from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,
... Nobody could say they saw this coming in Nashville. For 15 years the Predators were the little team that could and in one short season they’ve transformed themselves into Brock Lesnar. They sit first overall in the NHL. They have the all-star coach in Peter Laviolette. They have a Hart and Vezina candidate in Pekka Rinne. They have the Calder favourite in franchise-changing forward Filip Forsberg. And that still only tells part of their story.
Through the first half of the schedule they’ve emerged as a legitimate power, and if there are doubts about the sustainability of their success they can live with those questions. After doing more with less for so many seasons, they’ve discovered the joys of doing more with more in 2014-15 and, in so doing, they’ve changed the entire perception of the franchise.
“Really, our goal was to make the playoffs,” said Poile, who’s been the Predators’ GM every one of their 16 seasons. “I know that doesn’t sound like a lot but when you haven’t made the playoffs for two seasons, it’s pretty significant.
“I just think the timing was good. We wanted to play a different style and that started with the coach (Laviolette).”
As to where it ends, stay tuned.
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