Nashville Predators News
Breaking: Predators Trade F Austin Watson to Ottawa for 4th Round Pick – On the Forecheck
The deal is done. We didn’t see it coming, but Nashville got a return for him and Watson gets a fresh start in Ottawa. So win-win for everyone involved – and that’s where I’m going to leave it.
Bruins sign Craig Smith to a three-year, $9.3 million deal – Stanley Cup of Chowder
I’ve talked at length about this subject, and by now you know how I feel about it. But after today’s signing and his interview with Boston media, I’m getting the sense that Craig Smith didn’t want to return to Nashville anyways. Whether it was just time to move on, he wanted to win now, or Nashville just never offered him, it looks like this was inevitable.
Nashville Predators sign UFA forward Nick Cousins to two-year, $1.5M AAV deal – On the Forecheck
I know this happened Friday, the announcement was made official today and so here we are. This signing makes a lot more sense as he’s replacing the role Austin Watson had, and their cap hit are exactly the same as well. I’ll have a piece Monday that has thoughts on Cousins and the other signings from the people who covered them, which should help you give you some insight on these guys.
Analytics Corner
Missing Pieces – The Energy Line
If you read this website, you know the one source of public tracking data is Corey Snajzder. He spends an unimaginable amount of time tracking hockey games every season manually – by himself – and provides this data at a very low cost (subscribe to his Patreon now!). Here he talks about how this data can be used in an effective manner, and is very accessible to anyone.
Exploring sports analytics and schools of thought with Katerina Wu – Asking For Directions
Learn about the 2020 UNC grad’s aspirations after working with War On Ice founders and presenting research at CBJHAC.
Ryan Stimson: ‘Figure some shit out’ and damn the consequences – Asking For Directions
Find out why the RIT analytics conference co-founder and author of “Tape to Space” became a hockey fan in the late 1990s.
News from Around The NHL
Johnsson traded to Devils by Maple Leafs – NHL.com
I will not make a joke about their names. I will not make a joke about their names.
Did you know their names are similar and reversed? Crap.
Saad traded to Avalanche by Blackhawks for Zadorov – NHL.com
How does Chicago General Manager Stan Bowman still have a job? This is such a staggeringly bad trade, yet the Avalanche were able to pull it off. AND they convinced Chicago to retain $1 million of Saad’s salary. Wow.
Pietrangelo continuing visit with Golden Knights: report – NHL.com
On one hand, I’m glad to see the Blues part with Pietrangelo, but they did sign Torey Krug this week. On the other hand, the thought of Vegas adding yet another high-powered player to that roster gives me indigestion.
Fast agrees to three-year, $6 million contract with Hurricanes – NHL.com
This would’ve been such an excellent signing for Nashville, but instead we watch Carolina continue their stellar offseason. So we wait.
Barrie agrees to one-year, $3.75 million contract with Oilers – NHL.com
Tyson Barrie is headed to Edmonton, to add a fairly decent defender on their blueline to help out former Pred and now teammate Kyle Turris. A one-year prove it deal was smart.
Red Wings Sign Goaltender Thomas Greiss to a Two Year Contract for a $3.6M AAV – Winging It In Motown
General Manager Steve Yzerman is making an early case for “Best New GM” by making two smart signings yesterday. Greiss was a pretty good goaltender last season in New York, and this is a smart move for a decent price.
Red Wings sign defenseman Troy Stecher to two-year deal – Winging It In Motown
After missing out on signing Torey Krug, Detroit made a pretty decent replacement signing with the right-handed defenseman in Stetcher.
Tweet of the Day
There’s nothing worse than people on Twitter claim they’re experts and try the “well, actually” routine on someone who knows more than them. But there’s nothing better than seeing those idiots actually try to explain things to people who worked for actual NHL teams.
We have been on twitter long enough that former employees of NHL teams get to dunk on people pic.twitter.com/FRKhvWUs3j
— smells like crowtein spirit (@HellblazerVice) October 11, 2020
Song of the Day
In honor of the possible Taylor Hall signing, I wanted very badly to post a video clip of Spongebob Squarepants failing his boating exam. I won’t do that, but just know you’re in for a bunch of jokes about Taylor Hall failing his boating license test by yours truly. Instead, I give you this, a true classic from the 90’s: