to afford that are remaining in the free agent pool.

The Atlanta Thrashers released their pre-season schedule which includes a game vs the Preds at the Sommet on 9/17. The Preds also play in Atlanta on 9/23. The Preds rookies will play the Thrashers rookies twice in Atlanta which is the return from last year's games here.

Forchecker gives us a more usable roster of players taking part in the Developmental camp this week. He also has a list of the coaches and staff that plan to be on hand.

Sunday Updates and a Few Thoughts on Steve McNair's Death

Folks in Nashville and throughout the sports world were shocked to find out yesterday afternoon that former MVP quarterback and local favorite Steve McNair had been killed. In the short history of major league sports in Nashville, McNair clearly caries the credentials of the top athlete to play in Music City for an extended period of time.

While his sudden death is a tragedy for all involved, the real tragedy is that he died in a way that is diametrically opposed to many of the good things that he has accomplished in his career both on and off the field.

McNair had established the Steve McNair Foundation that was all about doing good and giving back to the community. His personal page on his site explained that "He was raised in a single-parent household with his four brothers--Fred, Tim, Jason, and Michael ("Doc")--by his mother who worked a factory graveyard shift to provide for her family. Ms. McNair not only worked hard to provide for her family but strived to instill in them certain values such as hard work, perseverance, honesty and integrity."

Those values were apparent in everything he did on the field and in his volunteer work. Many children looked to him as a "role model". In listening to all the statements and quotes on the radio everyone described him as a "family man." One went so far as to talk about how his wife and kids were expecting him home for the holiday cook out when they got the news.

Somewhere along the way something went seriously wrong with McNair and that he turned away from his values and went down a path that led to his premature death, shattering his family, his friends and all those who looked up to him.

Out of this tragedy, an opportunity is presented for parents to talk to their children and prepare them for life's tough choices and to explain to them that some things that seem good at the time probably aren't the way to go with their life.

An analogy that I use with my kids is that life is like a road with deep ditches on both sides. As they grow up, parents provide the guard rails to keep them out of the ditches as much as possible. Once they leave home, and are on their own, their values that they are given as children and their faith become the guardrails that keep them on the road and out of trouble.

Hopefully, out of this tragic situation, other lives will be spared by the talks parents have with their kids using Steve McNair as an example that bad thing do happen to good people when they head in the wrong direction.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Steve McNair and all those who knew him.

In Pred Nation...

David Climer has an interesting commentary on the Steve Sullivan signing and hockey finances in general.

Rachel at What The Puck says her good-byes to the three players who left and comments on the Sully and Ward resignings.

Dirk the Forechecker uncovered news that goalie Drew MacIntyre appears to have moved to the Thrashers organization.

This is a few days old, but it's another local view from the Cambridge Times of Ryan Ellis getting drafted by the Predators.

Around the NHL...

Free agent signings have slowed to a crawl and can be tracked at TSN and NHL.com.

For those looking for fresh hockey talk, The Program is in it's usual Sunday night time slot of 7:00-9:00 Central.

Ryan at the Red Light District follows his look at the final USA roster with a look at Team Canada's and also has an early prediction of how the Western Conference will shake out next season.

Interesting look at the NHL minimum wage earners by a new friend that I met in Las Vegas at The Puck Report.

In Phoenix, the City of Glendale is taking a hard look at the "Great One's" claim for dollars in the Phoenix bankruptcy case.

The Dallas Morning News has a look at athletes and social media.

Here is an interesting story that NHL Digest tweeted about the "Dany Heatley Jersey" and a journalist who wore it in public to get people's reactions.

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Fourth of July and getting a chance to relax or do whatever it is that you want to be doing. We are not going to break much new ground here today so it will be short if not sweet.

Yesterday, was one of my few off days at work and my wife and I went for a ride through the backwoods down the Natchez Trace Parkway. We went to a spot called Metal Ford on the Buffalo River and sat on a rock in the middle of the river for a while.

