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After the last few games for the Nashville Predators an issue has been glaring for fans and commentators alike….the need for some bulk on defense. With Shea Weber and Ryan Suter constituting the lion’s share of defensive responsibility and Kevin Klein, Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi contributing in their own ways to the overall success of the Predators season it has become apparent that either Bouillon or Hillen just aren’t cutting it.
Their size and ability to stand firm in the corners and the crease is concerning for Trotz and Co. and it may be time to trade for a bigger, grittier defenseman, something the Predators could have had since the beginning of the season but decided to let go to Colorado for a song: an amount that the Predators could have easily offered for one Shane O’Brien.
Shane O’Brien was a great addition to the Predators roster last year. Throughout the season he wasn’t flashy like Weber and Suter but he stood up for his teammates and had the lowest PIM in a season for his entire NHL career. Now it is also common knowledge that when the playoffs started, Shane O’Brien took some really stupid penalties that almost cost us against the Ducks. But take away the woulda/shoulda and O’Brien was a class act, a great locker room guy and a player that seemed to have fun and infect others to do the same playing the game he loves.
The question then becomes: Should Nashville go after Shane O’Brien?
Colorado is looking like a seller in the upcoming weeks and Shane O’Brien is not a huge blip on the trade rumor radar. Nashville could easily give up a very late round pick to acquire O’Brien and his chemistry would be almost automatic given his play with Nashville last season.
But there are others that Nashville could easily go after before the trade deadline. Here are some options with expiring contracts after this season:
Pavel Kubina – 6’4″ 258, 3G 8A +1 – $3.85M
Bryan Allen – 6’5″ 226, 0G 8A +0 – $2.9M
Hal Gill – 6’7″ 241, 1G 7A -6 – $2.25M
Adrian Aucoin – 6’2″ 215, 2G 4A +11 – $2M
Milan Jurcina – 6’5 226, 2G 5A -22(yikes) – $1.6M
Out of this list, Poile could set his sights on Bryan Allen, a serviceable defenseman with size and skill at a reasonable sum or Adrian Aucoin who is moderately big at 6’2″ 215 but has offensive upside and puck-moving ability at only $2M. Plus, anyone who watched Phoenix last year knows Aucoin is money in the shootout, something the Predators could use in the upcoming months of tight games and tighter playoff positioning.
Are there any other defensemen that you would like to see Nashville make a reasonable move for? Feel free to comment or question below.
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I have been wanting O’Brien since I read the rumor he was on the block a week ago. Why would you not want him, when he played here last year? He knows the coaches, players, and system. I would go after O’Brien in my opinion. Go Preds!
Absolutely agree…however if O’Brien is not attainable (and by all means he should be) then that Bryan Allen guy looks promising for a rental.
Interesting piece…I was on the fence with O’Brien last season…I think for every good play he made, he could make a couple pretty bad ones. His tendency to overhandle the puck drove me crazy as well.
With that said…he’d fit…HOWEVER…the word is that Coach Trotz wasn’t a big fan of Shane O’Brien the non-hockey player, and when Poile broached the subject of re-signing him, Trotz shut it down. If that’s true, then I can’t see him coming back.
That’s a shame…Trotz’ rebuking of players cost us Hartnell…don’t like that part about Coach Trotz but his coaching abilities are top-notch considering what he’s had to work with so I’ll give him a pass.
Pretty please on O’Brien. God no on Kubina.
Curious…why NO on Kubina? Is it just your affinity for the Lightning shining through? C’Mon…let us have him…you can keep Hedman..LOL
LOL. Actually it’s not that at all. Kubina is slow, takes too many holding/hooking/tripping penalties, can’t get in position, won’t block shots, etc. He’s just gotten old. Props to the man as one of the guys who brought the Cup to Tampa, but he’s just so slow these days. If the Lighting d-corps were actually healthy, I bet his minutes would go down, like they were earlier this season. I don’t want Yzerman to re-sign him but I don’t want him on the Preds either.
And Heddy’s ours–ALL OURS!–and for $4m a year, too.
Gotcha…glad to have an authority on all things Lightning to set me straight. Then I hope once again for either O’Brien, Allen or Aucoin.
LOVED Shane last year… and would LOVE to have him back!! Strong player & all around good guy!!!
I’d welcome SOB back, I liked him a lot. Even with the dumb penalties, but the thought of seeing Hal Gill in a Preds uniform gets me all giddy.
Not 10 minutes ago I saw SOB pop Ian Laperierre (Canucks) with a beauty of an open ice hit and then I read this post. Got to say SOB would be a welcomed addition to the Preds blue line.