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Julianosaur

Freeware EHM throwback Nashville dynasty - Free the Sabercat!

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I always liked the freeware version of EHM and had the urge to play it again recently. After toying with a couple of story ideas, here is what I came up with. I will be playing with the default rosters and settings of the game, starting with the 2001-02 season, taking control of the Nashville Predators. Here we go!

The Nashville Predators hockey club has appointed Austin Killer as their new general manager. David Poile, who has been with the team since they came into the NHL in 1998, had to resign due to personnal reasons. The Predators, being a product of NHL expansion, still having a pretty weak roster, didn't receive a ton of interest in their vacant GM position. Killer, a 27 years old Harvard alumni hailing from the state of Minnesota, has a background in politics. His hockey curriculum includes pond hockey all-star, minor league assistant coach and more recently, part-time scout for the Harvard hockey program.

Local media are saying he won the job through his father's connection with team owner Craig Leipold.

A LITTLE BACK STORY

The state of Tennesse was fortunate enough to enter the brotherhood of the top hockey league in the world when the Predators were awarded a hockey club, to start play in the Fall of 1998. The city had tried to lure the New Jersey Devils to their brand new arena back in 1995, but the plan fell through. NHL commissionner Gary Bettman later announced that Nashville would headline a new dawn of NHL expansion, starting with the Predators, followed by hockey clubs in Atlanta, Minnesota and Columbus. David Poile and Barry Trotz were quickly named general manager and head coach.

Once a name and logo was decided on, Nashville took part in the expansion draft, in which they were able to select one player from each existing NHL franchises (26). Players selected included Andrew Brunette, Scott Walker, Uwe Krupp, Al Iafrate, and Mike Richter, although the latter three never played a game for the Predators. The team also participated in the NHL entry draft, drafting David Legwand with the 2nd overall pick. Legwand is considered by many the current franchise player of the hockey club.

They finished the 1998-99 season second-last in the West with a 28-47-7 record, and proceeded to select goaltender Brian Finley 6th overall in the draft. They also had accumulated five 2nd-round picks, choosing Jonas Andersson, Adam Hall, Andrew Hutchinson, Ed Hill and Jan Lasak.

The team barely improved In 1999-2000, finishing with a record of 28-40-7-7, for last in the West. At the draft table, they picked Scott Hartnell 6th overall, and Daniel Widing 36th.

For their 3rd NHL season, the team led by Barry Trotz finally improved, finishing 10th in the West with 80 points. In the 2001 NHL draft, they chose defenseman Dan Hamhuis 12th overall as well as Timofei Shishkanov and Tomas Slovak in the second round.

Which brings us to now. GM Austin Killer has decided to keep Trotz on board, and the team head coach has just made the finishing cuts to end the club's 2001 training camp. It is worth noting that Killer made as many as three free agent acquisitions after being hired, in order to let some of the younger players of the organisation further develop in the minors. Those acquisitions are forwards Todd Warriner, Aaron Gavey and John MacLean. Also, after training camp was over, he dealt goaltender Mike Dunham to Calgary for young center Marc Savard, who is slated to pivot the Predators' 2nd line this year.

Killer said: ''It is imperative that the kids are not rushed to the NHL. This is the franchise's 4th year in this league, but I do not feel that we are ready yet to compete for a playoff spot. We are still building for the future. We have some great pieces, like David Legwand, Scott Hartnell and Tomas Vokoun, who has been giving the reigns with the departure of Dunham. I feel as though this is a transition year for us. We could be competiting to make the playoffs starting next year, in the 2002-2003 season, but that is still a long way from now.''

 

Killer has said he plans on dealing some of his veteran players for picks and youngsters during the upcoming playing season.

Here is Trotz' final roster - your 2001-02 Nashville Predators, boasting a payroll of only $26,54M :

 

#7 LW Cliff Ronning

#43 LW Vitalii Yachmenev

#17 LW Scott Hartnell

#28 LW Todd Warriner

#11 C David Legwand

#91 C Marc Savard

#21 C Tom Fitzgerald

#18 C Aaron Gavey

#24 RW Scott Walker

#22 RW Greg Johnson

#62 RW Petr Tenkrat

#15 RW John MacLean

#2 D Bill Houlder

#44 D Kimmo Timonen

#5 D Andy Delmore

#32 D Cale Hulse

#3 D Karlis Skrastins

#4 D Mark Eaton

#29 G Tomas Vokoun

#50 G Chris Mason

C: Cliff Ronning

A: Bill Houlder, Scott Walker

 

Additionally, here are the club's top-10 prospects for the Fall of 2001:

 

1 Dan Hamhuis, D

2 Brian Finley, G

3 Vladimir Orszagh, F

4 Denis Arkhipov, F

5 Martin Erat, F

6 Tomas Slovak, D

7 Jordin Tootoo, F

8 Jan Lasak, G

9 Timofei Shishkanov, F

10 Pavel Skrbek, D

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2001-02 NHL SEASON
HALF-WAY REPORT

The Predators are doing alright, all things considered. They have gotten 17 wins in 41 games, which is not very good, but GM Austin Killer has said this was a transionnal year. At the press conference, Killer stated: ''The main thing for us right now is the development of all our players. I have been watching closely. I cannot say that we will make the playoffs this year, because we probably won't, despite the hard work our guys have been putting in, and the effort of Barry. But we are on the way up. And I can say to Nashville hockey fans that their hockey club will be a force to be reckoned with soon enough.''

Killer pulled the trigger on two moves in the first half of the season in order to get his team younger. First of all, he sent Tom Fitzgerald to the Carolina Hurricanes in return of a 3rd round pick. To replace him in the line-up, Denis Arkhipov was called up. Couple of weeks later, it was Cale Hulse who was shipped out, this time to St.Louis for a young 18 years old prospect; Simon Skoog. To replace Hulse, Andy Berenzweig was called up from Milwaukee.

Here is the lineup Barry Trotz is using at the moment:

 

Ronning -- Legwand -- Tenkrat

Hartnell -- Savard -- Walker

Yachmenev -- Arkhipov -- Johnson

Warriner -- Gavey -- MacLean

 

Timonen -- Delmore

Skrastins -- Houlder

Eaton -- Berenzweig

 

Vokoun/Mason

Trotz and Killer have both given thumbs up to the play of Legwand, Ronning, Walker, Timonen, Delmore and Vokoun so far this season.