We then ventured further south to Florence, Alabama which seemed like a really cool spot as it sits on the side of the Tennessee River and has a large lake nearby. The downtown area was really vibrant with a lot going on with a couple of stages with music and lots of folks out and about.

That being said, we did stumble across one street that had been blocked off and a wrestling rink was set up in the middle of the street. Some of the worst fake wrestling that I've ever seen was going on free to the public, where everyone could see it. The adage that you get what you pay for certainly applied here.

Just so you don't think I am exaggerating, here is a sample.



Hopefully, we won't see anything as tragic today as we head to Waverly, Tennessee for music and fireworks with the family.

In Pred Nation...

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun has a different talke on the Radulov situation, saying that Rads may fear retribution by the Russian Olympic Committee if he were to return to the NHL this year. Bill Daly says that Raduulov's KHL contract is not a block to his return to the NHL. Interesting read, check it out.

It's interesting to see the story in Ryan Ellis's hometown paper about his heading to Nashville.

Happy 11th Anniversary to Steve Sullivan and his wife, Kristen.

Mark at the View From 111 has a good reminder of the meaning of Independence Day.

Around the NHL...

Ryan at the RedLightDistrict has not been slowed by the holidays as he continues to cover the signings and trades better than anyone. On this Fourth of July, he is in the patriotic spirit by suggesting the roster for Team USA for the Olympics too.

In a big trade yesterday, the L.A. Kings solved their log jam at D by sending Tom Pressing , Kyle Quincy and a pick to the Colorado Avs for Ryan Smith. A veteran presence on the young Kings team will go a long way toward putting then in the playoffs this year. The West only gets tougher with this move.

Rick Nash and the Blue Jackets got together on an 8 year deal worth $62.4 million which is a bit on the high side, but all involved seem pleased with it.

NHL Snipers has his grades for all the teams so far in free agency.

A rare story from the AZ Republic on the Coyotes. Must be a slow news day in Phoenix.

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Happy Holiday Friday Edition - Analysis of Cap Teams vs. Mid-Range Teams

As we have officially passed the initial frenzy of free agency and are enjoying the extra day off the pace of free agent signings appears to have slowed tremendously.

Ken Campbell at The Hockey News has a good article on the lack of restraint shown by some GMs during these tough economic times. I continue to preach that some of the cap teams have no better talent than mid range teams that stick to a more frugal plan and don't jump at every big name that tests the free agent waters. Detroit is the best example and hopefully when the Preds return to the playoffs next year, they will be another.

As I go down the list of free agent signees, the vast majority appear to have been paid on the high side of their value. In my mind, $4 million dollars is a lot of money. This is a figure where only the better players that produce stats at a high level and attract folks to the rink should reside.

Here are a few contracts that are out of line in my opinion:

• Marion Hossa at $5 million seems about right, but maybe for 3-4 years, not 12.
• Marion Gaborik at 7.5 million - absurd.
• Brian Gionta at $5 million (about a million too high)
• Martin Havelat at $5 million, not a bad deal if you could guareantee he would average 75 games over the course of the contract.
• Nik Antropov $4 million/4 years - does not meet my criteria listed above.
• Mike Cammallari $6 million - about a million too high.

My thoughts are that anything above $6 million needs to be a player that is the face of the game, not just on a individual team. By that too, I require production, not just hype. I'm talking Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Geno Malkin. The $4-6 million range should be for very special players that are the face of the franchise and produce big numbers consitantly and are not often out of the line up with injury.

Had the teams pushing the cap, followed my guidelines, then they would be much closer to a mid-range team than a cap team and still have the same players. Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

In Pred Nation...

Forechecker has a good analisys of where the Preds stand after their two signings and shows that the Preds do follow my advice well with the exception of David Legwand and Marty Erat. He alos has an article on Premium seating at the Sommet which was discussed today in the Tennessean.

John Glennon announces the birth of Jason Arnot's new baby and gets his reaction to the Pred's signings. He also has a piece on farewells to Greg Zannon and Vern Fiddler.

David Poile says that he is almost done with signings but Paul McCann has a few suggestions on the one additional offensive player that he and I feel the team needs.

Around the NHL...

I have not put up the Twitter feed today for free agent signings but will refer you to Ryan at the Red Light District who continues to do the best job of anyone staying on top of all the signings and analysis of done deals. Ryan is also helping out at The Program while Chris has issues with Time Warner. Chris is still getting his opinions out, and they are good ones. Between the two sites, you should be covered on the latest.

NHL.com has the official free agent list and what category that each player fits in to.

NHL Snipers is doing a good job of keeping the "still avalible" list up to date for all those who want more foor their teams.

Kevin Greenstein at Inside Hockey has a good piece on the salary cap and the dynamic of the Hossa deal over it's 12 year life.

On Frozen Blog has a great piece on how Twitter has revolutionalized hockey coverage.

Ex-Pred Captain Tom Fitzgerald moved from the bench to the Assistant GM slot in Pittsburgh. Congrats to the Captain!

TSN's Bob McKenzie points out that the parody account of him is not really him.

More later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Day Two Free Agent Frenzy Twitter Updates

As we did yesterday, we will post our Twitter feed into this space here to update POTG with the latest signings.

Day Two Twitter Update Archive

• * RT @stevens8204: Chad LaRose gets 2 yrs, 3.4 million....nice resigning by the Canes. #nhlufa 57 minutes ago
• * RT @flapanthers Official Leopold signing release: http://bit.ly/fmB3Q 58 minutes ago
• * RT @Rossi_on_Pens: Rob Scuderi has agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Kings, he confirms via text. about 5 hours ago
• * RT @TheFourthPeriod: Heatley saga : Sens might file grievance with the league, says Sportsnet, bc Heater asked for trade and rejected it about 5 hours ago
• * RT @reporterchris: Bryan Murray on where Dany Heatley has been left now that the bonus has been paid: "Nowhere, he's an Ottawa Senator." about 5 hours ago
• * RT @DarrenDreger: The Leafs announced the Grabovski signing. 3 years, $8.7 million. about 6 hours ago
• * @Forechecker Agree, it does seem that @thomabrahamshow made everyone realize that it was time to hang on to what they had about 6 hours ago
• * After all @Sully26 has been through for two years he is looking for stability for self and family, Will 26 be the Preds 1st retired Jersey? about 6 hours ago
• * Good interviews by @sully26 and David Poile on @thomabrahamshow show. Sully sounded really happy. Congrats to all for a done deal about 6 hours ago
• * RT @mirtle: RT @andrewsdsp: TSN's FA tracker says the Stars have signed Karlis Skrastins to a two-year, $2.75 million contract about 7 hours ago
• * @ozman51 Not surprised, one of the weirder apps I've seen on Twitter about 7 hours ago
• * @Eklund Wishing Burt a full recovery ASAP about 7 hours ago
• * RT @CraigCustance: Chris Thorburn deal breakdown: $630,000 the first year, $690,000 the second year about 8 hours ago
• * @mozy19 I saw the API increase last evening and was surprised. Thought I was special, but everyone else in the house had it too about 8 hours ago
• * RT @NHLFlames: Flames sign forwards Garth Murray and Riley Armstrong. Both are natives of Sask. http://bit.ly/zMDsZ about 9 hours ago
• * RT @Sean_Leahy: TSN: Adrian Aucoin signs one-year deal with #Coyotes 8 minutes ago
• * RT @ozman51: Boston Bruins sign Johnny Boychuk to a one-year contract http://bit.ly/Cki2c 9 minutes ago
• * RT @DarrenDreger: at least 2 reports say Koivu is mulling over an offer from the Wild. Decision expected today. 10 minutes ago
• * RT @DarrenDreger: TSN reporting Antropov has agreed to 4 year, just over $16 mil with Atlanta. www.tsn.ca 10 minutes ago
• * RT @RLDhockey: Recchi back to Boston... 10 minutes ago

Thursday Round-Up and Day One Thoughts

Wednesday's Free Agent Frenzy lived up to it's billing with 46 signings taking place. Several big names lined up with new teams but none was bigger for their team than the return of Steve Sullivan to the Nashville Predators.

