#275-NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2025 PRESEASON SUPERLATIVES, TOP NHL STORYLINES for 2025-26
[Music] [Music] How’s it going everybody? It’s Catfish and Ice. It’s episode 275 with your host Chad Minton and guest co-host Boyd of Penalty Box Radio. Back on the podcast. His camera just dropped out, but he’s There he is right there. What’s up, man? How you doing, bro? I’m I’m doing great. You know, it’s it’s the time of the year. Training camp’s getting fired up. Hockeyy’s around the corner. Football’s in full swing. Can’t argue with it. Oh, yeah. We’re about to be overly inundated with so much sports. And if you’re if hockey is your first sport, then NFL takes a backseat. College football takes a backseat. But, you know, it it is that great time of year where, you know, football kind of is like the appetizer if you’re a if you’re a hockey fan first. But, yeah, we’re going to have so much uh that on our plates right now. Sorry to the baseball fans and the tennis fans and the all the No disrespect. I know there’s been plenty of sports, but uh yeah, it’s about to get really serious now. It’s like got first first day school vibes is what a lot of the reporters say out there because training camp did the players reported today for the national predators. We just had the prospect tournament which um uh real quick just before we really get into the meat and potatoes of this episode here. Uh Boyd u a lot of good stuff. We got to see a lot of uh prospects that are actually not that far away from really being in the starting lineup for the National Predators maybe in a year or two. Yeah, I mean it’s it’s the unique group of prospects that the Predators have had now for a couple of years with the amount of first round picks that they’ve had and just the uh number of people, you know, that are just getting closer to NHL ready and and the amount of talent there. They they They bring a serious group. But, you know, it is fun that probably the most noticeable outside of, you know, maybe Joe Kim Kemmel was Oasis Wisblat, who was just an absolute menace in the uh the two games that he played in the best way possible. And you know, obviously we would be remiss not to uh give heartfelt condolences to their family on uh the the loss of their brother and and everything that they are certainly going through. But um yeah, it was it was really fun just to see them see them back on the ice and see them playing. Um you know, you get to see a first kind of real glimpse of, you know, what might be there with uh number five pick Brady Martin. uh you know definitely looked the part uh you know physically being in the right places making plays which you know you certainly love to see and you know now it’s just uh now that that’s in the rear view time to get going on on main camp which is where all the fun starts and you know the prospect tournament. Yeah, of course. Uh condolences and and prayers and everything to the Wise Black family. um just horrific and horrible and uh our thoughts are with them of course and you know Azie Az really cool family and uh just a group of brothers who play hockey and play play it hard in the right way but Azie of course is uh the highest up in terms of the Predators pipeline. um a guy who has a very strong chance of making this team of course and um but when it comes to the prospect tournament you saw Azie scored and was chirping at the I think it was the the Kane Hurricanes prospects you saw that on social media you love that he carries that chip on his shoulder but you saw Brady Martin score a penalty shot goal uh you saw Andrew Gibson score a goal who’s another one high up on the prospect pipeline and of course Kimmel who um just really made his presence known as probably the elder probably that goal that camel scored was thing of and he’s kind of and he’s kind of the elder statesman of this group, right? Like I mean he’s definitely got a great chance of making the roster. Um so yeah, good stuff there. Pro always take it with a grain of salt. These guys are getting their feet wet. Uh of course you always want to see them win. Um, but let’s not like get overworked about like, you know, uh, wins and losses so much. But, um, yeah, good stuff to see them playing. And now we get preseason hockey. Now we get, uh, training camp, which they hit the ice tomorrow. Uh, we’re recording this on September 17th, uh, a Wednesday night, so for people who come back later. But yeah, good stuff here. So, here’s what we got in store for you for episode 275 of Catfish and Ice with our awesome guest co-host Boyd of Penalty Box Radio. Um, we’re going to really the the main opening faceoff topic of tonight is going to be preseason superlatives. I’ve collected um several superlatives that I have for players. I’ll put them on the screen for Boyd and Boyd can look at them and give his thoughts on my choices. That’s how we’re going to do this. He doesn’t know my choices. Well, maybe I did put him on X, I guess. But, um, either way, he’s gonna give them give his reaction on those. And honestly, each one you can pick two or three guys. So, I mean, it’s it’s going to be a fun debate debatable topic there. And then, uh, we got to give our evangelista update, which is a weekly update. Now, it’s a weekly segment on this podcast. Until he does get signed, we should just go ahead and call it the, uh, weekly evangelista update. That should be a new permanent segment on this podcast until he gets signed. But, um, I feel like we’re getting closer, but it keeps lingering and lingering. So, we do at least have to kind of, um, get into it a little bit more. And then also want to talk about the most the most important area. And there’s a lot of um there’s a lot of uh lowhanging fruit that we can talk about here, but the most important area that the Predators can improve in this year, if we just pick one, fix this, and then we’ll focus on everything else. Me and Boyd are going to talk about that. And then also, we’re going to do some rapid fire top storylines around the NHL going into the season. And then, you know, Boyd is a fellow Vandy fan. And I think that’s actually how I way back way back when, I’m talking like I don’t know how long ago, maybe two or three years ago, I really don’t know. I actually stumbled up across Boyd’s uh Twitter uh profile because he was tweeting about Vandy. I actually remember it because before I really got in really before I got involved in tweeting a lot and covering the National Predators, I really was more one one of those uh Twitter users that would I would get on there and I would read a bunch of stuff. I would maybe retweet every now and then, but I never posted and if I did, it was very random. But I want to say that I remember you always tweeting about Vandy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember you being a fellow Vandy fan and I followed mostly Vandy accounts when I first got on Twitter and then I started following Titans and PRs and all the other things and then I got involved with what I do now. But um so we we’re going to talk about Vandy three and 0. I mean and we’ll talk about Titans too. We’ll talk about it all because a lot of the people I mean let’s be fair if it was two or three years ago I probably wasn’t saying a lot of positive things. Well, fair enough. Fair enough. But uh either way, it’s a natural spot podcast. Either way, we’re pres. But also a lot of our people uh also like Vandy, they like the Titans, they like the VS. But we’ll we’ll save that for the very end when we get through. Uh so anyway, real quick before we really get into it, um just learn something really cool. Like this is why I always believe everything is just goes through the universe and happens for a reason. But um just learn. So I just got back last week. I’m trying to get caught up in everything. Just got back. I went to a a trip out west, never been to this part of the country. All my friends were like, “You went there for your vacation? Like the most random place ever?” And it’s like, first of all, I live 10 minutes from the beach. I’m not saying that to brag. I’m just saying it how it is. I can get my car anytime I want and drive to the beach. Uh, it’s great, but it also you take it for granted and it gets overrated after a while. So, I was like, where do I want to go on on vacation that’s not out of the country? And I wanted to go somewhere I’ve never been before. So, I settled based on a couple friend recommendations to go to Boise, Idaho, people. And let me tell you, it is a very hidden secret, especially if you love nature and you love being out in the middle of nowhere. Now, Boise has a beautiful downtown. Um, I’m not making commission. I don’t work for a travel agency, I swear. But what was really cool is right before we went live, uh boy, tell tell the audience like the connection here. Yeah. So, um interestingly enough, uh my my wife’s uncle was the athletic director at Boise State for about 30 years. And for anyone who’s watched college football, um, knows, uh, obviously Boise State has been part of a a few pretty notable games and also has was the originator of the not green football field. So, um, he was he was the one who put in the, uh, blue football field at at, uh, Boise State. I can say I’ve I’ve been down on that field. Um, apparently the the birds that fly and crash into it is is an urban myth. Apparently that’s that that’s not actually a real thing. That’s good to know. I I didn’t see I didn’t see any birds crashing into the blue turf, so I can validate that. But yeah, I mean it’s it’s I got to I got to go to a college game day there once. It was a blast and so much fun. And um yeah. Yeah, Boise is Boise is a beautiful city. tons of trees. You know, you’re kind of in the foothills of the mountains. Um I grew up on the west coast, so I’ I’ve I’ve certainly I went up to Table. So, boy uh Boyd, you’ll appreciate this. I hiked up to Table Rock. Yeah. Here you go. And uh which is a big selling point there, of course. And um I found out how quickly I am not in as best a shape as I should be. And I also I also found out that going down is way easier than going up. But I got half. So, I was there for four days. Uh, I I wanted to do it on the second day and I I took a scooter, a Lime Uber scooter all the way down the green belt down the Boise River. So beautiful. Did that every day I was there actually because I stayed downtown Boise. Um, I I I rode up and down the green belt and walked and took a scooter and stuff like every day I was there. I did that because I just could not appreciate enough how beautiful that is. and uh did the Idaho State Penitentiary tour which was really cool. Felt like I was in Shaw Shank Redemption. Um and then uh the the the trail head to Table Rock is right there. And I underestimated the fact that I did not have enough. I didn’t hardly had any water and I got like 25% up and I’m like sweating and have no water and I’m like uh should I really try to get all the way up there? So I was like I’m going to come back another day thinning out so I’m like I’m going to be better prepared and have a full thing of water. I’m going to do this. Uh, so I ended up doing it the last day I was there and got to the top and it was totally worth it to just see the landscape and see the untouched beauty that nature has to provide. And so um yeah uh highly recommend um breaking away from your normal go on a cruise, go to the beach, go to your normal vacations and yeah check out Idaho or any part of that country part of that part of the country out there. It is beautiful and I’m so glad I went. And u uh but I’m also going to say I have a lot of pet peeves real quick about flying because I don’t fly once a year and and flying from Tampa, Florida to Boise Idaho, I think you can imagine there’s not a lot of options when it comes to flights, especially direct. So I had to have a connection in Dallas. And so I’m just going to share some of my uh top pet peeves about flying. Uh, Boyd, you can chime in if you want, but um, my top one is definitely when you land, everyone stands at the same time when you land. Even no matter what part of the plane you’re in, everyone stands up like they’re going to get off the plane at the same time. And it’s like, guys, I always stay in my seat. I’m like, I’m not going anywhere anytime. I’m always in group nine when I fly American. I don’t know why. I think I think American Airlines hates me. I think it’s fly one time a year, probably. But I was like I was like literally second to last row on one part of one leg of my journey and everyone stands up at the same time and I’m like guys we’re not going anywhere. Um another another common pet peeve but I think 99% of people agree with this when you get the dreaded middle seat. Yeah that’s going to make you want to spend the extra $30 to buy a window seat probably. Um let’s see. Uh always ending up with the last boarding group. I just said that. Um let’s see here. Let’s see. Oh, yeah. Again, tied to when you’re in the last group. When you’re in the last group and you’re like seeing all these people, this stampede of people getting on this plane and you’re looking out the window and you’re like, “That plane ain’t that big. They ain’t going to fit me on there.” Like, and then you’re like, you’re standing around the gate and it’s like you and like two other dudes and we’re like, “Yeah, um, we’re it. We’re getting on the plane right now.” Um, that’s just some of my pet peeves. Um, another one is when you’re on a connecting flight and the airline gives you like five minutes if you sprint to get to your connection. That’s another bad one. And actually, this happened to me on the way back to Tampa. Like, it’s I was sweating running from and Dallas Fort Worth airport is um yeah, it’s a little too much for me when I don’t fly. when I don’t fly when you don’t fly very often. DFW is um a little too much for me. But yeah, anyway, some some of my pet peeves of flying. Luckily, I don’t fly very often, but it was a good time. Uh needed a little disconnect before I you know, it’s NHL season now and I’m ready to go and I’m excited. And so, let’s get it to you here. Let’s get this episode out to you with uh our co-host here, uh Boyd. And um let’s get it going with the superlatives. Actually, you know what? Let’s save the superlatives until we really get the uh Luke Evangelista um update because I think we got to get that out of the way. If you’re cool with that, Boyd. And um I’m going to save the latest like for the longest time we’ve got had no really um not a lot of news really about Evangelist. It’s been really kept lock and key what’s going on here. But um there you have it. This was a couple days ago from uh the fourth period, David Pgnata uh and kind of dropped a little bit of uh some news you don’t want to hear. Uh gap remains contract talks basically saying the two sides remain far apart. That was on September 14th, so just a couple days ago. Um which side caves first here? Uh Boyd, what do you think? I mean, if if we’re talking about term Yeah. I mean, I I think ironically, I mean, this this the situation seems to have played out almost exactly how you and I and Max talked about it a number of weeks ago where the the Predators are looking to sign him longer term, which, you know, you have to imagine he’s not going to command a huge AAB to begin with. So you you know you’re looking at the the old you know David Poy Cali Yarn Crow Colton Sison special of you know let’s see if I can get you up for for seven years for under three million. That’s a really good comparison right there. Colton S. Wow. And if you know if you’re Luke Evangelista like there is absolutely no reason to sign that kind of why would Yeah. And that’s that cap exploding with, you know, obviously he’s expected to be a higher offensive output player. So, I mean, there’s there’s just no reason for him to accept that kind of contract. And and that’s what I’ve been that’s what I’ve been trying to tell people, you know, like I get it. Like that I get what where people are coming from to an extent in terms of like they’re like, “What has this guy done? This guy’s done nothing on the on the league level. Who’s who’s he to just be command commanding this contract and he’s holding out? But let’s just remember the NHL is so much different than like guys holding out in the NFL or the NBA. That’s at least how I read it. Like Evangelista, this is his first contract out of his ELC. Let’s keep it to that first. And and second of all, this new deal is really not about AAV. It’s not like Evangelista is holding out for like all this insane money. At least this how I read it, Boyd is he’s not holding out to get like to be the next biggest highest paid player with he’s he’s wanting protection for himself to not be trapped in a contract. And I I do think that it says a lot about the state of the national Predators, at least how he views it. And um he has every right to feel that way. I mean, we’re doing it as fans and as people who write and cover this team. We see it. We know the the state of the national predators right now is not in a good place. So why doesn’t this player have a right to feel that way? I mean, I I side with Luke Evangelista more than I do with the the Predators brass who wants to lock him up for however many years they’re searching for. Yeah. I mean, and I think it’s it there’s probably a and also just career management version, which you know, if you know, and you know, not to make a direct comparison, but you know, you you look at the contracts that someone like Austin Matthews has signed, he’s not signing eight-year contracts. He’s signing three, four, fiveyear contracts. Yeah. you look at some of the, you know, more of the bridge type deals that guys are signing in their younger years, like there’s just no reason for him to sign for longer term right now when, you know, he hasn’t reached his peak and he’s UFA eligible in, you know, three to four years. He’s much better served signing a, you know, a 3×3 basically bet on himself, go, you know, go produce. And when he’s 26, he’s in line for a much much bigger contract. And what’s kind of funny is when when you look at it from Nashville’s perspective, I mean, obviously, yeah, you would love to sign everybody for eight years for a million per, but you know, that’s not the reality of it. when even you know let’s assume for a moment that Luke Evangelista you know hits his stride hits his ceiling figures it out becomes a you know 60 to 70 point player if in three years you have a free agent forward who’s a 70point player great you’re paying market value for a very good highly productive player that’s not the worst position to be in I or at the or at the very least if that person, you know, if that player is like, I’m ready to go to free agency, then you’ve got a very very valuable player at a low cap hit that, you know, you can get a hall for in in some type of trade kind of, you know, based on where you are as as a team in that moment. So, I get why Barry Trotz would say, “Hey, this guy’s young. He hasn’t hit his peak yet. let’s lock him in at a lower AAV, but there’s no reason for Evangelis to sign that contract. And I think at at the end of the day, you know, the team’s not going to just let him sit. There’s no like nobody is served well by that. Absolutely. So, you know, I would I would expect somewhere in the coming days, you know, we’re going to see it resolved. But that’s where I come. So, I agree with you on that. But that’s why I’m like, this is yet another situation where TR Trotz is showing his inexperience or whatever you want to call it in terms of working in a front office. And I love the guy what he, you know, no matter what he really does as a general manager, I’m always going to appreciate what he did to be the first head coach of this franchise and what he meant to being a head coach in this league. But I can treat it as two different things. But this is just for me optics-wise, it might not affect this team at all in the grand scheme of things. If like what you’re saying, boy, he gets signed in a couple days. Hey, we all like shake hands in the end. Hey, it should have never gone that far. Everything’s fine and good. But the optics of this is just so bad right now because this this franchise already has a bad reputation of mishandling young talent and then they also have a bad reputation of drafting young talent to begin with. So they’re just doing it again. It’s like they never learned from their mistakes. And I get it. There’s push back here. A lot of people don’t believe in Evangelista in terms of they think he’s undized. They think that, but again, you you’ve got to see what you got in them. And and you’re going to get a a very manageable AAV regardless of what this contract ends up being. It’s not going to be a crazy AAV. The Predators have plenty of money to get this contract done. It’s not going to mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. And you’re banking on the fact that Evangelista can break break through the mold here. and finally be a guy that you drafted on, not defenseman, but forwards who can break through and be something special for you. And he fills a major need for the starting lineup if you look at starting lineup right now. He fills a major need that you really, really have a massive void in right now in that top six. And he’s got the goal scoring ability, he’s got the talent. Um, now you’ve got to get this deal done. But again, I think it’s just the fact that TRS has let this linger this deep. I blame Tros more than I’ve blamed the player. You can say that I’m I’m wrong on that. That’s fine. That we can have a difference of opinion on that. But for me, it should have never gotten this far to begin with. You you bluffed. If you’re trots, you bluffed. You you saw what you could get. And for what? You’re gonna end up caving to Evangelista most likely because as you just said, Boyd, and I agree with you, you’re not gonna let this guy sit. You’re not gonna let this linger into regular season games and just let this guy sit. Um, that would really be a disaster. So, I think Trotz is going to end up caving and probably What do you think, boy? Like two years? You think it’s two or three years? I always said three years would be pre preferable for me. I think three makes more sense for Evangelista just because that gets him closer to his UFA timeline. You know, if I don’t think two makes any sense. I think it’s going to be three or one. Um, but what I think is especially interesting as, you know, we all sort of point the finger at at at Barry Trotz being the kind of the head of the hockey operations is his assistant GMs haven’t changed from the David Bole era. Most notably, the assistant GM who is in charge of contracts and salary cap is none other than Brian Pille. So, you know, it’s obviously ultimately Barry Trotz is the decision maker and, you know, is is, you know, calling the strategy there. It’s just kind of a fascinating circumstance of, you know, when you look at, you know, the the situation where they’re seemingly try to trying to sign him to the the Coltton Sison special. Uh the person in charge of contracts is the son of the GM who signed the Coltton Sison special. So I don’t I mean you know it’s it’s obviously we’re we’re not existing behind the closed doors you know and and ultimately I think it will get resolved everybody will say hey it’s a negotiation it’s business you know we wanted two different things but we figured it out and we resolved it and you know at the end of the day as long as this doesn’t linger like into October into November you know it’s it’s not going to have a significant negative impact. But, you know, and there’s there’s I’m sure some level of a statement that Barry Trotz is making of this is how I’m going to negotiate with restricted free agents. You know, I’m I’m not just going to sign people to whatever they want. So, I mean, it’s it’s it’s an interesting situation. I’m surprised it’s gotten to this point just because, you know, compared to some of the other artists there like or, you know, Mason McTavish or Luke Hughes or Marco Rossi earlier in the summer who had, you know, more significant track records of success and you can see where those might be harder contracts to navigate. This feels like this one should be pretty simple and thank you. shouldn’t require this much, you know, this much back and forth, this much um, you know, just misalignment on on what this kind of deal should be. So, you just have to wonder, you just have to wonder how is this going to affect Evangelista’s psyche? Um, because I mean, these guys are all human. I mean, I know we like to think that they are all just like robots. they go in there and they don’t think about outside noise. But it’s like you just have to think if you do sign this contract at the last minute, you know, like you’re we’re already into training camp now and we still don’t have an official deal. Let’s say he signs it before the regular season starts, which we all expect, but we’ve expected it to happen three weeks ago, too. So, it’s like, but let’s say it happens. You just have to wonder like how’s that going to affect his psyche? like we like you said, boy, we don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors. Um, but it’s it it is fascinating uh to me that it’s lingered this long. Um, and it’s also just makes me wonder, you know, what else is going on. Uh, and maybe it’s nothing. Maybe I’m just overthinking it, you know, maybe it’s nothing. He gets signed and he has a breakout year. And I really hope that happens. But we’re going to move on here now uh in episode 275 of Catfish on Ice and we’re going to get into the opening face off the main meat and potatoes of this episode and that is the superlatives that I have come up with you