Nashville’s Defensive Makeover DISSECTED | Can Nick Perbix, Nic Hague Save the Blue Line?

Nashville’s Defensive Makeover DISSECTED | Can Nick Perbix, Nic Hague Save the Blue Line?

Heading into the off season, Barry Trot said that his number one priority was to fix the Nashville Predators defense. But did he? You’re Locked on Predators, your daily podcast on the Nashville Predators, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Happy second day of free agency to all who celebrate. Welcome to the Locked On Predators podcast. Thanks for making us your first listen of the day. We are of course part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Do want to shout out our Locked On Predators insiders and our everyday listeners who hang out with us and talk Nashville Predators hockey. We love talking with you guys. I am Emma Lingan. I’m an NHL host and reporter with the hockey news. And I told you guys yesterday you would not have to listen to me blather on by myself for the next three days. While my partner in crime, Anne Kimmel, is out for the week. I have enlisted the help of a man who needs no introduction, but I’m going to introduce him anyway. Robbie Stanley of 1025 the game here in Nashville filling in uh for the remainder of the week. Robbie, thanks for joining us.
Emma, thank you so much for having me. It is my pleasure to be here and I’m looking forward to it
and a locked on alumnus if if I’m if I’m not mistaken. This is uh kind of crossing generations now of locked on hosts.
It’s like coming home, you know. It’s like coming back home. You guys have taken it way farther than I ever did. So, congratulations on that. But it really is it’s like a it’s like like a locked on PRS party. It’s what we do.
Yeah. You can go home again.
Um
All right. Yeah. Unless you’re riding to Well, yeah, you’re just making your tour of the central division. Um, all right, Robbie, we have, well, I should say we I have talked at length uh and people are done listening to me talk about uh what I think of the Predators offseason moves thus far. Um, so even though we have talked about them a little bit, do want to kind of get your take on the moves that Barry Trotz has made thus far. been a relatively quiet off season, which I think is a good thing. Um, I think it’s a welcome change after after all of the change that we saw last year. But, you know, Barry Trotz came into this off season saying that his main priority was to shore up the defense and and that was pretty clear. They needed to fix the defense. So, in his defense, he went out and he addressed the defense. He traded for Nick Heg and he signed Nick Pervik. So with those two moves, I have to ask, do you think the defense is fixed uh for this year or do you think there’s more coming?
Uh I think fixed would be a very strong word. I I think it could be much improved given how much of a tire fire it was at the end of last year. Like I mean Trot, I thought it was interesting. He basically said it the other day at his press conference where he was like, “Yeah, at the end of the year it was Brady Shay and a bunch of dudes.” Like, that’s basically what he said at the end of it. So, it’s like, well, okay. Yeah, I mean, he’s right. I don’t you never really see general managers come out and say it that way, but he was right. So, like, I see what he’s trying to do on defense. You know, Nick Pervix is 6’4. He’s a right-handed shot. We know they needed a right-handed shot. You know, Nick Hey is 66. So if you look at Hey, Pervix and Brady Sheay, you’re talking about 66 and Hey, 6’4 in Pervic, 63 and Shay. So they’ve gotten bigger on the back end. I agree with him that they got pushed around too much last year on defense. And you should get pushed around way less with Nick Hey and Nick Pervix in the fold. Where I start to have questions is all right, who’s playing with Roman Yosi? Because Nick Hey, to me, while they believe that he can play in an increased role, that’s fine if they believe that, I don’t know that Nick Hey needs to be going from playing 17 18 minutes a night at best to playing 22 23 with Roman Yosi. I just that seems like a big jump to me. And look, maybe he’s ready for it, but there’s been nothing that I’ve seen that would suggest that they’re paying him a ton of money. I know people got sticker shock when they saw the $5.5 million cap hit. I did, too. You I heard early Elliot Freeman on 1025 the game start talking about how apparently there was an unbelievable amount of interest in Nick Heg and if you wanted him that’s basically what it was going to cost. So you can take that for whatever you want to take it for like whatever you think that’s worth take it for that. I I still look at their defense and I say what version of Roman Yosi are they getting? Because if it’s Roman Yosi of last year before the injury who I would describe as okay, I would say there’s still some work to do on this defense. If it’s Roman Yosi at age 35 that’s got one more Norris caliber season in him. Well, that’s a big that’s a big difference. That’s a that’s a different thing than what we saw last year. So, I like the upgrades that they made. Frankly, I like the Pervix’s move more than I like the Heg move. But, I still look at the rest of that defense core right now and I say, you know, is Willsby going to step up? They clearly believe Baron is going to be really good. I I’ve not seen it yet. I I need to see him take a huge step. If they’re right about that, well then they may be cooking with gas a little bit, but there’s still a lot of things with that defense I need to see before I believe it’s fixed. Yeah, I’m with you. I really actually really like the perfect signing. I think it was at a really good price point. Uh addressed a very clear area of need on the roster. I think with Hey, it’s funny when you’re talking about sticker shock, I saw some people talking about how are you going to pay 5.5 million to a third pairing defenseman? Well, the answer to that is he’s not going to be a third pairing defenseman. They don’t see him as that. And and Barry Trotz said it, he’s a top four defenseman, and that’s great if they believe that, and it’s great if he turns out to be. Um, but at this rate, it’s looking like he has to be the guy who’s playing with Roman Yosi at at the roster with the roster looking the way it does right now. Things could change. Um, you know, it’s either him or I don’t know, Adam Wilsby, but I don’t think they’re going to put him on the top pairing. uh or at least they shouldn’t. Not yet anyway. Um so it’s I I think that again in in the trade though for Heg, you know, I think people uh definitely had some opinions about what the Predators lost. I talked about it a little bit yesterday. In my opinion, Lausan for Heg is almost not financially or anything like that, but just in terms of kind of what they bring, it’s almost a one for one to me, like for what they bring on the ice. Very similar defensive defenseman, big guys, throw the body around, uh, block a lot of shots. I mean, that’s, you know, you’re you know what you’re going to get with them, I think. Um, for me the the tough one was Colton Sizzence. And I think that this is one that, you know, maybe his his numbers didn’t jump off the page. she wasn’t going to be, you know, like scoring 40 goals or anything like that. But I think that Colton Sizens was very valuable to this organization, not just in sort of a nostalgia way with, you know, being part of that group that went to the cup final in 17. But I think the leadership that he brings, the sort of safety net that he brought for those younger players uh that they’re trying to bring in, um I just have a sinking feeling that this is going to be a much bigger loss for the Predators than maybe people might realize. What do you think about that?
Well, I think it absolutely could be and and I I guess on top of that, it’s look at their center depth, right? Like it was bad with Siz and now look at it without him. And look, you know, we can talk about Eric Holla if we want to. Eric Holla has been a fine player throughout his career. Eric Hall is 34. He was bad last year. So I’m looking at their their center depth right now and I’m saying, “All right, like Colton Sins, like you said, Colton Sizens is not a top six forward. He can fill in in the top six of a pinch if you really need him to, but we know what Colton Sens is. He’s a really good bottom six player and no, the offense from him did not come last year and it didn’t come from frankly anyone on the team last year with the, you know, the possible exception of Philip Forsber. But I I look at him and the different things that he can do and how you can move him up and down the lineup and the different roles that he can play and I think to myself, I’d probably rather have him than Eric Cola. Like just be honest