The World Junior Championship is starting soon, and the Nashville Predators will have a couple of representatives:
F Daniel Widing (SWE)
F Oliver Setzinger (AUT)

D Dan Hamhuis (CAN)
D Tomas Slovak (SVK)

NASHVILLE STATS THROUGH 41 GAMES

1. Cliff Ronning 15-28-43

2. David Legwand 12-20-32

3. Marc Savard 13-15-28

4. Scott Walker 14-13-27

5. Greg Johnson 10-16-26

6. Kimmo Timonen 5-15-20

7. Andy Delmore 6-14-20

8. Petr Tenkrat 7-9-16

9. Vitalii Yachmenev 4-12-16

10. Scott Hartnell 8-7-15

 

1. Tomas Vokoun 32 GP - 16 W - .912% - 2,99 - 1 SO

2. Chris Mason 12 GP - 1 W - .875% - 4,33 - 0 SO

Around the hockey world

A couple of important deals were made in the first half. Vancouver inexplicably sent their top scorer Markus Naslund to their rival Edmonton, in return for two prospects; Alexei Semenov and Jan Horacek. At that point, Vancouver was 4th in the west. Other deals include Phladelphia sending goalie Brian Boucher to Florida for Ivan Novoseltsev, Brad Ference and Ivan Majesky, as well as Montreal acquiring veteran Mike Ricci from San Jose for Jozef Balej and young tender Olivier Michaud.

 

Columbus and Atlanta, two recent expansion teams, have been struggling real hard this year. In fact, the Blue Jackets actually had a 17-game losing streak (this is not a typo) earlier in the year.

 

Western Standing

1. Detroit - 58 pts

2. Colorado - 54

3. Dallas - 49

4. St.Louis - 43

5. Vancouver - 42

6. Edmonton - 41

7. Chicago - 40

8. Phoenix - 37

9. Anaheim - 37

10. Nashville - 36

11. San Jose - 36

12. Los Angeles - 33

13. Minnesota - 31

14. Calgary - 29

15. Columbus - 18

 

Eastern Standing
1. New Jersey - 52 pts

2. Boston - 52

3. Carolina - 47

4. Philadelphia - 50

5. Pittsburgh - 43

6. Washington - 43

7. NY Islanders - 43

8. Toronto - 40

9. NY Rangers - 40

10. Ottawa - 39

11. Montreal - 36

12. Florida - 35

13. Buffalo - 33

14. Tampa Bay - 23

15. Atlanta - 17

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2001-02 NHL
SEASON WRAP-UP


Scott Walker showed a mean side this year, finishing with an astonishing 330 penalty minutes, second league-wide only to Montreal's Francis Belanger, proving why our team is called the ''Predators''.

But Walker's violent behavior this year didn't save the club from achieving mediocre results, posting only 26 wins in 82 games for 60 points total, good for third-worst in the National Hockey League. The team's demise was in part due to a February trade made by GM Austin Killer that saw both captain Cliff Ronning and veteran winger Greg Johnson shipped out to Ottawa, drying up the team's offensive output in one go. This swap kickstarted moves from all over the league, leading up to the trade deadline.

 

Back from the rising Ottawa Senators, Killer got a 1st round pick for the upcoming draft as well as prospects Antoine Vermette and Ray Emery. It is considered a very solid deal by many experts - for the future. Both prospects will join the Milwaukee Admirals next year.

To replace the two traded forwards, Vladimir Orszagh and Martin Erat were called up from the farm and Scott Walker was named interim captain. The loss of then leading scorer and captain Cliff Ronning definitely hurt the team a lot.

At his end-of-the-year press conference, Killer had this to say : ''We do not make excuses for the poor season we just had, but everyone had been warned before. I said I was gonna make some changes to make us younger, and I did. I knew our owner was backing me up on it. I did my job. The team performed poorly on the ice, but there is still a lot of positives from this season. It is not a lost one. It was part of the development phase. Guys like Legwand, Timonen, Hartnell, Vokoun, Eaton, made huge strides this year and we added a lot of good young folks to our roster.''

 

He added: ''We will be drafting 3rd overall this summer, which will add yet another quality young hockey player to our organisation. This franchise is on the rise. We will become great by developing our own prospects, growing them, making them contributing players for this team. We have the Ottawa pick as well, and I am working on a deal that would give us a third 1st-round pick.''

Killer gave a vote of confidence to his head coach Barry Trotz, and promised the team would be fighting for a playoff spot as soon as next season.

 

To finnish, GM Killer gave his analysis of the hockey season for the farm team in Milwaukee, who finished with 46 wins and 95 pts. He gave bad grades to Martin Erat (who ended up the year in Nashville) and former 6th overall pick G Brian Finley even though they posted good stats, while pumping up the tires of the other goalie Jan Lasak as well forward Petr Hubacek and defensemen Mikko Lehtonen, Alexei Vasiliev, Richard Lintner and Pavel Skrbek. Killer said the latter two will surely be on the pro team next season.

 

MILWAUKEE STATS 2001-02

1. Martin Bartek (78 GP) 17-25-42
2. Vladimir Orszagh (49 GP) 21-20-41
3. Petr Hubacek (63 GP) 15-24-39
4. Martin Erat (39 GP) 15-19-34
5. Pavel Skrbek (77 GP) 10-24-34

Brian Finley (37 GP) 25 W .929% 1,54 9 SO
Jan Lasak (45 GP) 21 W .889% 2,70 4 SO

 

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2001-02 STATS

nshstats.png

AROUND THE HOCKEY WORLD
 

A devasting news shocked the hockey world on March 25th, 2002 when New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer suffered a major wrist injury in a game against the Islanders. It was later announced that Niedermayer would never play hockey again, and was forced to retire from the game. This is an immense lost for the Devils, one of the league's top team and top contender for the Stanley Cup. Niedermayer was only 28 years of age, and on the way to greatness.