know for the Predators just like we saw in the yearbook when we were all in high school. The superlatives that I never won. But um my first superlative, put it on the screen here, is going to be most likely to overperform. And I I chose Jonathan Mareso as my And I I had a couple options here. I had a couple options, but I went with Jonathan Maraso because I do think that this guy still has a couple years left in him, even more so than I think Stephen Stamp Coast does, for sure. and he’s going to be playing on the top line. I think him and Forsber are going to have a much better year together and we just have to figure out if Ryan O’Reilly still has a little bit left in the tank. But I think Maro and Forsber are going to have a really good year together. And I think that stock is maybe further down on Maro than it should be. If you look at his numbers last year for a really bad Predators team, they’re actually not that bad. There it is right there. compared to his Vegas year. Yeah, he dropped. Everyone on this team dropped. But 78 games, 21 goals. You’d like to see his goal scoring go up. Absolutely. I think that’s where he can overperform, but 21 goals, 35 assists, 56 points. Um, I think he’s a really easy choice for me to say this guy is most likely to overperform. Uh, Boyd, what do you think? I mean, it’s it’s it’s an interesting way to look at it and and you know, and I think, you know, I I did a bit of analysis earlier this summer and and I looked at um primarily the the three major free agent signings of Stam Coast, Mariso, and Shay. I said, “Okay, let’s not assume they’re going to get back to where they had been the previous year before coming to Nashville where, let’s keep in mind, you know, in 23 24 they were Stam Coast and March were both 40 goal scorers. So I, you know, I kind of thought, okay, you know, maybe they’re not doing that again, but if they can get 10% better, that’s it. 10%. All of a sudden, you look at someone like Marcoso, 21 goals becomes 25 goals. 35 assists becomes 42 assists or whatever, just about 40 assists. And 56 points goes over 60. And if you have a winger that is scoring 25 goals and getting over 60 points and is making in the five plus million dollar range, you’re fine. That’s great. Nailed it. Good. Bang for your buck. Bang for your buck. Stamos, he had, I think, 27 goals if memory serves and was fifth in the NHL in power play goals. So 10% better. Now he’s over 30. Okay, maybe he’s not getting back to 40, but if he’s over 30 goals, you know, pushing 60 points, yeah, you’d like a little more from someone making $8 million, but it’s not like it’s not terrible. Like, you’re okay. And with Brady Sheay, again, 10% better, and I don’t remember his numbers exactly offhand, but like 10% better gets him into like the upper 30s of points. And like again, you know, obviously like a little more offensive output, but if he’s playing good defense beside that, it’s also a lot harder to grade a defenseman uh in terms of like just points and stuff. But he but but he did come in like uh you know, riding a pretty good pretty good wave with the Carolina 50 to 60 point defenseman. Like he But one thing to remember about all three of these guys and I I I fell victim to it. I’ll agree. Like I I bought I bought the Kool-Aid last off seasonason. I’m not going to pretend like I didn’t. But all three of these guys, I’m not making excuses for them. They all could have played a lot better, but they all played came from really, really good situations. All three of them came from Stanley Cup contenders and came to a team who wasn’t a Stanley Cup contender before they joined them. And then we all threw them together and and shook it up like we thought it was gonna all like work and stick. And guess what? Year one it didn’t stick. This team went off to an 0 and5 start and then yeah the uh the Magic Hall said my sources say no. And what’s crazy is they won five in a row. Then they I think they won three in a row. But then but then and so then we were all thinking okay maybe they can like it’s still early. We we all kept saying it’s still early. It’s still early. Still early. I mean, my my uh my guy Willie Donic. My guy Willie Donic. It got my guy Willie Donic. Yeah, my guy Willie Donic. I love him. He’s one of the most optimistic guys ever and I love him for it. But he kept saying like, “It’s still early. It’s still early. It’s still early.” And and then eventually we were all saying, “It’s not early anymore. It’s it’s it’s not early anymore.” Yeah. But they but they dug themselves so deep. And I think a big problem with this team uh was they just had no chemistry early on and they were going up against teams who clearly had better chemistry and chemistry is so important in hockey. But um in terms of my likely to overperform, um I’m going to go with Jonathan Marsh. So I think you could also I mean it’s hard on this superlative because so many guys underperformed on this team. Pretty much everyone did. Uh it it’s it’s you have a lot of choices to make on who can quote unquote overperform. You can’t pick Forsber because the guy is already operating at maximum level, but uh what do you think, boy? Do throw in another guy you could maybe pick. I initially really kind of wanted to pick uh Justin Baron just because that’s a good one. when when you look at, you know, his his numbers and just kind of watching him play, obviously there’s some defensive things that that needed to improve. But when he was on the ice, offense happened. So that was that was one of the names of my first game, but also he’s going to be, you know, likely third pair, may not be playing every night, so it’s probably not the best pick. the name that I that I thought of of, you know, is going to perform beyond what’s expected of them, which is why I didn’t kind of pick one of the big three, big four forwards, you know, because we know what we expect of them. Um, the name that came to mind for me was Zach Laroo and he is, you know, I’m I’m going to assume he’s not going to end up on the fourth line. He’s going to end up getting, you know, probably third line time. You know, a a third I mean, truthfully, a a third line of how bunting and Zach Laroo sounds like an absolute menace to deal with. Um, just that sounds like a really bad time for opponents. Um, I love that. Yeah. You know, he’s sign up for that. He’s he’s flashed, you know, a good bit of skill, works really hard. You know, you have to assume, you know, with another summer of growing and, you know, hopefully, you know, you assume most of these guys have been around each other for the last few weeks, I know, um, at the European player tour, I think, uh, Philip Forsber was saying a bunch of the guys were already back in town and starting to skate together. So, you know, that’s that’s someone to me who, you know, put up, you know, a little bit of rookie numbers. You know, we’re not evaluating good or bad. It was rookie numbers. you know, would it shock me if he, you know, dropped, you know, dropped down, you know, and and and put away, you know, 12 to 15 goals and 25 points, you know, it’s not blowing the roof off, but for a guy who’s, you know, really still sort of making his way, I think that would be a, you know, a really kind of unexpected boost to the the overall production. So that was that was sort of the name when I thought of like who’s going to exceed expectations. Um I I really thought about Zach Laroo there and that would be awesome to see that happen. I mean how can you as a as an old school Predators fan how can you not love Zachary Zachary Laroo especially considering kind of where he was at before he made it to the NHL. He was going through some disciplinary issues on the ice, mind you. Let’s remember that it’s very different than off the ice disciplinary. He just could keep his emotions in check. We were always worried about could he do that, but you also don’t want to um change what makes him such a great player. You know, you’re like toting that line of like yes, please keep that energy, please keep that that great part of your game, but also sometimes you got to tone it back a little bit, dude. And uh I saw a little bit of that last year actually. He’s got the swagger. He’s got the uh So, let’s see. Hey man, you got me thinking right now. Bunting, holla, and Laroo. Hey, I don’t know how many goals that line’s going to score, but they are going to be a wrecking ball. Uh yeah, so good stuff there. All right, let’s move on to the next one. The opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to superlatives on this one. Um and that is player most likely to underperform. And let me preface this by saying that um this is in no way me. I am one of the biggest fans of this player. I’m just going off the circumstances and put on the screen right there. For me, it’s Roman Yosi. And the reason why is because I’m not sure how 100% he’s really going to be. And but he is still for me top five offensive defenseman in the league. not all-around defenseman, but offensively speaking, I he is just one year removed from putting up what what was it 80 plus points. So, the guy can still stack up the points. He can stack up the assists, especially on the power play. And but I’m just worried about his health and I’m worried that he’s going the grind of the season might get to him. And it’s not even just about his unfortunate uh syndrome with the with the pot syndrome. It’s It’s really just about age in general. I’d be probably putting him on here even without that diagnosis. I just think that father time is undefeated, the cliche goes. And we still hold him in such a high regard. I as well hold him in a high regard. And and I’m worried that this could be a year where we actually finally see the the mortal Roman Yosi. we actually see that he’s not immortal because none of us are and that maybe he’s not the same defenseman that he’s given us for all these years because he he’s getting older and this I’m afraid this might be the first year regardless of of what he’s dealing with just age in general that uh that maybe he he just can’t do it anymore and I hope I’m wrong on that but when I look at underperformance performance. Again, this isn’t this is a tough superlative to pick because everyone underperformed on this team. So, how do I go even more underperforming? Yosi only played 53 games last year and actually he wasn’t. I mean, you look at his numbers, he was still putting up the assist on the power play. Um, he was, it’s not like he was awful before his injury that he took from Sam Bennett, the concussion that brought this whole thing up, but I’m just worried that it’s eventually going to catch up to him and it might be this year when it starts to happen. I I wonder just given, you know, kind of all the things you’ve mentioned, you know, he’s up there in years a little bit. Obviously, he’s he’s dealing with some some health history. Yeah, it’s it’s it’s not a hockey thing to do. It’s very much a basketball thing to do. I wonder if they load banish him a little bit. I hope they do, you know, and I worry I worry about him. I really worry about the human. I worry about the human in this more than I worry about the player. I really do. I mean, if you have back-tobacks or um you know, a a game travel day, you know, long travel day to then another game, you know, it would be it would be interesting to see if you know, especially if you know, let’s say for the sake of argument, you know, they get off to a good start and they’re in the playoff mix and you know, come January, February, you know, and and you’re sort of in one of those spots. You know, I actually wonder if they would maybe load manage him a little bit just to just to ease some of the strain. I mean, the fact is the Predators as it stands today defensively are incredibly deep. they are of NHL caliber defenseman that you know if you needed guys to step in for a game or two just to just to give him a break like you can do that without you know obviously you’re taking a very very good defenseman off the ice but you’re not pushing in a you know low-end AHL callup you know you they’ve got what nine NHL caliber defenseman right So, I mean, there’s there’s definitely some ways they could do that. I’m looking at a real quick real quick, Boyd, I’m just looking at his uh his ice time before the injury last year, and he was at 252. And I was just looking back at previous years. Uh the year before he played all 82 games in 2023 24, put up 85 points. That was that was what I was referencing. I I I remember that he was not far removed from being an 80 plus point defenseman. um 62 assist. I mean, come on now. But um 2438 ice time. Uh he’s always been a workhorse, but I’m just looking at his average ice time. It’s always he didn’t My point is they didn’t load manage him at all last year. That’s for damn sure. Like he was still eating up all the minutes that he always has done throughout