Trotz’s Bold Moves RESHAPE Predators Lineup | Is Brady Martin Ready for the NHL?

Trotz’s Bold Moves RESHAPE Predators Lineup | Is Brady Martin Ready for the NHL?

And then there were 22ish. The Nashville Predators released their opening night rosters with maybe a few surprises on it. We’ll tell you what you might not have seen coming on today’s Locked On Predators podcast. You’re Locked on Predators, your daily podcast on the Nashville Predators, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome to the Lockdown Predators podcast. Thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day. We are of course your free daily Nashville Predators podcast. We are a part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Want to kick off our Tuesday episode with a shout out to our Lockdown Predators Insider community and of course our everydayers who tune in to talk Nashville Predators hockey with us. I’m Ann Kimmel. I am a writer and co-host with Penalty Box Radio. And friends, I have a Theelma to My Hockey Louise. You do? I’m Emma Ligan and I’m an NHL reporter and host for the hockey news. Well, what we thought was going to be a very straightforward opening night roster has taken several different iterations over the course of this preseason. Yesterday, it became official. The team submitted the opening night roster ahead of Thursday’s first game of the season. On today’s show, we’re going to talk about how this roster came to be for the Nashville Predators. We’re also going to hear from Luke Evangelista, who joined the team at practice on Monday. We’re going to hear his thoughts on the contract negotiation process. He also talked about his first impressions of the team coming back in at this point in training camp. Plus, friends, it is here. The 202526 NHL season kicks off tonight. Emma and I are going to just dive right into that anxiety pool this one time and we’re going to make some predictions for opening night games. All right, Emma, first let me say I am delighted to have you back. Uh missed seeing your face, but just so everybody knows she was busy getting our getaway car up and running. That like old convertible that Thelma and Louise, you know, drove over the cliff. Yeah. You know, someone’s got to do it, right? I I appreciate you holding down the fort very much. I am sorry I was not here to talk about uh Luke Evangelista’s contract that took 85 years to sign, but you know, we uh you you handled it wonderfully and I appreciate it, but I’m very happy to be back. Wanted to get just real quick before we dive into the opening night official roster, what was your takeaway when you saw the Evangelista contract? I just want to get your two cents on that. I mean, was it really that hard? Like that that was my first response. I’m like, this is like the kind of standard contract that we all expected. And why it took this long to get to the same place, we all knew where we were going, right? I don’t understand. And I do find it interesting. I don’t know, maybe this is just me, but the whole thing, you know, of course, everyone’s very happy that he was back with the team. They’re celebrating him like doing all this stuff like they’re, you know, they changed the Predators Twitter photo to a photo of Evangelista. They did like a video board shout out for him during the preseason game. And I’m like, you’re giving him this big hero’s welcome after you tried to nickel and dime him. Like I just your own people. Your own people. It’s like, oh, and why was he not at camp this whole time? Why did he just get here now? Remind us. Can’t recall. So, I’m I’m still like at this point after all that’s come out and where we landed with this contract. I’m still very much on team Luke because I just none of this makes any sense with how it all. But none of it. All’s well that ends well, I suppose. But I just it’s just an extra wrinkle, an extra piece of drama that I don’t think we needed uh drama. Yeah. Yeah. This is not a team that’s like, you know what we need? We need a really dramatic preseason storyline. Yeah. No, you didn’t. No, you didn’t, friends. Yeah. And we’re going to hear from Luke Evangelista, of course. He addressed the media yesterday after practice about the contract negotiations. So, we’re going to hear from him on that. But Luke Evangelista is the is when I talked about the roster is down to 22ish because Luke Evangelista is listed as nonroster, but he is with the team. So, he is the ish in our 22-ish roster. But here are the forwards on the opening night roster. Philip Forsber, Tyson Jo, Yokam Kemmel, Cole Smith, Fedor Fetchoff, Brady Martin, Michael Beccaren, Eric Holla, Michael Bunting, Jonathan Marcheso, Azie Wislat, Ryan O’Reilly, and Steven Stamos. On defense, we have Justin Baron, Spencer Stazzy, Nick Blankenberg, Nick Perix, Roman Yosi, Brady Sheay, and Adam Wilsby. Of course, in goal, we have the juices. We have Jussi Sorrowos and Eustace Anin on IR Nick Hey and Matthew Wood. So that’s how we are at 22ish because of course Luke is our ish. When you look at this roster, what jumps out to you, Emma? Well, Brady Martin, hello. That’s the one that I was like I I mean I am on record saying this. I I never really loved the idea of him being on the opening night roster. However, I have a theory, okay, about it. My theory, which I’m going to go with until it is proven incorrect, is that he is going to get he is going to get his little nine or less game try out while the evangelista immigration situation sorts itself out. And not even just the immigration. I mean, even if he, you know, gets the immigration stuff squared away today, it’s not like he’s going to be ready to just hop into the lineup. I mean, like, he just got here. So, I think that that is a kind of happy medium, I guess, where it’s like, all right, you give Martin his little try out. Yeah. Not try out really, but it his little his taste. His taste of the NHL, and then you send him back to Junior. I think that they I I still think that would be the the one way I’d be okay with this because it’s like I just I don’t know. Otherwise, it just doesn’t make sense. You have Ryan O’Reilly playing the wing. I mean, what are we doing? And not that he’s not capable, but like I think I think it makes more sense with this theory in my head that he Brady Martin gets his little taste and then once Evangelista is ready to jump in, then Martin goes out. Because otherwise, I mean, you look at the other guys who would technically be like, “All right, well, who’s out once Evangelista comes in?” And you know, you look at guys like I mean maybe Keml, maybe Wise Blat, but again those are guys that like you would want to be ready for the NHL right now. Um right. No, if they’re not, they’re not. But I I just I don’t know. To me, that’s where I’m that’s what I’m telling myself is the case right now and and we’ll kind of go from there. And I mean nothing against Brady Martin saying, you know, that this has anything to do with his long-term impact on the team or anything like that. I just it’s the one piece of this that just doesn’t quite make sense to me. So, and I think it’s even more I agree with you. I think that this is the way that certain things have happened have opened up the opportunity for Brady Martin to make the opening night roster because I wonder I wonder too if Matthew Wood had not gotten injured. There it is be on this roster. I think you Yeah, the evangelista situation Matthew Wood being out. I also another one that I think kind of through the river and and or over the river and through the woods that’s how it goes that led to Brady Martin being on the opening night roster is Jonathan Marcheso hitting it off so well with Bunting and Holla that he then becomes no we can’t tinker with that line. So, I think that a lot of little pieces throughout camp have opened up kind of an unforeseen opportunity and again that is absolutely zero indictment on his skill set on his ceiling in the NHL. This kid is very talented you all. He is going to be so much fun. You all are going to love Brady Martin. You’re going to love watching him play hockey. You are going to love hearing from him. Um, you know, but I was really surprised by this. And I think people who say, “Oh, well, of course Brady Martin was going to get the start, friends, he was the fifth overall pick in the draft, which is great, but that does not mean that you are an automatic starter the next season at 18 years old in the NHL. And I do think that these series of events, Evangelista’s situation, Matthew Wood going down, Jonathan Marcheso, finding really great chemistry with a line that they love kind of made this like, well, hey, we’ve got him for nine games. Let’s give it a whirl. So, it’ll it’ll be interesting. We got a chance to talk to Brady Martin uh after practice yesterday when we knew he’s going to be on the opening night roster and got to ask him about the difference between playing in the NHL and of course playing in juniors. He has had one NHLish game playing against the Carol or yeah Carolina Hurricanes where that was more of an NHL roster. This is what Brady Martin had to say. Yeah, Junior, you’re kind of big, strong, stronger than everyone, but yeah, coming into this, it’s uh everyone’s just as strong, if not stronger than me. I’m 18, so yeah, it’s it’s been a it’s been a different change. And but I think I’ve adapted pretty well. Yeah, it’s a different level. You watch those guys on TV. I’ve watched them for a while now. And it’s just Yeah, finally like you get to play on the ice with them. It’s pretty cool. And you kind of take it all in and yeah, you got to have the the want though to be there. And you know, you can’t can’t just uh be wowed to be there. You just got to, you know, get out there and work hard and just compete. I love that you can’t be wowed to be out there. And I think good for you because I do think that happens uh to a lot of players making their NHL debut. Um gosh, I think about Luke Evangelista when he just launched of Genny Malcin and then got chirped by uh Sydney Crosby and he was just like like he was a kid in the candy store after the game. He’s like that was so cool. Um but in the moment you’ve got to be ready and and so it’s going to be interesting to see after he gets his rookie lap um how he settles in to Thursday night’s first game of the season and his first NHL game. Uh coming up, Luca Evangelista probably not going to be in the opening night lineup, friends, but he has been working really hard throughout these long contract negotiations. Coming up, we’re going to hear from him about the contract negotiations and also he tells us how he stayed ready for his return. Today’s episode’s brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and you’re going to get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet. put down five bucks and if it hits, you’re gonna unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. You’re going to love how FanDuel gives you so many different ways to play. You can, of course, build those parlays. You can try player props and even follow the live lines as the action unfolds. It’s going to make watching those football games even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. Whether you are a casual sports fan or whether you love diving into all those advanced stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app and get started today. All right, Emma, we saw the return of Luca Evangelista rejoined the Nashville Predators team at practice. um in the lineup just of note he spent time with Steven Stamos Fedorchov and then he rotated in and out with Yokim Kemmel on that line. So that’s kind of where we saw him in practice his first practice. So nothing set in stone. I do think you have got to give this kid top six minutes once he is up to speed because friends, you’re paying him $3 million that apparently you didn’t want to pay him really bad and now you’re going to want to give him an opportunity to earn it. So, uh I I you know I I do expect that when Luke Evangelista is up to speed, you’re going to see him getting some top six minutes. Uh yeah, I mean what else are you going to do with him now? You’re paying him $3 million. make him earn it. I know. And that’s kind of what I was thinking like when I saw at practice that he was rotating in and out on that line with Stamco and uh Spetchkov because I all this time it’s like did we not say that that would be the ideal spot for him? So, it’s it’s one of those things where I’m like, okay, again, I go back to if my theory is correct about Brady Martin, then let’s say Evangelista comes in, Martin goes out, if Kemmel still looks good, like if he’s still looking like he belongs there, then maybe, you know, is it that Evangelista goes up to the top line with with uh Forsber and O’Reilly? O’Reilly comes back to center. Does Keml go up to the top line? You know, I there are a lot of questions there, but you know, that’s just me. Me and my, you know, anxiety. I like to think I want the plan. I want to know the plan. I want the plan. I want all the answers right now. Is that too much to ask? Um, but no, I think that yeah, that again, all of this is like, is this not what we expected? Like this is nothing is weird about it. It’s not like, oh, we’re going to bring Evangelista in and play him on the fourth line and so that’s why we didn’t want to give him $3 million. It’s like whatever. I I’m trying to just get over that and just be like, “All right, you know what? We’re here now. I we don’t need to rehash the drama.” But I mean, all of this it just seems like according to plan. Yes. Right. I I do think regardless of what the contract negotiation looked like, what the final numbers were, how long the process took, you were going to see Luke Evangelista get an opportunity in the top six based on what he had done last season. You were going to get that chance. Well, now you can pay him for that chance and let’s see what he does with it. We did, of course, bless Luke Evangelista is very Ryan O’Reillyish in the sense that he is one of the last men off the ice. So, of course, you know, all the media was there for Luke’s first uh practice and just milling about the locker room and then Evangelista came in and sat down and he was great. Like he, you know, was really great to answer all of our questions and talk about it. This is what he had to say about the process of the contract negotiations. Obviously, you know, no one wanted it to go this long. Uh myself included. I’m sure, you know, they would say the same. Um, but you know, right now I’m just like I said, I’m just happy to be back. Um, happy to put it behind me and focus on the season. So, um, you know, what happened happened, can’t change anything now. And, um, you know, now just putting all my me mental energy towards, uh, you know, helping the boys this year. At the end of the day, this is a business and, you know, they’re trying to do what’s best for, you know, the organization and, you know, I’m going to do what’s best, um, for myself. And you know, like I said, obviously, um, you no one imagined it dragging on that long. Um, unfortunately, it did. But, you know, the good news is it’s behind everyone now and we can just kind of get back to focusing on the season. Okay, here’s what’s real, friends. Luke Evangelista is not going to sit down, even being Luke Evangelista, he’s not going to, you know, sit down and be like, you know what, those tight wads tried to stiff me. Did you see that? Like, he’s not going to say that. But what I will say and what I did notice through the practice is like he’s so happy to be back here. Uh very good energy. Um no like you know how sometimes just and and this is maybe this is just a woman thing, women’s intuition like you know the vibes. You can pick up the vibes. Okay. Luke’s vibes just so freaking happy. Like just so happy to be back. Um very happy to have it done. very focused on getting back to what he needs to be doing and and how he can get up to speed with the team. So, I thought it was a really good conversation with with Vange. Yeah, I think and you know, to anyone who would maybe counter that with like, oh, well, Luke’s vibes are always good. He’s always happy. Uh, you should have seen him during like the latter half of last season when nobody’s vibes were happy. Um, so I think that I agree with you like the energy it’s very uh palpable, very um, you know, and and part again my little put my little tinfoil hat on for a second. I was like, was this all part of the plan? They were trying to inject some life into this roster like ride in on a good note with like I don’t I don’t actually think that that’s why it took this long to sign a contract, but I think it’s, you know, it’s one of those things where it’s like, okay, this is good positive energy. Mhm. It’s good that the vibes are not like, “Oh, those tight wads tried to stiff me.” You know, like, at least not forward facing. What have Emma and I said, this team does not need a lingering thing. They have another lingering thing that is really toxic and gross that they’re trying to shake off. So, let’s be clear, they didn’t need another because he, you know, missed over two weeks of camp. This is his first time back with the team because he could not practice with the team. Um, and we were asking him about, you know, what did you, you know, what did you do while you were gone? Couple interesting things. Worked out one-on-one with Ryan Ellis in town. And then when he headed back to Canada, he worked out with his skills coach. And then he went to London and worked out with the London Knights which is where he played juniors you know and he said look it was very helpful to kind of do team drills instead of being a single person but it’s not the same as we heard earlier from Brady Martin juniors does not recreate the same thing as the NHL experience so he was very excited to get back but he also had a really great observation coming into the locker room as somebody who hasn’t been here and let’s be honest if you haven’t been around this team But you were here for the end of last season. You had to be like tiptoeing into the locker room like what am I going to find here? I don’t know. No sudden movements. Let’s Yeah. Well, that’s that’s kind of how we felt coming back like very slowly and gently approach the players cautiously. Luke actually had some really interesting observations. This is what he had to say about the energy he walked into when he got back. I just think going back to last year, like I think we just needed we needed a reset. It was, you know, it it had dragged on and we we had been out of the race for a while and, you know, it’s kind of it’s not the same energy and atmosphere when you’re not playing competitive games, you know, late in, you know, the last month or two of the season. And, um, kind of just that fresh start. I I think that’s what what that energy is, um, kind of all about. And you know, we’re right back in the race again now. You know, we have a you know, we’re not eliminated from playoffs. Like, a good start is going to be really important for us to uh you know, if you go back to last year, we had a slow start and you know, you’re out of it before you know it. So, um just bringing that energy right off the bat and um you know, being competitive. I love that. Everybody listen to what Luke Evangelista says. We’re right back in the playoff race. Like, I I love that. Like, we’re right in it. And it’s hard to remember that because of how last season felt, but this team and I think so much about the young players helps. Yokam Kemmel was only up here for two two games, so he wasn’t sort of around the the dark cloud. Brady Martin not around the dark cloud. So you have some of these young players. You have Azie Wisblat on this roster who, you know, brings just his play brings a certain level of energy as well. And I think that energy may be the sage that Emma and I have been calling for in that locker room because friends, I know it’s hard to believe. I know that it’s hard to believe, but the vibes are good. The vibes are good. Now, the vibes lied to us last season, so like don’t bank on it, but the vibes are good. The vibes are good, which I think at the very least, like, does that necessarily mean anything about how this season is going to go? No. But what it does mean and that we can say for certain is that they have put last season behind them, which is exactly what you need to see coming into this. And I don’t mean like they’ve forgotten about it, they flushed it, whatever. Cuz like you you want to remember it. You want to remember it and just remember how bad that felt so you don’t repeat it. But I think that it is important to know that they are coming into this season without that cloud just hanging over them. Um I mean it’s like it it’s kind of like that you know to to be you know get into a little bit of therapy here. You know the whole idea of like forgive and forget. Well it’s like well you don’t have to forget. You can forgive. You should forgive but you don’t have to forget. And so that’s kind of how I