What do you think of Pekka’s new mask? What are some of your favorite masks in goaltending right now? If you could have a goalie mask made – what do you put on it?
Pekka Rinne will start in net for the Nashville Predators tonight. Is this return the start of a playoff push or a guise for moves to be made in the hours after? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The NHL Trade Deadline is 2:00 pm (CST) tomorrow. With the return of Pekka Rinne to the Nashville Predators net tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins – it begs asking: what will the organization do?
In my gut right now – I honestly feel like the Predators organization will not move a single player come the deadline. And, for those who didn’t catch the dialogue from Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager David Poile yesterday, it should be enough to tell you why my gut might be right.
“Getting Pekka back and seeing how we’ve played just before the Olympic break and in the last two games, even though we lost one, I feel as encouraged as I have all year.” David Poile
“So there’s a lot of factors that look to me like David is going to be here. The most overriding one is that we’re only four points out of the playoffs, we’re getting Pekka Rinne back and I believe we’re playing the best we have all year. So it feels right now that David is going to be here.” David Poile
It could just mask the inner workings of some potential moves but, really, I doubt it. The top target is David Legwand. Poile makes a claim such as that and I’m thinking he only moves if the perfect deal comes to them. They won’t be the ones actively selling him. They will be sitting back looking for a buyer.
Will this scenario change? We’ll find out come deadline day. I feel the position will be patiently awaiting buyers to come calling – they will certainly be listening – but a move comes only if it impacts the team long-term future (think Filip Forsberg‘s trade last season).
If there were suddenly a change of heart and the team suddenly became a buyer in the wake of Rinne’s return to Nashville – what could that mean in terms of Milwaukee?
Should things turn that way, I feel players along the lines of Colton Sissons, Miikka Salomaki, Austin Watson, and Taylor Beck all become attractive options for teams looking to build on future NHL talent. I don’t feel any of these players are untouchable by any means. Still, talking from that gut again, I have a hard time seeing the future take a backseat to the present.
When looking at the goaltending situation for the Admirals – they may well have Devan Dubnyk in the mix very soon. He was officially put on waivers by the Predators yesterday afternoon and is in the last year of a 3.75 million dollar contract. With how he performed this season: (Overall) 11-18-3 record, 3.43 GAA, .891 SV%, 2 shutouts… (Nashville) 0-1-1 record, 4.35 GAA, 0.850 SV% :I very much doubt there’ll be that many teams interested in paying that price for that output in net.
That would mean having one expensive back-up on the Admirals bench (possibly). I highly doubt you would see Dubnyk, if he makes it to Milwaukee, take development and game action time from the likes of Marek Mazanec, Magnus Hellberg, or Scott Darling.
I feel as though Hellberg will return to the mix in a matter of two weeks or so from his lower-body injury. He should head to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL to return to game speed and test himself physically when he comes back. For Darling, this was a three-game process after his lower-body injury. If it goes the same way – the Admirals will be left to decide an odd man out. If Dubnyk ends up within that mix – the Admirals will be left with the possible decision to send down two goalies, both proven in the AHL, to the ECHL.
The long story short, too late, is that this is a wild and wacky time to sit back from our side of things and await the news to come – or not come. I really expect minimal moves from the Nashville organization come this deadline. There are some decent names on the market right now. Ryan Kesler, Ryan Callahan, and Martin St. Louis come to mind. Are they capable of making a run at any of them? I highly, highly doubt it.
If you were David Poile – what do you do? Should the Predators be buyers or sellers? Who do they buy? Who do they sell? Are there any Milwaukee Admirals who should be feeling anxious as this deadline approaches?
There and Back Again. A Goaltending Story by Scott Darling. (Photo Credit: Mark Newman)
Pekka Rinne up, Scott Darling also up. It was just last week when I put together a feature story on Darling. Turned out to be somewhat awful timing considering he was sent down the same day. There has been a sharp focus on what Rinne does in his return to game action. Perhaps lost in that was some of what went on in Cincinnati during that time. How did everybody do?
Darling made two starts with the Cyclones of the ECHL. His first start was somewhat shades of his last outing in the AHL with the Admirals. He played absolutely out of his mind good – only to take a loss in the shootout. In that game he stopped 45 of 46 shots on goal and allowed the one and only goal against in the shootout on the game’s final attempt before sudden death.
His second outing might not have been great on the scorer’s sheet, allowing 5 goals from 37 shots, but that game was an open throttle game of crazy: Cyclones won it 7-5 – and, at one point, led by a score of 6-0 before allowing 5 unanswered goals.