his career. We did not see a dip at all. I just wanted to double check to see um what he’s always been a mid 24s to low 25s and then early in his career he’s actually doing over 26 minutes a game but um even at 34 my point is even at 34 years old you were not seeing any load management for for uh Roman Yosi. So I just wanted I mean it’s like I said it’s it’s generally not a hockey thing to do. Um, but in terms of the type of player he is and if you’re trying to put him in the best position to be successful, it might be an interesting thing to consider of just, you know, can you find that, you know, eight to 10 games over the course of the season that are the back end of a backtoback or a long travel where, you know, maybe you just let him have one and, you know, you you’re making sure that he’s, you know, in his top form for 70, you know, 60 to 72 games instead of, you know, what player, you know, what player I think of uh in terms of being ready to um take those minutes when Romeo does a play, obviously it’s Brady Shay, but another player actually I’m thinking about, and I know you’ll appreciate this boy, but it’s Adam Wilsby for me. I mean, let’s see what this guy’s made of. and he looked really good before he had an injury last year. So, that’s a guy that I’m like, and when you speak of the depth of this defense, you’re absolutely right, Boyd. I mean, you look at their I mean, I’m not saying they’re all topline wrecking balls, but like they’ve got a lot of options with their defenseman right now. Like, actually, they’re gonna have to make some really tough decisions. Yeah. To to uh to when they would not be shocked at the start of the year they’re carrying a defenseman just because That’s that’s where the organizational depth is at the NHL level. Absolutely. And you know, obviously we’ll we’ll get to waiver candidates here in a bit, but Yep. We will. Yeah, that’s that’s that’s definitely there. Who’s another guy you got that might be most for you where you’re like, this guy might underperform this year? Yeah, that’s that’s been tough. You know, I’m I’m well, you know, and I’m I’m I’m trying to think of it as and we’re being negative. I get it. We don’t want to be negative, but Well, not so much that. I don’t want to make a hot take out of it that’s like, oh, you know, Philip Forsber’s not going to have 95% for me. For me, I don’t I’m not trying to be a hot take with Roman Yosi. I just think it seems No, I think that’s I think that’s reason. I mean, compared to what you can agree with me. You don’t you don’t have to pull something out out of thin air if you don’t. But um no, I mean I think my mine might be I might say Cole Smith and just in terms of you know have we seen the best of what he’s capable of and sort of like I mean obviously he didn’t reach the goal scoring peak that uh Tanner Jano did but in a similar vein kind of the wrecking ball player you’re hoping to unlock a little bit more and at a certain certain point you just don’t see anything more. And you know, it’s not that he can’t be a useful player somewhere, but you know, at at what point does do you look at, you know, this is what his ceiling is, and then look at the next man up and say, well, you know, he’s 27, 28, this guy’s 22. Let’s let’s give the 22 year old a shot and see if he can give us something more. So, you know, in in terms of, you know, maybe versus expectations and, you know, maybe expectations for him aren’t that high, but, you know, in in terms of, you know, most likely to fall off from where we’ve seen them, I think it it could be someone like Cole Smith. I also feel like he’s got a lot of uh he’s got a little bit more competition this year in terms of his spot when you think about guys like uh even Matthew Wood, who we haven’t talked about yet. Um, I mean, he’s got some competition. um in terms of uh holding off some of these younger players. When I think about when Trot says we got younger guys, it’s their turn. Um I think about, okay, well, who are they realistically going to steal spots from? And I I think about a guy like Cole Smith possibly. So, um um let’s get to the next one. This one’s going to make people laugh and there’s plenty of choices here because uh fans are going to say, “Oh, I’m pissed off the entire team, so how are you going to make me pick one player?” But uh uh that’s what makes this fun. So my choice for the player that’s most likely to piss off fans the most this year. And man, there’s a lot of choices you can pick here. And you can even throw in Andrew Bernett possibly. He’s a head coach. You can count him as a player. You can say Barry Trotz the GM if you want. Um it’s all open game here. And this one’s like you have this you have more options here than any of the other superlatives I feel like. But for me, I’m going off of not just how I feel, just what I think the fans feel. And it’s I mean, is there any other choice? Is there any other choice than Stephen Stamp goes? I mean, this guy has become the new punching bag that Matt Duchain left behind, I feel like. And I’m not saying I’m not saying they’re the exact same players and they’re in the exact same situations. But like when Matthew Shane came in, he had all this hype. He was in a very different part of his career. I’m not. They’re definitely apples to oranges in terms of where they’re at in their careers. And certainly Stephen Stamco is way more of a future Hall of Famer than Matt Duchaine is. So, I’m not necessarily comparing the players. I’m just saying like I feel like they get the similar amount of of sometimes justified criticism and sometimes unjustified criticism. And so for me, I feel like the table is set too perfectly for as soon as um uh crap starts hitting the fan. Uh it’s going to be either Steven Stamos. If we’re just talking about players on the ice, let’s not talk about Trotz and Brunette. They’re givens. They’re going to everyone’s the pitchforks are going to come after them after the first loss. But like I feel like just players on the ice. It’s Steven Stamos and Jussi Sorrowos. I feel like they’re the top two punching bags that that people just like go after. It doesn’t matter if Stamco scores a couple goals. I feel like they’re always like going after these two guys. So, for me, I went to steal mine. Well, that’s fair. But hey, there you go. But I I’m going with Stamp Coast over Sorrowos. I actually had to flip a coin on it almost. But I I went with Stamp Coast because I feel because I feel like he is definitely only going to be able to do so much at this point in his career. I was I I was actually thinking Sorrowos for this one and and that’s a very fair choice. The way that I thought about it is is you know the way I interpreted the superlative is who is most likely to generate the hot takes. That’s a good one too. And we saw a lot of it last year with Jussi Sorrowos, which you know, and you know, we could spend an entire episode going through why the season went wrong for him, but you know, for a guy who’d been in the top, was it top five or top six of Vzna voting for four straight years? Yeah. And all of a sudden it was like, “Oh, he’s mid. Oh, he’s too small. Oh, he’s terrible. That contract is awful. Like, should have traded him. Yeah. How are we talking about the contract? The contract is so irrelevant. It’s such a bargain contract. Yeah. Which which is actually ironic. It kicks in this It kicks in this year. But given all the contracts that have been signed, he’s like the 11th highest paid goalie right now. It’s like the least of our worries. Yeah. So, the way that I thought about it was, you know, in in in terms of the hot takes, you know, there’s with with someone like Stamos, it’s oh, he’s he’s old and he’s washed. There’s, you know, there’s one hot take there where Sorrowos, I mean, the hot takes were just endless. And if he gets off to a slow start, which remind everyone he’s done that almost every season of his career is get off. I’m just really I’m really hoping that he’s got a much better defense in front of him and he gets locked in. I’m hoping he gets a couple good starts under his belt. Um, you know, and uh he just kind of like you said, he’s streaky of course, but um I I do feel like he’s going to have a better disciplined defense in front of him. Um, yeah. Well, entire defense that’s on crutches or in a medical bag. Exactly. The thing I feel about Sorrowos, too, is unfortunately last year I will I’ve conceded this um all off season. The thing about Soros last year that did he looked ordinary. He didn’t steal any games really for us. And then there were some games where he was trying to steal the game in the first period or the second period, but then it just eventually the bottom caved out and he would just he just couldn’t do it anymore. And I’m not making excuses for him. He definitely he he definitely wasn’t his normal elite self and I’ve conceded that. But he also wasn’t nearly as bad as the um that’s thing you have to be careful about when it comes to goalies. And I know you know this boy and I know a lot of hockey fans know this. I’m just trying to like be like be like very fair and very welcoming to to to people who maybe don’t watch hockey very often or maybe they’re casuals and they just watch the game every couple nights or maybe they just catch the highlights and they watch the box score. Totally fair. Um totally understandable. I’m not like knocking you at all for that. Like we all have busy lives. I’m just saying like goalies are some of the hardest players in all of sports to track when it comes to you can’t just look at their numbers in the box score and think, “Oh, this guy had a horrible game. He sucks. He gave up four goals. Um, get rid of him.” You know, it’s not like looking at a quarterback who went 10 for 20 or 10 for 30 with two interceptions and um threw for 60 yards and got sacked six times. I mean, yeah, there’s variables there, too. Not to talk about football, but like, yeah, how good was the offensive line? Did the ball get tipped when he threw an interception? I get all that, but even that, it’s way easier to to judge a quarterback. When you’re talking about a goalie, there’s so many deflected pucks, there’s power plays, there’s five on threes, there’s breakaways, there’s how many great saves did he make before he finally did give up a goal that he had no chance at? I mean, it’s just so much harder. Many how many times last season I mean and I’m I am in Bridgestone a lot and how many times was there someone on the back door completely uncovered and just had a tap in goal. I saw it all the time. It happened a ton. Yeah. I mean I mean I mean goending is voodoo. We all we’ve all seen it. Um, but I think, you know, more than likely, you know, Sorrowos will be better or at the very least he’ll be, you know, closer to himself and the defense in front of him should be better. But yeah, in terms of like if things start poorly in terms of on the ice, the hot takes that are going to get generated are going to be redot towards him. Oh, yeah. especially going into year one of his contract, even though we agree that it’s the contract is irrelevant. It’s such a good contract. But, um, yeah, they’re going to point to that because it is an eight-year contract. Um, let let’s get to the positive here. Some positive superlatives. Um, want to get away from the negative here. Um, let’s get to the player who I think is most likely to be caught up first. This is a tough one because there’s a lot of choices and options here. And it also an extra layer to that is we don’t even know who’s going to make training camp make the roster out of training camp. So I’m talking about so these choices we’re making here just to set it out. It’s not who makes the team on training camp. I’m talking about who gets called up once the season starts. So it’s it’s kind of like a little tricky. I had to think about that myself. But for me I went with Aussie Wise Black. I don’t think he’s going to make the roster right out of training camp. I think there’s some guys they’re going to just stick with first. Uh just naturally speaking because they’ve already got more experience or whatever. They’re going to stick with status quo type of thing. But Aussie Wise Blast’s got to be like right there wait in the wings. They love the way he plays that he’s the type of guy that that if your team is struggling and you need a jolt of energy, that’s who you want to plug in there. You know he’s hungry. You know, you know he’s going to do the right things. Does he have all the talent in the world? Maybe not. But it doesn’t matter. He’s going to come in there and do what what you need for for a young team who probably is going to have to rebuild this year. You want your Aussie Wise Blats in the lineup. So, while I don’t think he’s going to make it right out of the out of training camp, I could be wrong. He might make it out of training camp, but for me, I think he’s going to be