look at this season that it’s like, all right, they they have forgiven themselves for, you know, they’re not still punishing themselves or punishing each other for how last season went. Yeah. But they haven’t forgotten about it. They’re still coming into this with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. So it’s like they they’ve forgiven, but they haven’t forgotten, which I think is exactly where you want to be right now. Yeah. The weight of the disparity between expectation and reality of last season was just so heavy, but I think they have turned that into fuel. And I wasn’t sure if this team was going to be able to do that. I I’ll be honest with you, I was not sure this team was going to be able to do that. So, as of the time of this recording, the vibes, friends, the vibes are good. Coming up, Luke’s agent was also busy working on some little side deal while taking care of this contract. Emma and I are going to talk about that other little contract that got done by his agent and announced yesterday. Plus, Emma and I are going to embrace our inner anxiety. We’re going to make some predictions for tonight’s first games of the 202526 season. Today’s episode is brought to you by our great friends at Indeed. You just realized your business needs to hire someone like yesterday. So, how can you find those amazing candidates fast? It’s easy. Just use Indeed. When it comes to hiring, Indeed is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other sites. Indeed’s sponsored jobs puts your post at the top of the page and helps you reach the right candidates faster. If your business is in that spot where you need the right hire right now, you know that the pressure is on. Every day without the right person is a setback. That is exactly when Indeed’s sponsored jobs come in handy. They make sure your post is seen by the right candidates right now. Now you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 sponsored job credit. Just go to indeed.com/lockedon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. All right, Emma. I guess some other contract news dropped yesterday that apparently overshadows Luke’s $3 million. What the what? I find this so amazing. I would like to give a shout out to Luke’s agent, who I think has to write a book now on multitasking because Luke’s agent going through all that at the same time is the agent for a guy you may have heard of, uh, Conor McDavid. Conor McDavid announced a contract extension. Of course, it does not kick in until next season, but it’s a two-year deal, 12 and a half million AAV uh each year. Emma, what did you think about this kind of uh McDavid deal? Were you surprised by any part of it? Uh, not totally. I I think that I was definitely not surprised by the short uh shorter um term of it because I think you know I I am a little bit surprised that it was shortterm and hometown discount. Um I would have thought, you know, I I there was no way in my mind that Evangel or Evangelista that um McDavid was going to be signing a long-term deal with the Oilers at this stage. I think this was a little bit like, all right, you get two more years of me. You got two more years to figure this thing out. We’ve been to the Stanley Cup final twice. Um, you got two more years of me. And then what that does, it allows the the cap to go up. The cap will go up incrementally over the next couple seasons. He gets to, you know, enjoy that. he gets to take advantage of that when he hits free agency again in it’ll be now three years cuz his new contract kicks in next year. So that makes sense for the player. Um I think that the fact that they got him at 12 a.5 million is actually very um very team friendly. And so I think that that’s a little bit of little bit of gamesmanship, a little bit of like, okay, I did you a solid. I Conor McDavid did you a solid. I left you some cap space to work with here. So go out and build a good team around me. You know, didn’t do the whole like Toronto thing or where it’s like they’re going to sink all their cap space into a couple guys. Um, but I think that now, you know, the fact that you’ve got Dry Cidle and you’ve got McDavid, I think that this is now the pressure has just been turned up on the Oilers. I mean, it was already there. I mean, you make it to the final two years in a row and then you lose. Like, there’s already pressure. There’s already pressure because you have the best player in the world on your roster. But I think Yeah, exactly. Um, but I think that there’s, you know, it is a little bit of, you could see the give and take there. I am a little, um, the the term doesn’t surprise me, but the low AV is um, and I know 12 a.5 million is more than literally anyone on the Predators roster makes. So, like, it’s all relative, but lower than I think we could have expected for Conor McDavid. I agree with you. Like, tick tick tick on the on the Oilers. You’ve got three years and I and I agree with you. I have done you a solid. If you feel like you know what we need, you go get it now with my money and let’s get this done. You’ve got three years. Uh the clock is ticking. Now, here is a working theory that just came to my mind. Maybe the contract negotiations with Evangelista dragged out so long because the agent forgot which guy he was talking to and asked Trotz for 12.5 million. Maybe friends that is what happened. He picked up the wrong phone and he told Barry Trotz 12 a.5 million for two years. And I can see in Trotz’s defense I could see how that could take all summer. So maybe, just throwing that out there, maybe that’s what happened. Maybe. Honestly, that would make a lot more sense. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Seriously, no, it’s true. All right, Emma, we’re going to do something that we absolutely hate. And I want to be clear to our listeners, we hate this, but we’re going to do it anyway. Emma and I are going to predict the winners because tonight tonight friends as they sing in Westside Story tonight the uh NHL season kicks off. Now of course Predators don’t play until Thursday but for fun and since we don’t have a dog or a pony in this show, Emma and I are going to make our predictions for tonight’s uh triple header three games on tonight to kick off the season. All right, Emma. First up at 400 PM Central time. So, y’all start getting a little tickle in your throat so you can go home early from work. Just start now so it’s more believable. 400 p.m. puck drop. Blackhawks against the Panthers. I know this is a really tough one to guess, but you know, use your analytics and tell me how you think this is going to go. Oh yeah, man. I don’t the the Seth Jones revenge game. I mean, who knows? Uh, yeah, I think it’s tough one, but I think I’m going to have to go Panthers on this one. Yeah, I think I’m going to go Panthers. And I will say this, I think that Chicago is going to be better this season, but not better enough. No, I will be fascinated to watch Florida for a couple of reasons. Number one, that whole kurfuffle in the preseason with Tampa Bay and how that all got sorted out by the Department of Player Safety, that’s a podcast for another day. But I’ll be interested to see if Florida registers any sort of pressure for a three Pete. But friends, I do not think they’re going to feel a lot of pressure tonight against the Blackhawks. What would be objectively hilarious though is like if the Blackhawks win tonight and then you know because even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. So I mean you know I it could happen but I what would be objectively hilarious is if that happens and then it sends fans into a complete tail spin about like oh my god Florida Panthers are terrible now. Yes. And it’s like guys it’s been one game. one game, but it would be fun. It would be fun to watch that. It would be fun to watch that. Uh, next up, it is the Mike Sullivan Revenge Tour game. Of course, uh, the Pittsburgh Penguins where Sullivan spent a decade. A decade. Do you remember coaches that coached for a decade? That was a season. That was that was a time. Uh, he is now the head coach for the New York Rangers. Penguins traveling to the Rangers for the Revenge Tour. The theater major in me is like, “Well done, NHL scheduling person. Well done.” How do you see this one? Like, who who’s going to get the edge on this one? I’m going to go Rangers. Uh because I think that yes, I mean, they are really coming into this year with a chip on their shoulder that last year did not go how they intended. I mean, you know, get in line. But I think that um I mean, Pittsburgh’s also starting I mean, they they are really taking this rebuild thing seriously where they they’ve got I forget how many rookies on their uh roster now. I think two or three. They they they waved guys with like ample NHL experience to to really kickstart this this rebuild. So, I think there’s going to be some bumps and bruises along the way. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but rebuilds never are. Um, so I just I don’t know. I think that the experience of this Rangers roster is going to be what what wins them. Yeah. Yeah. I like Sullivan coaching this Rangers team because it reminds me demographically and skill setwise. I mean, obviously they don’t have a Sydney Crosby, but I think that there is enough skill on this team that Mike Sullivan can piece something together before that window closes. So, I’m with you. I think this is going to be I think it’s going to be a closer game. Like, I think it’s going to be like a twogoal win by the Rangers, but one of them might be an empty net goal. Also, you all tune into that and you can wave hello to Tommy Novak and Phil Thomasino. Remember them? Yeah. They played they played they played here last year. That’s crazy. What? And and then and you parson now as well. He’s probably played for he’s played for two different teams since the Predators. I like what what the what? Yeah. And the late night game. If you all have the the sleep fortitude that I’m not sure I have. Uh the Avalanche at the LA Kings. This is a 9:30 p.m. Central time puck drop. I don’t know about that, y’all. But this one, I think this is going to be an interesting game. This is gonna be a fun little game. I love I like Colorado, friends. I like Colorado, but that Yeah, that’s one that’s like I think is going to be the best game, and I’m annoyed that it starts after my bedtime. Why are we doing that? I don’t know. But I Yeah, see, this is one that I really could see going either way. Mhm. Um I think the Kings the Kings have a