The Nashville Predators ended their season moments ago with a 8-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild (two empty netters). The team will not make the postseason for the fifth consecutive time, a goal they had on their road map to bringing a Stanley Cup back to the Music City. Despite all of that, it was a great season. There were memorable games along the way (8-0 over the defending champion Detroit Red Wings comes to mind), and certainly some forgettable moments (the 52-second span that doomed their season in Chicago a few nights ago). I made it to several games this year at the Sommet Center, an experience that I enjoy no matter the final outcome.
The Western Conference, and in particular the Central Division, is by far the toughest to compete in. At one point it was within the realm of possibility that all five division rivals could make the playoffs. It looks like it will be just Nashville sitting it out this year.
I am not going to mourn the passing of this season as I usually would. Instead, I am just that much more excited for October to roll around and for the guys to get back on the ice. I hope the front office can made the rights moves in the off season to put us right back in the mix in 2009-2010. It should only require a few tweaks, not a major overhaul. The now-ended season will likely be decided by a margin of only one or two games. Flip those losses to the win column and the Predators would not only be in the playoffs, but likely sitting as high as fifth or sixth place in the conference. A natural goal-scorer, a defensive specialist and an electrifying rookie would be all it takes to return the team back to the elite rungs of the standings.
They will be back.