If Erat & Suter are still out for the Preds, what can Barry Trotz do?

by Dirk Hoag on Nov 10, 2010 12:42 PM EST in Discussions

Willy Daunic provided an update on 104.5's Sports Zone Facebook page, saying that Martin Erat & Ryan Suter will not make the trip for tomorrow's game at St. Louis. The Blues, who play tonight at Columbus, boast the league's best record at 9-1-2, and are near the top of the league in pretty much every major statistical category except the power play.

So the question is, which buttons can Barry Trotz push to give the Preds their best chance to succeed? Vote in the poll, and sound off in the comments below...

Poll

What can Barry Trotz do to give the Preds their best shot against St. Louis on Thursday?

Get Sergei Kostitsyn back in the lineup

113 votes

Keep SK74 scratched, put Belak in front of the net on the PP

8 votes

Move Cody Franson up the D depth chart

35 votes

Start Anders Lindback in goal

10 votes

Give J.P. Dumont more ice time in a scoring role

59 votes

Other

11 votes

236 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 47 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Why not

Multiple options, coach Trotz? Start Lindback in goal. Pair Franson with Weber. Give more ice time to JP. Let’s hope SK74 does not miss another team meeting, or get lost on his was to the airport, or do anything else stupid to get scratched. Let Tootoo and SOB be the goons that night. Tell Legwand he better score, or he’s walking home. I’m also up for hiring R. Lee Ermey to come in and give the guys a pre game pep talk ….

by XVIII on Nov 10, 2010 1:01 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Or

How about give Klasen a real chance?

by Lil cutie on Nov 10, 2010 1:13 PM EST reply actions

How about we place realistic expectations on the man...

Klasen is not a game-changing superstar that Evil Coach Trotz is keeping down on the farm.

Linus is a very skilled player that has SportsCenter potential. He doesn’t however have enough skill to put a team on his back and cure all ills.

Realistically, Klasen is playing for his next contract. If he keeps up his scoring pace in Milwaukee he’ll get a chance in Nashville later this season. If he produces here, he’ll get an extension and be worked into next season’s plans.

Right now he’s still a prospect that should be given tine to develop and not be thrown to the wolves…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 1:24 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Evil Coach Trotz ....

too funny !! I figure the man wants the team to win, just like we do. Totally agree with you about Klasen. He’s a prospect who has skills, but needs to hone those skills before being an NHL regular. The team just needs to get their mojo back. Speaking of evil, I wonder if Dr. Evil stole the mojo…

by XVIII on Nov 10, 2010 1:48 PM EST up reply actions

You've got to admit...

once he starts rocking the goatee, Evil Coach Trotz has a certain ring to it!

On the Forecheck is SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter at @Forechecker, or join our legions on Facebook at Facebook.com/OnTheForecheck.

by Dirk Hoag on Nov 10, 2010 2:35 PM EST up reply actions

But the goat hasn’t made it’s appearance yet … once that goatee comes out, all he needs is a little hairless cat to hold while walking behind the bench .. THEN that will be Evil Coach Trotz !

by XVIII on Nov 10, 2010 2:39 PM EST up reply actions

Linus Klasen is 24 years old. That’s one year older than Cal O’Reilly and four years older than Colin Wilson. He was a point-per-game scorer last year in the SEL, a league widely regarded as at least as competitive as the AHL. One player who has successfully made the jump from the SEL straight to the NHL is Anders Lindback, and he was not the standout player that Klasen was in Sweden. So, the suggestion that he might be ready for NHL duty now is not unreasonable.

Of course Klasen isn’t a cure-all, but neither is giving Kostitsyn more playing time or any of the above poll suggestions taken by themselves. But he might be able to contribute…

by Lil cutie on Nov 10, 2010 5:58 PM EST up reply actions

Klasen is 24 years old, but...

The SEL is a far different league than either the AHL or NHL and Klasen himself listed some of the differences in a recent interview on MilwaukeeAdmirals.com. The competition level is arguably better than the AHL, but there are other differences that can’t be overlooked.

Klasen will likely get a shot later this season and will actually stand a better chance at contributing then with more time to adjust than he has had now.

