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Month: March
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Season: 3
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Team Name: Nashville Predators
Most Recent Transactions:
3/28/2006 Predators promote Todd Reirden to pro roster
3/27/2006 Predators place Todd Reirden on waivers
3/22/2006 Predators claim Todd Reirden from waivers
3/20/2006 Brad Lukowich (NAS) returns from injury
3/17/2006 Brad Lukowich (NAS) suffers sprained neck, sidelined day-to-day
3/16/2006 Bill Guerin (NAS) completes suspension
3/11/2006 To Predators: Pavel Kubina, Trevor Linden
To Canadiens: Aaron Ward, David Hale, Mariusz Czerkawski, Shane Hnidy,
STL 4 Rnd 5, NAS 4 Rnd 5, CBJ 4 Rnd 5, $3,000,000
3/11/2006 To Nordiques: Paul Healey, PHI 4 Rnd 5, QUE 4 Rnd 5, $1,000,000
To Predators: Gary Roberts
3/11/2006 To Predators: Aaron Ward
To Kings: Jakub Cutta
3/10/2006 To Predators: Peter Bondra, Sean Hill
To Canadiens: Brad Isbister, Janne Niinimaa, Taylor Pyatt, TOR 4 Rnd 5
3/10/2006 To Predators: Corey Schwab
To Capitals: Arturs Irbe
3/10/2006 To Predators: Shane Hnidy
To Blackhawks: Eric Beaudoin
3/9/2006 Bill Guerin (NAS) suspended 4 games
3/9/2006 To Predators: Valeri Bure
To Canadiens: Mike Grier, Vaclav Varada
3/6/2006 Predators assign Alex Auld to minors
3/6/2006 To Predators: Alexei Zhamnov, Anders Eriksson, Cristobal Huet,
David Hale, Ron Francis
To Avalanche: Alex Auld, Bryan Allen, Greg Johnson, Radek Bonk,
NYR 4 Rnd 4, $250,000
3/3/2006 To Predators: Arturs Irbe
To Devils: NYR 4 Rnd 5, $300,000
3/2/2006 Predators assign Phillipe Sauve to minors
3/2/2006 Predators promote Alex Auld to pro roster
3/1/2006 To Predators: Mike Grier
To Devils: Jamal Mayers, VAN 4 Rnd 5, $500,000
Current Record: 39-31-7-0 for 85 points
Month of March Record: 7-5-0-0
Current Developments:
Well the month of March was interesting to say the least, with lots of ups and downs. But before we get going, am I the only one that is already missing the trade deadline? I had a great time and I think it was reflected in the amount of transactions that we wound up making. We had set our self up pretty good by moving some of our lower end farm players for slightly better players and some draft picks, which put us in a position to make some last minute moves, especially in coming together in a deal with Quebec to acquire Roberts and a bunch of deals with Montreal that brought in their top wingers in Bure and Bondra. A very last second (We had 40 seconds or so left) deal saw us overpay to bring in Kubina however it wound up moving out some contracts that we didnt want to hold onto. We put ourself in a position to be contenders now, yet retain some of our best players and remain active in free agency. Unfortuantly, with all of the upgrades up front, we had to move out some top prospects such as Hale, Auld and Allen, not to mention that we are still lacking a 1b defensemen.
On the ice, it has been a so-so time this month. We are within 4 points of Detroit however unnecessary losses St Louis, Atlanta and Tampa, plus a blow out loss to Detroit may make the gap to much to bare. To take the Norris, the Predators are going to need to take 4 of the remaining 5 games and have Detroit to lose two games as well, just to have a shot at jumping up to #3 in the conference. Otherwise, we have a shot at getting up to #4 or 5 but it is still going to take some solid play against sub .500 teams. The top line of Guerin, Iginla and Richards is finally beginning to gel together, resulting in Guerin winning his first player of the week (and first POW with Lebow as General Manager). Meanwhile our other two lines havent been too shabby either, but if we want to have a real shot at getting to the Conference championship, something has to change and what that can be with a trade freeze in place is going to be an interesting development. Players including Iginla and Richards may begin to be double shifted in an attempt to boost productivity.
This is also going to be the last playoff run for stars such as Francis and Stevens while Nolan and Bure are expected to head out to Europe to play in the RSHL P league next year.
It is an all or nothing push right now, as the Predators need a combination of 3 wins and a tie, 4 wins or a few Wild losses to clinch a playoffs spot.
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