ryan suter

There will be plenty of defensive talent on display tonight at the Sommet Center. The Preds’ success against Calgary this evening–and for the entire season–will depend in large part on how Nashville’s defensemen perform.

One of the questions that Nashville Predators fans worried over earlier this summer was whether the team would be able to retain both Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, the two high-profile restricted free agents due for major pay increases. Now that he's locked up for four more seasons at $3.5 million per, the focus shifts to how much of a step forward Suter will take as he shakes off the young rookie

(Warning: This article is full of sarcasm)

(Warning: This article is full of sarcasm)

The Predators roster is still anyone's guess.

John Glennon reports today that Shea Weber has signed a 3-year, $13.5 million deal, avoiding the trials and tribulations of restricted free agency. At $4.5 million per year, he leapfrogs Ryan Suter and Marek Zidlicky in terms of yearly salary among Predators defensemen, fairly close to the figures I guessed at a few months ago by comparing him not with Dion Phaneuf, but rather other young NHL

With the newly announced signing of

The Predators just

Saturday night's win in Dallas was noteworthy on a number of levels; the Preds went toe-to-toe with the hottest team in the NHL and dominated the 3rd period on the way to a 3-1 victory. A great win, all-around.

Into every NHL season a lame effort or two will happen to any team, but with Wednesday's 8-4 debacle in Buffalo, the Predators have now given up 6 or more goals three times in the last two-and-a-half weeks (previously to Chicago and Dallas at home). Perhaps most disturbing, there seems to be no single cause for these repeated train wrecks; they encompass a combination of marshmallow-soft goaltending, shoddy defensive zone coverage, and a total lack of composure. A few horrid examples:

One wouldn't exactly say "the party never stops" when it comes to the NHL Trade Deadline, especially since that deadline is indeed next Tuesday, but you could just about say "the party never starts" instead.  Despite incessant rumor-mongering and speculation, we've had nothing but scraps come in lately in terms of NHL trades, with the lone exception of last week's Carolina/Ottawa four-player swap.  But just in case GM David Poile gets the urge to start shopping for his Nashvi