with you, I’d rather have him than Eric Cola. So like I I think their center depth is a huge problem. I I think Siz like Sizens is not some irreplaceable player, but where with their center depth and where it is right now, I think they need really all the help they can get there. And I’m with you on the Lison Hey, like they’re very similar type of players. I I think the Predators believe that Hey’s got some more offensive upside than Lison and more offensive upside than he showed in Vegas. We’ll see if they’re right. Andrew Bernett talked about that yesterday, how he doesn’t feel like that part of his game’s been unlocked yet. So, we’ll see. We’ll see if that’s if that’s, you know, a better fit here in Nashville. We know that Jeremy Lozan was not going to bring much offense from the back end. Hey, hasn’t either to this point in his career. So, we’ll see if that changes. But the Siz part of this, yeah, I mean, people focused on the nostalgia stuff the other day, and I guess I was guilty of that, too, because it’s the first thing you think about when you think of Colton Sizz if you watch 2017 playoffs. But he was uh I mean he was a guy that gave it his all non-stop and I know he had a down year offensively last year but I think he’s still gonna be a valuable player and I think Vegas is gonna love him. Yeah, I think he’s a guy that I have always been, you know, worried about because of course his name always comes up during trade deadline season every year because he’s so affordable. He’s so reliable. He is the perfect addition to a contender. Like normally at the deadline, contenders are looking for depth scoring. They’re looking for depth forwards, two-way play, special teams. He can do all of that. And so I think that I’m happy for him. Uh I think that Vegas is going to be really good for him. Um but, you know, it’s unfortunate that it had to come to an end in Nashville. Um, on that note though, like with the free agent market really kind of being pretty thin this year, uh, in in a lot of positions, but center depth being one of them. I mean, you look at, okay, if they if the Predators were going to upgrade at center at all, it would have to be via trade. Um, and you know, you see I don’t know. I I just don’t think that there was any kind of trade that was going to like a trade opportunity that was going to present itself uh to Nashville for where it would make sense or frankly where Nashville would have the pieces to return um to a potential trade partner. But then I mean you look at even uh Wednesday PS signed two years in St. Louis for a little over four million a year. It’s like I don’t know could I mean the Predators could have afforded that. should they have or, you know, is this kind of just more of Barry Trotz wanting to, you know, let the young kids figure it out?
Yeah, I think it’s probably that like I I guess it’s letting the young kids figure it out. I mean, look, I looked on the the Athletic came out with their free agency big board the morning of July 1st and I was just like, “Oh, this could be cool. Let’s look at it.” And the number four name on the board was Myle Granland. I was like, I mean, don’t disrespect the M Granland, but that kind of shows you where the free agent pool was. because if he’s the number four guy on the list, I think that kind of tells you, and if you’re a Predators fan, you know that it’s probably not a great free agency list. So, I don’t mind the Predators not really getting involved with kind of the the big part of the free agency stuff there. Like, the perfect steel I think was perfect. You know, Sudter, I wouldn’t have mind seeing them get involved with. I just wouldn’t have much interest if it were me. I wouldn’t have much interest in going beyond like two years. And that’s just hard to pull off in free agency when you’re looking at especially that position and you’re looking at just the lack of options. It’s a hard thing to do. So, and the other part of this is like frankly I think last year obviously the Predators were a pretty attractive organization at a pretty attractive destination and they just finished 30th in the league and they got a lot of 35 year olds. Like I’m not saying it’s not it’s totally unattractive because clearly Nick Hey had no problem signing an extension here, but I don’t think it has the same pop to it after finishing 30th in the league than it normally would. If that makes any sense.