Comparing a goalie to a forward isn’t fair to either. As Lindback, Karlsson, and Bobrovsky have shown this season it’s easier to rely on skill and hard work to make a quick adjustment to the NHL, but ask Fabian Brunnstrom, Linus Omark, or even our very own Patric Hornqvist about their experiences trying to make it in the NHL as a rookie and you’ll see far different results…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 7:10 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Lines from practice today same as yesterday, but D pairs with a wrinkle...

Lines for the second straight day were:
Sullivan – O’Reilly – Hornqvist
Dumont – Legwand – Ward
Kostitsyn – Goc – Tootoo
Wilson – Spaling – Smithson

But, the D pairings were…

Bouillon – Weber
Sulzer – Klein
O’Brien – Franson

No indication who will start in net.

PP1 was 33-16-27-6-26
PP2 was 74-11-71-4-51 w/29 rotating in w/74&71

Long post-practice huddle at center ice with Trotz speaking to the group. Only thing I could hear was the end where he said, “If we work as individuals, we won’t get things done, but if we work together anything is possible.”

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 1:18 PM EST via mobile reply actions

question for the resident coach

Do you think the wilson-spaling-smithson line has a chance to do anything? I can’t help but thinking exchanging tootoo and wilson would play to their strengths a litttle better.

"It's gonna be fun on the bun."

by flyalder on Nov 10, 2010 1:32 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Hard to argue

that Toots is playing some of the best hockey of his career.

Seems like Trotz wants Wilson for the PP but not much else.

Goes back to whoever made the statement that Trotz has to have someone in his doghouse at all times.

by wrandsw on Nov 10, 2010 1:36 PM EST up reply actions

And that Trotz is a complete moron and has no idea how to manage lines...Geez fellas, I wonder why we can't score goals?

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 10, 2010 2:17 PM EST up reply actions

I was about to post something very very similar to this. I hate to see Wilson toil down on the 4th line w/ limited ice time but maybe it will light a fire under him to get back in the top 6.

by Joel Ward is my Homeboy on Nov 10, 2010 1:37 PM EST up reply actions

Agreed. Why is Wilson on the 4th line anyway? Even if he is the doghouse, being on the 4th line won’t help him get going again…

by Hoelke11 on Nov 10, 2010 1:39 PM EST up reply actions

Flyalder...

…I’m laughing my a$$ off over this one…LOL!!!

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 10, 2010 2:15 PM EST up reply actions

I was waitng for you to show up. and yeah, i have no idea what is going on with these lines, except for rewarding tootoo.

"It's gonna be fun on the bun."

by flyalder on Nov 10, 2010 2:43 PM EST up reply actions

Wilson

First, to answer your question, surprisingly yes, but not with any consistency…Smithson and Spaling have shown good chemistry together creating havoc on the forecheck and starting cycles. Putting the puck on Wilson’s stick off a cycle or turnover might actually benefit Wilson as he too excels on the cycle.

However, I’ll admit that I don’t expect them to generate any consistent offense. If they can eat minutes though and keep the puck out of our end, I think it’ll be a good night for them.

As for Wilson, I simply think he’s out of place right now without Lombardi and Erat in the lineup. He’s the only member of that line actually playing and I think he and Trotz have struggled a bit fitting him in elsewhere.

The fourth line in this lineup is essentially a special teams line. Spaling and Smithson will see heavy PK time and as a part of PP1, Wilson will see heavy PP time. There is always the possibility too for Trotz to move Wilson up the lineup if things aren’t clicking with another line Thursday night in St. Louis.

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 6:57 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Seth…If Trotz decides to dress Belak tomorrow, who gets scratched? Based on the lines you would think Wilson might get scratched (not that I want that to happen), but if he is on the PP1 then probably not him. So who?

Or does Trotz unleash SOB, Cube, and Toots for a change?

Would still like to see Cube and Klein back together. Klein seems to play his best when he is with Cube. IMO there is a big gap between Cube/Weber and the other d men. When Suter is playing we have 3 solid d men, but without Suter we have one really strong pair and 2 suspect pairs. And I am speaking from a purely defensive aspect of the position.

by wrandsw on Nov 10, 2010 1:32 PM EST up reply actions

I can't see Trotz dressing Belak, nor...

Nor can I see the Blues with their current streak trying to “even the score” with Tootoo. If they want to, by all means Trotz will throw Jordin out there to try to stir things up and get the Blues more focused on him than the game.

