McLeod packs some punch for Preds
Nashville added grit and leadership when they acquired veteran tough guy from Colorado
He’s on McLeod Nine. Cody McLeod received the customary tribute video on Saturday in Denver and it was quite the honour for the former Colorado Avalanche enforcer. He was dealt to the Nashville Predators the previous day, and because his claim to fame is topping the annual standings as the National Hockey League leader in fights, it was a noteworthy salute.
Like any true enforcer, McLeod responded to his ovation at the Pepsi Center by fighting former teammate Jarome Iginla in the second period. The winger then came out of the penalty box and drove to the net to score in a 3-2 victory.
The 32-year-old undrafted fourth-liner was an assist short of the time-honoured Gordie Howe hat trick, but still received the team’s traditional post-game dog chain as player of the game. He was even spotted on the power play as a netfront presence.
“It was a crazy couple of days and the icing on the cake was getting the win — especially in Denver,” McLeod said Monday following practice in preparation for Tuesday’s tussle with the Vancouver Canucks. “It’s been an easy transition and I couldn’t have come to a better place.
“It’s a good change of scenery and I’m pumped to be here.”
The place McLeod was in wasn’t good.
His role with the dreadful Avalanche had been reduced to one of insignificance as the last remaining member of the 2007-08 club. McLeod was stripped of his alternate captain status in the pre-season and was scratched on opening night by new coach Jared Bednar.
McLeod would endure being a roster afterthought on a dozen occasions before being moved for minorleague centre Felix Gerard on Friday. At the time, McLeod was averaging just 5:55 minutes per outing, a career low. On Saturday, he played 10:12.
“They’re giving me some trust and it’s awesome,” added McLeod, who has another year left on his contract at a US$1.3 million salary-cap hit. “I’m re-energized and I’ve just got to make the best of this opportunity because, in today’s NHL, you’ve got to have four lines who can take responsibility because the game is so fast now.
“And I still think there’s that presence for a physical player who can actually play the game.” Fighting Iginla didn’t hurt. “It’s happened in the past where I’ve fought guys I’ve played with,” said McLeod. “We were down 1-0 at the time, and kind of sluggish in the second period, and I was just trying to provide a spark. I asked Iggy and he obliged, and there you go.”
That’s one thing. Coming out of the penalty box and scoring his second goal of the season was something else.
“I was just going to the net hard and kind of got a stick on it and I just got rolling after that,” he said.
McLeod’s willing-to-fight reputation and ability to log meaningful minutes should be a boon to the Predators.
They have won three straight and aside from being a mid-pack club in scoring and on the power play with four players in double-digit scoring — James Neal (14), Mike Fisher (12), Filip Forsberg (11) and Viktor Arvidsson (10) — they don’t strike physical fear into opponents.
And with the Canucks missing Erik Gudbranson and Derek Dorsett, who had wrist and neck surgeries respectively, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound McLeod could have his way Tuesday.
“It’s how I’ve made a living and I’m not going to change my game,” he stressed. “If guys are going to run around and make dirty hits, they still have to answer the bell. It (fighting) still polices the game.”
McLeod has fought nine times this season despite his limited ice time — one behind league leader Jared Boll of the Anaheim Ducks — and according the hockeyfights.com scorecard, he has a 6-1-2 record.
McLeod has fought 140 times in his 10-year career, including 19 times in the 2014-15 regular season. He has also accumulated 1,364 penalty minutes in 660 games to go with 67 goals and 51 assists.
The Predators parted with enforcer Paul Gaustad, Barrett Jackman and Eric Nystrom in the offseason and were missing voices of reason in the room and grit on the ice. That’s why the Predators sought out McLeod, and the early returns are beyond encouraging.
“We’re happy to have his veteran presence and it’s something we’ve been missing,” said Predators centre Ryan Johansen. “And just watching him in practice today on the power play, he’s got skill and can make those short passes.”
Added coach Peter Laviolette: “He’s good at what he does. The snapshot of what he did the other night (Saturday) is exactly what we thought he might bring to the team.”
OF NOTE — P.K Subban had his first full practice on Monday after suffering an upper-body injury Dec. 15.