Yeah, a very different perception I think of Nashville around the league this time, you know, this year than there was at this time last year. Uh coming up, we we’re talking about letting the young kids play. Uh we’re going to talk about that next generation of young kids. Uh development camp is ongoing here in Nashville, featuring a lot of new and some familiar faces, but one of the new ones is Brady Martin, number five overall pick. We’re going to talk about what we’ve seen from him coming up. If you ever wish that managing your money felt easier, with Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat, it’s like having your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than just a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and your spending in one place. So, in addition to managing your money, you’re also building wealth. If you have ever looked at your spending and been surprised at how fast it adds up, you need to get Monarch Money today. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com code lockedonhl for half off your first year. All right, Robbie. Uh we have both been we’ve spent some time at development camp uh at Centennial this week. Beautiful Centennial Sportslex this week. Um yes, lovely. We have seen some uh some old faces, familiar faces. I I was shocked personally at how old Matthew Wood looked in this group. Just how distinguished and just like elder statesmanlike he seemed. I was like, “Wow, okay.” like this, you know, he was just a kid and now he looks like he’s running the show out here. But, you know, we’ve also gotten to see guys like Andrew Gibson and Tanner Molandike and um a bunch of other Teddy Stigga. Um but then we also have gotten to know a little bit some of the new draft picks from this year’s class, including one Brady Martin. Now, we do not need to rehash uh decision to draft Brady Martin. And I think that that has been uh analyzed ad nauseium at this point. But the the point is they have Brady Martin at number five. Um they picked him at number five. Maybe not the highest skill ceiling uh of the centers in the draft, but I don’t know. I after just a brief time talking to him and watching him, first of all, heck of a shot uh out there. like we we getting to see him on the ice has certainly been impressive, but I think that, you know, people are stuck on, well, is he just a motor guy? We we don’t need a motor guy. We need a skill guy. And it’s like, well, I think he can be both to a degree. But to me, just after seeing him, after interacting with him, after observing him, to me, I can now see what Barry Trotz was talking about a little bit in terms of the IT factor. And I think, I don’t know about you, but I think that this is actually going to end up being a really good pick for Nashville because they are preparing for life after Roman Yosi, which is absolutely what they need to be doing. I think in Brady Martin they have just drafted their next captain. Uh I mean what do you maybe not their next captain but they have drafted a future captain. So what do you what do you think uh about this pick and you know do do you agree or any other observations you’ve had about him this week?
Well he’s he’s going to be their captain one day. Like Barry Trotz has basically said it and you know Cory Curtis from News 2 texted me this and I guess the more I’ve I’ve thought about it I kind of agree with it. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard Barry Trotz talk about anyone the way that he talks about Brady Martin. Like he he’s had his guys over the years that he loves and guys that obviously when he was a coach it’s a little different, right? Like you’re you’re with them every day and you’re in the grind of it. So like he loved Shay Weber. Why wouldn’t you? He loved Pearina. So I get all that. He’s had those type of guys. But like he has been overthe-top like eusive with his Brady Martin praise. like out of his way with his Brady Martin Prey since they drafted him Friday night. You know, I think some Predators fans think that they’ve drafted like the second coming of Jordan Tutu and that’s not it. Like he is got some offensive bite to him. Like he’s a good player. And is he going to be a 95 point guy in the NHL? I don’t know. Probably not. But you can still be a really effective player and a really effective center and not put up 95 points. Now, look, full disclosure, and again, I’m not going to sit here and reitigate the draft. James Hagens was there. I was on the draft show when it was happening. I would have gone Hagens, but the more I’ve looked at Martin, the more I understand it. Like the Martin, I think number one, whether it’s this fall or not, is going to be ready to play in the NHL pretty quickly. Like, I you watch his skill set, and I think he’s got a an all-around game that I really like. You go and watch some of his games from last year, which I did in the draft process. you watch certainly some of the highlights and you can just see it like the way that he plays. You know, I I was talking to Andrew Gibson about him the other day and Emma and you were there for that too. Like he’s just kind of infectious in the way that he interacts with people. So I know fans roll their eyes at some of that stuff sometimes and they don’t think any of that matters but it does like you know yes offensive skill is really important. By the way, he’s got some of that. So again, he’s not some fourthline grinder out there, but you know, the ability to get