As much as Predator fans would love to be a bigger player in the free agent market, I really do not understand why teams throw around big money, long term contracts to players that are no better than the Predators can land in the Steve Sullivan moeny ballpark.

Paying top dollar to an injury prone Marty Havlat, who has only played one full season sice the lock out (18,56,and 35 games the prior three seasons), is very risky. Marion Gaborik has similar injury isues with a track record that includes 17, 77, 48, and 65 games since the lockout. As much criticism as has been aimed at Scott Gomez, at least he has played almost every game since he entered the league in 1999.

Back to Sully... After weeks of cat and mouse we found out that no offers or demands ever exchanged hands between the Preds and Sully until after the deadline when Sully let the market set the price. The Preds were able to come within a reasonable enough figure to satisfy Sully so that he could return and play in Nashville where he has consistently said is where he wants to be.

Joel Ward also signed and will return. Indications are that David Poile is finished with any signings on the offensive side but is still looking for another D-man to stabilize the third pairings while the youngsters develop. I know that Chris Chelios wants to go to an Eastern Conference team, but I would love to have him as our 6/7 defenseman to mentor all the young talent.

I personally think that another proven offensive player or power play specialist is needed as opposed to relying completely on the youngsters to move to a more productive level. However, if we were unwilling to sign Vern Fiddler for $1.1 million a year, I'm not sure what we would get for at a lower price than that.

In Pred Nation...

POTG posted our very sterile newspapery story on the Pred signings and a log of all signings of day one via Twitter posts.

Forechecker had posts of all the Pred resignings and those who didn't. The story on the Sully saga is a good nutshell of how it went down in the end.

Paul McCann has a couple of updates and has put Wednesday night's HockeyBuzzRadio up on podcast this morning which includes a visit by Sully himself.

Mark at The View from 111 had updates on the Sully and Ward signings as did Rachel at What the Puck.

Jim Diamond has his Sully story at the Examiner as well as a separate one on Joel Ward.

Preds.com had a boatload of stuff on the Sully signing, the Ward signing, a Q and A with Barry Trotz on Ward and an interview with Wardo himself.

John Glennon has a lot of information on Sully, Rads and other stuff in this Inside Preds post. His main story on the Predator resigings is here.

The City Paper has a story about the resignings and one about Radulov not coming back (not sure that is really news).

Around the NHL...

My buddy Ryan at the RedLight District was stellar all day Wednesday and has not slowed down today. I'll match his stuff with anyone's. Ryan was 11 out of 26 on predictions of FA signing on day one. That is far better than some "experts" who have a national following.

TSN probably has the most viewed signings tracker. NHL.com has a very simple list of signings that is easy to follow. They also have more details on signings broken down by Goalies, Forwards and Defensemen. The Hockey News also has a tracker with a little more detail.

Kevin Allen lists his top 15 moves of day one. Sully makes the list as it should. Not to be outdone ESPN's Burnside and LeBrun give a top ten with Sully there too.

Mirtle has a good round up from Wednesday broken down several different ways. I am somewhat surprised that with all the money thrown around (46 signings for $406 Million) that Sully's contract was in the top ten for $ spent.

Why Edmonton or anyone else would want Dany Heatley at this point is beyond me. The Canadian Press is reporting the deal "dead" as Ottawa had to shell out the $4 million bonus at midnight.

In a non-free agent story, Team Canada invited Dan Hamhuis and Shea Weber to their Summer evaluation roster this morning as the USA did earlier this week inviting Ryan Suter. A long list of other Predators are projected to be added to their national teams as we move closer to the Vancouver games.