one of the first ones to be called up. That’s just how I feel about it. Yeah, I think that’s a that’s a solid choice. Um, you know, and obviously he got a taste of NHL action last season. I think the the other probably first callup and I think I go with this, you know, not because he’s the most skilled player, um, but I think it’s the easiest role to fill if, you know, if if there’s an injury or whatnot. Um, and because Barry Trotz has spent the last year and a half talking about him and that’s Reed Schaffefer. That That’s I was Dude, me and you were on the same wavelengths. It’s just we’re picking the opposite of Yeah, because I was I was torn between those two guys. I mean, I you know, obviously he was off to a a real solid start to last season. I think he had 14 points in nine games. Um, so the offensive production was starting to tick up and then unfortunately got hurt and was basically down the rest of the year. But, you know, you think of someone who can fill a bottom six role, you know, plus he’s got the added, you know, hockey mind advantage of being 6’2 220 as opposed to, you know, Aussie Weisslat who, God bless him, is like 5’8 160. So, um, you know, I I think in in terms of if Schaefer has a solid camp, you know, looks like he’s back in shape, you know, is back playing, you know, I think the the first time there’s an injury in the forward core or, you know, they need to bring someone up out of Milwaukee, you know, you’re thinking that more than likely someone from the bottom six is going to get elevated, you know, So, you’re looking to fill that bottom six, fourth line role mo more than likely. And I think the the a likely first choice there would be someone like Reed Schaefer. Yeah. And that would be his NHL debut um if he was able to be called up. So, um I got I’m going to put it on the screen for our viewers on streaming viewers on Facebook and uh YouTube right now. Also, guys, hit subscribe if you haven’t already. and also join the comments. But um zoom in there. But yeah, Admirals, he’s slated for the Admirals initially, but of course he could he is one of your top candidates that can make a name for himself in training camp for sure. I think there’s a lot of open competition with the Predators right now in training camp. More than I can really remember personally when it comes to uh the wings on the wings. Uh more than anything, uh there’s a lot of just uncertainty going on and I think they need to welcome that competition in training camp. If you’re Barry Trotz and you’re Andrew Bernett, you need to really welcome it. I get it. The top six is set. It’s the status quo. That’s how it always usually happens, but there should be um some some nuance, I guess you could say, when it comes to the bottom six right now. I’m all for it um for sure. But just look at Reed Schaefer’s numbers here and what his journey to the NHL uh just on elite prospects is what I’m using here. But um you’ve got uh he’s uh spent the last two seasons with the Admirals 63 games in 2023 24. He was part of the Matias Ekholm trade. Uh so you’re looking to see what you got. This is why it takes so long to figure out the benefits of a trade in hockey when it comes to a trade like that for sure. It’s like we’re still waiting to see Reed Schaefer, but you know what? We’re excited about him. 63 games played for Milwaukee in 2023 24 this past season. Uh 19 games. He was hurt last year, wasn’t he? Yeah. So after those 19 games, yeah, he he had an injury that kept him out the rest of the season. Okay, there you go. Yeah. So, but look what he did before he got hurt. So, um yeah, I mean that’s a good choice by you for sure, uh Boyd. Um I’m not sure if he’s going to make it right out of training camp. Maybe he will. That’d be a really awesome story. I’m not against it at all. Um but like like you said, for the sake of this superlative, it’s who gets called up first. So um I could see a situation where 10 games into the season, he gets called up for sure. Uh he seems like a a top candidate for sure to to uh get his NHL debut this year. It almost feels inevitable that he’s going to get his NHL debut this year. Um, so let me get to the next one now. We’re moving right along here. Uh, superlatives. Uh, before we do that, because I am a little bit past when I should be doing my ad read. And we do, we are a podcast this year. We’ve been selected to be a DraftKings Pick Six sponsor. And so we’re really honored uh to be chosen to tell you about the Pick Six and give you a really awesome offer with this new DraftKings uh system that they have. It’s really cool. It’s called the Pick Six app. And right now, football is back and so is your shot at big wins. With DraftKings Pick Six, the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL, your game day instincts can score you real money fast. Here’s the play. Just pick more or less on two or more player stats. 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I feel like this one’s pretty straightforward, but I’ve got Joe Keem Kimmel. I mean, he’s the pretty obvious choice um in terms of he’s going to come in and I feel like he’s going to be in the lineup on opening night. I would be totally surprised if he’s not. But maybe he’s not. I don’t know. I think he deserves it. But he could also be the first call up if he doesn’t make the lineup. But I think he’s proven everything he can in the AHL. I really do. Like I don’t know how much more it’s going to serve him to play more AHL time. I think he’s ready for the NHL. I think this Predator’s team needs a guy like KML right now. Uh with his shot and with his raw ability to score, I would love to see him on the second power play unit this year. Um he’s my most likely newcomer. I think he’s going to he’s going to stick and he’s going to actually be a mainstay in the lineup by the time the season ends. I mean, I think they sure need him to be um you know, for you know, one of the kind of longer term prospects. I mean, he’s he’s been around for a few years now. We’ve sort of been waiting for him to take that next step. I mean, he’s always been productive at the AHL level and and, you know, shown that he can uh put up some production there. But yeah, I think they’re certainly hoping that that he’s ready to take that next big step. I’m the one I’m going to say here is, you know, maybe doesn’t totally fit the bill because he did spend some time at the NHL level last year. Um, but I’m I’m still going to go with Adam Wilsby. I think um good choice. He he had a a a short run in the NHL. Obviously, you know, showed some, you know, a a really mature game for someone who had not uh played much time at at that level. And you know, I think, you know, assuming he’s healthy and ready to go, you know, I I could absolutely see a world where he claims, you know, a a nightly spot in the lineup and is, you know, potentially a pretty impactful player um from the defensive side just with his just allound ability to skate, you know, plays physical enough, handles the puck well, you just a just a player that does a lot of things well. And when you look at, you know, someone sort of claiming a spot at the NHL level, you know, fulltime for the first time, you know, I think Adam Wilsby really really fits that bill as well. That’s and honestly, I mean, that might that’s probably a better choice than what I just made to be quite honest. But um because if you think about it, if not for the bad luck with in with the injury, I think he was already on that pathway last year, Willsby was. Um, I mean, I loved what I saw from Willsby in his limited time that he got, but he he really looked like a I remember watching Willsby when he his first few games and thinking this guy looks like he’s been in the league for 100 games. Like, I mean, his confidence level, the his skating, his his uh IQ on the ice, the the the decisions that often get overlooked in a game like from a defenseman, just he was making the right pass. He was making the right choice. He didn’t look like a liability out there at all. He looked super confident. Uh the the injury he had just really just like made us kind of wonder what could have been. But now he gets it again. He gets another chance this year. It’s a it’s a very crowded defensive room. But um also he’s playing for a team that uh just needs something to go right for them when it comes to their younger talent. So I think he’s got a great chance. Um, I could see a scenario where both of these guys we picked here just now will be um main stays in the lineup by the time 202526 ends. Um, and they’re and they’re certainly very very critical parts of this team’s future in terms of the rebuild that they’re likely going into. I mean, these two guys are so important. So, um, good stuff there. Uh, let’s see. Moving along here. Let’s get to the next superlative. The next one up here for me is the mo. This is like the inverse of your earlier choice, Boyd. This is like the opposite, but the player we probably should have put them next to each other. The player who most likely gets an apology from fans the like first like like fans are like we’re sorry. And we all know Predators fans are brutal. I mean, they hold grudges. I love them. I love my fellow Predators fans. I’m not knocking you. But man, you guys hold grudges. You guys like don’t want to forgive anybody. You never want to admit you’re wrong about a player. But if we’re going to show a little bit of humility as a fan base, guys, let’s all show some humility this year. All right. Uh who’s going to get the most likely to get an apology this year from fans? Man, I went the opposite of you. I went Jussi Sorrowos. I don’t think he’s I don’t think he’s going to piss fans off. I think he’s going to earn an apology for likely what you said already, Boyd. I think he’s gonna play better. I think he’s going to be better. I think he’s going to steal more games. And I think even the biggest Jussi Soros critics are going to have to eat some crow. They probably won’t show their faces on social media, but deep down behind closed doors, they’re gonna hug their pillow at night and they’re gonna think they’re going to be crying a little bit and they’re going to be thinking, “I owe you Sorrowos an apology. He’s actually not that bad. He’s actually pretty damn good.” And he’s the only reason that our team is actually winning some games right now because he’s done it before. So, it’s like he’s he’s done it for many years. Actually, he had like Boyd said earlier, he had a year where Yeah. He didn’t do that as much and everyone pounced on him. I think people are going to apologize to him this year. I think some people are, not everyone, but uh there’s some stubborn ones out there, but uh I think some people are going to apologize to you Sorrowos this year. So yeah, we’re just we’re just going to go in full full opposites at this point because I’m I’m actually going to say Stephen Samos. Oh, I love it. And you know, I I I get it. I get all the reasons why he’s he’s caught kind of some of the crap that he has, but you know, some of of his caliber of player and just, you know, there’s honestly a player who wants to win and and has won plenty and he’s happy to be here. I mean, I don’t I don’t think he’s going to look at last season and just go, “No, we’re okay. That’s just fine.” How does it how does it not melt your heart when you see his cute little kid like wearing a Pred jersey when he first signed up for the team? I mean, the guy loves Nashville. And that’s we’re that’s coming from a guy who is like, “Hey, treated like a god in Tampa. I live down here, man. That dude is like these people down here still miss that dude and they want him back so bad. Uh they don’t care how he played last year in Nashville. They want that guy back so bad. Um, so yeah, I get it. Um, I I I think he should get an apology. I’m not going to apologize because I I I’m never really was that mad at the guy last year. I I was kind of like worried that he was going to start off slow with the team coming from a team of 17 years and all the emotions involved and how tumultuous that whole um that whole situation was to begin with. Um he definitely went to the penalty box too much. If I’m being objective here, I think that’s an area he can definitely improve upon. There were there were some times being a veteran that he is that he took some bad penalties. I I will be totally upfront with that one. Um, I remember it clearly he took too many penalties in bad situations. You don’t want that from a veteran who’s supposed to be a leader on the ice. And then I also think, and I don’t know if that’s a product of how the team was set up or just him in general being too timid and trying to set up his other teammates and trying to be the uh the facilitator, but he could have shot a lot more. And um I mean I you could say that about the entire team probably. Well, of course, but um I pulled this up. I shared it on X like maybe