If that were to occur, I think it could be a rallying point for this team to build around. I had this debate with Chris prior to the last game, I don’t think Tootoo needs Belak to protect him from Janssen. Janssen fights heavyweights, but is by no means physically imposing compared to Jordin and regardless Tootoo has fought and defeated many other guys that dwarfed him in size. To me, fighting Janssen would be like fighting Shelley back in the day which Toots did a few times.

I just don’t think it’ll be an issue…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 6:28 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Reality versus fantasy

Nashville fans want to think Toots would have fought a guy like Shelley.

Never has, according to hockeyfights.

He won’t fight Janssen. The best he’ll do is pretend like he wants to go then try and draw a penalty and lie on the ice like he was killed. Gutless scum.

Regardless, Belak should not play. 2 minutes a game can’t police anybody, and a guy like Belak is only there to fight the heavys.

by DontfeedtheBelak on Nov 10, 2010 6:37 PM EST up reply actions

I apologize...

I’ll trust HockeyFights.com’s database that Tootoo has never fought Shelley. My mistake, after I posted that I was actually thinking about it and usually Hordichuk and others were the ones fighting Shelley during those bouts with Columbus and later deVries actually fought Shelley vs. San Jose.

My point still stands though, I can’t see Trotz in the midst of a losing streak dressing Belak to protect Tootoo and effectively pairing the roster down to 11 forwards.

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 6:47 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I remember that De vries fight well

It all started with Tootoo suckering Staubitz before he could get his gloves off, naturally.

My favorite De vries moment, and showed (like Klein did recently) that you can once in awhile man up and punch ‘above your class’, even though it was to account for more Tootoo nonsense. Still, more guts than I thought he had.

Belak. Suit and Tie. they need to roll 4 lines, and shoot the puck from everywhere.
Let them have there Belak (Cam) muck their lines up.

by DontfeedtheBelak on Nov 10, 2010 7:07 PM EST up reply actions

Suckering vs. Survival

Tootoo was born in and summers back in a culture that many (myself definitely included) would struggle to survive a couple months in.

Survival instinct isn’t just a phrase in Tootoo’s world, it’s mandatory amongst the Inuit people to live where they do and is bred into their children from the day they’re born.

Your repeated use of the phrase “sucker punch” in reference to the fact that Tootoo is very quick to drop his gloves and start throwing punches when challenged is very misplaced. Jordin doesnt go around the ice throwing punches at unsuspecting opponents, if he did I wouldn’t want him on our team, nor do I think he’d last long in this sport.

When Tootoo is challenged to fight, I put my money on him to win because of his upbringing. If you challenge Tootoo to a fight, you should know your opponent and be ready because where he comes from fighting isn’t just a form of entertainment, it’s a way of life. If anything, I think Tootoo shows great restraint on the ice and I’m not saying that to try to create some aura. It’s just the truth.

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 7:21 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Weak

It doesn’t matter if it was Nunuvut or Nova Scotia
His upbringing is no excuse for cheapshotting

He doesn’t go around the ice throwing punches at unsuspecting opponents
http://www.hockeyfights.com/quickhits/qh/entry/tootoo-reignites-sharks-preds/

Click on the link for the De vries vs Shelley fight (and remember what he did versus the Blues recently in game 1).

Then look at the fights where he squared up and fought Staubitz.

The punching the guy in the face before he is ready is unique to a few in the league. Toots is the only guy I see now live, and watch for it, but I doubt there are many others. Guys like that aren’ held in high esteem by their peers (and by the refs). And there is good reason.

It doesn’t belong on the ice. Its cheap whenever anybody does it and he does it. The truth is he punches people in the face (and charges and leaves his feet on occasion but that is besides the point).

And he picks his spots, when it comes to fighting guys square, and to who he fights.
Trust me, he never has fought a Janssen or a Shelley. He was more than willing to go after Tollefsen and Chimera, noted goons.

by DontfeedtheBelak on Nov 10, 2010 7:37 PM EST up reply actions

Don't feed the Belak

Is kinda right. Tootoo won’t fight the heavyweights…any of them. He’s a middleweight. And he does pick his spots…nowadays…which I think is because he draws a lot of penalties and would rather give us the PP (as if we can score on it) than retaliate. And let’s look at one of the fighs where he squared off against Staubitz:

http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/49782 The fight is from Nov. 18, 2008 if the link doesn’t work.

He’s fine against all middleweights. Staubitz just whooped his ass that one night, which happens. Is Tootoo a cheapshot? He can be, but he can whoop people straight up too. I have to agree that Tootoo USED TO charge quite a bit, but I haven’t seen him do that in over two years.

I hate to admit some of these things, but Seth Lake sounds like such a Homer when he talks about Tootoo whooping Shelley that I thought I prolly oughta give you kudos.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 12:19 PM EST up reply actions

That's the stupidest National Geographic rendition I've ever heard.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

Whatever...

As for my mistake regarding who Tootoo fought several years ago, I apologized. I had a seizure last December that really jumbled up some timelines in my mind and little details like that too. As I said, after I posted it, I was thinking about it and realized it was wrong. It has nothing to do with being a “homer” and I’ve called out Tootoo many times in the past when he’s leaped into a hit, etc.

As for Staubitz beating Tootoo bloody, it was as clear as day that he was throwing forearms in MMA fashion rather than fists, but Jordin stood in there and took far more shots than either you or I could take before going down.

As for my “National Geographic rendition”, obviously you missed my point or maybe I didn’t make it clear enough for you. My point is getting in the first punch after being challenged IMO is a product of survival instinct and not a cheapshot. I didn’t realize that when someone challenges another to a fight on the ice that the person challenged has to wait for the aggressor to prepare before engaging. Tootoo is small, he’s fought plenty of players physically larger than him in the past and survived. Sorry if the way he’s survived doesn’t conform with your code of conduct whenit comes to hockey fights…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 11, 2010 1:01 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Down boy...

…I’m a huge Tootoo fan. If dudes wanna mess with Toots for his (recently) clean hits, then they gotta be ready for the Tsunami! I like his style. And with the Staubitz comment I was going back to a game where they fought to a draw, not the flying elbow incident.

But you should also realize that making fun of people for believing that a #7 overall draft pick from three years ago should not be cast down to the fourth line is also bad form. He’s never been given a real chance to succeed…playing with Arnott last year and being given 13:00 of ice time per game (Dumont area) and being 13th on the team in PP TOI/G is not giving him a chance to become an offensive threat…especially on a team that could use one! I’m not saying that he should be given TOI JUST because he’s a high first round pick, I’m saying he should be given a chance to be successful offensively because he’s a high first round pick. Instead any offensive creativity he has is being crushed because he fears that any mistake he makes is gonna make Trotz hate him even more and give him less and less ice time. That’s how potential is crushed.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 1:22 PM EST up reply actions

I can't see Trotz dressing Belak, nor...

I just don’t think it’ll be an issue…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 6:32 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Faceoff's

Question – if Jered Smithson is great at faceoff’s (recent OTF article) why isn’t he part of a PP unit? Just wondering here -

by XVIII on Nov 10, 2010 2:08 PM EST up reply actions

2 for the last 37 on the pp.

by shoot the puck on Nov 10, 2010 6:32 PM EST up reply actions

All the more reason to put Wilson on the bench in favor of Ward

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 11:31 AM EST up reply actions

Wilson is on PP1, Ward is rotating into PP2...

What more do you want? Should Wilson play the whole 2:00 like OV does in Washington? Is Bruce Boudreau some genius coach compared to Trotz?

There’s no simple solution to our problems of late and removing Trotz is by far more of a change than I think you believe it to be. Decisions made in haste are rarely the right decision. The season is not over, radicial change is not necessary.

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by Seth Lake on Nov 11, 2010 12:33 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Ward should not be rotating on the PP

He hasn’t got the skill to be on the PP. I like ward as a 3rd liner…a lot! He hustles, kills penalties, is responsible defensively and can score the odd goal. But he has no business being on the PP. None.

I want Trotz to be smart. I want him to keep lines together. Remember at the start of the year how good the Ward-Legwand-Dumont line was? Or how good Goc-Tootoo-Dumont was last year when they were togehter? We could have four EXCELLENT lines (adjusted for which line it is) but Trotz can’t keep from fumbling around with changing personnel. I know that some of it has to do with injuries. But even in the past, he has gone to great lengths to NOT keep lines together. And it pisses me off. And it comes out in the PP lines too. And that contributes to how bad our special teams are. And it costs us points early in the season and that means we make the playoffs by 1 or 2 pts., play SJ or Chicago, and lose in the first round. Just like always. I’m bitching cause I want some chemistry with our lines, which translates to familiarity and eventually GOALS! And if you’re gonna put Belak in, don’t play him for 1:48 a game. That also leads to mixing up of the lines, which contributes to our inability to score goals…which we could use right now.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 12:43 PM EST up reply actions

I wrote something similar on HF just a couple days ago...

