There’s no getting around it: the Nashville Predators would rather be playing hockey right now.
As the team gathered at 501 Broadway on Tuesday to conduct exit interviews and clean out lockers before going their separate ways for the summer, that much was made glaringly apparent.
Nobody in the Predators camp was hiding the sting of a series-deciding shutout loss in Game 6 last week, nor were they bottling the disappointment knowing their first-round matchup against the Vancouver Canucks could have just as easily gone the other way.
Still, the Predators could not deny that there were just as many - if not more - reasons to keep their chins up and look to next season with optimism.
They knew, for instance, that they’d performed well above outside expectations, that making the playoffs was a victory in itself - one of no easy accomplishment.
They knew that while their season opened with a shaky 5-10-0 start, they reached April in lockstep with Head Coach Andrew Brunette’s blisteringly fast-paced system, their exhilarating 18-game point streak or the seemingly countless career performances throughout the lineup providing sufficient evidence.
So while they’d much rather still be competing for the Cup, the Predators know when they return for action in October, they’ll be even stronger.
Below are some of the top quotes from the Predators’ media availabilities on Tuesday:
Roman Josi on the accomplishments of the team this season:
“Just coming into this year, there were so many unknowns. We had a new coach, a new GM, a lot of new players, and obviously we didn't get a lot of credit from the outside. But our goal was always to make the playoffs as a team, and it wasn't easy. We started 5-10-0, we were pretty inconsistent in the beginning and had our ups and downs, but we found a way to come together as a team. Bruno believed in our team, believed in the system, and we kept playing the same way, we kept playing hard. And it was pretty cool to see the whole process, to see guys come together like that and end up making the playoffs and compete in the first round.”