Julianosaur

YOUR 2004-05 NASHVILLE PREDATORS Head Coach: Barry Trotz Captain: Scott Walker Assistants: David Legwand, Vitalii Yachmenev Payroll: $32,572,000

2004 OFF-SEASON There was a big rumour swirling around. And when general manager Austin Killer called the media in for a press conference, we knew exactly what had happened. Killer announced: ''As you know, the Predadors are mostly a small-budget organization. Our owner, Craig Leipold, has been very generous, and doesn't want to sacrifize on-ice success for a couple of bucks, of course. So I wouldn't have made this trade if it wasn't 100% justified. With Tomas Vokoun's salary demands, we had no choice but to deal our recent prized acquisition, Eric Lindros, to the Buffalo Sabres. Lindros' $7M salary is just too big to absorb for us right now. We are still a young franchise with a growing fanbase. We may be able to accumulate more star players with big salaries in the future, but not right now.'' In return for Lindros, the Nashville Predators welcome big-time prospect Joe Bowen, a left winger, drafted 5th overall in 2002, as well as young German goalie Thomas Baudendistel, a 5th round pick in 2002. Bowen is expected to compete for a roster spot in Nashville, while Baudendistel will most likely be the starter in Milwaukee. Killer said on Vokoun: ''Despite his recent struggles, we have complete confidence in Vokoun as our starting goalie, and this trade proves that. Also, we are pleased to announce that Tomas has re-signed with us for 4 years, at $6.5M per season.'' OTHER NASHVILLE RE-SIGNINGS: F Scott Walker, RFA -- $1.6M per year for 3 years F Petr Tenkrat, RFA -- $750K per year for 4 years D Richard Lintner, RFA -- $850K per year for 3 years The Predators let Martin Erat walk as a free agent. Also, another trade was made to cut down the payroll, when backup goalie Jan Lasak was sent to Detroit for 21-years old prospect Igor Grigorenko and a 3rd round pick. KEY NHL RETIREES: Ray Ferraro Dominik Hasek Patrick Roy Brett Hull Luc Robitaille Mike Richter Al MacInnis Shayne Corson Curtis Joseph Claude Lemieux Good news for Nashville fans as Colorado (Roy) and St.Louis (MacInnis) will be hurting whereas Detroit is pretty much done as a contender for now with these retirees. -Rangers trade Petr Nedved to Vancouver for Krys Kolanos -Lightning deal Calder winner Kalle Sala to Columbus for Vaclav Nevihosteny (61st pick in 2003) and Achim Weisz (91st pick in 2004). TB got hosed, of course. Finally a good move for the Jackets. -Capitals trade Dainiuz Zubrus to Detroit for prospects. -Bobby Holik signs with Edmonton -Keith Primeau signs with Washington TRAINING CAMP 2004 First day of camp, GM Killer strikes a deal with the Oilers, sending farmhand Matt Hendricks and recently drafted Mats Nyberg for goaltender George Oberacker. He is also from Germany, and was the 19th overall pick in 2002. He will backup Vokoun this season. The main question in camp was who of 2002 top picks Long and Bowen would make the club at left wing, and in the end it was Bobby Long who locked down a spot. Bowen will go work on his game in Milwaukee. He will line-up with fellow prospect Miika Harila and recently acquired Igor Grigorenko. Highly-critized CBJ 1st overall pick Adam Ayre impressed in pre-season play, scoring 8 goals in 8 games. The Nashville Predators lose their projected #7 D in Alexei Vasiliev to Minnesota in the waivers draft. NASHVILLE TOP-10 PROSPECTS, FALL 2004 1. Joe Bowen, F (AHL) 2. Dan Hamhuis, D (AHL) 3. Dany Dumas, F (Juniors) 4. Tomas Slovak, D (AHL) 5. Miika Harila, F (AHL) 6. Thomas Baudendistel, G (AHL) 7. Aki Hesso, D (Juniors) 8. Anthony Turner, F (Juniors) 9. Jeremy Buchberger, D (Juniors) 10. Tony Clark, F (AHL) TOP NHL PLAYERS FOR THE 2004-05 SEASON 1. Martin Brodeur, G (NJ) 2. Jaromir Jagr, F (WSH) 3. Joe Sakic, F (COL) 4. Chris Pronger, D (STL) 5. Mario Lemieux, F (PIT) 6. Peter Forsberg, F (COL) 7. Paul Kariya, F (ANA) 8. Rob Blake, D (COL) 9. Byron Dafoe, G (BOS) 10. Olaf Kolzig, G (WSH) TOP CONTENDERS FOR THE 2004-05 SEASON 1. New Jersey 2. Anaheim 3. Colorado 4. Boston 5. Dallas 6. Edmonton 7. Ottawa 8. St.Louis 9. Washington 10. Pittsburgh

Nashville Draftees In the first round, the Predators chose French-Canadian center Dany Dumas, a tall, offensive-minded forward who has lots of potential. Another French-Canadian was picked in the 3rd round, in goaltender Charles Godin, perhaps Vokoun's eventual successor. 22 Dany Dumas, C (6'3 212) from Canada 72 Charles Godin, G (5'11 198) from Canada 82 Aki Hesso, D (6'3 208) from Finland 112 Mats Nyberg, C (6'1 193) from Sweden 142 Martin Kenda, RW (6'1 210) from Austria

2004 NHL DRAFT The hockey world heard with great surprise the decision of Columbus to draft Adam Ayre 1st overall. It is not that Ayre is not a good hockey player. It's just that he was ranked a little bit further, and when you're a team in need such as CBJ, and you're getting yet another top pick, you have to make the right choices. It was really surprising that anyone would pass up on giant center Lance Rodway. The suspense was unbelivable in the arena when Rodway started dropping. What exactly do fans and even media members don't know about the player that has been compared to Joe Thornton? What we know for sure now is that Rodway will join the Islanders, and will probably make their team right away. Ayre vs Rodway will be an interesting battle to follow for the next 15-20 years.

2004 NHL DRAFT PREVIEW 1. Lance Rodway, C (6'5 223) from CAN A huge body and a huge talent. Despite being so tall and big, Rodway is known for his soft hands and quick skating. He is also very strong on his skates, obviously. 2. Aaron Levins, C (6'2 217) from CAN Levins has a lot of offensive skills, including a great slapper and solid vision. He can also hit very hard, but needs to work on his skating. 3. John Peoples, C (6'3 220) from USA Peoples is a big speedster at center who plays an amazing two-way game. He will make an impact anywhere on the ice and is great at faceoffs. 4. Juan DeJesus, RW (6'2 190) from USA Here is a solid winger that can pick corners with the best of them. He is very fast on his skates, and loves to score goals. 5. Jaroslav Prochazka, LW (6'1 195) from CZE The top Czech prospect in this draft has smooth skating and a solid wrister, but poor defensive awareness. 6. Scott Douris, LW (6'1 183) from CAN Douris is an all-around winger that can do a little bit of everything on the ice, especially produce points. His speed allows him to always be around the puck. 7. Adam Ayre, RW (6'3 207) from CAN Ayre is a big, talented winger that absolutely loves to destroy people. He does need to work on his skating, but doesn't have any other holes in his game. 8. Robert Wight, D (6'3 220) from CAN Wight is a defensive-minded blueliner that is always in great position. He defends his zone swiftly and is well disciplined. 9. Paul Seymour, RW (6'1 177) from CAN Seymour is a sniper who loves to dangle, show off his moves. needs work on defensive side of the game and isn't very physical. All-out offense. 10. Martin Nolet, C (5'9 157) from CAN Nolet is a smallish, finesse playmaking center that can shoot well. His skating is great and should allow him to have success at the next level.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS HISTORY SEASON RESULTS 1998-99: 28 W - 63 PTS - 12th in the West 1999-00: 28 W - 70 PTS - 13th in the West 2000-01: 34 W - 80 PTS - 10th in the West 2001-02: 26 W - 60 PTS - 14th in the West 2002-03: 35 W - 83 PTS - 8th in the West (eliminated in 1st round by COL) 2003-04: 42 W - 95 PTS - 6th in the West (eliminated in 1st round by STL) MOST GOALS IN A SEASON 1. Eric Lindros - 33 (2002-03) 2. Scott Walker - 33 (2003-04) 3. Scott Walker - 29 (2002-03) 4. Eric Lindros - 29 (2003-04) 5. Vitalii Yachmenev - 28 (2003-04) 6. Richard Zednik - 27 (2002-03) 7. David Legwand - 27 (2002-03) 8. Cliff Ronning - 26 (1999-00) 9. Richard Zednik - 26 (2003-04) 10. Scott Walker - 25 (2000-01) MOST ASSISTS IN A SEASON 1. Richard Zednik - 50 (2003-04) 2. Richard Zednik - 47 (2002-03) 3. Cliff Ronning - 43 (2000-01) 4. David Legwand - 43 (2002-03) 5. Eric Lindros - 41 (2003-04) 6. Vitalii Yachmenev - 37 (2003-04) 7. Cliff Ronning - 36 (1999-00) 8. Cliff Ronning - 35 (1998-99) 9. Marc Savard - 35 (2001-02) 10. Greg Johnson - 34 (1998-99) MOST POINTS IN A SEASON 1. Richard Zednik - 76 (2003-04) 2. Richard Zednik - 74 (2002-03) 3. David Legwand - 70 (2002-03) 4. Eric Lindros - 70 (2003-04) 5. Eric Lindros - 65 (2002-03) 6. Vitalii Yachmenev - 65 (2003-04) 7. Scott Walker - 63 (2003-04) 8. Cliff Ronning - 62 (1999-00) 9. Cliff Ronning - 62 (2000-01) 10. Scott Walker - 59 (2002-03) MOST POINTS (DMEN) IN A SEASON 1. Kimmo Timonen - 41 (2002-03) 2. Kimmo Timonen - 37 (2003-04) 3. Mark Eaton - 37 (2003-04) 4. Kimmo Timonen - 33 (1999-00) 5. Andy Delmore - 33 (2001-02) 6. Drake Berehowsky - 32 (1999-00) 7. Andy Delmore - 32 (2003-04) 8. Kimmo Timonen - 31 (2001-02) 9. Richard Lintner - 28 (2002-03) 10. Richard Lintner - 28 (2003-04) MOST WINS IN A SEASON 1. Tomas Vokoun - 35 (2003-04) 2. Tomas Vokoun - 30 (2002-03) 3. Tomas Vokoun - 23 (2001-02) 4. Mike Dunham - 21 (2000-01) 5. Mike Dunham - 19 (1999-00) 6. Mike Dunham - 16 (1998-99) 7. Tomas Vokoun - 13 (2000-01) 8. Tomas Vokoun - 12 (1998-99) 9. Tomas Vokoun - 9 (1999-00) 10. Jan Lasak - 7 (2003-04) MOST GOALS AS A PREDATOR 1. Scott Walker - 128 2. Vitalii Yachmenev - 81 3. Cliff Ronning - 81 4. David Legwand - 81 5. Petr Tenkrat - 67 6. Eric Lindros - 62 7. Kimmo Timonen - 55 8. Greg Johnson - 55 9. Richard Zednik - 53 10. Marc Savard - 50 MOST ASSISTS AS A PREDATOR 1. Scott Walker - 169 2. Cliff Ronning - 148 3. Kimmo Timonen - 124 4. David Legwand - 123 5. Vitalii Yachmenev - 108 6. Marc Savard - 102 7. Richard Zednik - 97 8. Greg Johnson - 93 9. Patric Kjellberg - 74 10. Eric Lindros - 73 MOST POINTS AS A PREDATOR 1. Scott Walker - 297 2. Cliff Ronning - 229 3. David Legwand - 204 4. Vitalii Yachmenev - 189 5. Kimmo Timonen - 179 6. Greg Johnson - 158 7. Marc Savard - 152 8. Richard Zednik - 150 9. Eric Lindros - 135 10. Patric Kjellberg - 122 MOST POINTS (DMEN) AS A PREDATOR 1. Kimmo Timonen - 179 2. Andy Delmore - 90 3. Mark Eaton - 82 4. Drake Berehowsky - 73 5. Bill Houlder - 57 6. Karlis Skrastins - 56 7. Richard Lintner - 56 8. Pavel Skrbek - 34 9. Andy Berenzweig - 33 10. Jamie Heward - 18 MOST WINS AS A PREDATOR 1. Tomas Vokoun - 122 2. Mike Dunham - 56 3. Jan Lasak - 10 4. Chris Mason - 5

2004 Round 2: COL-EDM ANA-STL NJ-OTT TB-BOS Round 2 results: COL 4 - EDM 1 ANA 2 - STL 4 NJ 4 - OTT 2 TB 4 - BOS 3 2004 Round 3: COL-STL NJ-TB Colorado beats the Blues 4-1, meaning a 2nd straight Stanley Cup appearance for them. They won it all last year. In similar fashion, the Devils also beat the Bolts 4-1, and are making their 3rd straight Stanley Cup appearance. They lost in 2003 to Colorado, but beat St.Louis in 2002. THE 2004 STANLEY CUP FINALS VS The re-match ! Colorado Avalanche line-up Alex Tanguay - Peter Forsberg - Milan Hejduk Steven Reinprecht - Joe Sakic - Chris Drury Shjon Podein - Stephane Yelle - Radim Vrbata Brian Willsie - Riku Hahl - Mikhail Kuleshov Radoslav Suchy - Rob Blake Martin Skoula - Adam Foote Rick Berry - Mikko Viitanen Patrick Roy - David Aebischer New Jersey Devils line-up Patrik Elias - Scott Gomez - Jay Pandolfo Turner Stevenson - Jason Arnott - Petr Sykora Sergei Brylin - Bobby Holik - Mike Knuble Andrei Nazarov - Marcel Goc - Brian Gionta Scott Stevens - Brian Rafalski Colin White - Mike Commodore Jamie Pushor - David Hale Martin Brodeur - Scott Clemmensen Colorado does the impossible and sweeps the Devils, winning their 2nd straight Stanley Cup, 3rd in 4 years and 4th in total (1996, 2001, 2003, 2004). That is 4 Stanley Cups in 9 NHL seasons for the Avalanche. Impressive! After winning it all, Patrick Roy has decided to hang them up. Roy has won 2 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens and 4 with Colorado. A true legend! Joe Sakic wins the Conn Smythe by scoring 25 points. 1. Joe Sakic (COL) 11-14-25 2. Chris Drury (COL) 8-13-21 3. Milan Hejduk (COL) 8-9-17 4. Doug Weight (STL) 7-10-17 5. Rob Blake (COL) 4-12-16 2004 NHL AWARDS Jack Adams - Bob Hartley (COL) Calder - Kalle Salle (TB) Hart - Mario Lemieux (PIT) Jennings - Patrick Roy (COL) Vezina - Martin Brodeur (NJ) Norris - Rob Blake (COL) Rocket - Jaromir Jagr (WSH) Art Ross - Mario Lemieux (PIT) Selke - Vincent Lecavalier (ANA) RECENT STANLEY CUP HISTORY 2004 Colorado victory over New Jersey 2003 Colorado victory over New Jersey 2002 New Jersey victory over St.Louis 2001 Colorado victory over New Jersey 2000 New Jersey victory over Dallas 1999 Dallas victory over Buffalo 1998 Detroit victory over Washington 1997 Detroit victory over Philadelphia 1996 Colorado victory over Florida 1995 New Jersey victory over Detroit Notice the dominance of NJ, DET, DAL and COL over this time period... wow!

ROUND 1 VS Still injured for the Nashville Predators: David Legwand. And against a club like St.Louis, he will be dearly missed. They have an incredible offense with Pronger and MacInnis on D, though their goaltending ain't that great. Nashville lines: Marc Savard - Eric Lindros - Scott Walker Richard Zednik - Patrick Marleau - Vitalii Yachmenev Scott Hartnell - Aaron Gavey - Petr Tenkrat Vladimir Orszagh - Denis Arkhipov - Shean Donovan Ed Jovanovski - Mark Eaton Kimmo Timonen - Richard Lintner Pavel Skrbek - Andy Delmore Tomas Vokoun / Jan Lasak St.Louis lines: Cory Stillman - Sergei Fedorov - Pavol Demitra Keith Tkachuk - Doug Weight - Scott Young Dallas Drake - Mike Keane - Scott Mellanby Blake Evans - Daniel Corso - Eric Boulton Chris Pronger - Erick Smith Barret Jackman - Al MacInnis Kevin Haller - Jeff Finley Fred Brathwaite / Brent Johnson Game 1 - NSH 2 @ STL 6 Vokoun starts the playoffs with a stinker, as he did last year against Colorado. This team is gonna need him to play better if they wanna have a chance. Arkhipov got two assists from the 4th line. Game 2 - NSH 3 @ STL 4 A very close match-up, decided late in the 3rd. Vokoun was better, but not good enough. Lindros & Zednik are nowhere to be seen. Fedorov with 2 pts. Game 3 - STL 6 @ NSH 3 In Nashville, the Blues dictated the play and pull ahead by 3. The Predators did score the first 3 goals of the game... which as you can figure out means Vokoun allowed 6 unanswered goals. Game 4 - STL 4 @ NSH 3 Nashville can't regain that magic that made them force a game-7 against the Avalanche last season as Doug Weight plays the hero, scoring the series-clincher in overtime. GM Austin Killer had very bad words for his goalie Tomas Vokoun, as did Barry Trotz. It was an unacceptable performance by him and the team's two star forwards, Eric Lindros and Richard Zednik. 1. Scott Hartnell 3-1-4 2. Denis Arkhipov 1-3-4 3. Aaron Gavey 0-3-3 4. Ed Jovanovski 0-3-3 5. Eric Lindros 2-0-2 Tomas Vokoun - 4 GP - 0 W - .829% - 5,00 - 0 SO COL 4 - CHI 2 ANA 4 - SJ 2 STL 4 - NSH 0 EDM 4 - DAL 2 NJ 4 - PHI 0 TB 4 - TOR 0 BOS 4 - WSH 2 PIT 2 - OTT 4

2003-04 NHL SEASON WRAP-UP As Richard Zednik goes, the Nashville Predators go. The winger has stepped up a lot this season, and has been the main player driving this squad to the top. Because, yes, despite an injury-plagued season, the Preds did very well for themselves, finishing with a 42-29-8-3 record, for 95 points, and almost overtaking the Blues for the Central Division lead. The team got more bad news when Skrbek got injured again in February, missing one month of action. When Scott Hartnell finally came back later that month, GM Austin Killer decided to send rookie Boyd Long to the AHL, after he had played 30 games. ''We are pleased with Long's overall play and development as a part of the main team. With Hartnell back into the line-up, he would have seen his ice-time reduced, so we think it's better for him to go back down. Long represents the future of this franchise at wing, and we think he will be up with us full-time as soon as next season.'' Seeing his team winning games despite the injuries, Killer decided to pull the trigger on a very big deal, that saw Nashville's defense get upgraded. The team sent former 1st round pick Dmitri Mikhaylov, a 2nd rounder in 2004 and Karlis Skrastins to the Vancouver Canucks for Ed Jovanovski. Jovocop, a 27 years old on a solid contract, is widely considered a top-flight D in this league. ''Jovanovski's acquisition will mean a lot to Barry and the guys in the locker room. He will come in and be a true #1 for us, and will lighten the workload on Timonen's shoulders. We could afford to lose Mikhaylov with the recent development of Dan Hamhuis and Tomas Slovak on the farm.'' All in all, Legwand missed 71 games this year, Skrbek 42, Hartnell 32, Yachmenev 7, Zednik 4 and Tenkrat 4 as well. Around the hockey world Some trade deadline deals: -MIN deals Matt Plaxton (former 6th overall pick) to CAR for Petr Schastlivy (a 24 years old 3rd liner) -ATL deals Ilya Kovalchuk to BOS for Hal Gill and goalie Steve Belanger (20 yrs old, solid potential) -FLA deals Kristian Huselius to VAN for prospects -PHI deals Simon Gagne to CGY for Bret Hedican and Jarrett Stoll -BUF deals Jan Hlavac to OTT for Tim Gleason -BUF deals Max Afinogenov to MIN for Ian Moran, prospects Baffling move in Atlanta, especially since they already have Ryan Miller, so no need for another goalie prospect... Surprisingly, the Detroit Red Wings miss the playoffs, and just like that the dynasty is over; Hull, Robitaille and Hasek are all retring, Yzerman already did, and Fedorov is with the Blues. Only Lidstrom is left, with very few key youngsters to take over... Meanwhile, the Jackets finish dead last AGAIN. The good news is their young defenseman Lyapunov is widely considered to be the best young D in the game already. EASTERN CONFERENCE: 1. New Jersey - 113 2. Tampa Bay - 108 3. Boston - 94 4. Pittsburgh - 103 5. Ottawa - 92 6. Washington - 91 7. Toronto - 90 8. Philadelphia - 85 = 9. Montreal - 78 10. Buffalo - 71 11. Atlanta - 71 12. NY Islanders - 70 13. Carolina - 69 14. Florida - 64 15. NY Rangers - 63 WESTERN CONFERENCE: 1. Colorado - 120 2. Anaheim - 111 3. St.Louis - 96 4. Edmonton - 106 5. Dallas - 96 6. Nashville - 95 7. San Jose - 83 8. Chicago - 81 = 9. Los Angeles - 80 10. Detroit - 77 11. Vancouver - 75 12. Phoenix - 72 13. Calgary - 65 14. Minnesota - 57 15. Columbus - 54 NHL STATS TOP NHL GOALIES 1. Dominik Hasek (DET) 67 GP - 27 W - .922% - 2,69 - 5 SO 2. Patrick Roy (COL) 54 GP - 36 W - .912% - 2,15 - 4 SO 3. Martin Brodeur (NJ) 55 GP - 35 W - .908% - 2,18 - 6 SO 4. Olaf Kolzig (WSH) 68 GP - 37 W - .911% - 2,43 - 4 SO 5. Tomas Vokoun (NSH) 70 GP - 35 W - .910% - 2,55 - 3 SO TOP NHL ROOKIES 1. Kalle Salle (TB) 22-35-57 2. Kamil Piros (ATL) 19-23-42 3. Zdenek Blatny (ATL) 14-18-32 4. Henrik Zetterberg (DET) 9-22-31 5. Grigori Lyapunov (CBJ) 8-20-28 TOP NHL DEFENSEMEN 1. Rob Blake (COL) 17-42-59 2. Brian Leetch (TOR) 17-41-58 3. Brian Rafalski (NJ) 14-42-56 4. Kim Johnsson (PHI) 15-40-55 5. Zdeno Chara (OTT) 16-38-54 2004 PLAYOFF MATCHUPS: 1. Colorado vs 8. Chicago 2. Anaheim vs 7. San Jose 3. St.Louis vs 6. Nashville 4. Edmonton vs 5. Dallas 1. New Jersey vs 8. Philadelphia 2. Tampa Bay vs 7. Toronto 3. Boston vs 6. Washington 4. Pittsburgh vs 5. Ottawa

2003-04 MID-WAY REPORT The Nashville Predators entered the 2003-04 season with high hopes, but the injury bug spread quite quickly among Barry Trotz' soldiers. So much that the first couple of months of this season were nicknamed ''Sick Bay'' by one Nashville-based sports media member. In a game against the Red Wings, late in October, defenseman Pavel Skrbek was lost for one month whereas David Legwand was lost indefinitely. It was later learned that he would be out until late May or early June. Huge loss for the Predators. Many more players missed a game or two here and there, and then on December 9th, Scott Hartnell got injured against St.Louis. He will be out for 2 months. The following week, GM Austin Killer decided to sign big-shot prospect Boyd Long in order to replace Hartnell in the line-up. He felt like he was the best option remaining considering there isn't that much talent on the farm as of now. At the half-way mark, only 8 Predator players had played 41 games. Despite that, the team still managed to lead the division with 23 wins, 54 points. Is this the year where the Predators join teams like Colorado and St.Louis as the top dogs in the West? The following prospects were picked to play in the WJCs: F Miika Harila - FIN D Dmitri Mikhaylov - RUS In Milwaukee, Killer has said to be amazed by the progression of a trio of defensemen: Dan Hamhuis, Tomas Slovak and Alexei Vasiliev. Those are the current lines used by Trotz: Vitalii Yachmenev - Eric Lindros - Petr Tenkrat Richard Zednik - Patrick Marleau - Scott Walker Boyd Long - Marc Savard - Vladimir Orszagh Aaron Gavey - Denis Arkhipov - Shean Donovan Kimmo Timonen - Andy Delmore Mark Eaton - Richard Lintner Pavel Skrbek - Andy Berenzweigh Tomas Vokoun / Jan Lasak NASHVILLE STATS Around the hockey world Two deals happened - Ottawa dealt Daniel Alfredsson to Calgary for a 2nd and a 3rd while Detroit traded Kris Draper to Phoenix for a 3rd. EASTERN CONFERENCE: 1. Toronto - 59 2. New Jersey - 52 3. Washington - 51 4. Ottawa - 51 5. Pittsburgh - 49 6. Boston - 48 7. Tampa Bay - 47 8. Philadelphia - 47 9. NY Islanders - 42 10. Montreal - 42 11. Buffalo - 34 12. NY Rangers - 33 13. Florida - 32 14. Atlanta - 29 15. Carolina - 26 WESTERN CONFERENCE: 1. Colorado - 62 2. Nashville - 54 3. Anaheim - 52 4. Edmonton - 52 5. St.Louis - 47 6. San Jose - 44 7. Los Angeles - 42 8. Dallas - 42 9. Chicago - 39 10. Detroit - 39 11. Vancouver - 39 12. Minnesota - 31 13. Phoenix - 31 14. Calgary - 28 15. Columbus - 23 NHL STATS TOP NHL ROOKIES 1. Kalle Sale (TB) 12-16-28 2. Grigori Lyupanov (CBJ) 6-12-18 3. Henrik Zetterberg (DET) 6-11-17 4. Alexander Glick (MIN) 5-9-14 5. Ivan Ciernik (WSH) 5-9-14 TOP NHL DEFENSEMEN 1. Rob Blake (COL) 10-25-35 2. Brian Leetch (TOR) 10-23-33 3. Colin White (NJ) 6-24-30 4. Brian Ralfalski (NJ) 8-21-29 5. Kim Johnsson (PHI) 8-20-28 TOP NHL GOALIES 1. Dominik Hasek (DET) 36 GP - 13 W - .917% - 2,92 - 1 SO 2. Byron Dafoe (BOS) 27 GP - 15 W - .914% - 2,40 - 1 SO 3. Curtis Joseph (TOR) 36 GP - 22 W - .913% - 2,53 - 1 SO 4. Patrick Roy (COL) 27 GP - 18 W - .910% - 2,40 - 2 SO 5. Olaf Kolzig (WSH) 36 GP - 22 W - .910% - 2,43 - 1 SO

TOP NHL CONTENDERS FOR 2003-04 1. Colorado Avalanche 2. New Jersey Devils 3. St.Louis Blues 4. Philadelphia Flyers 5. Anaheim Ducks 6. Edmonton Oilers 7. Dallas Stars 8. Detroit Red Wings 9. Los Angeles Kings 10. Washington Capitals TOP NHL PLAYERS FOR 2003-04 1. Martin Brodeur, G (NJ) 2. Chris Pronger, D (STL) 3. Mario Lemieux, F (PIT) 4. Jaromir Jagr, F (WSH) 5. Joe Sakic, F (COL) 6. Peter Forsberg, F (COL) 7. Paul Kariya, F (ANA) 8. Patrick Roy, G (COL) 9. Olaf Kolzig, G (WSH) 10. Byron Dafoe, G (BOS) The following is an explicit list of all the league's top players, by teams. ANAHEIM F: Paul Kariya, Vinny Lecavalier, Jeff Friesen, Jarome Iginla, Mike LeClerc D: Oleg Tverdovsky, Vitaly Vishnevski G: JS Giguere ATLANTA F: Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley D: G: Ryan Miller BOSTON F: Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Rolston, Glen Murray D: Kyle McLaren G: Byron Dafoe BUFFALO F: Miroslav Satan, Stu Barnes D: Alexei Zhitnik G: Mika Noronen CALGARY F: Henrik Sedin D: Derek Morris G: Roman Turek CAROLINA F: Jeff O'Neill, Rod Brind'Amour, Sami Kapanen D: Wade Redden, Ossi Vaananen G: Jean-Marc Pelletier CHICAGO F: Eric Daze, Alexei Zhamnov, Tony Amonte, Steve Sullivan D: G: Jocelyn Thibault COLORADO F: Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Alex Tanguay, Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk, Steven Reinprecht D: Rob Blake G: Patrick Roy COLUMBUS F: Mike Sillinger D: G: Ron Tugnutt DALLAS F: Mike Modano, Pierre Turgeon, Bill Guerin, Jere Lehtinen D: Sergei Zubov G: Marty Turco DETROIT F: Brendan Shanahan, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull D: Nicklas Lidstrom, Jiri Fischer G: Dominik Hasek EDMONTON F: Ryan Smyth, Mike Comrie, Rem Murray D: Eric Brewer, Tom Poti, Janne Niinimaa G: Tommy Salo FLORIDA F: Pavel Bure, Jan Hrdina, Kristian Huselius, Valeri Bure D: Sandis Ozolinsh G: Brian Boucher LOS ANGELES F: Jason Allison, Bryan Smolinski, Markus Naslund, Ziggy Palffy, Adam Deadmarsh D: Lubomir Visnovsky, Mathieu Schneider G: Felix Potvin MINNESOTA F: Marian Gaborik D: Filip Kuba G: Manny Fernandez MONTREAL F: Saku Koivu, Yanic Perreault, Kris Beech D: Mattias Ohlund G: Jose Theodore NY ISLANDERS F: Alexei Yashin, Mark Parrish, Michael Peca, Brad Isbister D: Roman Hamrlik G: Chris Osgood NY RANGERS F: Mike York D: G: Mike Richter NASHVILLE F: Eric Lindros, Richard Zednik, David Legwand, Patrick Marleau D: G: Tomas Vokoun NEW JERSEY F: Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott, Scott Gomez, Petr Sykora, Bobby Holik D: Brian Rafalski, Colin White G: Martin Brodeur OTTAWA F: Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfredsson, Radek Bonk D: Zdeno Chara, Sami Salo G: Patrick Lalime PHILADELPHIA F: Jeremy Roenick, John LeClair, Mark Recchi, Theoren Fleury, Simon Gagne, Keith Primeau D: Kim Johnsson, Eric Desjardins G: Roman Cechmanek PHOENIX F: Michal Handzus, Brian Savage D: Danny Markov G: PITTSBURGH F: Mario Lemieux, Martin Straka, Alexei Kovalev D: G: Johan Hedberg SAN JOSE F: Teemu Selanne, Vincent Damphousse, Owen Nolan, Marco Sturm D: Brad Stuart G: Evgeni Nabokov ST.LOUIS F: Sergei Fedorov, Pavol Demitra, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight D: Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis G: TAMPA BAY F: Brad Richards, Fredrik Modin, Martin Havlat D: Pavel Kubina G: Kevin Weekes, Nikolai Khabibulin TORONTO F: Mats Sundin D: Brian Leetch, Tomas Kaberle G: Curtis Joseph VANCOUVER F: Brendan Morrison D: Ed Jovanovski G: WASHINGTON F: Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra D: Sergei Gonchar G: Olaf Kolzig

2003 OFF-SEASON Two big signings happened this summer; Brian Leetch signed with the Maple Leafs while Sergei Fedorov signed with the Blues, both for two seasons. The Blues already had a great offense, and adding Fedorov to that group puts them near Colorado or New Jersey in terms of forward depth. Also, Montreal acquired Kris Beech, a great, young, 2nd-line center, from Pittsburgh. KEY NHL RETIREES: Dave Andreychuk Mike Vernon Phil Housley Ron Francis Steve Yzerman Valeri Kamensky Cliff Ronning Doug Gilmour Gary Roberts Nashville also loses Kirk Muller to retirement. He is the only guy leaving off the current roster. NASHVILLE RE-SIGNINGS SUMMER 2003 F Vitalii Yachmenev RFA $1.7M per year for 3 years F Patrick Marleau RFA $1.8M per year for 3 years F Marc Savard RFA $1M per year for 4 years F Vladimir Orszagh RFA $525k per year for 4 years F Scott Hartnell RFA $1.1M per year for 3 years D Karlis Skrastins RFA $750k per for 4 years D Mark Eaton RFA $750k per year for 4 years D Kimmo Timonen RFA $1M per year for 4 years G Jan Lasak RFA $1.7M per year for 2 years Training camp wasn't all that interesting, as no rookies from the farm was expected to compete for a spot yet, and there really wasn't any place anyway. Barry Trotz expects to start the next season with the same group of guys that he had in the playoffs, plus Yachmenev and Gavey, who are now healthy. The Predators could have a decent season, as they'll have Lindros right from the get-go, and young, developing guys like Legwand, Marleau, Savard, Hartnell, Eaton, Timonen and Vokoun are all entering their prime. Former 3rd overall pick Boyd Long did not make the team despite another good showing in camp. GM Austin Killer said he will likely sign him to a contract late in February, when Long turns 20. At that point, it will remain to be seen if Long would join the Predators straight up, or report to the Milwaukee Admirals. Vladimir Orszagh will miss the start of the season. YOUR 2003-04 NASHVILLE PREDATORS Payroll: $33,7M Head Coach: Barry Trotz Captain: Scott Walker Assistants: David Legwand, Eric Lindros FALL 2003 TOP-10 PROSPECTS 1. Boyd Long, F 2. Dmitri Mikhaylov, D 3. Dan Hamhuis, D 4. Miika Harila, F 5. Anthony Turner, F 6. Tony Clark, F 7. Tomas Slovak, D 8. Jeremy Buchberger, D 9. Edward Recchi, F 10. Antoine Vermette, F

2003 NHL DRAFT The Columbus Blue Jackets had the 2nd overall pick last year, after getting 58 points. Defenseman Grigori Lyapunov was their pick, and the Russian looks like he will be a part of the Jackets in 2003-04. But after making that pick, many experts were expecting the Jackets to take a big step in the standings, but they didn't. Far from it. Actually, they ended the 2002-03 season closer to some of the NHL's all-time worst teams, than to making the playoffs. In fact, the expansion team in Washington (1974-75) only got 21 pts in 80 games, to Columbus' 35 this last season. Hopefully, this upcoming 1st overall selection will help the Jackets improve in the coming seasons. The Jackets passed on Niedermayer, picking right winger David Savage in stead. Most experts are shaking their heads at this. Niedermayer ends up going to Calgary, while Russian sniper Vadim Sapozhinsky goes 3rd, to Atlanta, who had the first pick last year (Darcy Sutter). It will be interesting to see if ''Sapo'' and Sutter can developp some chemistry together, like Kovalchuk and Heatley have managed to do for them. The Predators did not have a pick in this 1st round because of the Eric Lindros trade, and did not have a pick in the 2nd round either because of the Zednik trade. Here are the players Nashville chose afterwards; 76 Anthony Turner, LW (6'1 183) from Canada 106 Jeremy Buchberger, D (6'1 206) from Canada 136 Radovan Lehky, LW (6'3 193) from Czech Republic 147 Dougie Andersen, C (6'5 229) from USA

TOP-10 PREVIEW FOR THE 2003 NHL DRAFT 1. Richie Niedermayer, C (6' 174) from Canada This very skilled center is all but ready for the NHL. He possesses great offensive awareness, hands, skating and two-way play. He is well on his way to becoming an all-star player in the NHL. 2. Alexander Glick, C (6' 183) from USA Glic is an all-out offensive center that can pick corners from evrywhere. His compete level is very high and he should be able to put up a lot of points in the big league. 3. David Savage, RW (6'3 215) from Canada Savage is a real speedster, so with that size he is very hard to handle. He has great offensive skills, especially his stick-handling. 4. Vadim Sapozhinsky, RW (6'3 221) from Russia This Russian forward knows what it takes to score goals. He uses his size to his advantage to pick up pucks in the slot. He has a amazing wrist shot that he uses at will. 5. Kirill Belanov, C (6'4 200) from Russia Although's Belanov's defense might need a bit of work, the rest of his game is splendid. He has great vision, passing abilities and a big frame, which allows him to create a lot of scoring chances. 6. Grigori Belov, C (6'2 193) from Russia The third russian forward in a row, Belov's offensive arsenal is impressive, but his all-around game will need some fine-tuning. 7. Tuomi Hartikainen, RW (6'1 198) from Finland A very smart two-way player with wheels that can play physical when the game gets chippy. 8. Georg Kriebl, G (6'4 204) from Germany Big, mobile goaltender with very fast legs. 9. Nicklas Ehrenstrom, RW (5'10 167) from Sweden A small offensive powerhouse that loves to shoot from anywhere in the offensive zone. Needs work on D, not very physical. 10. Matt Fleming, LW (6' 179) from USA A great two-way winger that plays physical and can chip in some offense. Will need to work on skating.