a week or two ago, but um I still couldn’t believe this stat. Um total shots taken, total shots attempted, he went down from 490 to 356. Yeah. from his last year in Tampa. He I mean that’s like and he played three not that it matters really that much but he played all 82 games for Nashville this past year which is actually really impressive uh for a player of the age of Stamos but he played all 82 games last year he played 79 games at age 33 and in his last year with Tampa and still managed to put up 490 total shots he put up 356. The crazy thing about the numbers when you really compare his last year with Tampa and his um first year with Nashville better barely but basically the same same shooting percentages and crazy. He’s always had a great shooting percentage. He is a career 16.6% shooting percentage in seven. That is insane to play in the league for that long, that large of a sample size. We’re talking six 6,441 total shots attempted in the NHL and the dude’s carrying a 16.6 shooting percentage. That is insane. And he had a 15.5 shooting percentage last year. So it wasn’t that he lost his shooting touch. It wasn’t that he couldn’t score goals. He didn’t shoot enough. I mean, I know that seems very simple. Yeah. And it seems like it’s not very analytically like deep, but like I mean he had he only had 356 total shot attempts last year, which is by far uh the lowest he’s had, not counting seasons where he played partial seasons where he didn’t really didn’t play the whole year. I mean, it’s like crazy. So if you’re if you’re Andrew Bernett, you have to be figuring out better ways to get Stephen Stamco the puck and in his wheelhouse this year. Yeah, I think it was it was noticeable throughout, you know, especially the first, you know, two to three months of the season that, you know, Sam Coast, Marsheso, Forsber, they were they just kept deferring to each other. Yeah. They didn’t know who they didn’t know who they wanted to shoot. Yeah. Yeah. They all wanted to they all wanted to set each other up and they all wanted to kind of which you know there is a there is a version of that that is they wanted to get each other going and you know like a like a shooter in basketball. You know you want to get your a shooter some shots. See a couple go in they start you know making a few more. But at a certain point you know it it took them out of their game a little bit. And it is especially early on you know and I think when when you look at someone like Stamos and say what is what’s reasonable and you know what is reasonable is that he’s had a full year now with this team. He’ll have his second full training camp with almost the same roster with the same coaching staff more or less. And you know there is a you know a reasonable chance that now he just feels more comfortable with where he is. The team feels more comfortable together and they will have a better understanding of how to unlock each other. Mhm. I still think there’s a giant gaping hole at the center position, but that’s Oh, yeah. totally different. That’s a long rabbit hole we don’t need to go down today. But, um, you know, it’s in terms of what is reasonable. I think it is reasonable. We don’t we don’t even know exactly where, not to go down the rabbit hole, but I just got to say this. We don’t even know exactly where Stam Coast is going to be lining up this year. I mean, he’s probably going to be bounced back and forth, honestly. But we don’t know where he’s going to start off. Yeah, I don’t second line wing, but could he be up with Forber again? Sure. Could he end up playing center again? It’s possible. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. We don’t really know. Uh but um but I look I I think that if Stamco comes out and as we both think he’s going to do, he’s going to be more comfortable. And I think I think I think one I think I think one of the things that happened with the fans is they were very emotional about how that free agency was covered. Uh there was a ton of hype around the Predators and a large portion of the fan base to no fault of their own got super hype about this team in preseason. The exact opposite of where we’re at right now. Um it’s come full circle I feel like. But um to no fault of their own, the fans were super excited and they were super hyped. And you even saw some of these writers out here uh hinting at, oh, the Predators could be a Western Conference Finals uh candidate and all this stuff. and all you saw was Stamp Coast and Marsh. So all these guys and the hype was real and and so it was easy to just go right to those guys especially considering I think it took Stamco’s five or six games before he even got his first point. And then I think he was like I think he was like 10 plus games through and he only had one goal and no assists. And then as the season went on he and I get it like the team was already so far out of the standings that fans didn’t even care anymore. They just looked at it like mop-up duty and they were like, “Who cares that you scored a goal tonight? We’re we suck. We lost.” But like I think what really hurt his reputation was when the games did matter and when the fans were checked in, he wasn’t there for not all of his own fault obviously, but like that’s where it came from. So this year I feel like as you’re saying, let’s all calm down. The expectations aren’t as high. Stamp Coast is going through going into a second year. He’s going to be more comfortable with his franchise. The way that guy’s a future Hall of Famer and the way he still has the desire to play this game. I’m not worried for a second about his prepare about him being prepared for this season and for him to um probably come off one of the most difficult disappointing years of his career. I hate to say it, but if he looks back on his illustrious career, he probably looks at last year as probably one of his most challenging um as a just as a player and what and and playing for a team who finished 30th in the standings. It was his first year leaving Tampa Bay and having to second guessess his decision to leave and all this stuff. So now he’s got all that behind him and now he can just do what he does, which is he’s a Hall of Fame player. whether you, you know, whether you think he’s washed or not, he he is one of the best power play scorers of all time. I mean, and that’s where I think he’s gonna earn an apology from fans, and he did it last year. He scored 14 power play goals last year. So, I mean, I I mean, I think he could get an apology from fans. I think he’s owed one, but we’ll see if it actually happens. All right, here’s my next one. Um, my next one is uh most likely to get traded first. I got Michael Bunting. I think that’s lowhanging fruit, but it is low hanging fruit, but I took the easy Hey, man. I took the easy choice. I mean, we don’t have a lot of guys to trade anymore. I mean, I saw Luca I saw Luke Evangelista being rumored as, but I think that was more clickbait. The guys people just having fun. I didn’t see it from any I’m not saying the people who wrote those articles are doing anything wrong. I’m just saying like most of the trade buzz articles I read were coming from sites that like to pitch trades and and speculate. I didn’t see any uh there might have been one or two analysts who entertain the idea. I’ve seen Luke Evangelista linked as a possible fit for the Maple Leafs. But, um, other than Evangelista, I can’t really think of a lot of like big-time trade candidates for this team right now other than Michael Bunting. Yeah. Not not really big big time trade candidates. I mean, I think when you look at players most likely to get traded. I mean, the first I would Yeah. I mean, the the the other one that I would look at is maybe Michael McCarron just because he was I mean, you know, he was up there on a number of trade boards towards towards the end, you know, towards the trade deadline last season. And, you know, as a a guy who can primarily play center, he fills a depth role, can can kill penalties, play physical, etc. like that’s you know that is that is a valuable role for a team and um you know as long as your expectations about certain things are managed you know I think there’s there is a there is a world where a team looks at where they are a couple months into the season and says something’s missing you know some you know and looks at a player like Michael McCarron who can inject some size, physicality, penalty killing, and do it from the center position. Yeah, I mean, he could definitely be traded as the season goes along depending on where this team’s at. Um, it would also have to depend on what other centers in this organization are showing us because I mean, you trade away another center, I mean, you better be getting a really good young center in return. Let’s say you trade McCarron to a a a playoff contender who wants a big body like McCarron, then you they better be giving us someone in return who maybe is not ready right away to play center, but has a bright future. You better give me a one for one swap. Like if I’m giving you McCarron to help you now, you better be giving me something that can replace McCarron in the long term future. But um that’s a good choice. But Michael Bunting’s the lowhanging fruit obviously. Um but the thing about Bunting is um he was everyone already viewed it at the time as a as a future trade piece. Um he he’s a bulldog. He’s a third line grinder. He might play get some second line minutes. Who knows? It depends on how the lineup is constructed. But um he he’s an agitator. He’s uh gets in your grill. He he’s bunting is probably going to play like his head hair is on fire this year because he is going down journeyman status right now and so he is definitely going to be trying out for his next team this year. Um you know that’s probably how he feels behind closed doors. um like, hey, I’m going to show out as long as I can this year for this Pred team and then I’m hoping that someone swoops in and if you’re trots and the Predators, you’re hoping for that as well. Like you’re you’re like, “All right, this guy needs to just show out, have a good year, and make that trade that involved Tommy Novak um look valuable, you know, and um we’ll see what happens.” I mean, I like a lot of what Bunting does. I really do. I mean, I appreciate the way the guy plays. Um, but again, he’s so limited and he has a ceiling and it’s like, is he does he fit the long-term plans of where this franchise is heading? He doesn’t. So, you really need him to show out this year for obvious reasons. Increase that trade value. See what you can get out of them. I’m not going to even speculate what you can get out of them until until we play the games. So, I’m just going to stay away from that because there’s no way to know. But, um, as of right now, probably not a lot, but that’s why you play the games. Uh, let’s go to the next one here. Let’s move along. We only got I only got two I only got one more left. And it’s mo player most likely to be waved first. So, he makes the team and gets waved. And um I went, this was a tough one, too, but I went with Jordan Osterly. I think he makes the team because he’s a veteran or even if he doesn’t play, even if he’s not in the lineup with uh for the first game, I think he’s I think he’s just going to get he’s going to get through training camp and he’s gonna get waved. I I think he is like the easy one to move on from. Not because I think he’s a bad player. strategy. Think he’s a solid um depth defenseman for any organization. Um I could even see him getting claimed if he waved him. My point is at 33 years old. Um and when I look at the stable of defenseman that the Predators have both in their prospect pool and even on their lineup right now in their training camp roster, he’s the easy one to be like, “Thank you for your service, sir. We appreciate you. Um, we’re going to wave you and if you get claimed, no harm, no foul. So, I think it’s Jordan Osterly. Yeah. I I think the sort of analog to Osterly is Andreas England. Yeah, I was thinking that as well, which, you know, I mean, very similar circumstance. I I think, you know, people were a lot younger. He’s a little bit younger. um and he hits more and you know I think a lot of were people were probably fairly surprised that he was signed to an extension um you know again just you sign depth for cheap and there’s nothing wrong with that but I think that also puts him in a place where you know assuming he gets beat out by a Willsby a Stasnney you know that that group. Um, you know, he could be one of the first ones up to be to be moved on. He scored three goals last year, which is like I mean, random, right? But, um, I mean, he had he had a few fights that were things of beauty, don’t get me wrong. Yeah. You’re talking about England? England. Yeah. Oh, I’m sorry. I was I was I was referring to the three goals. I was referring to Osterly, how he scored three like random goals that you don’t expect. I mean, it was late in the season where, you know, obviously the Predators were way out of it and it didn’t, but it’s just like random goals you don’t expect from a guy. But, so I appreciate Osterly, the player. I I He’s a He’s got a decorated career. He’s played over 400 NHL games. So, mad props to him. I This is no disrespect to him. I just think that he’s going to be the odd man out in a PR locker room, in a PRS uh deep defensive room. I just don’t see how you make room for him over the other uh options they have. So, that is it for the PR superlatives. Um, we’re going to share some clips tomorrow to to get the debate going. Uh, the chat room is super quiet tonight, but that’s fair. That’s that’s understandable. But, um, we are going to hit some rapid fire topics now to get through the rest of episode 275 of Catfish and Ice presented by DraftKings. And the next thing we’re going to get into real quick is the one area that the Predators can improve upon the most to turn this ship back around to the right direction. I’m not saying that this one area will make them a playoff contender. But if you fix this area, then man, you give yourself a fighting chance to um to be much better than you were last year. And for me, it’s a pretty broad area, but for me, I I feel actually pretty hopeful about it. And it’s kind of what you touched on earlier, Boyd. I think that it’s um having a much more stable defense, just a more disciplined defense, a a defense that that makes more of the right decisions. Now, of course, injuries can happen and then it throws everything off, but just looking at the defense that they have right now and the depth that you mentioned, rotating guys in and out um from game to game, uh assuming we’ll have to see how they’re going to construct these lines, these pairings, but I mean, you know, what do you think? Let me ask you that first. You think it’s Yosi and Hey on the top pairing to start off? I I think what that’s that’s probably what they’ll start with. I think they’ll they’ll try Yosi Hag. I think they’ll probably try Yosi Pervix just to see, you know, who who find some chemistry. Um and then, you know, sort of cycle down from there. I think in a perfect world, you know, you’re probably doing Yosi Hag um and you you sort of see how that goes. But I think that’s there’s there’s probably because there’s two new players in the top six of the defense. I think you’re going to see throughout uh throughout training camp, throughout the preseason, you’re going to see a lot of experimentation. Yeah, understandable. Um, but like what I’m getting at with this most improvement thing is I know probably fans don’t want to hear this and I could be totally wrong on this, but I think that this team has to go back to the basics. And I know how Trotz thinks. Trotz is an old school guy and that’s why he went out and got Pervix and Hey. And you can disagree with the moves and think that these are mid defenseman. They’re really not that good. But um I think that Trotz values strong defense in front of your goalender. He actually said it this off seasonason. Whether you agree with him or not, he’s already pretty much said this. He said that that basically, I’m not saying this verbatim, but he basically said that um Sorrowos was kind of a product of what was around him and and we didn’t do him any favors. And so I think he wants to rectify that and he wants to have a brick wall of a blue line. And then you’re just hoping in a perfect world that some of your offensive players, your forwards like Marshes and some of these other guys um really just have better years in year two with Nashville or you get a young player who pops off and comes out of nowhere. you know, you’re you’re asking for a lot of things to come together at once, but if I have to pick one thing that we can try to really fix and this year, and it’s going to really get us off to a good start, at least get us back in the right direction. It’s it’s having a much more disciplined and harder defense to score against. You protect your VZNA caliber goalender and then you let Soros do the rest. Um, and then you let everything take care of itself. You know, I think Trotz also mentioned this off seasonason that um if you got to be to be a winning hockey team, you’ve got to be hard to score against first. I think he said something along those lines, but um like you got to be a very difficult team to score against and that’s a great blue line and a great goalender. And I actually call me optimistic here, but I actually think they could do that this year. Now, I don’t know how much they’re going to I don’t know if they’re they might be one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. So, that I mean, are they going to have to go back to the old days where they have to win games uh two to one or 3 to2? That’s probably not a great formula to be a playoff team. So, I’m not going to go that far. But, I do think they’re going to be a much improved team. And if they get there, it’s going to be because they have a much better defense. What about you, Boyd? Would you agree with that? or do you have another area that you think they could realistically improve? I think that’s that’s part of it. I mean, I think there’s there’s to me there’s one thing to me that stood out so significantly from, you know, two years ago to last year. And that was their ability to transition the puck out of the defensive zone through the neutral zone and start the offense. And you know, part of the reason why the work in in in front of Jussi Sorrowos went so bad is they couldn’t get the puck out of their own zone and they couldn’t get it up the ice to where, you know, some of these skilled players were in positions to, you know, score off the rush, not have to build this like, you know, controlled old cycling offense, which is a challenge when you know you don’t have like the most skilled centers. And you know, if they can do better at when they retrieve the puck, being able to get it up ice, get it to their forwards with speed to be able to, you know, create some of those attacking chances. You know, the the best way to help your defense is to not have to play it so much. And if if they can, you know, get the puck out and not make it such a struggle to get out of the the defensive zone and not just get held in over and over and over, I think that is one just sificant change that would not only, you know, make things easier in front of Jussi Sorrowos by just not giving up a barrage of shots, but also, you know, really giving you an opportunity to play higher percentage offense where, you know, you have a better chance to get some of those, you know, easier oddman rush goals, uh, you know, breakaways, etc. Where, you know, you just you’re not having to grind the goals out. And which, let’s be fair, most of their offensive unit is not grind out goals type of players. So, you know, you want to be able to find ways to kind of unleash them a little bit and get them rolling. And that really starts with you’ve got to be able to get the puck out of your defensive zone with control, with speed, and get it to the players that can go make plays. And I think about guys I’m I’m thinking about guys like I’m really thinking about Brady Shay’s the first defenseman I think of in that regard being a player who can get the puck out of the zone and you’re counting on him. He had a lot of giveaways last year that just stick out to me. He had some he had some lapses. Um I’m not trying to be unfair to him because it wasn’t just him. I’m just saying they they spend a lot of time just throwing the puck into space. Yeah. Um that’s a good one. Most of the time that’s just a turnover. Yeah. Um all right. So there’s that. Let’s let’s wrap up uh 275 real quick uh with some NHL rapid fire storylines. I’ve got three big ones u that are pretty current that that have kind of come out this week actually. And then we’re also gonna talk Vandy for a little bit because I’m a Vandy fan and I’m gonna talk about Vanderbilt on this podcast. But uh I’m hyp right now. Uh all these Voss fans that are listening to this podcast are laughing at me, but it’s okay. Um let’s get the NHL storylines up there. There’s a lot going on right now, but as the season gets closer, but the top one here, Matthew Chuck, out until December, it’s been reported for the Panthers. My first thought is does it matter that much because the Panthers are such a stacked team and they’re going they’re going they’re I mean he’s a very important player but that team is ridiculously stacked. They play with an edge. They have a I mean Paul Maurice is just one of my favorite head coaches. And um I mean I don’t know you got Bob in net. You got I mean they’ve got a I mean lines one through four is just so good. They just come at you. They play they play a rugged physical game, but they also got goal scorers. They got everything. I mean, so even if Matthew Chuck’s out till December, um I think they’re still going to be a major major Stanley Cup contender. I mean, they won two straight cups where he wasn’t 100% for either one of them. So, yeah, is definitely that. But, yeah, I mean, they are definitely at this point better served just letting him get healthy. They’ve they’ve got plenty of talent to keep them Exactly. Yeah. in the mix. And it’s been proven time and again that you don’t have to be the number one seed to win. In fact, a lot of the times the number one seed doesn’t win. Yeah. So, you know, they’re they’re much better off just making sure he’s as close to 100%. Obviously, he’s going to be 100% for the Olympics. It’s definitely smart. That’s gonna be such a big deal. So, yeah. I mean, it’s it’s and and just from a league p perspective and and and the sport overall, you know, and la last year he was limited 52 games last year with a torn abductor muscle, sports a hernia. Um and I mean he’s for sure. He’s one of the biggest stars. And so from from a league perspective and and and going into the Olympics where the the the spotlight is so bright, you know, which will then turn and, you know, create the the runway to the playoffs, you know, you don’t need him being a, you know, and this again purely from a league perspective, you don’t need him being a star during football season. You need him being a star when football season ends. So yeah, he he just needs to get healthy. Yeah. And I’m reading the NHL.com article here and Paul Maurice was quoted as saying about his condition last year uh against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup, scoring the cup winning goal. Uh gave the P Panthers a two- lead with 47 seconds left in the first period in game six of the Stanley Cup final. but he said he wasn’t sure whether he would be ready for the start of the playoffs even a few days before they began. He was a mess. Quote unquote that what Paul Maurice said that’s the medical term he was a mess. Um so that’s uh that’s pretty cool though how tough of a guy that we’ve know Matthew Chuck is but also you throw in the element of playing for team USA in the Olympics and yeah this guy’s got to get healthy. Um so it’s smart that they’re holding them out. But let’s get to the next one here. Next story line. Uh Sydney Crosby is rejecting the trade rumors, uh the buzz articles you’re seeing out there. I’ve seen him linked to the Canadians, but he said, “This is where I want to be.” Um and you know, I mean, the Penguins are obviously in similar territory to the Predators in terms of possible rebuild territory. Um they’re not the cup contending team that they once were, but um it is kind of cool to see Crosby at least now saying that he is loyal to the Penguins. Why would he why would he not be? He is he is he is rejecting the trade rumors right now for now. And that’s true as of today. If they are in last place come January 1st, you know, they’re the the the heat of that is going to pick up. And you think that Stamp Coast You think that Stamp Coast looked weird in a Predator’s jersey? Just wait until if we see Crosby in anything other than a Penguins jersey. That’s going to be super weird. All right, here’s the other one. And I’ve seen a lot of conflicting reports about this. Maybe you can fill me in, Boyd, because I haven’t completely researched this, but Capri off turns down a massive contract I’ve seen that he wants 17 million uh or something crazy. I don’t know if that’s like some type of the contract he reportedly turned down. Um, and obviously the neither the the team or the player have, you know, explicitly confirmed this, but it’s been among sort of the the national writers enough. But he reportedly turned down a contract that was eight deers at $16 million per. And wow. But there’s a lot of like insight there’s a lot of insiders that are like arguing over this too like saying like oh like stop speculating. Um I’m seeing this from Athlon Sports. Uh pure