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass

Additions...

Craig Custance lists three signings he likes and three that he doesn't. I disagree with Gadorik which he likes for reasons that I stated above. While the Preds are criticized for being below the cap mid-point, is some cases when you compare the production of our lower priced team with some of the cap teams, there is little difference.

Way off topic... Why you would need this I'm not sure. Cursebird is a real time feed of cursing on Twitter and will rate you as a user.

Predators Resign Sullivan, Ward

In somewhat of a surprise turn around, the Nashville Predators resigned their top two free agent’s after Wednesday’s free agent deadline had passed and they had become available to all 29 other NHL teams.

Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward, who were key players on last year’s team, both resigned with the Predators on Wednesday afternoon.

Steve Sullivan signed a two-year deal, worth $3.75 million per year according to Canada’s TSN. Negotiations had been ongoing with the recent Masterton Trophy winner for many weeks as there appeared to have been difficulty in establishing Sullivan’s value in dollars and length of contract.

Shortly after the signing, Sullivan made a post saying “House not for sale” on the popular Twitter social network service announcing his decision to legions of Predator fans.

Sullivan appeared on 104.5 The Zone radio after the signing and indicated that he had advised Predator GM David Poile that he would continue to stay in touch after the deadline passed.

Sullivan explained the situation, “I honestly never knew what the market was. I thought it was fair for everybody to go on the market and see. It all worked it’s way out and everyone wins. The sticking point was dollars, and we let the market sort it out. I love it in Nashville and I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

Earlier in the day, the Predators announced the resigning of popular Pred forward, Joel Ward, to a two year deal worth a total of $3 million dollars.

Two other Predators who went thorough the free agent process found new teams to play for in the coming season.

Shot blocking specialist, Greg Zanon was signed by the Minnesota Wild to a three-year $5.2 million contract. Vern Fiddler went to the Phoenix Coyotes with a two-year, $2.2 million dollar contract. Little used, defenseman Ville Koistinen was signed by the Florida Panthers

Several other ex-Predators remain on the free agent market and are unlikely to return to the team including Radek Bonk, Greg De Vris and Scotty Nichol.

The signings of Sullivan and Ward goes a long way in solidifying the Predator’s team for the coming season. It is possible that additional free agent signings will occur in the days ahead.

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass and the Columbia Daily Herald