It’s like Deja vu.

I too don’t like Ward on the PP and was happy when he started on the sidelines yesterday. Ward doesn’t have the hands to deflect pucks like Hornqvist, nor does he have the mobility to get to loose pucks on rebounds or to stay in front of the goalie to screen.

Dumont is actually very good at deflections in front of the net and at least in practice doesn’t appear to be afraid to stand in there either.

Watching practice my actual thought was that switching SK to PP1 and moving Wilson to PP2. In college, Wilson did the majority of his damage from the goal line to the left of the goalie, which is where SK was working yesterday…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 11, 2010 1:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

I couldn't agree more...you gotta put guys with ability (and potential) on the PP. Obviously JW isn't a key cog on the PP, so reason would suggest that he shouldn't be on it.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

Wilson-Spaling-Smithson

That’s great use of our top 10 draft pick.

And I’ma leave it at that.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 10, 2010 2:14 PM EST up reply actions

Contract $ and draft status don't mean squat...

Trotz has no concern, nor should he, with individual player compensation (ie: Dumont making $4 mil and skating with Spaling and Belak last game) or draft status (ie: let’s rank our centers by draft pick – Legwand, Goc, Spaling, O’Reilly is clearly how they should be ordered!) when it comes to filling out the lineup card.

While your statement might be funny to some and show your frustration with the current situation, it really has no merit in terms of who should be getting what ice time…

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 7:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Agreed

If draft status meant something, Pickard wouldn’t be in the ECHL, and Legwand wouldn’t be the franchise 3rd line center (or, in other words, Manny Malhotra).

Wilson hasn’t shown anything to say he deserves first line duty. Leave Sully/Oreilly/Hornquist out there as much as you can. They deserve it.

If Wilson was lighting it up off the bat like Duchene did last year, or Skinner this year,
or even if he was noticable most shifts like Evander Kane, play him like a top 6 forward.
But he hasn’t, and he should have to earn his ‘premium’ ice time.

Same goes for Erat when he comes back.

by DontfeedtheBelak on Nov 10, 2010 7:14 PM EST up reply actions

Belak was a first rounder too!

I remember meeting him at the draft in Hartford. 12th overall pick as a defenseman by the then Quebec Nordiques.

That’d put him where he practiced today, on the top pair with Ryan Suter! Klein-Weber and Franson-Sulzer would be the other pairings. O’Brien? He was an 8th rounder (surprisingly another member of the 2003 Draft class). Bouillon? He wasn’t even drafted!!!

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by Seth Lake on Nov 10, 2010 7:35 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Go ahead and convince yourself that Trotz is a genius and that he's not costing us pts right now that are gonna have us winding up as a #7 seed...just like always

And Wilson will NEVER show a damn thing as long as he’s a 4th line checking center with the likes of Spaling and Smithson. You gotta give him a chance to be successful and Trotz never has. Show me a city that has blind faith in a coach that’s never won anything, and I’ll show you the Nashville Preds. We have not improved over the past three years (after the great purges) and we never will cuase we got an inflexible coach who wants his high end talent to be a bunch of muckers and grinders. He wouldn’t know what to do with offensive talent if it jumped up on his lap and called him Mama.

by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 11, 2010 11:39 AM EST up reply actions

Don’t dress Belak if he’s only going to play 2 minutes. Then we’re basically playing with only 11 forwards.
We need pressure on Halak from our top 2 lines, so I suggest

Sully-Cal-Horny
JP-Goc-Wilson
SK-Spaling-Ward
Smithers-Legwand-Tootoo

No way Goc should be on a 3rd or 4th line until Lombardi returns and is up to speed.

Until Suter returns I’d like to see each of our veteran d-men paired with a younger player, for example

Weber-Sulzer
Cube-KK
SOB-Franson

by shoot the puck on Nov 10, 2010 6:22 PM EST reply actions