The bloke that went down with him to Cinci last week, Zach Budish, played in three games, picked up an assist, registered a lone shot on goal, and has a plus/minus of -1. With Admirals camp still busy with plenty of healthy bodies (for a change) it could mean he stays around the ECHL for a small while. To me, that is a huge plus for his development because I have liked what I’ve seen from him this year in limited quantities. More ice time. More chance to sharpen up.
UPDATE: Just as I posted this news broke that the Nashville Predators have decided to put Devan Dubnyk on waivers.
Will Scott Darling be your man between the pipes next time out? Do you think Darling missed out on the Pekka Rinne and Mitch Korn show while they were in Milwaukee? How do you feel Zach Budish will do in the ECHL and when should we expect him back?
Pekka Rinne’s return to the city of Milwaukee might have been brief, but he provided us all with reminders of just how classy he is both on and off the ice. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Pekka Rinne’s return to the ice was fantastic news for the Nashville Predators organization. The Predators have missed their rock in net for up to four months after an infection related to his off-season hip surgery. They’ve been hanging outside of the playoff picture this season and Rinne’s return offers hope that there still could be a late surge for playoff hockey.
“It’s pretty straight forward,” said Pekka Rinne when asked of his goals upon returning to Nashville. “It’s making the playoffs.”
Having followed this story since essentially late-October, the speculation train traveled miles and miles through when he would return to the rink. In time for the Olympics? Just prior to the Olympics? During the Olympics? After? Not at all? It was all a mystery and for good reason. There really wasn’t a baseline for an athlete such as Pekka Rinne experiencing an E. Coli infection. It was that uncertainty that made this a waiting game for all involved. Priority #1, his health.
It may have taken massive patience on his part but he finally started ramping up his recovery process at the start of February. That was merely a trial run for the practice session he would take part in two weeks later. The more he practiced the more the rumor mill swirled over the possibilities of his possible conditioning stint. Then it became a reality on Wednesday of last week. He was coming back to the Admirals.
What truly made this a special moment was that Rinne wasn’t just getting the chance to hit the ice for a game for the first time in four months – it was that he was able to make his return where his career in North America all started, Milwaukee. The time that he spent in this city was instrumental in his development. Not only on the ice, where he spent three-seasons with the Admirals, but off of the ice. He was adapting to life in a new country. He needed to learn a new language, had to figure out how to do day-to-day tasks such as paying the bills, and didn’t find himself in a car of his own until his final season in the AHL.
During last season’s 35th Anniversary campaign he was selected as the top Admiral of all-time. His work in net over three-seasons saw him play 145 games, post 81 wins, a 2.54 GAA, 0.911 SV%, and record a total of 10 shutouts. He also played in 24 playoff games for the Ads where he won 12 games, had a 2.76 GAA, 0.907 SV%, and 4 shutouts.
The frenzy involved with his arrival to the city and return to game action saw the likes of myself and a few other local media types, here’s looking at you Fox 6, turn up for morning skate on Friday. In fact, Jeremy Gover and Robby Stanley made the drive up to Milwaukee all the way from Nashville to take part in the festivities.
The game that would follow was nothing short of special. The Admirals routed the Iowa Wild to the tune of 9-1. While most admitted that there wasn’t much in the way of “work” for Rinne to do in the game, it was what was happening outside of the rink that was really moving to me.
When the Admirals step out of the tunnel for pre-game skate, there is typically a minor acknowledgement on the part of the fans to salute their team the very first chance they get. Still, plenty are walking through the gates and many more are circling the complex. For Rinne’s return on Friday night, there was almost a tension brewing in the building as the scoreboard clock was counting down to the pre-game skate siren. Fans along the Admirals tunnel were all peering in to get their first glance of him. Then, high fives to as many fans as he could reach, and Rinne stepped onto the ice to a great reception.
That was just the pre-game skate. When his name was mentioned by Milwaukee Admirals radio play-by-play man Aaron Sims during his keys to the game – another pop.
First time anyone had ever cheered a “Key to the Game”. The applause coming from “Key 3: Pekka Rinne”
When he was introduced by name, by former-Admirals Roundtable editor-in-chief Ryan Miller I might add, the crowd was on their feet letting him know they (1) missed him (2) were excited for him (3) couldn’t wait to see what he can do. The fans then stayed for the three stars of the game and gave Rinne another incredibly warm ovation. It was something that was clearly not lost on him at all.
“That felt great,” smiled Rinne. “I really appreciate it. For sure, it made me feel welcome and made me feel great. I had three really good years here and I thought that I always had a good relationship with the fans. And I really appreciate their response.”