After every season I will update the history of the Nashville Predators with stats and season results. SEASON RESULTS 1998-99: 28 W - 63 PTS - 12th in the West 1999-00: 28 W - 70 PTS - 13th in the West 2000-01: 34 W - 80 PTS - 10th in the West 2001-02: 26 W - 60 PTS - 14th in the West 2002-03: 35 W - 83 PTS - 8th in the West (eliminated in 1st round by COL) MOST GOALS IN A SEASON 1. Eric Lindros - 33 (2002-03) 2. Scott Walker - 29 (2002-03) 3. Richard Zednik - 27 (2002-03) 4. David Legwand - 27 (2002-03) 5. Cliff Ronning - 26 (1999-00) 6. Scott Walker - 25 (2000-01) 7. Sergei Krivokrasov - 25 (1998-99) 8. David Legwand - 25 (2001-02) 9. Patric Kjellberg - 23 (1999-00) 10. Marc Savard - 22 (2001-02) MOST ASSISTS IN A SEASON 1. Richard Zednik - 47 (2002-03) 2. Cliff Ronning - 43 (2000-01) 3. David Legwand - 43 (2002-03) 4. Cliff Ronning - 36 (1999-00) 5. Cliff Ronning - 35 (1998-99) 6. Marc Savard - 35 (2001-02) 7. Greg Johnson - 34 (1998-99) 8. Scott Walker - 34 (2000-01) 9. Greg Johnson - 33 (1999-00) 10. David Legwand - 33 (2001-02) MOST POINTS IN A SEASON 1. Richard Zednik - 74 (2002-03) 2. David Legwand - 70 (2002-03) 3. Eric Lindros - 65 (2002-03) 4. Cliff Ronning - 62 (1999-00) 5. Cliff Ronning - 62 (2000-01) 6. Scott Walker - 59 (2002-03) 7. David Legwand - 58 (2001-02) 8. Marc Savard - 57 (2001-02) 9. Scott Walker - 54 (2000-01) 10. Cliff Ronning - 53 (1998-99) MOST POINTS (DMEN) IN A SEASON 1. Kimmo Timonen - 41 (2002-03) 2. Kimmo Timonen - 33 (1999-00) 3. Andy Delmore - 33 (2001-02) 4. Drake Berehowsky - 32 (1999-00) 5. Kimmo Timonen - 31 (2001-02) 6. Richard Lintner - 28 (2002-03) 7. Bill Houlder - 27 (2001-02) 8. Kimmo Timonen - 25 (2000-01) 9. Andy Delmore - 25 (2002-03) 10. Drake Berehowsky - 24 (2000-01) MOST WINS IN A SEASON 1. Tomas Vokoun - 30 (2002-03) 2. Tomas Vokoun - 23 (2001-02) 3. Mike Dunham - 21 (2000-01) 4. Mike Dunham - 19 (1999-00) 5. Mike Dunham - 16 (1998-99) 6. Tomas Vokoun - 13 (2000-01) 7. Tomas Vokoun - 12 (1998-99) 8. Tomas Vokoun - 9 (1999-00) 9. Jan Lasak - 3 (2002-03) 10. Chris Mason - 3 (2001-02) MOST GOALS AS A PREDATOR 1. Scott Walker - 95 2. Cliff Ronning - 81 3. David Legwand - 78 4. Greg Johnson - 55 5. Vitalii Yachmenev - 53 6. Patric Kjellberg - 48 7. Petr Tenkrat - 46 8. Kimmo Timonen - 45 9. Marc Savard - 37 10. Tom Fitzgerald - 36 MOST ASSISTS AS A PREDATOR 1. Cliff Ronning - 148 2. Scott Walker - 139 3. David Legwand - 119 4. Kimmo Timonen - 97 5. Greg Johnson - 93 6. Patric Kjellberg - 74 7. Vitalii Yachmenev - 71 8. Marc Savard - 68 9. Richard Zednik - 47 10. Scott Hartnell - 44 MOST POINTS AS A PREDATOR 1. Scott Walker - 234 2. Cliff Ronning - 229 3. David Legwand - 197 4. Greg Johnson - 158 5. Kimmo Timonen - 142 6. Vitalii Yachmenev - 124 7. Patric Kjellberg - 122 8. Marc Savard - 105 8. Scott Hartnell - 79 10. Tom Fitzgerald - 78 MOST POINTS (DMEN) AS A PREDATOR 1. Kimmo Timonen - 142 2. Drake Berehowsky - 73 3. Andy Delmore - 58 4. Bill Houlder - 57 5. Karlis Skrastins - 52 6. Mark Eaton - 45 7. Richard Lintner - 28 8. Pavel Skrbek - 23 9. Andy Berenzweig - 20 10. Jamie Heward - 18 MOST WINS AS A PREDATOR 1. Tomas Vokoun - 87 2. Mike Dunham - 56 3. Chris Mason - 5 4. Jan Lasak - 3