trying to think how to say this tactfully. Their their GM did not really do them a lot of favors uh this off season. Um I don’t quite know what he was thinking. um when you know for the last couple years what the Kings needed was to add offense and they didn’t and so you know they went out and got guys like Tanner Jano who like all due respect I don’t think he’s going to fix your goal scoring problem so I think that now they’ve got a new GM and he’s still doing the same thing so it’s like I I don’t know what’s going to happen there and then the guys that they did get are like 41year-old Cory Perry, who now is has a broken knee or whatever and can’t even play. So, yeah, I still think that the Kings are going to, you know, I still think they’re going to be a playoff team this year, 100%, but I I don’t know. I still I like Colorado better. Yeah, I think Colorado is going to be good this year. And I know a lot of people are talking about some other teams. Um I I just Gabriel Landis Cox is playing opening night, you all. he’s playing opening night and you’ve got McKinnon and you’ve got Macar and you’ve got this great supporting cast in Colorado for the most part and then of course there is Scott Wedgwood who one time told me that he liked my Canadian tuxedo. So there is just a level of loyalty that I feel uh with him as the backup there. Scott Wedgewood who is going to be a dad a second time this year. Oh, I love that. His wife Britney is pregnant with their second. So that’s exciting for him. Um, but yes, we’re big Scott Wedgewood fans here. Even though he was here for a fleeting moment, he was quite honestly in a season that had very few um positive moments or positive elements to it. He was one of them last year for us. We cherish our we cherish our time with Scott Wedgewood because really there wasn’t much else to cling to. So true. Not. Um, so the Avalanche in this. I will tell you though, one player that I am really excited to watch this season to see what happens is Quinton Biffield for the LA Kings. 23 year old kid. He had like 20 plus goals last season. I’m just curious to see if like what it where’s his ceiling really going to be? Is it going to keep going up or is this kind of where we’re going to be? So, I don’t know that he’s just one of those players that I really enjoyed watching last season. uh when the games weren’t way past my bedtime. So, I’m excited. He’s one of those NHL players that I really have no dog in the fight, but I’m like, what can you do? What can you do, you spicy thing? So, yeah, but I’m going with Colorado. So, on tomorrow’s show, Emma and I are going to share the shame of having to make these predictions and if we were right or wrong, but we’re going to stress about it from now until the time of tomorrow’s recording. So, enjoy that. Yeah, I’m honestly I’m better with single game predictions than I am with like who’s going to win the Stanley Cup because then then I just have it hanging over me the entire year. Now this at least it’s like eh it’s one day and then we move on and then you all will forget our folly if you know what’s good for you. You will forget our folly in this exercise. So yeah. So, of course, NHL season kicking off tonight, Pred’s season kicking off on Thursday. On tomorrow’s show, we are going to talk about what needs to happen for this Nashville Predators team. This specific roster that we now know to get off to a better start than I don’t know, 0 and5. So, uh, join us here tomorrow as we discuss that and of course either glory in or distance oursel from the predictions we just made, which we hate. And you’re welcome, Emma. Before we log off on this Tuesday, let everyone know where they can find you and your work. You can find me on social media at Emma Lingan and you can find my work at The Hockey News. You can find me on social media, Mama. You can find my work with Penalty Box Radio as well. Friends, that is going to do it for this Tuesday episode of the Lockdown Predators podcast. Thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day. We will be back tomorrow with an all new episode. We’ll see you then.

Nashville Predators shake up opening night roster. Is Brady Martin the unexpected X-factor?

Ann Kimmel and Emma Lingan break down the Predators’ surprising lineup decisions, including 18-year-old Martin’s surprising inclusion. The hosts analyze how Martin came to earn a chance in the NHL. They also discuss Luke Evangelista’s long-awaited contract signing and its impact on team dynamics as he returns to practice.

League wide storylines topics include Connor McDavid’s game-changing contract extension with the Oilers, and bold predictions for NHL opening night matchups.

Hear exclusive insights from Evangelista and Martin as they discuss their journeys to the NHL stage. Will the Predators’ roster gambles pay off in the upcoming season?

0:00 Nashville Predators opening night roster
5:54 Brady Martin’s inclusion on roster
11:15 Luke Evangelista returns to practice
16:39 Evangelista discusses contract negotiation
20:45 Team energy reset after disappointing season
26:31 Connor McDavid’s new contract extension
31:02 Predictions for NHL opening night games
37:49 Looking ahead to Predators’ season opener

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