LeBron basically said this is not cordial. Um LeBron sends clear message on Krill Capri’s wild contract situation. So there’s like a lot of like conflicting information. Um, but I mean it’s kind of crazy because well and it started with if I remember correctly it it started with a Russian publication was the first one to sort of leak that this had hap this had happened and I think there’s been enough confirmation from you know North American writers that that seems to think it is a real thing. Now, the reasoning of and what’s going to happen from here and are they contentious or are they going to potentially trade him is I think that a lot of that is just speculation at this point. But that’s what he’s saying. Yeah, I misinterpreted. He’s saying this is not cordial in terms of the um the relationship right now between Capri off and the general manager. If if I’m if I’m, you know, wild wild GM Bill Garin, I’m not thrilled that my star player just turned down the richest contract in league history. So, I would certainly imagine there’s some uh potentially hurt feelings at the moment. But here’s a quote that I’m here’s a quote here’s a quote I’m reading from u here’s a quote I’m reading from this article I’m reading on Athlon Sports. uh um from Bill Garin, the GM for the Wild. He says, quote, “We can cut to the chase. Look, I don’t know where this stuff comes from. I know two things. That info didn’t come from us, and it didn’t come from Krill’s agent. I don’t know where it came from.” So, this is like definitely some uh distractions you don’t want to be dealing with if you’re the Minnesota Wild right now. But, um but also, I want to share this from LeBron real quick. It says, “I don’t think the Wild want to negotiate against themselves either. They feel they made an unbelievable offer at eight years, 16 million a year. I don’t know how much more they can move off here, but they may have to. And again, the question is, does Capri off want to stay or not? The Wild believe there’s a chance he still does. I mean, that’s just this whole story is going to be pretty fascinating to watch. And then, you know, of course, we still have McDavid. I mean, there’s a ne this year in terms of uh contract speculations and all this stuff. Frag is gonna be setting up to be a crazy one because this past year was kind of a dud. Free agency. This past year was kind of a dud. There wasn’t a lot of big time. Yeah. You know, heavyhitting stuff that happened. Well, and and I think, you know, as sort of the way to think about it is none of these things are a story until they become a story. Yeah. So, right now, and everyone’s d and everyone’s dying story and everyone’s dying for a story right now because it’s I mean, we’re just now coming out of like the quietest time of the year. Everyone’s desperate for a for I mean, for an article. Everyone’s desperate for like to write something that’s going to make people interested. And I mean, unless you’re just the most diehard hockey fan, a lot of people tune out this time of year when it comes to hockey until, honestly, until the first game happens. They’re kind of starting to get interested now because training camp’s here. But um all right, so been a good episode. We’re coming up on two hours, so we’re going to round it out here shortly. Uh my battery’s about to die on my laptop, so I really got to get this out quick. But I’m going to tell because I don’t have it plugged in, but I’m going just gonna say I am a diehard Vandy fan. Vandy fan. It’s been well documented on this show. Um, I’m not going to go into why, but Boyd is a fellow Vandy fan, and I’m gonna ask him right now, and then I’m gonna give my answer. Are you buying the hype? They’re three and 0. They beat South Carolina. They beat Virginia Tech both on the road. I don’t want to hear from VS fans about, oh, well, those teams suck, or whatever. I don’t care. You play the games, you got to win the games, and those are two tough places to play. And you look at Vandy’s schedule. I read it today. They are favored in five of their remaining games. Now, I’m not saying you always win the games you’re favored in, but I don’t know if I ever remember other than when Vandy plays like a an FCS school. Vandy is very rarely ever favored in a game. So, the fact they’re favored in a couple SEC games remaining is mindboggling. They’re ranked number 20 in the country, which I’d rather them not be ranked. But here’s why I am buying the hype. It’s not that it’s not even Diego Pavia. That dude is I love that dude. I hope he can play for 10 more years. I hope he just keeps getting more eligibility. But but uh it’s not even just Diego Pavia. I’m gonna be very old school when I say this. It is Clark Lee. I mean, this dude is I I love watching his pregame speeches. I love the way he carries himself. I love the way he talks to his young men. I love that he’s an alumni of that school. you can see it come out of his out of his pores how much he cares about that school. And you know, I had a friend of mine uh who’s not a Vandy fan ask me, “Are you afraid of Clark Lee getting plucked away like James Franklin was?” And I was like, “Don’t even compare the two.” Yeah. No, no offense to James Franklin, but he wasn’t an alumni. Uh he knew going in James Franklin was a climber. Like it he this was a stepping stone for him. Yeah. And kudos to James Franklin. And I mean, those are some of the most exciting Vandy teams that I’ve ever seen in my lifetime of 37 years on this earth. But what I don’t know how this season’s going to end for Vandy. I’m not going to sit here and say, “Oh, we’re going to the College Football Playoff.” I’m not that unrealistic. But what I will say is Clark Lee is definitely building something special. He’s building a solid foundation. And a lot of it has to do with the way he just cares about his players and he and he cares about this program so much. I mean, you saw the guy, he’s cried after wins. Uh when he when they beat Alabama last year, the dude was shedding tears. I mean, I mean, the guy truly has the emotions of caring for this team. And also, NIL has been the ultim ultimate. I wasn’t sure how NIL was going to affect a team like Vandy, but it’s turned out to be a big boost for them. It’s it’s I mean, Vanderbilt was one of the one of the first schools from a football perspective to hire literally a general manager. You know, their their football program, the head coach is not necessarily the head of the program, and neither is the AD. they have a general manager and a lot of what his job is is managing NIL, managing the roster, I identifying talent that they can bring in and uh you know, so they they’ve done a great job on that front and I think where where you’ve seen a big difference with Vandy. I mean, because Vy’s had some good quarterbacks over the years. They’ve had good college quarterbacks. Yeah. Um, and a a couple that have that have gone on to at least spend time in the NFL, you know, not even, you know, Jay Cutler notwithstanding, but this team on the road, their defense has stomped people out in the second half. They’re winning in the trenches is what I’ve absolutely stomped people out and they’ve had as a team just a killer instinct to say we’re not we’re not letting you come back in this game. We’re gonna we’re just going to go out there and put it away. Which is, you know, for those of us that have uh lived in the pain for quite some years, it is Yes. quite quite enjoyable to be a part of right now. It is. I I am um I’m not worried so much about this team because I know how again I know how Clark Lee has his guys dialed in, but I mean they’re playing Georgia State this this week and um the hype is so high and historically speaking, I hate to say this, but previous Vandy teams would lose a game like this. You mean like Well, not just like last year. I just mean literally lost to Georgia State. But I mean like also true, but also like just in general they’ve dropped games like this in their history. Like they they don’t stay focused. I I they they’ve pulled off some upsets in their history. It’s not like they’ve never beat beaten SEC teams. They always mix in one SEC upset every year. Even in the years where they were horrible. The problem is they always screw up somewhere and then they just let everything fall apart. They’ve got to really come in this week, these next two weeks, they play non-conference teams that they’re heavily favored in. And they need to treat these teams, I know it’s cliche, but they need to treat these teams like their Alabama, like they’re Tennessee, like they’re like their LSU. And if they do that, they’re going to be just fine because they they’ve got one of the most talented teams they’ve had in a long time. But they’ve and that’s why again, Clarkley, that dude, I I’m not worried about him as a coach. I know he’s going to have these guys focused. I know that they’re going to be ready to play. They got to stay hungry. They they can’t buy in. I think Clark Lee, you can go watch the Vanderbilt football um official account. They shared like a five minute um video of of um the South Carolina game and the the lock the locker room speeches that Clark Lee made. And one of the one of his main slogans in those uh locker room speeches was don’t buy into the noise. Don’t buy into the outside noise. You know, stay hungry. Uh um focus on u focus and execution is his two words that he uses constantly. Focus and execution. And he says if if you focus and if you execute, we’re going to win the day. That’s what he says. It’s that simple. It’s that old school. That’s right. He also in that pregame speech said, “It’s parents weekend. Let’s send them home early.” Which Yes. I love that. Oh my. He said that a lot. He came back post game. And he came back postgame and was like, “Look at that, boys. We sent him home early.” Yeah. And he’s a players coach. I mean, I think the players love playing for him because he was a player. He did it. And he played for that school, I think, when they were not a very good team. Oh, terrible. Awful when he played there. And that I think that’s why he shows so much emotion when they’re winning these big games and pull off these big upsets is because he is he is so emotionally invested in this program and this school. And also I want to give a he lived through some of the worst of it. And I and to wrap up this podcast, I know we’re a hockey podcast, but I’m still going to do it. I want to give a lot of love to Candace Story Lee, the AD for Vanderbilt. she deserved. We can’t talk about Vanderbilt football and how great they’re doing and not bring up the extraordinary job that the athletic director of Vanderbilt uh athletics is doing and that is Candace Story Lee. I love that that woman every time she speaks I want to listen to her and again just like Clark Lee that woman cares so much about that program and uh they she is a big difference maker as well because it’s not just the football program it’s the men’s basketball team it’s the women’s basketball team it’s they have women’s volleyball now and I’ve been actually following their account yeah they’re good they they finally got SEC uh volleyball team back on campus and I mean I’m all down for for volleyballs First of all, it’s a lot of fun to play, but it’s also actually a very fun sport to watch, too. And so, like, I mean, just kudos to to to uh the athletic director, Ken Story Lee, for transforming that entire athletic department. So, anyway, we took a little bit of a of an offramp there because um we have a little bit of vandy ties here with our uh with your two uh hosts here tonight. So, um until then, Boyd, thank you so much. Boyd joined the podcast tonight on very short notice. I asked him last night, um, uh, co-host Max Greenberg has got some stuff going on this week, so he could not do an episode, so I was like, I’ve got my perfect fill in, and that is Boyd. Um, and he jumped in. I appreciate you, brother. Thanks so much, man. Anytime. You got it. All right, so that has been episode 275 of Catfish and Ice. Probably the next episode we get out for you guys, we will have some preseason hockey to talk about. We’ll have some training camp storylines to talk about. So until then everyone enjoy the rest of your week. Really appreciate you so much. And if you uh watching on YouTube, please hit subscribe, throw us a comment and until then we will see you soon everybody. Take care. [Music]
To bring in the first day of Nashville Predators training camp, Chad Minton is joined by guest co-host Boyd Farrish of Penalty Box Radio to unveil their 2025 Preseason Superlatives, including Most Likely to Overperform and Most Likely Newcomer.
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-The one area the Predators have to improve the most
-Latest update over RFA Luke Evangelista
-Rapid fire around the NHL for the top preseason storylines
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