 

The following is a list of the major deals that went down at the trade deadline this year;

-PHX deals Paul Mara to TB for Grant Ledyard & Kristian Kudroc
-TB deals Vinny Lecavalier to ANA for Stan Chistov & German Titov
-NYR deals David Karpa & Henrik Lundqvist to PHI for Maxime Ouellet
-VAN deals Harold Druken to PIT for Josef Melichar & Dan LaCouture
-OTT deals Wade Redden to CAR for Josef Vasicek & Kevin Estrada
-PIT deals Jan Hrdina to FLA for Lukas Krajicek & Kyle Rossister
-TB deals Vaclav Prospal to PIT for Michal Rozsival
-NYR trades Vladimir Malakhov to OTT for Todd White
-PHI trades Ivan Novoseltsev to NYR for Marek Zidlicky & Filip Novak
-CHI deals Craig Anderson to DAL for Dan Ellis
-VAN deals Henrik Sedin to CGY for Igor Kravchuk, Andrei Medvedev & Yuri Trubachev

 

What a weak trade for the Bolts.

FINAL NHL STANDINGS 2001-02

 

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey - 119
2. Boston - 107
3. Washington - 98
4. Philadelphia - 112
5. Ottawa - 93
6. Pittsburgh - 88
7. Toronto - 88
8. Carolina - 81
=
9. NY Rangers - 80
10. NY Islanders - 80
11. Florida - 70
12. Montreal - 68
13. Buffalo - 63
14. Tampa Bay - 63
15. Atlanta - 48

Western Conference
1. Detroit - 116
2. Dallas - 109
3. Colorado - 109
4. St.Louis - 103
5. Anaheim - 94
6. Chicago - 93
7. Edmonton - 89
8. Phoenix - 82
=
9. Vancouver - 78
10. San Jose -78
11. Los Angeles - 74
12. Calgary - 64
13. Minnesota - 64
14. Nashville - 60
15. Columbus - 58

 

TOP NHL SCORERS:

nhlstats.png

 

TOP-SCORING D
1. Brian Leetch (NYR) 18-44-62
2. Eric Desjardins (PHI) 13-44-57
3. Alexei Zhitnik (BUF) 11-46-57
4. Sergei Gonchar (WSH) 16-40-56
5. Teppo Numminen (PHX) 14-42-56

TOP-SCORING ROOKIES
1. Ilya Kovalchuk (ATL) 34-23-57
2. Dany Heatley (ATL) 24-32-56
3. Kristian Huselius (FLA) 20-20-40
4. Radim Vrbata (COL) 14-25-39
5. Kris Beech (PIT) 14-24-38

TOP GOALIES
1. Dominik Hasek (DET) 63 GP - 42 W - .931% - 2,06 - 5 SO
2. Roman Cechmanek (PHI) 76 GP - 48 W - .914% - 2,34 - 5 SO
3. Martin Brodeur (NJ) 65 GP - 48 W - .910% - 2,16 - 7 SO
4. Curtis Joseph (TOR) 70 GP - 35 W - .919% - 2,59 - 5 SO
5. Ed Belfour (DAL) 71 GP - 47 W - .910% - 2,36 - 7 SO

 

2002 NHL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

 

1. Detroit v 8. Phoenix
2. Colorado v 7. Edmonton
3. Dallas v 6. Chicago
4. St.Louis v 5. Anaheim


1. New Jersey v 8. Carolina
2. Boston v 7. Toronto
3. Washington v 6. Pittsburgh
4. Philadelphia v 5. Ottawa

 

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2002 NHL PLAYOFFS
 

The Edmonton Oilers caused a huge surprise in round 1 by sweeping the star-ladded Colorado team. Rem Murray posted an impressive 7 points in 4 games and Tommy Salo outplayed Patrick Roy, who had a .847% and a 4,79 GAA in this series. But Colorado wasn't the only top team in the West to choke in the opening round, as the Dallars Stars lost in 6 to the Chicago Blackhawks. This opens up the way for both Detroit and St.Louis.

 

1ST ROUND:
DET 4 - PHX 1
COL 0 - EDM 4
DAL 2 - CHI 4
STL 4 - ANA 2

NJ 4 - CAR 0
BOS 4 - TOR 2
WSH 1 - PIT 4
PHI 4 - OTT 3

 

In the western conference, Detroit will host Edmonton and St.Louis will play Chicago. In the east, it will be interesting to see how Mario Lemieux and his Penguins fare against the Devils, while Boston will face-off against Philadelphia.

2ND ROUND:

DET 4 - EDM 3

STL 4 - CHI 2

 

NJ 4 - PIT 1

BOS 0 - PHI 4

 

St.Louis didn't have much difficulty handling the Hawks, and will now face-off against their close rivals, the Red Wings, who went to the wire against a surprising Oilers squad. In the east, Philly has been very impressive, but do they have what it takes to defeat the President Trophy champs?

3RD ROUND:

DET 3 - STL 4

NJ 4 - PHI 0

 

New Jersey totally embarasses the Flyers in the East finals. Meanwhile, the Blues get to the finals by a hair. After defeating Hasek and his Wings, they now have to take on Brodeur and the Devils, who have only lost once in the first three rounds. The Devils will obviously be missing Scott Niedermayer, but also Ken Daneyko. They have an amazing offense to counter those losses though, as well as Brodeur in top form. The Blues are weaker in nets, but have an amazing roster overall, lead by Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis on D. Here are both clubs line-up heading into the 2002 Stanley Cup finals.

127.gifVS _0005_St._Louis_Blues.jpg

NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Patrik Elias - Jason Arnott - Sergei Brylin
Jay Pandolfo - Scott Gomez - Petr Sykora
John Madden - Bobby Holik - Randy McKay
Turner Stevenson - Sergei Nemchinov - Valeri Kamensky

Scott Stevens - Brian Rafalski
Colin White - Andrei Zyuzin
Tommy Albelin - Mike Commodore

Martin Brodeur - Scott Clemmensen

ST.LOUIS BLUES
Keith Tkachuk - Doug Weight - Scott Young
Cory Stillman - Pavol Demitra - Scott Mellanby
Reed Low - Mike Keane - Dallas Drake
Mark Rycroft - Daniel Corso - Justin Papineau

Chris Pronger - Barret Jackman
Al MacInnis - Jeff Finley
Kevin Haller - Mike Van Ryn

Brent Johnson - Fred Brathwaite

 

 

The St.Louis Blues got up to a 3-2 lead in what was a very tight series, but lost game 6 at home, when Scottie Gomez scored late to give the Devils a 3-2 win. The Blues shouldn't have made the mistake of letting New Jersey come back in front of their home crowd for an ultimate clash, especially with a legend such as Martin Brodeur between the pipes. Brodeur shut the door in game 7, silencing a very potent Blues offense, and the Devils won 3-0, clinching their 3rd Stanley Cup (1995, 2000, 2002).