The attendance for Friday’s game was 6,492. So how would things go with a Sunday crowd of 15,021?
In truth, every single aspect felt the same on Sunday except for the game – which produced a few less goals than the prior night. He wasn’t forced to handle many shots in that game either, but the amount of blocked shots and skipping pucks, all while the Rochester Americans crashed the net, meant his focus had to be perfect the entire game. It was.
The only goals he had allowed during the weekend came from mistakes.
On Friday, the Admirals forgot to send a player into the penalty box to serve a Mike Liambas boarding major – and were caught with four-players on the ice as a result. Dean Evason admitted to the mistake as they tried getting a player to the box following Joonas Rask’s shorthanded goal. They failed to get a man in the box and, therefore, needed to wait until the next whistle before a player could join the ice. The next whistle came after the Wild’s lone goal of the game was scored – a Zach Miskovic shot that fluttered through traffic and in.
Sunday, the Admirals were caught up in the moment of Charles-Olivier Roussel’s opening goal – defensemen were aggressively skating up after the Admirals lost the faceoff draw – and Jamie Tardif was off to the races for a breakaway.
The goal from the Wild in the grand scheme of Friday’s game, 9-1 Ads win, didn’t mean too much. The goal from Rochester is one that he could have made huge stop to bail out a mental lapse from the team in front of him and he couldn’t. Of the two goals allowed, both from mistakes out of his control, it is the second one that could give him a cringe, sigh, repeat memory of his return – which could have ended with a shutout victory. And, I suppose, some could argue for him possibly heading back to Nashville after back-to-back shutouts had those mistakes not been made.
Conditioning was the name of this assignment and in the two games he logged 121:28 minutes in net. It never looked like fatigue was a factor to his performance. Credit that to an Admirals defense that took much pressure off of him with two of their most structured defensive games of the season. Still, it should be a major plus for Rinne, as he returns to the Nashville Predators, that he knocked the rust off, experienced what you simply can’t simulate in practice, and skated off from both games looking and feeling good.
“It was great,” said Rinne. “I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a long time since playing games. It was a great opportunity for me to come down here in Milwaukee. It kind of went both ways. I feel like I was able to help the team a little bit and they helped me to get some game action. It was a great opportunity for me. Really happy that I came.”
My last snippet worth mentioning, and what truly sums up Pekka Rinne’s return to Milwaukee for me, was what happened as he skated off of the Bradley Center ice. I didn’t see it happen in person but the squadron of fans seated around the Admirals tunnel alerted me to it. In typical Rinne style, he skated off after being announced as the game’s second star and handed his goalie stick to a kid. That’s the type of person he is. Absolute class.
There is a good chance that he makes his return to the Nashville Predators net tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. When asked if that is something he felt he could do he said, “I’m ready to go. Absolutely. 100%.” Should that happen, I feel an equally warm response will be given in Nashville as it was in Milwaukee. For a man that carries himself with such class and professionalism. He deserves nothing less every time he takes to the ice.
Did you get to attend any of the games this weekend? How do you feel Pekka Rinne will play in his return to the NHL after this stint with the Admirals?
Brace yourselves, Smashville. He’s en route. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The initial plan was for Pekka Rinne to make starts on Friday and Sunday as part of his conditioning assignment. It turns out that’s all that he will need. He is headed to the airport shortly after his second consecutive win for the Admirals and should be sleeping in the comforts of Nashville later tonight.
In his return to Milwaukee he made two starts, won both games, stopped thirty-three of thirty-five shots on goal, had a 0.99 GAA, and a 0.943 SV%. It was his first taste of game action since missing four-months due to an infection related to his off-season hip surgery. In my opinion, he wasn’t tested all that often – but his game today definitely had him moving around and working hard on tracking loose pucks due to several blocked shots. He also looked incredibly confident in skating around and playing pucks.
It might not have been long. But it was long enough. I feel his conditioning for a full length game went over alright on Friday but even more so when tasked with a defensive-minded overtime game today. He seems more than physically ready to return. And that’s precisely why his conditioning assignment should end here and now.
The Nashville Predators next game is on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also have the St. Louis Blues (Thursday), and Blue Jackets (Saturday) all coming into Nashville.
What are your thoughts from Pekka Rinne’s conditioning assignment? How did he look? Should he have played one more game before heading back to the NHL or was this enough? Where do the Admirals go from here with their netminders? Remember, Magnus Hellberg is close to returning as well.
From his time in Milwaukee, Nashville, and Sochi – Simon Moser now adds his first career NHL goal to to a list of great memories from an already banner first year in North America. (Photo Credit: John Russell)
The Nashville Predators played this afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets. While they did go on to lose at home by the final of 3-1 there was a silver lining for fans of the organization – Simon Moser picked up his first career NHL goal.
