This is exactly what we dreamed about when we talked about the new CBA and being on a more level playing field. We've seen that already to a certain extent in the free agency period ... The dollars are more evenly spread. These guys now are at least attracted to our markets.

He had a lot of places to go. The fact [is] he chose Nashville, and I think in some regards that's got to be somewhat of a stunner that he chose here instead of going to some other bigger market where he could get more fanfare.

We knew what our biggest weakness was. It was something we had talked about going back to last year. We had no argument with the skill of our defense. It certainly is one of the best in the league. But we were missing that size, grit and physical aspect.

Some of the nervousness going into the season is the changes. Why are we a better team? We're a better team because we made the playoffs in 2003-04. But is Danny Markov a good fit in our defense? Who is he going to play with? What are defense pairings going to be because it looks like they are all going to be different than they once were.

This was an equal opportunity training camp. Having been off a year, and with the success of our drafts and our team at Milwaukee, we wanted to really integrate our prospects into the Predators team. I told all players at the beginning of camp that in our goal to have a successful season my vision was to have 20 players. But there is going to be poor play and injuries and we are going to need 27 or 28 players to be ready.

Hockey is the ultimate team sport. You have to have all of the pieces working together. My example is I always use is Wayne Gretzky. He would often be in front of the net and get the puck from two guys who were getting the heck pounded out of them in the corner. They were making a lot less than him. They get bloody. Gretzky puts the puck in the net and he gets the glory.