Nashville Predators

Earlier this week, the NHL announced the roster for this year's All-Star Game. The goalies making the trip to Ottawa are as follows:

- Brian Elliott (Blues)

- Jimmy Howard (Red Wings)

- Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers)

- Carey Price (Canadiens)

The year 2011 has seen a lot of tragedies in the hockey world, as Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak have all lost their lives after battling tragic circumstances such as drug addiction or depression.

The Nashville Predators enter the midseason in position to make their seventh playoff appearance in the last eight years. Last season, they won their first playoff series in franchise history before losing a hard-fought conference semifinals in six games to the league-leading Vancouver Canucks.

Is it finally time for the Preds to make the leap to the Stanley Cup Finals? 

The Nashville Predators are at a trivial moment in their franchise's history. Their salary cap is hurting after resigning standout-goalie Pekka Rinne to a seven-year, $49 million contract. They have yet to re-sign Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, arguably the most formidable defensive duo in the NHL. 

Now more than ever, the Predators need to rely on their upcoming prospects for future success. Luckily, they've got some gems in their system upon which to put some faith in. 

It seems like the Nashville Predators begin every season with mostly doubters, and 2011 has been no different for a team that is one of the youngest in the NHL.

The Predators have always managed to have success despite the lack of star power on their roster, but they may have caught lightning in a bottle with rookie Craig Smith.

The 2011-2012 NHL season begins tonight for the new-look Nashville Predators. 

The Preds look to carry over momentum from their first second-round playoff appearance in franchise history last season. Following a hard-fought series loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Preds went to work in the offseason in hopes of improving their prospects for a deep run in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s always encouraging to see a team forge ahead and accomplish things that have never been done in its history. Just last season, the Nashville Predators scratched a couple things off their franchise to-do list.

As the dog days of summer pass us by, the clock continues to tick on the negotiations between the Nashville Predators and the face of their franchise, Shea Weber.

Weber is perhaps the most valuable player in Predators' history, and if the team can’t get him signed by August 2, an arbitrator will be forced to decide how much money he’s worth.

During the course of the news cycle that focused on the return of an NHL franchise to Winnipeg (before I saw that they were renamed the Jets, which I completely support), I was struck with a strange idea.

Last night, the Nashville Predators moved into the second-round of the playoffs for the first time in the team's twelve-year history. The Predators have been one of the league's most consistent teams at making the playoffs, only missing them once in the last seven seasons. However, they never tasted a series victory until last night.