Tuesday's news: a great week to catch some free Predators hockey

It's back to the grind, folks, with the return of your daily Breakfast Links. Following last night's 6-3 loss in Atlanta by the Preds rookies, they'll get a chance at revenge later today, while the main training camp continues with practices from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville. The first scrimmage will take place tomorrow from 10:00 - 11:40 a.m., and don't forget to pick up your FREE tickets to the first home preseason game, against Atlanta on Thursday. You have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to redeem vouchers at the Sommet Center box office and pick up your ticket.

After the jump, we'll get right to the morning news. There's lots of insight from training camp so far, plenty of reaction to the Preds pursuit of Phil Kessel, and a review of EA Sports NHL 10 (available via Amazon), which goes on sale TODAY. It looks like Brandon Felder's already got his game on...

Predators News

Five questions with Joel Ward - Nashville Predators Examiner
Jim Diamond catches up with the Preds winger and fires five curveballs at him...

Predators look forward to more goals - The Tennessean
Barry Trotz may continue to beat the "we need more offense from Legwand and Erat" drum, but John Glennon points out the obvious response - without giving them a gifted offensive winger, there's no reason to think those two are suddenly going to hit the 65-70 point range.

Predators use Wade Belak on defense - The Tennessean
For the first couple days of camp, Wade Belak has lined up on the blueline. While that helps fill out the numbers during camp, we don't want to see this during the regular season, folks, trust me.

Nashville Predators need to make serious run at Phil Kessel - Allan Muir, SI.com
The SI.com columnist makes a case for the Preds breaking their budget to acquire the young Boston sniper. Who knows, if the right deal is put together, it might not strain the budget (too much), and ignite some fan interest to boot.

Smashville Sports Potpourri: Phil Kessel? Yes, Please!!!!
John provides the local Nashville sports fans' perspective on a possible Kessel trade.

The REAL Story: Phil Kessel, Wade Arnott and the Nashville Predators - Hockey From the Cheap Seats
Hilarious stuff from the Cheap Seats, as Matt looks inside what's happening in Boston with Phil Kessel and his agent, Wade Arnott.

The View from 111: Predators Pre-Season Preview
Mark gives his pre-preseason look at the Preds, including a prediction as to whether they'll return to the playoffs this spring...

NOTES FROM PREDS CAMP: Day 2 | Section 303
Jeremy provides his thoughts on assorted events from Sunday's practice down at Centennial.

What The Puck: 9/13/09 - Training Camp Notes: On-ice Sessions
Rachel also shares some training camp observations, including a note that Jordin Tootoo has been bringing some fancy stickwork to the early drills.

Around the NHL

Good night: Hello out there, we’re on the air - The Two-Line Pass
The first preseason game last night, between the Canucks and the Islanders, officially brings an end to what has been a tedious and troublesome NHL summer. Let the rejoicing commence!

Red Wings Season Preview: Valtteri Filppula - The Triple Deke
Tyler profiles a key player for Detroit this season. In light of the departure of Marian Hossa and Jiri Hudler, the young Finn will be counted on as a major offensive force for the Red Wings.

San Jose, Heatley both get chances to remake images - The Globe and Mail
Eric Duhatschek sees a team which is prone to playoff failure acquire a selfish superstar winger and wonders, will two wrongs make a right?

Are hockey fans, scalpers ready for 'dynamic' ticket prices? - Puck Daddy
Greg reviews the issues surrounding a new pricing scheme being used by the Dallas Stars this season, which sets ticket prices based on a number of factors, including the winning percentage of the opponent on a given night, the day of the week, etc. It's an interesting exercise, in that it might allow the team to capture some of the benefit that typically goes to scalpers for a "hot ticket".

NHL 10: An early review - Down Goes Brown
DGB got a look at EA Sports' NHL10, which hits store shelves today, and provides a review.

HFBoards - How cute is this? (funny pictures and photoshops)
Nashville's Ryan Suter was included in an incredible creepy piece of Photoshoppery (hat tip to Puck Daddy for pointing it out).

09-10 Rivalry Depth Chart - Fear The Fin
SB Nation's San Jose blog came out with a ranking of the Sharks' Top 10 NHL rivals, and Nashville made the list. But where?

How to get the most out of a trade - The Hockey News: Tom Lynn's Blog
The former assistant GM for the Minnesota Wild talks about the analytical approach taken during the Dwayne Roloson trade in 2006, in an insightful article that cheers those of us who love to dig through advanced hockey statistics.