in on the forche, the ability to be physical, the ability to hold on to the puck, all of those things are really, really important. And is he perfect at all that? No. But he’s 18 years old. And I think, you know, one of the things you’ve got to do when you’re drafting these kids is it’s about forecasting what they’re going to be, not what they’re going to be in the fall of 2025 after you draft them. So whether he’s ready this year or not, I watch him and everything you you hear about him, everything you see with him, everything you watch on tape about him suggests to me that he can be a really good player for this team for a long time. So I I’ve seen nothing this week that makes me think any differently about that. Yeah, I think you know it I I’m with you of sort of I would have gone Hagens. That was my initial instinct, but I think I I agree with you. The more I see it, the more I see the vision here. You know, he’s not I mean, maybe he is, I don’t know, but I don’t think you’re drafting Brady Martin to be an 80 90 point guy. He’s not going to be Austin Matthews or Mitch Marner or Nathan McKinnon, but like he could be a really solid like 60 point guy. And I I think almost I I heard Jonathan Taves as a as a comp for him and I actually really like that. I think where it’s like
he has that physicality and he has the grit factor, but he also has the offensive upside to I saw a lot of people, maybe not a lot, but I saw multiple people calling Brainy Martin Austin Watson 2.0. Let’s just let’s just stop with that please because like he he’s got quite a bit more offensive upside than Austin Watson does. But again, I think you know in Brady Martin, they have drafted a future captain. And yes, while a lot of the media was talking about him living on a farm as if he it’s like living on Mars, I think that it really does kind of contribute to the kind of person he is, the kind of upbringing he’s had. and you know someone when you’re Barry Trotz and you want to build a future core in Nashville, you want to build a for your team with again life after Roman Yosi and Philip Forsber, this is the kind of guy you start with. Um, want to play a clip here uh from our first media availability with Brady Martin where he talks a little bit about his upbringing and and life on the farm and and you can kind of see why he’s, you know, such a likable guy.
I think I’m just competing hard every shift and playing hard. I think my compete level is what drives me and my work ethic. So yeah, I think if I compete and my skill will come out after that. So
where does the compete come from? Why are you so proud?
I think it’s just the family I grew up in. Uh the community I grew up in. We were always competitive and working on the farm I guess too is is a bit of part big part of it. And yeah, I think just having responsibilities and discipline is yeah, I think that kind of drives me. So
with you with you down here, who’s taking care of all the cows and the chicken?
I got I got two brothers and a sister and a father, so they can get it done.
Okay. as you look back kind of through your journey here, where do you feel like you’ve made the most progress offensively in your game?
Uh, I think just little details just just uh working on attacking defenders and uh different ways that they can’t defend. It’s it’s little details like that that I think go a long way in the at the next level. Yeah. No, this weekend’s a bit of a vacation for me. So, but yeah. Um, no, going back home and, you know, it keeps you humble, too. It just puts you back on the farm. You always My brothers and sisters, they’re they don’t pump me up too much. So, yeah. No, it’s uh keeps you humble and and uh grounded. Oh, the day next day I’m home, I’ll be back in the barn. It’s Yeah, I don’t get any rest days. My brothers and sisters and father, they’re they’re hard on it, so they Yeah, they make me get back in there pretty quick. So, uh we got a little cameo from Robbie Stanley in there, too. Uh definitely don’t don’t be mistaken. This is not just a a humble farm kid. I mean, he does certainly does not lack for confidence. Um, and I think that again, you know, the way that he just goes so seamlessly from talking about life on the farm to how that translates to his his play on the ice, I think is just really kind of, you know, it just illustrates the kind of person that he is in addition to the kind of player he is. Uh, Robbie, you mentioned earlier his relationship, Brady Martin’s relationship with Andrew Gibson. Um, got another uh quick clip I want to play here uh where you can see the interaction between the two of those guys in the locker room on the first day of development camp and uh I believe uh Robbie may have gotten caught in the crossfire here a little bit. Uh we’ll we’ll talk about that in a second.
Older guys in the league and you know I just felt good. What did you like about this past year? How did it take a step in the game? Yeah, like I said, I think my offensive game was the biggest uh biggest step for me and uh like I all around just uh being one of the older guys in the league and taking that big role.
How excited are you that Brady Martins now here?
Um well, splashing me a little bit in the back here. If I wasn’t sweating, I’d be mad. But, uh he was cooling me down. I just got off the ice. It’s not bad. It’s good to have a familiar face. And, you know, for him especially to have me here, I feel like I’m going to help him a lot.
Are you like a father figure?