POTG Twitter Feed with Free Agent Frenzy Tweets - Day One

Twitter Archive From Day One of Free Agent Frenzy

• RT @martinhavlat: Excited to be in Minny where I was welcomed and appreciated by management. The real what happened in Chicago to come out. 26 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: Havlat has a verbal agreement with the Wild. details soon on www.tsn.ca 20 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: Sjostrom agrees to 2 year deal with Flames. $750,000 per year. TSN 23 minutes ago
• RT @BenThrashers: Who are the big names left? Tanguay, Antropov, Beauchemin, Zubov, Koivu, Kovalev, Antropov, Comrie. Anyone else? 25 minutes ago
• RT @phoenixcoyotes: Just spoke with Vern Fiddler. Check out my interview with him at phoenixcoyotes.com-vest 29 minutes ago
• @kash2112 Just saw Public Enemies, It was good. Made me want to watch the Michael Mann "Crime Story " series again 30 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: correction. Gaborik 5 years, $7.5 per year 31 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: TSN is reporting Gaborik to the Rangers. 5 years x $5.75 32 minutes ago
• RT @Sully26: Enjoying the Canada Day Fireworks with the family. Great way to celebrate July 1 40 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: Good scoop by Eklund. Madden agrees to 1 year, $2.75 mil deal with Blackhawks. 41 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger RDS says Gionta to Mtl... 5 years, $25 mil. 41 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: Mathieu Garon to CBJ. 2 years x $1.2 mil. tsn 43 minutes ago
• Predators Resign Sullivan and Ward http://bit.ly/Zg0fW about 3 hours ago
• @stevens8204 I retweeted something that was a mistake by the original poster and it caused similar problems about 4 hours ago
• @insidehockey You are correct. My eulogy for Sully was a bit premature yesterday. Welcome back @Sully26, glad you got it worked out. about 4 hours ago
• RT @insidehockey: Buddy will be happy to hear. RT @DarrenDreger Sullivan agrees to 2 year extension with Nashville. $3.75 per year says TSN. about 4 hours ago
• RT @Sean_Leahy: TSN: Steve Sullivan re-signs with #Predators 2 years ext. $3.75 per #nhl about 4 hours ago
• RT @whatthepuck: Wow, Fids to PHX for $2.2 million over 2 years? Glad we let him go because I don't think he was worth that much to keep about 5 hours ago
• @SBombeck Yes, it was a premature enter by the poster 3 minutes ago
• RT @brandon_felder: @PredFans RT @Eklund: ZANON TO WILD (e5) | he did get the VK news right way early. . One more officially gone 5 minutes ago
• RT @Sean_Leahy: TSN: #Leafs deal Kubina to #Thrashers for Exelby. More to the package #nhl 8 minutes ago
• RT @Sean_Leahy: Sportsnet: #habs Cammalleri will get 5 year, $30 mill deal #nhl > Preds were never in this 9 minutes ago
• @SBombeck This was an incomplete post by @BlueJacketsBuzz Rest easy 14 minutes ago
• RT @Eklund: koistinen numbers 2.5 for 2 years in Florida > Best non-signing that we made 31 minutes ago
• RT @BlueJacketsBuzz: per TSN the Avalanche have signed Gonchar 32 minutes ago
• RT @Eklund: koistinen numbers 2.5 for 2 years in Florida > I'm glad it's Fla paying and not us 33 minutes ago
• RT @insidehockey: RT @DarrenDreger Oilers continue to court Heatley, but he hasn't waived yet. 38 minutes ago
• RT @Sean_Leahy: TSN: #Avs sign Sergei Gonchar destroyer David Koci - 1 year, $575K 38 minutes ago
• RT @Sean_Leahy: TSN/McKenzie: #Sharks re-sign Kent Huskins, 2 years $1.7 mill avg 39 minutes ago
• @esmeador From @kausatoday Nashville is still in the hunt for Steve Sullivan who has offers of two and three years. 42 minutes ago
• RT @kausatoday Nashville is still in the hunt for Steve Sullivan who has offers of two and three years. 46 minutes ago
• RT @brandon_felder The Joel Ward press conference is in 10 minutes. Makes me wonder if they are indeed done for the day with a presser. 59 minutes ago
• RT @mirtle The Penguins have signed Mike Rupp for two years, 825k per season. #NHLFA about an hour ago
• RT @Forechecker: A PP bust in Nashville, will a fresh start help? RT @FlaPanthers Cats sign UFA defenseman Ville Koistinen about an hour ago
• RT @GrossMisconduct: Someone to do Carcillo's hair apparently. RT @Sean_Leahy RDS: #Flyers sign Ian Laperriere 3 year,s $3.5 mill about an hour ago
• RT @GrossMisconduct: Oh dear, it just gets worse.... RT @darenmillard Habs have Hal Gill confirmed..... about an hour ago
• RT @andystrickland: Scott Clemmensen to get a 3 yr. deal worth 1.2 per season from the Florida Panthers. about an hour ago
• @MartyBuckley The Flyers with Emory, Cote, Pronger, Harnell, Carcillo and others will leave everyone bruised about an hour ago