 

Brodeur's performance, him who stopped 29 shots in that game, is even more incredible seeing as though Doug Weight posted 34 points in these playoffs, Tkachuk 33, and Pavol Demitra scored 16 times. Those are astonishing numbers, near all-time records held by the likes of Gretzky, Lemieux and Bossy. Despite all of this, the Devils held on to win it all, and the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP went to a member of the winning squad; Patrik Elias, who had 23 pts in 20 games.

2002 NHL AWARDS
Jack Adams - Larry Robinson (NJ)
Calder - Ilya Kovalchuk (ATL)
Hart - Jaromir Jagr (WSH)
Vezina - Martin Brodeur (NJ)
Jennings - Dominik Hasek (DET)
Norris - Brian Leetch (NYR)
Rocket - Jaromir Jagr (WSH)
Art Ross - Jaromir Jagr (WSH)
Selke - Jason Arnott (NJ)

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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

MOST GOALS IN A SEASON
1. Cliff Ronning - 26 (1999-00)
2. Scott Walker - 25 (2000-01)
3. Sergei Krivokrasov - 25 (1998-99)
4. David Legwand - 25 (2001-02)
5. Patric Kjellberg - 23 (1999-00)
6. Marc Savard - 22 (2001-02)
7. Petr Tenkrat - 20 (2001-02)
8. Cliff Ronning - 19 (2000-01)
9. Scott Walker - 19 (2001-02)
10. Cliff Ronning - 18 (1998-99)

MOST ASSISTS IN A SEASON
1. Cliff Ronning - 43 (2000-01)
2. Cliff Ronning - 36 (1999-00)
3. Cliff Ronning - 35 (1998-99)
4. Marc Savard - 35 (2001-02)
5. Greg Johnson - 34 (1998-99)
6. Scott Walker - 34 (2000-01)
7. Greg Johnson - 33 (1999-00)
8. David Legwand - 33 (2001-02)
9. Patric Kjellberg - 31 (2000-01)
10. Scott Walker - 29 (2000-01)

MOST POINTS IN A SEASON
1. Cliff Ronning - 62 (1999-00)
2. Cliff Ronning - 62 (2000-01)
3. David Legwand - 58 (2001-02)
4. Marc Savard - 57 (2001-02)
5. Scott Walker - 54 (2000-01)
6. Cliff Ronning - 53 (1998-99)
7. Scott Walker - 53 (2001-02)
8. Greg Johnson - 50 (1998-99)
9. Sergei Krivokrasov - 48 (1998-99)
10. Patric Kjellberg - 46 (1999-00)

MOST POINTS (DMEN) IN A SEASON
1. Kimmo Timonen - 33 (1999-00)
2. Andy Delmore - 33 (2001-02)
3. Drake Berehowsky - 32 (1999-00)
4. Kimmo Timonen - 31 (2001-02)
5. Bill Houlder - 27 (2001-02)
6. Kimmo Timonen - 25 (2000-01)
7. Drake Berehowsky - 24 (2000-01)
8. Jame Heward - 18 (1998-99)

MOST WINS IN A SEASON
1. Tomas Vokoun - 23 (2001-02)
2. Mike Dunham - 21 (2000-01)
3. Mike Dunham - 19 (1999-00)
4. Mike Dunham - 16 (1998-99)
5. Tomas Vokoun - 13 (2000-01)
6. Tomas Vokoun - 12 (1998-99)
7. Tomas Vokoun - 9 (1999-00)

8. Chris Mason - 3 (2001-02)

 

MOST GOALS AS A PREDATOR
1. Cliff Ronning - 81
2. Scott Walker - 66
3. Greg Johnson - 55
4. Vitalii Yachmenev - 52
5. David Legwand - 51
6. Patric Kjellberg - 48
7. Tom Fitzgerald - 36
8. Sergei Krivokrasov - 34

9. Kimmo Timonen - 33
10. Petr Tenkrat - 28

MOST ASSISTS AS A PREDATOR
1. Cliff Ronning - 148
2. Scott Walker - 109
3. Greg Johnson - 93
4. David Legwand - 76
5. Patric Kjellberg - 74
6. Vitalii Yachmenev - 68

7. Kimmo Timonen - 68
8. Tom Fitgerald - 42
9. Sergei Krivokrasov - 40
10. Sebastien Bordeleau - 40

MOST POINTS AS A PREDATOR
1. Cliff Ronning - 229
2. Scott Walker - 175
3. Greg Johnson - 158
4. David Legwand - 127
5. Patric Kjellberg - 122
6. Vitalii Yachmenev - 120

7. Kimmo Timonen - 101
8. Tom Fitzgerald - 78
9. Sergei Krivokrasov - 74

10. Drake Berehowsky - 73

MOST POINTS (DMEN) AS A PREDATOR
1. Kimmo Timonen - 101
2. Drake Berehowsky - 73
3. Bill Houlder - 57
4. Karlis Skrastins - 39
5. Andy Delmore - 33
6. Mark Eaton - 26
7. Jamie Heward - 18

MOST WINS AS A PREDATOR
1. Tomas Vokoun - 57
2. Mike Dunham - 56
3. Chris Mason - 3

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2002 NHL DRAFT PREVIEW

 

In this post, we will preview the top-10 for the upcoming NHL entry draft. The Thrashers will be picking first, the Blue Jackets second, and the Predators third.

 

1. Darcy Sutter, LW (6'1 177) from Canada

Sutter is undoubtly the top pick for this draft. He is great at everything, has top-notch speed and hands, is incredibly mature for his age and can play in all situations. We could see him becoming a key 1st liner for any time that drafts him.

