Weekend news & notes: As the Preds add depth, the Battle of Tampa Bay Rages On

Make sure to get your weekend started off right, Preds fans, by decking out your computer with a new desktop wallpaper to celebrate the All-Time Nashville Predators Team that was named yesterday. That is, before you start buying your tickets to the home preseason games at 10:00, right?

Anyways, while you're camped out with the legions outside the ticket box at the Sommet Center, get your morning fill of Predators and NHL news after the jump. We've got news regarding big scorers like Dany Heatley and Alex Tanguay, goaltender Roberto Luongo, the ownership scrap in Tampa, and the rise of America's hockey development program. Who says nothing happens in the hockey world during August?

Predators News

 What Does Goc Signing Mean and the Final Answers to the Mailbag - Brandon Felder
Brandon chimes in on the Marcel Goc signing, and answers a reader's question regarding the leadership of the Preds.

Korn a key piece in the Predators puzzle - Hockey's Future
Holly Gunning brings us an in-depth profile and interview with Preds goaltending coach Mitch Korn, who talks the way he helps various goalies improve their individual style of play: "Dominik Hasek was like a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle – he had all the pieces, but they were scattered all over the table. My job was to help him put those pieces together so his game had order."

Around the NHL

SB Nation Hockey Featured Prominently on NHL.com Fans Portal - Blog Huddle
As part of the new launch of NHL.com's Fan Portal, SB Nation's hockey blogs are prominently featured. Thanks go out to all the fine folks at SB Nation's Galactic HQ for all their hard work creating partnerships like this.

Heatley Speaks; Didn't Make Trade Request Public - Silver Seven
Darren gives us the Ottawa fans' perspective on Dany Heatley's press conference from Friday. If it was an attempt to repair his reputation and dampen the media circus around his trade request, it sounds like a miserable failure.

NHL Net Looks to Add Pregame Show, Get to 50 Million Homes - Puck The Media
Might the NHL Network add a nightly pregame show to its lineup this fall? So much for the "no TV during dinner time" rule, kids!

Copper & Blue Fights Illiteracy -- A Book Review: Black Ice - The Copper & Blue
Derek has a review of what appears to be an extraordinary book: Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925. It sheds light on a portion of hockey history that has previously been overlooked.

What Coach Didn’t Write in His Book " Teds Take
All week Japers' Rink has featured excerpts from Bruce Boudreau's new autobiography. On his blog, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis shares an anecdote that's not in the book...

Ladies Love Ice Hockey - According To Cameron Frye
How do the ladies love hockey? Let Cameron Frye count the ways, with help from some of her lady blogger friends.

A Closer Look at Colin White's Penalties from the 08-09 Season - In Lou We Trust
John Fischer walks through a detailed review of the penalties that Devils defenseman Colin White took last year. This is an often overlooked aspect of a blueliner's play, and something I plan to steal lustily from in my upcoming profiles of the Preds.

Luongo Wants Extension Done By Training Camp As Well - Nucks Misconduct
Now that the Sedin twins have been locked up under long-term contracts, what will the team do with uber-goalie Roberto Luongo, who is set for free agency next summer?

Lightning co-owner set to give up charge - The Globe and Mail
David Shoalts writes that Oren Koules (producer of the "Saw" films) is poised to take over majority ownership of the Tampa Bay Lightning, as co-owner Len Barrie struggles with a real estate development that requires more immediate attention.

Contradictory reports on Len Barrie's ownership stake surface - Raw Charge
Meanwhile, Raw Charge finds another article claiming that Barrie is close to bringing in a partner to help him buy out Koules. What, the Globe & Mail getting ahead of things with a story about the ownership situation of a southern hockey team? Surely you jest...

Americans suddenly sold on developmental program, reaping rewards - CBSSports.com Hockey
Wes Goldstein looks at the growth of the US National Team Development Program, which takes elite teenage hockey players and trains them in Ann Arbor, Michigan for two-years. It's now a primary tool for the development of American hockey talent, and many of its alumni are in the NHL and will represent the US at the Winter Olympics, including Nashville's Ryan Suter.