Yeah. Yeah. I’d say a father figure. Yeah. You know, I brought him under my wing in the suit when he was 16. So, you know, to have him here, it’s it’s pretty cool as well. So, great to see the react or the interaction between those two guys. Robbie, am I correct? Did you get splashed with a little bit of water? Yeah. You got to watch where he’s throwing that water. I looked down at my phone. There’s like little water droplets on it. I was like, “Hey, bro, chill. Chill out a sec.” I know you’re you’re the number five overall pick, but let let’s just calm down here.
I know all the media got over there a minute ago and acted like you were on the set of Old Yeller, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw water at us all the time. Yeah, I think you know it it just shows again kid does not lack for confidence. I don’t know if you watch that clip, you can see him look once he saw that I was filming. I think I was the only one who was filming uh from that angle. And so once he saw that I was filming it, you could see him give a little look into the camera before he splashed the water. So it’s like he knows what he’s doing. Um but yeah,
I I love it, too. I I think it’s great. And I love that that Gibson was was just sitting there taking it, too. So, um, yeah, just really, uh, I I think that this opportunity at development camp, it’s given us a chance to kind of see what Barry Trotz was going for here. You know, I don’t think anyone is sitting here saying like, you know what, actually, I think that he is the most skilled player they could have gotten at number five. I don’t think anyone’s saying that. But I do kind of understand uh or or I definitely understand the vision here and what this is going to mean for the Predators and their core going forward. Uh coming up, we’re going to share some other observations from development camp. Talk about some of the other prospects that we’ve gotten to hear from and see and who has surprised us the most. All right, Robbie. Uh, we’ve gotten to see, as I mentioned, it’s been Brady Martin Palooa already at uh at development camp this week, but we’ve also gotten to see quite a few other Predators prospects, some new, some old. So, uh, just kind of wanted to get your take on on just overall observations at Dev Camp. Any big surprises? uh any guys that you know maybe look a little different or act a little different than maybe the last time we saw them. Just kind of what are your overall takeaways? Yeah, a couple things. Well, we we mentioned Andrew Gibson. He’s gotten a lot bigger. Like he’s he told me he’s put on some size. He’s gotten bigger. Look, I know everybody’s excited about Tanner Molandike, and I am too. I think Tanner Mullandike is going to be a good player. I think Andrew Gibson’s not that far away from being an NHL player. Like I think Andrew Gibson is going to be very good and and like I don’t want to like I don’t want to oversell him or anything because I know like
you know everybody’s talking about Mullandike and Gibson playing together and I’ve heard people throw out like well maybe they could be Sudtor and Weber one day and it’s like well okay hold on like ease up a little bit but like Gibson I think with at his size and his ability to move you just don’t find that very often. And I I that’s probably the most impressive thing that I’ve seen all week is him moving out there. Like he moves really well. And to be that big and to move the way that he does, I think is really encouraging for the Predators. So like Mullandike and Gibson, you know, I know we’re we’re all going to focus in on Mullandike this year. You know, Andrew Gibson’s playing pro hockey this year, too. And I’m not saying he’s going to be up with the big club at any point this year because maybe he won’t. Maybe he spends all year in Milwaukee. But I don’t think he’s that far away. Like he’s going to be a good player. So that’s the that’s the number one thing. Number two,
let’s remember he’s one of the only right shot defenseman in the organization at the moment. So he he may have a clear path.
