The GM:
We caught up with Preds General Manager David Poile the day after his team clinched their first-ever Central Division Title and Presidents' Trophy. He shared some great background information about the beginnings of the careers of three Predators:
Filip Forsberg: Poile shares some memories of how the trade for Nashville's leading scorer came about just over five years ago when Forsberg was 18 years old. It's clearly one of the most important moments in Predators' history.
Juuse Saros: We asked Poile to look back on the scouting evaluation of a young Saros. It's the classic example of recognizing a unique athlete who didn't have the "traditional" physical profile of an NHL goalie. It's a good thing the Predators took the chance on Saros, who had a remarkable sophomore season.
His contributions provided the difference between first and second place in the Central - while keeping Pekka Rinne's workload at age 35 at the optimum level.
In his last five starts, Saros went 4-0-1 against extremely difficult competition. Four of the five starts were on the road, and three were on back halves of back-to-back games. All five were against playoff teams.
Eeli Tolvanen: Poile provides insight on the early performance of the 18-year-old first-round pick. While Tolvanen did not provide an impact in the three games he played in, Poile points to the big picture - and that you never know when his number could be called upon. It's nice to have the intriguing prospect in the fray.
The Coach:
Peter Laviolette joined us after a spirited practice on Monday at Centennial Sportsplex. In particular, I enjoyed hearing his thoughts on the challenges the team handled in the final 10 games of the regular season after the team had clinched a playoff spot. Those games took place over 17 days, in all four time zones, and almost entirely against teams in the playoffs or right on the fringe (only Buffalo was out of contention when the games were played).
In addition, the Winnipeg Jets continued to rack up points against a softer portion of their schedule to push Nashville all the way to game No. 81 before clinching. The head coach talked about keeping an edge heading into the postseason and not falling into the trap of putting it in cruise control.
The Player:
Craig Smith enjoyed perhaps his best NHL season in 2017-18. On his ride home from practice on Wednesday, he opened up on a number of interesting topics. It's an extremely candid and detailed perspective that you rarely get from a player the day before the postseason begins.
