In a somewhat surprising admission to the Nashville City Paper's David Boclair, Predators coach Barry Trotz claims not to have decided upon a starting goaltender for the opening game of the season, which comes Saturday night in Dallas.

Dan Ellis has put up better numbers in pre-season action, but Pekka Rinne carried the team in the second half last year, and has been talked about repeatedly as the team's #1 netminder. Is this, just like the demotion of Alexander Sulzer and Cal O'Reilly, an indication that the coaching staff is unhappy about what they've seen out some of the team's younger players?

Or instead, is this a case where the team is simply waiting as long as they can before naming a starter, for competitive purposes?

The other interesting news out of Boclair's article is that Wade Belak will serve as the emergency 6th defenseman, following the assignment of Cody Franson earlier today.

A tip o' the hat goes to @predsgirl for the article link.