2. Kalle Sala, C (6'3 192) from Finland

The Fin center could be an home-run pick for the second team to talk at the draft table. He has amazing offensive abilities, can shoot the puck extremely well and make plays out of nothing. Will need to upgrade his skating a little bit.

3. Boyd Long, RW (6'3 210) from Canada

Long is a big power forward that loves to crash the net and fight. He has good hands and agility that allow him to score goals in tight, or make plays on the rush. He is the kind of guy teams love to place on their top-line to create havoc next to finesse players.

4. Matt Plaxton, C (6'2 194) from Canada

Amazing playmaker with great vision, Plaxton moves very well on the ice and and can do a lot of different stuff every shift.

5. Grigori Lyapunov, D (6' 177) from Russia

The top D in this draft, Lyapunov is an excellent skater that plays the body well and can be physical. He is extremely smart and always makes the right plays. He has good enough skills that he can join the rush and make solid outlet passes.

6. Joe Bowen, LW (6'2 215) from Canada

Bowen is a guy that just does everything well, but still needs to work on his defensive game a little bit. He is big and skilled and knows how to score goals.

7. Manny Inward, LW (6'1 203) from Canada

Inward is an all-out offensive player with amazing speed and hands of gold. He can snipe from anywhere in the offensive zone, but will need to upgrade his two-way play.

8. Shawn Levins, RW (6' 198) from Canada

Here is another offensive guy that needs work defensively. He is finesse player with a good arsenal of shots and is a great skater.

9. Joe Wahler, D (5'11 201) from Canada

A smart defenseman that is considered a defensive-minded guy, he does all the little things well. He is always well positioned, he can hit, fight and defend extremely well.

10. Anatoli Antipov, RW (5'8 167) from Russia

A very small winger with a ton of skills, Antipov plays with an edge that allows him to make space around the net to score goals. He is a solid skater and understands the two-way game.

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2002 NHL DRAFT - 1ST ROUND

 

It was not a surprise to hear the Atlanta brass announce Darcy Sutter as the first pick of the draft. Sutter could come in right away and provide quite a top-3 up front for the Thrashers alongside Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley. The first surprise of the draft happened right after, when Columbus selected russian defenseman Grigori Lyapunov, ranked 5th in the preview. Nashville picked power forward Boyd Long to add to their young forward core that includes another power forward in Scott Hartnell. Defenseman Joe Wahler, ranked 9th in the preview, fell all the way to the 24th pick, were the Stanley Cup finalists, the St.Louis Blues, made him their first choice of the draft.

 

draft2002.png

 

 

NASHVILLE 2002 DRAFT PICKS
 

03 RW Boyd Long (6'3 210) CAN
20 D Dmitri Mikhaylov (6'4 212) RUS

33 RW Miika Harila (6'2 204) FIN
63 C Maxime Lemay (6' 202) CAN
75 RW Tony Clark (6'4 214) CAN
93 D Gabriel Drahas (6'3 214) CZE
123 C Ivan Scherbak (5'11 171) USA
128 RW Edward Recchi (5'7 149) CAN

 

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NHL OFF-SEASON

 

The Nashville Predators will be looking to build on a putrid season in 2001-02, their worst ever. To do so, not only will they need to find quality players to upgrade the on-ice product, but they'll also have to replace a couple of players that left. First of all, defenseman Bill Houlder and forward John MacLean have both decided to retire. Furthermore, GM Austin Killer has decided not to renew the contract of Todd Warriner. To replace Houlder, we already know that farmhands Pavel Skrbek and Richard Lintner will graduate, so that means that both the D and the goaltending is set for the Predators.

 

NEW CONTRACTS
F Denis Arkhipov RFA $800k per year for 4 years

F David Legwand RFA $1.2M per year for 4 years
F Petr Tenkrat RFA $550K per year for 2 years
F Aaron Gavey RFA $700k per year for 4 years

D Andy Delmore RFA $650k per year for 3 years
D Richard Lintner RFA $650k per year for 2 years
D Pavel Skrbek RFA $470k per year for 3 years
D Andy Berenzweig RFA $460k per year for 3 years
G Chris Mason UFA $550k per year for 3 years

 

You can judge of the skill level of the above players by looking at how much they will be making... Only one player above $1M !

 

KEY NHL RETIREES

Kevin Dineen
Ed Belfour
Chris Chelios
Igor Larionov
Mark Messier
Rick Tocchet
Steve Thomas
Glen Healy
Adam Oates
Tom Barrasso
 

Once July 1st hit, Killer didn't waste any time, replacing both Warriner and MacLean in the team's line-up by signing Kirk Muller and Shean Donovan. They will have similar roles as Warriner and MacLean had, which were bottom-line minutes and defensive missions. Muller, a grizzled vet, should be a mainstay on the Predators' 4th line this upcoming season.

 

The biggest UFA signing of the summer was Bill Guerin going to the Dallas Stars, who already have quite a solid team, for 2 years ($4M per year). Also, Ottawa dealt Anton Volchenkov to Toronto for Carlo Colaiacovo, and Carolina dealt Erik Cole to Phoenix for Ossi Vaananen.

 

Finally, days before the opening of training camp, GM Killer announced a big deal. This trade has created a buzz in the city of Nashville, as fans and media members alike approve of the direction the club is taking. Killer, who had mentionned he was looking to acquire an extra first round pick in the last draft, ended up deciding to keep his assets for another type of deal. In fact, he traded former 6th overall pick Brian Finley along with dman Gabriel Drahas (drafted in the 4th round this summer) and a 4th round pick to the San Jose Sharks for forward Patrick Marleau. Marleau, 22, will provide a lot of speed and defensive skills to the Nashville line-up, as well as fitting awfully well with their main core due to his young age.

 

The trading of Finley was made possible by the recent acquisition of Ray Emery from the Sens as well as the great play of Jan Lasak with Milwaukee. Actually, many are saying Chris Mason's spot on the main team could be in danger during training camp because of Lasak.

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''This should be a good year'', said GM Austin Killer at his post-training camp press conference. ''We really liked the performance of Scott Hartnell in training camp, and the whole team seems to be in synch. The acquisition of Marleau will help our offense quite a bit, and everyone should play at a higher level than last season. We will make the playoffs.''