It’s not a bad time to be a right shot defenseman in this organization right now. You always got a chance like Riker Lee, you know, he was another first round pick by the Predators this year at 26th overall. He’s got really good hands. Really good hands. And you know, I know that, you know, there have been, I think it was Cory Ponman in the Athletic said he’s got the best hands in the draft. I’m not educated enough about the entire draft to know that for sure, but I know this, he’s got a heck of a shot and he’s put the hands on display. They did a threeon-ree tournament on Wednesday and you could see it a few times where he’s just, you know, kind of dangling around people getting shot off quickly. So, I thought that was really impressive. Matthew Wood, you know, he looks like he’s kind of a man on a mission to make the team out of camp. Personally, I think he’s probably going to be better served to start in Milwaukee, but we’ll see what that ends up looking like. And I’ll tell you the other one, like I know they’re really excited about Igor Surin. And when you watch him, like you can see why. And I look, I have no idea if Igor Cernin’s going to be like a number one center one day or not. I don’t know what his ceiling is, but he’s a straight line guy that is very difficult to move and he’s got a great shot and he’s really young. And I I think your mind starts to wander a little bit about how good he could be and what that skill set’s going to look like and translate to the NHL. He just won a championship with the KHL with another very popular former Predator and Alex Rattleoff. So keep that in mind. But like I those guys have really stood out to me. I mean Gibson I think has been great. Riker Lee’s got unbelievable hands and I I I watched some of the of the kids in Surin uh kids in Curin and Wood specifically that on that three-on-ree tournament today just kind of looked they were they were men on mission. So like I I think it’s going to be they have a lot of young pieces that are exciting. How many of them have a chance to be kind of breakthrough not just NHL players but super high contributors? I think they’ve got a handful and I’m interested to see how that plays out here.
Yeah. talking about Andrew Gibson, that was very immediately evident to me that he had gotten bigger um in this past year. And he he definitely looks like uh he looks like he could be in the NHL right now. Um just physically. Yeah.
Um I would say to me, I don’t know about you, but it looked like Surin had gotten bigger, too. I agree. Um he definitely I remember last year seeing him and saying, “Oh, he looks like a little boy.” I mean, he’s not little, but I mean just kind of I don’t know. He had that boyish quality. Now he looks like a man. I mean, like I think that this last year has been really good for him. Of course, like you said, he’s going back to the KHL for one more year. Um I I feel like people had strong feelings about that for some reason, which I don’t fully understand because he wasn’t making the Predators this year, so I mean, let him go play with the big boys in Russia. That’s fine. Um, yeah. So, I think that, uh, those are those are some of the, you know, early observations we’ve had from development camp. Uh, tomorrow, Robbie is going to be back with me here at the Locked on Predators podcast. We’re going to share some more observations from development camp and try and take a look into the future at what uh this NHL roster could look like uh come opening night, even though there’s still a lot of time between now and then. Uh for now though, Robbie, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for joining me today. And I’m sure our listeners uh are very grateful that they didn’t have to hear me blather on for another 30 minutes. So, uh, would much rather hear from you. Uh, where can the good people find you? Obviously 1025 the game, but, uh, where where else can can they follow your work?
Yeah, you can look at, uh, XRS Stanley NHL. So, I’m on Xrstanley NHL and then at NHL.com as well. So, doing some Predators work there. And I think most people might disagree. They probably just rather hear you blabber than me blabber.
I don’t know about that. Uh, but I don’t know. After two days, they might be sick of both of us. Um, that is going to do it for today’s episode of the Locked On Predators podcast. Thank you again for making us your first listen of the day. We will be back with an all new episode tomorrow. We’ll see you then.

Nashville Predators shake up defense in offseason moves. Will these changes fix their defensive woes?

Emma Lingan and special guest Robby Stanley analyze the Predators’ recent acquisitions, including Nic Hague and Nick Perbix, and their potential impact on the team’s blue line. The discussion covers the surprising Colton Sissons trade, its implications for Nashville’s center depth, and an in-depth look at fifth overall draft pick Brady Martin. Stanley shares insights from the Predators’ development camp, highlighting standout prospects Andrew Gibson and Ryker Lee.

Tune in for expert analysis on the Nashville Predators’ offseason strategy and a glimpse into the team’s future stars.

0:00 Intro: Predators offseason moves and defense
5:33 Analyzing Hague trade and Sissons departure
10:02 Center depth concerns and free agency options
19:40 Martin’s potential as future Predators captain
24:33 Interactions between prospects at camp
26:52 Standout prospects and overall camp impressions
30:28 Final thoughts on key prospects’ development

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