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Tuesday’s Dump & Chase: Rem and Stimpy

Nashville Predators News & Notes

Nashville Predators assistant coach Todd Richards recovering from heart attack | ESPN
A scary situation to be sure, but the important note here is that the Predators say Richards should make a full recovery. On behalf of the entire OTF community, we send our well wishes to Todd and his family, and wish him the best on his recovery.

Predators Reduce Roster to 33 Players | NHL.com
Per the article, the Preds have outright sent Novak, Richard, Farrance, and Cooley to the AHL. In addition, CapFriendly reports five other Preds have been placed on waivers, presumably so the team can reassign them to the Ads: Rem Pitlick, Frederic Allard, Matt Tennyson, Matt Luff, and the superstar of the Preds’ 2021 opening night roster, Cole Smith.

Pitlick is the only name on the list I think you could realistically raise an eyebrow at. Not that I was expecting him to make the roster, but the fact that he was reassigned with a week left in the preseason (before the likes of Michael McCarron) is sort of a hint on what the Preds think of him at the moment. Pitlick has been good in flashes when he’s been on the main roster, but it seems he’s been leapfrogged by a number of fellow up-and-coming forwards. And given that the Preds’ bottom six depth is fairly solid, you get the sense Pitlick’s running out of time to impress the front office.

‘It became borderline dangerous’: Mark Borowiecki details mental health diagnosis | The Athletic
If you have a subscription to The Athletic, this is a must-read. In this interview with Adam Vingan, Borowiecki gets refreshingly candid about his mental health struggles over the past couple of seasons, and went in depth about a series of panic attacks he suffered during a game last season. He also says he hopes his revelation will help end the stigma around mental health in professional sports.

“There’s this entrenched masculinity (in hockey),” Borowiecki said. “For whatever reason, dealing with your mental health and your feelings and your emotions isn’t seen as masculine. I’m a masculine guy by most people’s definition. I’ve got no teeth. I’ve got a broken nose. I’ve got scars all over my face. But I still think dealing with my feelings and my emotions is important. I just think it’s important for guys to know that you can still be this tough guy in the NHL and this archetypal masculine athlete, but you can stay on top of this stuff. It’s only going to benefit you.”

Boro goes on to detail the steps he’s taken to improve his mental health, and why he feels he’s in the “best shape” he’s ever been in headed into camp.

While it’s certainly good news from a hockey standpoint to have Borowiecki entering camp on a high, the more important takeaway here is that he’s in a healthy place away from the rink. Boro is a genuine great human being, and we’ll continue to root for him both on and off the ice.

NHL Stadium Series logo unveiled | NHL.com

I don’t hate it. Thoughts?

Also, kudos to our recent preseason frenemies, the Tampa Bay Lightning, for jumping in during this exchange.

If you come for the man, you best not miss.

Other Hockey Happenings

Crosby, McDavid, Pietrangelo submitted by Canada for 2022 Olympics | NHL.com
These are the three best Canadian players at the moment, so you can’t fault Team Canada for going ahead and saying “yeah sure go ahead and throw them on the roster.”

A letter to Mrs. Blashill on Lucas Raymond | Winging It In Motown
Raymond (the #4 pick in 2020 and Corey Pronman’s third-best NHL prospect) would make Detroit an intriguing team to watch in 2021-22, especially with potential game-changer Moritz Seider also making the team. The Red Wings have historically let their prospects build on the slow burn, but Stevie Y also has a history of “trials by fire” paying off (see Nikita Kucherov and Viktor Hedman), so we’ll see.

Alain Vigneault responds to Robin Lehner’s claims of Philadelphia Flyers distributing pills to players | Broad Street Hockey
This is a situation that’s not going to be resolved any time soon, and it would behoove us to let the facts of this investigation play out before discussing the Vigneault part of this story.

Brandon Tanev’s Penguins headshot travels to the USHL | PensBurgh
Brandon Tanev will be more known for his team photos than he will be for anything else he does in the NHL.