image: TSN

Bouillon has been with the Montreal Canadiens for most of his NHL career which spans across nine seasons.  I am sure Habs fans will miss him, along with all of the other players the team has discarded this summer.   Bouillon notched up 21 goals and 81 assists in 485 NHL games.

I think he will be a decent addition to the Nashville lineup so I’m excited to see how things go there.  I don’t know if the salary is enough but I guess we’ll see if he can prove himself.

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If you have followed this storyline at all, it’s hard to believe how this member of a prominent San Jose family went from being golf buddies with Mario Lemieux to “forging financial documents to obtain $110 million in loans from several banks and two NHL owners – Craig Leopold of the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings owner AEG. Del Biaggio used the money to purchase a controlling interest in the Nashville Predators.”

Honestly, the whole thing is so complicated that I don’t think I could fully explain it (read this article if you need to know every detail) but I can say that this man seriously burned basically every bridge since he not only screwed over strangers but he even took money from childhood friends and long-time business associates.  Who does that?  I know he had amassed about $4 million in debt in Las Vegas so I hope it was all worth it.

With the court ordering that Del Biaggio pay back every penny, he has filed for bankruptcy and many of his assets, including his Nashville Predators stake, will be sold by court order.  I can already hear James Balsillie salivating over getting his hands on the Preds since his bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes doesn’t look good and he had already been trying to get the Nashville team from Del Biaggio before.

At least he showed some remorse.  I’m glad that he pleaded guilty to the charges and he also apologized and promised to pay everyone back while his parents and friends cried in the courtroom.  “I was blinded by pride and ego,” Del Biaggio said. “Everyone makes mistakes. I will come back from this and I refuse to let this define my life.”

image: Zuma Press

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I can imagine that there was a time when Sullivan thought he might not ever play hockey again, never mind win an award.  He was sidelined for almost two years as he recovered from a serious back injury and once he returned to the Nashville Predators lineup, he registered 11 goals and 32 points in 42 games.

He thanked his teammates for always believing in him and, of course, his family for their support.  He beat out Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios and Florida forward Richard Zednik (who returned after a horrifying freak accident left him with a slashed throat).

image: NHL.com

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I have to talk about the first goal of the night.  J.P. Dumont fed a pass across the crease to Arnott and it was just a sweet, sweet goal.  Arnott’s second goal really should have been saved by Cam Ward who, at times, seemed to be struggling (he ended up making 25 saves, though). 

What are your thoughts about Weber as a contender for the Norris Trophy?  If he keeps playing like he did tonight, I can’t imagine him not deserving it.

Watch the highlights here:

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Despite being shorthanded (star player, Alexander Ovechkin, is away in Russia visiting his sick grandfather), the Washington Capitals skated away with a shootout victory over the visiting Nashville Predators, despite the standout performance of Jason Arnott (Preds).

Here is the scoring summary:

• NSH: Koistinen, V. (PPG, 13:59 in 1st), Arnott, J. (11:21 in 2nd), Arnott, J. (13:24 in 3rd)
• WSH: Kozlov, V. (12:13 in 1st), Steckel, D. (SHG, 15:38 in 1st), Semin, A. (PPG, 01:58 in 3rd)

*NHL Video has not become available for this game’s highlights*

image credit: TSN

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• CGY: Iginla, J. (14:04 in 2nd), Iginla, J. (06:52 in 3rd), Moss, D. (08:05 in 3rd), Cammalleri, M. (PPG, 12:31 in 3rd), Iginla, J. (19:57 in 3rd)
• NSH: Zanon, G. (05:42 in 2nd), Tootoo, J. (06:01 in 2nd), Arnott, J. (PPG, 08:10 in 2nd)

Watch the video highlights:

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I really hope we don’t see more like this situation with Alexander Radulov and the Nashville Predators.  During the off-season he says he let the Preds know that he wanted to go and play in the Russian league (he actually signed a one-year deal with UFA of the Russian super league KHL) even though he had a year remaining on his NHL contract.  The Preds set a deadline of September 1, 2008 for him to notify them of his return and, since that has now passed, the team has had to suspend him without pay for the 2008-2009 season. 

David Poile, the president and GM of the Nashville Predators released the following statement:

“We are disappointed Alex will not be with the Predators at the start of this season.  He is a world class player who demonstrated last season, with 26 goals and 58 points, that he is an emerging NHL talent. However, since he has not responded to our recent correspondence, we must move forward with our plans for the coming season.

At some point, we hope Alex will have a desire to return to the NHL and compete in the best league in the world, with and against the best competition. We will re-visit his status at that time.

Until then, we are focused on the players who are representing the Predators and providing them the necessary support and guidance. We will not allow Alex’s situation to be a distraction and, as such, will have no further comment on Alex or his situation.”

Okay, first of all, I don’t know if it’s really a good idea to say that the NHL is the best league in the world.  It sounds kinda lame, actually, even if you do believe that.  I understand Poile’s intentions but I think it was just not a good move.  I also wonder if Radulov even cares.  If he has a good one-year deal, he doesn’t give a crap if they suspend him, does he?

image credit: TSN

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Niskala is a decent addition.  Last season, he posted 19 goals and 25 assists for 44 points and 81 penalty minutes in 80 regular season games for the Predators’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

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Image details: Detroit Red Wings v Nashville Predators – Game Six served by picapp.com

The Nashville Predators are securing their lineups for the next few seasons and have extended multi-year contracts to defenceman, Shea Weber, and goaltender, Dan Ellis.

Weber, who had 20 points in 54 games this past season, signed a US$13.5-million, three-year deal.  Ellis, who posted a 23-10-3 record, a 2.34 goals-against average, an NHL-leading .924 save percentage and six incredible shutouts got a $3.5-million, two-year contract.

I was expecting a little more for Ellis… what do you think of that deal?

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