Trying to shed the stigma of a barbaric league, the disciplinarians in the “new NHL” have ruled, and Jordin Tootoo has been suspended five games for protecting himself against an oncoming attacker.

As the regular season winds down to its final few weeks, the Predators are being forced to test their minor league depth. But because of the strong play of young players like Shea Weber, the injury-riddled Preds keep on winning.

On February 15, GM David Poile completed the most significant trade in the franchise's brief history by acquiring center Peter Forsberg from Philadelphia in exchange for two prospects and two draft picks.

On February 9th, the Nashville Predators acquired center Eric Belanger from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for center Josef Vasicek. Neither player has lived up to their potential for the respective clubs this year; both players earn $1.3 million, making the trade a fiscal wash.

The Predators begin the second half of the season with a healthy lineup. And with Tomas Vokoun back between the pipes, the Preds are poised to compete for the top overall seed in the West, this despite the fact that they haven't beaten a playoff-bound team since November 25th.

Just weeks after repairing a partially torn meniscus, Jason Arnott's return brought a collective sigh of relief to an injury-plagued Predators team. During his absence, Scott Nichol and Vern Fiddler filled in admirably, but Arnott possesses key intangibles and skill that the Predators sorely lacked.

Two call-ups and 16 games played were enough for rookie Alexander Radulov to prove he deserved to stay in the NHL. The Nashville Predators have informed Radulov to begin looking for permanent housing in the Music City; his days of living out of a suitcase appear to be finished.

This edition of the Nashville Predators report focuses on sniper Paul Kariya who is not producing at the rate expected of him. Also included is info about players who have performed well over the past few games as well as a brief injury report.

The tandem of Tomas Vokoun and Chris Mason will continue to backstop the Predators for the upcoming 2006-07 season. Vokoun, the only remaining Predator from the 1998 expansion draft, signed a four-year extension worth $22.8 million to keep him in Nashville through the 2010-11 season.