Moser was set up in front of Ondrej Pavelec and battling defenseman Mark Stuart for net-front positioning. Michael Del Zotto whipped a puck from the left-wing wall towards the net and Moser just got a piece of it as the shot traveled through to goal. You can watch the highlight of his first career goal right here.
With this happening and his great Olympic tournament for Team Switzerland – safe to say we’ve seen the last of Moser in Milwaukee? Where do you see his career in the NHL going?
Tonight will be the return of Pekka Rinne in game action. I’m guessing he’s not the only one who is excited.
This morning I had the chance to watch morning skate. In fact, I arrived just in time to say “hello” to Pekka Rinne as he left the Admirals locker room before taking the ice. The Ads morning practice today was optional. As Dean Evason pointed out – no one decided to take the day off.
Rinne spent the first half hour of the practice taking shots and working through some rush drills from the group. Mike Liambas managed to be the first Ads skater to wire a shot past Rinne, blocker-side post and in, and a few others had some good shots in on him as well. Rinne may have been just a little off to start the practice but really looked the part as the practice trucked along. He also seemed genuinely excited to see familiar faces from his time in Milwaukee – such as Admirals owner Harris Turer. It’s a whirlwind for him right now. But it sure seems like he is having a blast.
Another highlight from today’s morning skate came in the form of Magnus Hellberg back on the ice. He may have sat out the first half of practice while Rinne, as well as Marek Mazanec, held both nets in practice – but he got some solid work in at the end of the session. It’s nice to see that he has gotten to that point in his comeback from a lower-body injury.
The media scrum for Pekka Rinne consisted of more than just myself and Dave Boehler for a change. We had folks from Nashville actually drive down to be here, Aaron Sims was on-hand, and even *gasp* Fox-6 News. Here’s the audio from the likes of Pekka Rinne, Dean Evason, and Magnus Hellberg from this morning.
“I wonder if Daniel Lavender is regretting publishing that feature story on me the day that I get reassigned,” pondered Scott Darling. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Milwaukee Admirals are receiving a bloke named Pekka Rinne soon. Combine that with the roster all getting healthy and you get this news. Today the Admirals have reassigned Scott Darling and Zach Budish to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
In retrospect, perhaps my feature story on Darling could have waited a few days. Though, as we discussed, he didn’t know whether or not the team would make a move like this or simply healthy scratch a goalie as Rinne comes to camp. It turns out the team would much rather send Darling out to Cincinnati to play in games rather than sit out – either on the bench or as a scratch.
For Budish this is his first reassignment the entire season. He spent most of last season finishing up his time with the University of Minnesota before joining the Admirals late in the campaign. He’s been on the cuff most of the season – sometimes being a healthy scratch and other times working his way into the fourth line. I put him down as one of my Underrated All Stars not too long ago. I feel this stint in Cincinnati could be highly beneficial for him because he should be logging more playing time than he has all season. That means more game situations, more chances to get his offense going, and time to also sharpen up his gritty defense – which has been good for the Admirals this season.
The short way to view this: Pekka Rinne moves in. Scott Darling moves out. Joonas Rask moves in. Zach Budish moves out. The Darling move should be temporary. The Budish move might be a little while before he works his way back – barring any injuries that is.
Thoughts on the move? Was it the right decision to send Scott Darling to the ECHL rather than healthy scratch him while Pekka Rinne is with the Admirals? How do you feel this move works for Zach Budish?
After months of speculation, especially recent days, the wait is finally over. Pekka Rinne is heading to the Milwaukee Admirals under rehab conditions from the Nashville Predators.
This has long been a “wait and see” scenario. First Rinne had his hip surgery, then an infection related to the surgery, and finally the slow progression back to where we are today. We’ve covered his trail back here on the Roundtable: return to light practice (2/8/14), return to full-team practice (2/19/14), and yesterday’s audio driven “what are we hearing in Milwaukee about this” story (2/25/14). Now, he is back. Pekka Watch is over. He could well be back in town last tonight. He should be practicing with the team tomorrow. And is no doubt expected to start both games this weekend for the Admirals in Milwaukee.
The real question now is whether or not he will play any more than just those two games. As coach Trotz said, “We’ll go day-by-day.” To me, it is another wait and see sort of mentality. Let’s see how he handles game one, game two, and judge from there. If he plays well and his body responds well… we’re probably seeing him leave after the weekend. Should it be a battle for him during these two games. Who knows? As Jason pointed out with his Pekka Watch story this week: conditioning Loan shall not extend for more than fourteen (14) consecutive days. There is time and games to play with for the Nashville organization should they feel the need to use them. Day-by-day until then.
Pekka Rinne spent three-seasons with the Admirals. In that time he played in 145 games, posted 81 wins, had a 2.54 GAA, a 0.911 SV%, and recorded 10 shutouts. He last played with the Admirals on 4/26/08 in the Calder Cup playoffs against the Chicago Wolves. During last season’s 35th Anniversary campaign he was voted as the top Admiral of all-time.
Bought your tickets yet? Are you ready for the return of Pekka Rinne in Milwaukee? How long do you think this rehab stint will last?
Mike Liambas. Jordin Tootoo. Fight. Please? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Admirals are currently on their biggest losing skid of the season: 4 games. While that isn’t great by any means – these past two games, including the last one against these same Grand Rapids Griffins, have been very good games for the Ads.
With their meeting in Rockford they consistently peppered shots on goal while minimizing shots against. The problem? They were playing against a team that, as of last night, is in the middle of the hottest run in the AHL: 10 straight games with a point – including 5 straight wins.
The last game in Grand Rapids hurt just that little bit to lose because it came down to a shootout. The Admirals and Griffins were engaged the entire game in a fantastic goaltending duel between Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek. Neither surrendered a goal through regulation or overtime. Both earned, and I mean earned, 29-save shutouts. Yet again it was an overtime or shootout that nipped the Admirals in the end. The Ads have no played in 18 games that went beyond regulation. They have won 3 OT games and lost a league high 6 OT games. In the shootout they have won 3 SO’s and lost 6 SO’s. It has been a problem area for the team all season long. Sadly for the team, and for Darling in a duel like he had with Mrazek, they came up short in yet another shootout defeat.
The Admirals now have a record of 23-18-6-6 (58 points). They are fourth in the Midwest Division – trailing the next closest team, the Rockford IceHogs, by 7 points. The Admirals do have 4 games in hand over the IceHogs. That’ll come in handy moving forward because, right now, tie-breakers are going the way of all division rivals. Use those games wisely, Admirals.
There will be some good news for this game. Healthy bodies are returning to the team in the form of Scott Ford, Marek Mazanec, and Joonas Rask.
Dean Evason provides an injury update on Ford, Mazanec, and Rask:
Ford and Mazanec both played their last game 2/16 at Chicago. Ford was ruled out of last weekend’s three-in-three with an upper body injury. While Mazanec was out with, I’m guessing, and lower-body injury of some kind.
Rask has been out of the Admirals lineup since getting injured at the start of the month, 2/5 vs. Hamilton. In that game he re-injured his left shoulder that had put him out earlier in the season for 8 games. I saw him outside of the Ads locker room, doing his typical high-tech stick maintenance, and saw he was still heavily iced up. If I had to hazard a guess – Rask will not be playing tonight but could have a shot at returning on the weekend.
The Grand Rapids Griffins will be playing tonight’s game with a record of 32-17-2-3 (69 points). They still lead the Midwest Division but only by a single point over the Chicago Wolves. It seems as if, while teams like the Wolves and IceHogs are on a roll, the Griffins and Admirals are somewhat stumbling through the month of February.
When the two met on Sunday they were both in a rut. The Griffins had lost three-straight games of their own until a gutsy 4-3 win against the Oklahoma City Barons the day prior to the showdown with the Ads. When the two met? Yeah. Neither could score until the shootout. Both the Ads and Griffins are trying to regain their footing all while teams in their division, save for perhaps the Iowa Wild, are playing dominant hockey.
The co-star of the last game, Petr Mrazek, is having himself another solid season. He has split time between the AHL and NHL this season but has spent the bulk with Grand Rapids. In the AHL this season he has played in 19 games, won 13, has a 2.21 GAA, 0.923 SV%, and 2 shutouts. With the Red Wings in the NHL he played in 7 games, record 1 win, had a 1.64 GAA, 0.924 SV%, and recorded a shutout.
Against Milwaukee, Mrazek currently holds a shutout streak of 108:40 minutes against the Admirals that dates back to when Patrick Cehlin scored in the second period of a game on 2/1/14. Simply put: if the Admirals have any hope of ending their four-game losing skid – if starts by putting pucks past Petr Mrazek for them to do it.
How will the Admirals fair in this game? Will the losing streak end tonight? Who should start in net for the Milwaukee Admirals, Scott Darling or Marek Mazanec? What do the Admirals need to do in order to score against Petr Mrazek?
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