 

Killer promised the Predators would lock down a playoff spot in a tough Western Conference in 2002-03, despite finishing 3rd-worst in the NHL last year. In training camp, 3rd overall pick Boyd Long scored 4 pts but was still returned to juniors, as Killer sticks to his plan of being patient with young players. Good showings by Skrbek and Lintner had them lock up their spots on D, while goalie Jan Lasak lasted up until the very last day of camp and gave Chris Mason a run for his money. After sending him down, Killer said that ''something is in the works'' concerning Lasak. Martin Erat stayed with the big club, but may go down to Milwaukee later, depending on many factors.

 

YOUR 2002-03 NASHVILLE PREDATORS

liness.png
 

Payroll: $21,8M

Head Coach: Barry Trotz

Captain: Scott Walker

Assistants: Kirk Muller & David Legwand

 

FALL 2002 TOP-10 PREDATORS PROSPECTS:
1 F Boyd Long (18) Juniors
2 D Dan Hamhuis (19) Juniors
3 D Dmitri Mikhaylov (17) Juniors
4 G Jan Lasak (23) AHL
5 F Miika Harila (18) Juniors
6 D Tomas Slovak (19) Juniors
7 F Martin Erat (21) NHL
8 F Maxime Lemay (18) Juniors
9 F Tony Clark (18) Juniors
10 G Ray Emery (20) AHL

 

TOP-10 NHL PLAYERS FOR THE 2002-03 SEASON
1. Jaromir Jagr, F (WSH)
2. Dominik Hasek, G (DET)
3. Martin Brodeur, G (NJ)
4. Mario Lemieux, F (PIT)
5. Chris Pronger, D (STL)
6. Patrick Roy, G (COL)
7. Byron Dafoe, G (BOS)
8. Paul Kariya, F (ANA)
9. Peter Forsberg, F (COL)
10. Joe Sakic, F (COL)

 

TOP-10 NHL TEAMS PROJECTIONS

1. New Jersey Devils

2. Detroit Red Wings

3. Colorado Avalanche

4. Dallas Stars

5. Philadelphia Flyers

6. St.Louis Blues

7. Washington Capitals

8. Boston Bruins

9. Ottawa Senators

10. Pittsburgh Penguins

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2002-03 NHL SEASON

HALF-WAY REPORT

 

It was after a very poor start that it happened. Usually, executives will wait a little, be patient, let the first months play out. But after losing five of their first six games, the Nashville Predators didn't just stand by. They acted by acquiring 26 years old winger Richard Zednik from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for prospect Maxime Lemay (3rd rounder in 2002) and a 2nd round pick in 2003.

 

GM Austin Killer said; ''It is with great pleasure that I introduce Zednik to you this morning. I said we were going to make the playoffs this year, and I wasn't pleased with the way the team had performed in the first few games. Sending some futures to Montreal to acquire a player of Zednik's ilk doesn't hurt us too bad, as we didn't touch our main core of key young players. We believe both Zednik and Marleau will add tremendous depth to our offensive core this year.''

 

Unfortunately, the bad start wasn't the only bad news Nashville got in October. Vitalii Yachmenev got into an incident with Erik Rasmussen, seriously injuring his ankle. He will be out of action for at least 6 months, or until the playoffs, if the team makes it. Then, in November, the club lost their #2 D Andy Delmore with a chest injury, hurt for more than a month. This, combined with a 6-10-1-1 record forced GM Killer to act again. And boy did he act.

 

After negotiating all night with Sather from the New York Rangers, it was announced on a cold December morning that the Predators had just acquired Eric Lindros in return for goaltender Chris Mason, prospect Olivier Setzinger and a 2003 1st round pick. The Rangers, out of the playoffs picture, were looking to shed some salary, and at that moment Nashville's pick was set to be the 4th overall pick of the draft, so it was worth a lot.

 

''We had lots of back and forth before we agreed to the deal, but Sather told me Eric might not want to report to us. He gave me his phone number, and I ringed him in the middle of the night. We had a good conversation, and The Big E said he would welcome the chance to carry our team on his shoulders. We've just made the trade of the decade.''

 

With Chris Mason gone, Jan Lasak was recalled, with GM Killer claiming that he can play at just as high a level as Mason had done in the backup role, behind Vokoun. Unfortunately, the injury bug didn't stop there, as the team lost Aaron Gavey near Christmas for 4 months with a leg injury.

 

The following Predators prospects were selected for the WJCs:
F Boyd Long CAN
F Miika Harila FIN
D Dan Hamhuis CAN
D Tomas Slovak SVK
D Dmitri Mikhaylov RUS

 

At the half-way point, the Predators were 15-17-7-2, 39 points, for 9th in the west. Here are Trotz' current lines:

 

Hartnell | Legwand | Lindros

Zednik | Marleau | Walker

Tenkrat | Savard | Orszagh

Arkhipov | Muller | Donovan

 

Timonen | Delmore

Eaton | Lintner

Skrbek | Berenzweig

 

Vokoun | Lasak

 

NASHVILLE STATS THROUGH 41 GAMES

NSH.png

 

 

Around the hockey world
 

Our former goalie Mike Dunham made the rounds on waivers this season, and is now a Dallas Star.

 

The Senators lost all-star winger Daniel Alfredsson for 6 months after a cheap shot from Darius Kasparaitis.

 

San Jose deals 20 years old prospect Marcel Goc and young goalie Olivier Michaud to New Jersey for John Madden.

 

Boston acquires Jason Chimera from Edmonton for prospect Martin Samuelsson and picks.

Western Conference
1. Colorado - 58
2. Detroit - 55
3. Anaheim - 55
4. St.Louis - 50
5. Edmonton - 46
6. Dallas - 45
7. Chicago - 43
8. Vancouver - 42
9. Nashville - 39
10. Phoenix - 38
11. San Jose - 36
12. Los Angeles - 35
13. Minnesota - 32
14. Calgary - 29
15. Columbus - 18

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey - 57
2. Toronto - 55
3. Washington - 45
4. Philadelphia - 54
5. Pittsburgh - 45
6. Buffalo - 45
7. NY Islanders - 45
8. Boston - 44
9. Ottawa - 37
10. Carolina - 36
11. Tampa Bay - 32
12. Florida - 32
13. Atlanta - 30
14. NY Rangers - 27
15. Montreal - 25
 

NHL TOP SCORERS

nhlstats.png

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2002-03 NHL SEASON

WRAP-UP

 

This team fought, and fought, and fought until the very end. Until the 82nd game. All the way. But it was a painful ride.

