Tuesday afternoon, Shea Weber and Matt Cullen of the Nashville Predators held a conference call to answer questions on the hiring of head coach Peter Laviolette. The main takeaway, especially from Matt Cullen who played for Laviolette in Carolina, was that his style is very uptempo and focuses on generating offense from all aspects of the ice. Below are quotes and highlights from the conference call.
“Definitely excited to have somebody in place..and look forward to next year.” Weber
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
“Looking forward to playing for Peter again. I think he’s a great fit for our team & what we need going forward.” – Cullen
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
“I think everyone likes playing with the puck and playing offensively.” – Weber
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
“His resume speaks for itself. Has a knack for bringing out the offensive side in teams.” Cullen On Lavy’s system
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
“He likes to play an uptempo style of game and getting the defensemen involved.” – Cullen on Lavy
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
“He brings a lot of fire to the game. He’s passionate himself. He’s a guy that is an outspoken leader.” – Cullen
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
Cullen said that Lavy is good at putting players where they will be successful. He then goes and let’s you do it.
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
“We’ll have practices that are high tempo. A lot more skating. Pushing the pace of the game, which will fit our team really well” Cullen
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
As always, Weber gives credit to his teammates on his Norris Trophy nomination. #Preds
— Justin Bradford (@justinbbradford) May 6, 2014
Predators fans should expect to see a completely different on-ice product this fall, which hopefully means more scoring and production from players with the potential to do so. Make sure to go and vote in our polls and give your instant reaction the the hiring.
*Photo credit: Allyson K. Hall*