• RT @NYRNation: Brashear and Avery on the ice causing havoc should be fun to watch next season. #nhl #nhlfa #rangersabout 1 hour ago from TweetDeck
• RT @dani3boyz: *snort* RT @BDGallof: Karl Malden dead. Bob Gainey signs him for 4 years at $20 million. It must be Free Agent Frenzyabout 2 hours ago from TweetDeck
• RT @andystrickland: sources say the Rangers, Oilers, and Maple Leafs are the leading candidates to land Chris Neil.about 2 hours ago from TweetDeck
• RT @insidehockey: Bob McKenzie reports that the Khabibulin contract is a 4-year $15 million deal. about a minute ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: Khabibulin to the Oilers. www.tsn.ca 2 minutes ago
• RT @DarrenDreger: Boston Globe is reporting Spacek to Mtl. 3 years, $11.5 mil. Ouch! 4 minutes ago
• RT @nhl_canes: The Hurricanes can confirm that we have re-signed Erik Cole. He will make $2.8 million in 2009-10 and 3.0 million in 2010-11. 4 minutes ago
• RT @Forechecker: Bob McKenzie saying Erik Cole will re-sign with Carolina for 2 years... 9 minutes ago
• RT @Forechecker: TSN: "TSN has confirmed that goaltender Brian Boucher has signed with Philadelphia - two years, $1.85 million." 16 minutes ago
• RT @Forechecker: Woohoo!!! TSN: Nashville has re-signed Joel Ward. Two years at $1.5 million per season. 59 minutes ago
• RT @schuylerb: TSN: Scott Niedermayer - 1 year $6M plus incentives to stay in Anaheim about an hour ago
• RT @andystrickland Washington capitals have signed Mike Knuble to a 2 yr. deal worth $2.8 per season. about an hour ago
• RT @NYRNation: Brashear deal is done, he is a New York Ranger. #nhlfa #nhl #rangers about an hour ago
• # RT @reporterchris: Wonder if Hossa and Kopecky came as a package like the twins? Both are Slovak and enjoyed playing together in Detroit. less than a minute ago
• # RT @TheYotesDiva: ESPN NHL - Panthers re-signed LW David Booth (31 goals last season) to 6-year contract worth 25.5 million about a minute ago
• # RT @kausatoday: Hawks also sign Tomas Kopecky good role player with some up-side. He showed signs of beng able to score. He's 6-3, has grit 2 minutes ago
• # RT @StarsScene: Oilers have zero goaltending right now. Screw Heatley, they need someone who can stop a puck! 4 minutes ago
• # RT @Sean_Leahy Newsday: #Isles sign Roloson http://bit.ly/ZdkCz #nhl 4 minutes ago
• # RT @DarrenDreger: Hossa's deal heavily front loaded. 53 mil for the first 7 years of the 12 yr deal. TSN 12 minutes ago
• # @Cypha23 Should be plenty of competition between Mason and Conklin 15 minutes ago
• # RT @dani3boyz: Hossa for 12 YEARS? Did anyone learn from the DP contract? Look at this way: DP gets paid less for the same level of futility 16 minutes ago
• # RT @andystrickland: Ty Conklin Signs 2 yr. deal with Blues. $1.3 million average 20 minutes ago
• # RT @JonJordan: To elaborate, that's Matt Walker to Tampa Bay on a four-year deal, 6.8 total 20 minutes ago
• # RT @TheFourthPeriod: Avs sign Craig Anderson to 2-year deal, it;s done 35 minutes ago
• # RT @Forechecker: TSN: "Darren Dreger says sources are telling him that the Hossa deal to Chicago is done. Waiting for confirmation." 41 minutes ago
• # RT @TheFourthPeriod: Devils re-sign Andy Greene... Colorado talking to goalie Craig Anderson 52 minutes ago
• # RT @Forechecker: From TSN: "The Leafs have signed Colton Orr - a tough guy. Four years at a million per year." 8 minutes ago
• # RT @jrs1940: Team 990 in Montreal reporting Alex Kovalev has re-signed with Canadiens. 2-year deal, $8.75 million 22 minutes ago
• # RT @Sean_Leahy: TSN: Florida re-signs Radek Dvorak. 2 years, $3.4 mill total 32 minutes ago
• # RT @predsbuzztap: Inside Predators >> Sullivan, Ward are on the market http://tinyurl.com/ma3mh4 33 minutes ago
• # RT @DarrenDreger: Hossa is close to signing in Chicago...says TSN. 42 minutes ago
• # RT @brandon_felder: Everyone should know, as good as Kevin Allen is (1 of the best) @JonJordan broke the Ohlund news 1st Give a guy his due. 44 minutes ago
• # RT @TheFourthPeriod: Steve Sullivan will weigh his option, but Nashville still very much an option about an hour ago
• # Happy Canada Day Updates http://bit.ly/2pWQy and POTG Twitter Feed for Updates during the Frenzy http://bit.ly/14POW6 (THX to @ozman51) about an hour ago
• # RT @nhllive: E.J. Hradek and Rob Simpson will have all the free agency updates from 12-2 ET. NHL.com, NHL Network, XM 204, Sirius 208. about an hour ago
• # RT @kelceybrade: Sedins Sign: TSN's Bob McKenzie has also confirmed the Canucks have resigned the Sedins. 5 years, $6.1million per year. Ea. about an hour ago