 

It was announced in early March that Denis Arkhipov would miss at least three weeks, so almost all the way to the end of the playoffs race. Veteran Kirk Muller filled in for him on the 3rd line. Throughout the stretch run, key players such as Scott Hartnell and Scott Walker also missed games due to injuries, adding to Gavey and Yachmenev, still out.

 

As of March 19th this was the standings for the Western conference playoff race:

7. Dallas (72 GP) 76 pts
8. Nashville (74 GP) 73 pts
9. Phoenix (73 GP) 72 pts
10. Vancouver (73 GP) 72 pts

 

March 21 - Great day as we win 4-3 against Calgary while PHX, DAL and VAN all lose.

March 22 - We beat the Blackhawks by a score of 3-2
March 23 - Dallas wins their game, but Vancouver loses again

March 24 - We get another win (5 straight) against Ottawa, meanwhile Phoenix ties the Oilers 3-3.

March 25 - Phoenix gets two points in a win against the Islanders.

 

Standings update;

7. Nashville (77 GP) 79 pts

8. Dallas (74 GP) 78 pts
9. Phoenix (76 GP) 75 pts
10. Vancouver (76 GP) 74 pts

 

March 26 - Dallas gets a point in a tie with San Jose

March 27 - San Jose gets the better of the Stars, 5-3

March 28 - Both Phoenix and Vancouver lose as another team appears in the race; the Kings have won 8 straight. Arkhipov is back.

March 29 - We tied the Coyotes, fortunately Dallas loses to St.Louis.

 

Update:

7. Nashville (78 GP) 80 pts

8. Dallas (77 GP) 79 pts

9. Phoenix (78 GP) 76 pts

10. Vancouver (77 GP) 74 pts

11. Los Angeles (77 GP) 73 pts

 

March 30 - Los Angeles ties the Wings 3-3, Vancouver loses yet again.

March 31 - We lose against the Flames 4-3, meanwhile PHX and LAK both win!

April 1 - Vancouver loses to Anaheim and are officially eliminated (1-8-0-1 in last 10).

April 2 - Dallas wins, Los Angeles wins (LA are 9-0-1-0 in last 10).

April 3 - Dallas beats Phoenix 7-3.

April 4 - Huge game against the Kings that we LOSE, 3-0. Unbelievable.

April 5 - We shut out the Wild 3-0 with a tired Vokoun! Dallas loses, Phoenix wins. Our defenseman Richard Lintner is suspended 8 games for injuring Matt Johnson of the Wild. Dang.

 

Last two days of the season. Do or die. Everyone has 1 game left. We're in the lead (8th place) with 82 pts. Dallas is too far up now. Los Angeles has 80 pts, Phoenix too. I have no idea what happens if we're tied. Better get a point just to make sure.

 

April 6 - Phoenix is done after losing to Anaheim, 5-3.

April 7 - The fricking Kings beat the Sharks in OT, but we tie the Jackets 3-3! We're in! We did it! It was fortunate that we were facing the worst team in the league though. What a stretch run for the Kings, who miss the post-season by a hair!

 

We had a great second half, and the Lindros, Zednik and Marleau acquisitions definitely change the outlook of our team, for the better. Tomas Vokoun also had a magnificent season for the most part, and we now consider him a top-10 goalie league-wide. Playoffs will be tough as the 8th seed, but we did make it, and that was the goal of this year. Mission accomplished!

 

NASHVILLE 2002-03 STATS

nsh.png

 

Around the hockey world

 

The biggest trade-deadline deals;

-Phoenix acquires Alex Auld (only 22, solid goalie) from Vancouver for Lars-Erik Olsson (16th overall pick in 2002)

-Philly deals Justin Williams to LAK for scraps.

-The Kings also get Markus Naslund from Edmonton for scraps. No wonder they had such a great run!

-Islanders deal Dave Scatchard to Buffalo for Derek Roy and Alan Kubicek (65th pick in 2002)

-Tampa Bay acquires Martin Havlat from Ottawa for scraps.

-Anaheim acquires Jarome Iginla from Calgary for scraps.

-Buffalo gets Theoren Fleury, Rangers get Jason Pominville and Taylor Pyatt.

 

Lots of weak deals.

 

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey - 114
2. Toronto - 105
3. Washington - 95
4. Pittsburgh - 109
5. Philadelphia - 99
6. Boston - 97
7. Buffalo - 93
8. Ottawa - 78
=
9. NY Islanders - 76
10. NY Rangers - 70
11. Carolina - 70
12. Tampa Bay - 69
13. Montreal - 64
14. Florida - 63
15. Atlanta - 60

Western Conference
1. Colorado - 112
2. Detroit - 111
3. Anaheim - 106
4. Edmonton - 101
5. St.Louis - 94
6. Chicago - 92
7. Dallas - 85
8. Nashville - 83
=
9. Los Angeles - 82
10. Phoenix - 80
11. Vancouver - 78
12. San Jose - 73
13. Minnesota - 66
14. Calgary - 58
15. Columbus - 35

 

NHL 2002-03 STATS

nshnhl.png

 

NHL TOP DEFENSEMEN
1. Brian Leetch (NYR) 17-45-62
2. Brian Rafalski (NJ) 14-45-59
3. Kim Johnsson (PHI) 14-44-58
4. Nicklas Lidstrom (DET) 11-45-56
5. Chris Pronger (STL) 8-47-55

NHL TOP GOALIES
1. Dominik Hasek (DET) 65 GP - 43 W - .926% - 2,21 - 4 SO
2. Patrick Roy (COL) 62 GP - 42 W - .922% - 1,98 - 6 SO
3. Olaf Kolzig (WSH) 68 GP - 39 W - .918% - 2,49 - 4 SO
4. J-Sebastien Giguere (ANA) 52 GP - 36 W - .919% - 2,15 - 6 SO
5. Johan Hedberg (PIT) 59 GP - 39 W - .917% - 2,27 - 6 SO

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
1 COL vs 8 NSH
2 DET vs 7 DAL
3 ANA vs 6 CHI
4 EDM vs 5 STL

1 NJ vs 8 OTT
2 TOR vs 7 BUF
3 WSH vs 6 BOS
4 PIT vs 5 PHI

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colorado-avalanche-logo.png VS lrg_Nashville_Predators47-150x150.gif

 

Barry Trotz was quoted as saying he believed in his team's chances to beat the Colorado Avalanche in a 7-game series, but realistically the Preds do not stand a chance against this powerful squad lead by future Hall-of-Famers like Roy, Sakic and Forsberg. Their defense is weakened considerably by Rob Blake's absence though, him who will not be available at all during these playoffs, as well as Skoula, who will be out for three weeks. For the Predators, Gavey and Yachmenev are still injured, whereas Richard Lintner is still suspended. Here are both teams' line-up;

 

NASHVILLE

Marc Savard - David Legwand - Eric Lindros

Richard Zednik - Patrick Marleau - Scott Walker

Scott Hartnell - Denis Arkhipov - Petr Tenkrat

Vladimir Orszagh - Kirk Muller - Shean Donovan

 

Kimmo Timonen - Andy Delmore

Mark Eaton - Pavel Skrbek

Karlis Skrastins - Andy Berenzweig

Tomas Vokoun / Jan Lasak

COLORADO

Peter Forsberg - Joe Sakic - Shjon Podein

Alex Tanguay - Chris Drury - Milan Hejduk

Ville Nieminen - Steven Reinprecht - Stephane Yelle

Jeff Toms - Riku Hahl - Scott Parker

Radoslav Suchy - Adam Foote
Calle Johansson - Rick Berry
Alexei Gusarov - Brian Fahey

Patrick Roy - David Aebischer

Game 1 - NSH 1 @ COL 7

A disaster of a game. They had control of the whole bout, and opened the flood gates in the 3rd. 3 points each for Forsberg, Drury and Sakic. Vokoun was very average, and was left in by Trotz for the whole game. Unfortunately, Orszagh was injured and will be out until next season's training camp. Martin Erat will replace him.

 

Game 2 - NSH 1 @ COL 6

Unbelievable. The Predators are already out of it. Completely outplayed. Tanguay gets 3 pts,

Game 3 - COL 3 @ NSH 2

The team manages to close down the spread at home, but still lose. Down 3-0 now. Not a good enough effort.

Game 4 - COL 1 @ NSH 3

Nashville pulls out a great defensive performance and squeeze out the win. Savard has 2 goals. Going back to Colorado!

 

Game 5 - NSH 4 @ COL 3 (OT)

Vokoun stands on his head and Shean Donovan out of nowhere scores in overtime. Predators stun the hockey world by coming back into this series. Can they force a game seven?

Game 6 - COL 5 @ NSH 6

An absolute offensive festival is capped off when Scott Walker plays the hero late in the 3rd period. Both teams had been exchanging goals all game. The Cinderella Squad, as they are now being called around the league, hangs on, forces an ultimate battle in Denver.

Game 7 - NSH 1 @ COL 5

All good things come to an end. Lindros got injured early on in that game, when Suchy took a run at him, basically killing most of Nashville's chances. The big guns for Colorado stepped up.

 

NASHVILLE STATS
1. Marc Savard 3-3-6
2. Eric Lindros 3-2-5
3. David Legwand 1-4-5
4. Kimmo Timonen 1-3-4
5. Richard Zednik 1-3-4
Tomas Vokoun .856% 4,13 GAA 7 GP 3 W

 

ROUND 1 RESULTS
COL 4 - NSH 3
DET 3 - DAL 4
ANA 3 - CHI 4
EDM 4 - STL 3

NJ 4 - OTT 0
TOR 4 - BUF 2
WSH 4 - BOS 1
PIT 4 - PHI 1

 

ROUND 2 MATCHUPS:

COL-DAL

EDM-CHI

NJ-PIT

TOR-WSH

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2003 NHL PLAYOFFS

 

ROUND 2 RESULTS:

Colorado 4 - Dallas 3

Edmonton 1 - Chicago 4

New Jersey 4 - Pittsburgh 2

Toronto 1 - Washington 4

 

-Colorado vs Chicago

-New Jersey vs Washington

 

ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Colorado 4 - Chicago 3

New Jersey 4 - Washington 0

 

2003 STANLEY CUP FINALS

 

colorado-avalanche-logo.png VS ice-hockey_3704.png

 

Interestingly, Colorado won all of their series in 7, whereas New Jersey, a little bit like last season when they won the Cup, only lost 3 times over the three rounds. It was going to be a great confrontation between two Quebec-born legendary goalies, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, as well as two great offenses going head-to-head.

 

In the end, Colorado proved to be better, winning their 3rd Stanley Cup (1996, 2001, 2003) in 6 games, beating the reigning champs. Chris Drury was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy.

1. Joe Sakic (COL) 9-18-27
2. Chris Drury (COL) 11-14-25
3. Peter Forsberg (COL) 9-15-24
4. Scott Gomez (NJ) 8-14-22
5. Milan Hejduk (COL) 10-9-19

2003 NHL AWARDS
Jack Adams - Bob Hartley (COL)
Calder - Brooks Orpik (PIT)
Hart - Alex Tanguay (COL)
Jennings - Martin Brodeur (NJ)
Vezina - Martin Brodeur (NJ)
Norris - Brian Rafalski (NJ)
Rocket - Miroslav Satan (BUF)
Art Ross - Alex Tanguay (COL)
Selke - Jason Arnott (NJ)

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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

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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.

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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.

 

Sans_titre.png
 

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

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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

Sans_titre.png

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

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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

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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
nshnshnsh.png
 

 

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

nshnhlstats.png

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

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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.

 

nshnhshshsh.png

 

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

nshnhlstats.png

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

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ROUND 1

 

ice-hockey_3695.png VS lrg_Nashville_Predators47-150x150.gif

 

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

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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

 

colorado-avalanche-logo.png VS new-jersey-devils.jpg?width=140&height=1
 

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!

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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

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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.

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