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Predators' Weber 'spent a long summer thinking about' playoff loss to Blackhawks

Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports

Shea Weber's 2014-15 season did not end as he had hoped, in more ways than one.

The Nashville Predators captain and three-time Norris Trophy finalist suffered a subluxed kneecap during Game 2 of the team's opening-round playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks, and subsequently witnessed his team lose in six games.

Sitting with those realities led to some offseason soul-searching.

"I spent a long summer thinking about that playoff series and what could have been," Weber told Thomas Willis of the team's website. "(The Blackhawks) ended up being the Stanley Cup champions, so we know we lost to a very good team. It's tough to know how close we were, and it motivates us for this year.

"We know we're capable of doing anything we put our minds to, but we also can't take our foot off the gas. There are a lot of teams that were in the playoffs a year before, and they're going to be looking to get back in there as well."

The Predators finished last season with two more points in the standings than the Blackhawks, and while it's hard to say whether a healthy Weber would have tipped the scales in the series, he at least appears ready to pick up where he left off prior to the injury.

"It's exciting to be back," Weber said after skating Thursday. "As more and more guys roll in here, it's just going to get more exciting and feel like we're ready to go for the season. It's good seeing familiar faces and try to get back into a routine."

Weber appeared in 78 regular-season games for the Predators last season, totaling 15 goals and 30 points.

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