The Predators played their second season in the NHL, and the results were pretty much the same. A lot of losses and not a lot of goals. But the city remains excited about the Preds, and on the ice, Nashville hung tight in many of the losses.
ESPN.com takes a Closer Look at Nashville in '99-00 and what it needs to get better next season.
Season Review: goal scoring pretty offensive
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Cliff Ronning led the team with 26 goals, and after Patric Kjellberg (23), the next highest scorer had 16. The team's 199 goals for was the fourth worst in the league behind Montreal, the Islanders and the expansion Atlanta Thrahsers.
You might not know the name Vitali Yachmenev, but he's full of surprises. First, for a name few know, he's been in the league for a while -- scoring 19 goals for the Kings in '95-96. But last season, on a team that lost 47 games, Yachmenev was the only Preds regular on the ice for more goals for than against. He was a plus-5 over 68 games. Another positive was the progress of David Legwand, who played 71 games and scored 13 goals in his first NHL season.
Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun played solid in net for most of the season, giving the team a .904 save percentage.
In the final analysis, Nashville had the same record as its inaugural season, which actually isn't a negative because of the competitiveness and depth of the Western Conference.
The Open Market: All's quiet
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FREE AGENCY
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Key unsigned free agents:
Sean Haggerty, Greg Johnson, Kimmo Timonen, Richard Lintner, Mike Watt
Signings/offseason acquisitions:
None |
The Predators made a lot of moves at last season's trade deadline when they traded Bob Boughner and Sergei Krivokrasov. So, don't expect signings of players on the free agent market. GM David Poile has plenty to worry about at home with several young restricted free agents still without contracts. It's doubtful that any will holdout for outrageous reasons, but defenseman Kimmo Timonen probably has the best argument for a raise. The 25-year-old blueliner had 33 points in 51 games and was named to the All-Star team.
How to improve: Open things up a bit
Vokoun and Dunham proved they can handle NHL opponents pretty well. Nashville has to find a way to generate more offense without leaving the defensive end too exposed. That won't be easy, especially considering this remains a young team. Legwand, Randy Robitaille and Sebastien Bordeleau are an extremely youthful group of centers, but if they can each increase their output by, say, five goals each -- which isn't overly ambitious -- Nashville will be a better team.
Twenty-eight wins is a number that may be repeated again, with '01-02 slated as the year to make some open-market signings and make a run at the postseason.
Brian A. Shactman is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com.