Happy Canada Day/ Free Agent Frenzy Day

Since everyone gets to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day, I'm taking the stance today that I get to be Canadian for a day on Canada Day so I can celebrate the heritage along with all my Canadian friends. I don't think anyone will be giving me the day off so I'll have to wait until Friday for that.

As we approach the Noon Eastern Free Agent Frenzy deadline, we have already seen frenetic activity yesterday leading up to the deadline including Gomez to Montreal for Chris Higgins, Jay Bouwmeester signing with Phoenix, and a total meltdown in attempts to trade Dany Heatley to Edmonton.

The NHL Network will provide special coverage today starting with NHL Live from 11:00-1:00 Central and then four hours of TSN's Free Agent Frenzy special from 1:00 to 5:00 Central.

PredsOnTheGlass will provide updates in a separate post via a Twitter feed with ongoing updates. I originally decided to do this via an RSS feed but a suggestion by Jared OzVath (@osman51) who has the Smilin' Like a Butcher's Dog site to use a Flash feed seems like a better idea. Check out ongoing updates today here.

In Predator Nation...

It appears negotiations will all Predator Free agents have failed, most notably the well documented non-resigning of Steve Sullivan including my eulogy yesterday which pointed to a Puck Daddy story about Dirk Hoag's article at OnThe Forecheck, who had the original story.

John Glennon reports that the Preds will lose all their free agents and clarifies the Poile/Sully Twitter contoversy. It was not the years but the $$$. Best wishes to Sully with his new team.

Forechecker has a couple of stories today on what has transpired so far in the NHL and with the Preds.

Paul McCann has an update on the FA situation as it stands this morning. The season's last HockeyBuzzRadio with co-host Brandon Felder is tonight at 6:00 on WNSR.

Mark at TheViewFrom111 has a breakdown of who the fans are that points out that NHL fans are the coolest going (but we knew that, Right?)

Here's a video from The Hockey News on Ryan Ellis.

Greg DeVris makes Craig Custance's Top 5 Value Free Agents.

Around the NHL...

One of the best resources today to follow the frenzy will be at the RedLightDistrict with updates all day long.

Chris Wassel at The Program also has a big day planned including the The Program BTR Show tonight at 6:00 Central.

Puck Daddy finishes off their top 10 list with the wingers and links to the other positions too.

In the midst of the Free Agent the NHL's Bill Daly visited Phoenix last night for a little Rah,Rah! to rally the locals.

In the midst of the Free Agent Tuesday pre-frenzy, XM204's Hockey This Morning crew had the big payoff of the Stanley Cup Finals bet. Shawn Laveigne had to pay off the bet by eating six Cinnebons which have 730 calories each as documented here. Here is acomplete documentary of the on air payoff.


More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass