The Hockey Guy's posts tagged Paul Gaustad

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• Depleted Nashville Predators falling from race

  March 20, 2013

  The Nashville Predators play 12 of their last 18 games at home. Theoretically, they have a chance to claw back into the playoff hunt.
  
  But they need to reverse their form quickly. The Predators struggled through a 1-4 road trip while allowing 20 goals.

  Injuries wiped out forwards Patric Hornqvist, Paul Gaustad, Colin Wilson as well as defensemen Hal Gill and Scott Hannan. Some youthful fill-ins have appeared a bit overwhelmed at times.

  That was evident during a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
  
  “We lost, and some of the mistakes we made is sort of say a broken record,” coach Barry Trotz told reporters afterward. “Some guys are making some blunders. We didn’t quit at the end, that was a positive, but positive doesn’t get you points. Close but no cigar. You need 20 guys.  Right now we’re a little shorthanded, guys are trying to stay in the league, some guys are trying to make the team, some guys are trying to make a difference."

  Trotz is also miffed at some of his veteran players, most notably Sergei Kostitsyn.

  "Some guys, I’m not happy with their game," he said. "They have to give us more. And I can go top to bottom. There’s some guys in that locker room who can give us a lot more, and that’s the part that bothers me.”

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• Can the Nashville Predators keep Ryan Suter?

  June 16, 2012

  Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Suter seems resolute about exploring unrestricted free agency.
  
  He knows he would attract massive offers from Stanley Cup contenders – most notably the Detroit Red Wings, a team with a major hole to fill in the wake of Nicklas Lidstrom’s retirement.
  
  But Predators general manager David Poile won’t turn the page on Suter. He is letting his other UFAs move toward the marketplace while holding budget space for Suter. Poile is also rebuffing trade offers for the negotiating rights to Suter.
  
  “If he could make his decision today, that could help us a lot in terms of options with player acquisitions between now and the draft and free agency,” Poile told the Tennessean newspaper. “I’m not in control of that, he’s in control of it.”
  
  The Nashville roster is in flux. Restricted free agent Alexander Radulov seems likely to return to Russia’s KHL after his unhappy reunion with the Predators. By dealing goaltender Anders Lindback to Tampa Bay, Poile has only Pekka Rinne under contract at that position.
  
  Many Predators are unrestricted free agents, including career pest Jordin Tootoo and late-season rentals Paul Gaustad, Hall Gill and Andrei Kostitsyn. Restricted free agent Sergei Kostitsyn can't be happy with how his brother was made one of the fall guys for the playoff failure.
  
  So Nashville currently has more than $38 million in projected salary cap space for next season. That gives Poile more than enough room to keep Suter and lock Shea Weber into a long-term deal, should that dynamic duo elect to commit to the Predators for the long haul.
  
  Should Suter depart and Weber decline to extend his contract, though, Poile will be hard-pressed to keep the Predators in Stanley Cup contention. The free agent marketplace won’t offer significant help and Nashville is not brimming with breakout youngsters.
  
  Gaining a couple of second-round picks for Lindback will help the rebuilding process slightly. Moving Radulov’s rights for draft picks or prospects could also help some.
  
  But the future of this franchise will depend on whether it can retain Suter and Weber as defensive pillars for this checking-minded team.

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• Nashville Predators take aim at Stanley Cup

  February 27, 2012

  The Nashville Predators are bit sturdier today than they were a few weeks back.
  
  “I think organizationally, our expectations have gone to a different level and our commitment level is much higher to (win the Stanley Cup) than ever before,” coach Barry Trotz told the Tennessean newspaper after his team acquired Andrei Kostitsyn from Montreal. “This move was made for the long haul. We’re hoping we can be one of the teams that goes deep."
  
  Look at the players who landed with the Preds:
  
  Hal Gill, D: This massive blue-liner arrived from Montreal to give the Preds a match-up defenseman to play against the rival power forwards. Ryan Suter and Shea Weber are no longer going it alone. Young Roman Josi loves playing with Gill.
  
  “He’s so strong defensively,” Josi told the Tennessean newspaper. “I know he’s going to be back and make the right plays. That helps me to jump up a little bit.”
  
  Andrei Kostitsyn, W: The brother of Nashville forward Sergei Kostitsyn should play on one of the two scoring lines for this offensively challenged team – assuming that the family reunion delivers the desired result. The former 26-goal scorer should add skill and heft after arriving from the Canadiens.
  
  “We added a little bit of weight, we got a bit older and I think it will be a really good add,” Trotz said. “It worked out with Sergei and we’re hoping it will work out with Andrei as well. We have a strong group and a real special group that likes each other and has fun and plays hard. That’s all we’re looking for, is guys who will fit in and play hard for us, and Andrei is a talent.”
  
  Paul Gaustad, C: He is a super-sized matchup center and an excellent faceoff man. But his limited offensive ability (seven goals, 10 assists this season) and pending unrestricted free agency makes him a pricey addition. The Predators spent a 2012 first-round pick to get Gaustad and a fourth-round pick.
  
  That price got the attention of Yahoo! Sports blogger Greg Wyshynski:
  
  Nice player, that Gaustad. Truculent. Defensively sound. Great for depth up the middle. A $2.3 million cap hit that expires after this season, as he's an unrestricted free-agent.
  
  But for a first-round pick?

  This deal spoke to the high deadline day prices that scared off most NHL GMs.

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• Next Sabres-Bruins Game Will Be Fun

  November 15, 2011

  The next Sabres-Bruins games should feature ample high jinks. Buffalo felt collective shame in its failure to rally behind Ryan Miller after Milan Lucic plowed over him.
  
  Miller is sidelined by a concussion and the Sabres are left to explain their tepid response to that assault. Lucic never had to answer for his attack on Miller and the Sabres never bothered to steamroll Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas in retaliation.
  
  “We talked in here. We have to stick together as a team,” Gaustad told the Buffalo News. “Guys are willing to do that in the locker room. It was something that we can't let happen again.”
  
  These two teams meet again on Nov. 23. Presumably NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan will be watching this tilt closely.
  
  “You could go to each one of our players and they would tell you that they wished they had dealt with it differently,” general manager Darcy Regier told the News. “And they will deal with it differently in the future. There are things that come into play but we were all disappointed.”
  
  So the Sabres will clearly have a “to do” list for their next Bruins game, particularly after Shanahan refused to suspend Lucic for his actions.

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