Ryan Porth: How do you like Nashville so far?
Matthew Lombardi: It’s good.  It’s been a pretty easy adjustment.  Everyone’s been real welcoming to my family and they love it so far.  I’m excited moving forward.

RP: What was the decision process like to sign here?  Was it easy? Tough?
ML: It wasn’t tough.  I already met Barry (Trotz) at the World Championships a couple years ago; so I knew him as a coach and knew a couple of the guys.  I’ve played with guys that have played here, and they have nothing but good things to say about the organization and city.  Looked like a good fit and was real excited when I got the call.

RP: When you were an opponent, was this a city you enjoyed playing in?
ML: Yeah definitely... if you ask guys around the league, they always love coming to Nashville.  It’s a great city with great people.  It’s just a fun place to be.

RP: You’ve played in Phoenix and Calgary -- small-market and big-market -- do you like playing in a small market more without a lot of pressure?
ML: You know what, it’s great.  Obviously Calgary is a great place to play, have great fans, it’s a great hockey-town, and I loved my time there.  But Phoenix was great, too.  There are good things about each city.  I’m looking forward to getting to know this one and getting to play here.

RP: In the practices and skates in the last couple weeks, have you been able to gain chemistry with your new teammates?
ML: It’s a great time to get to know everybody and meet the guys and skate with everybody.  It’s a good time before training camp to get ready for the regular season.

RP: Since you’re one of the fastest skaters in the league, do you work on speed a lot or does it just come naturally?
ML: Every summer you try to improve things.  Obviously it’s a speed game, so you want to keep your speed... if not, try to get more.  It’s one of my assets, so I have to use as often as I can.

RP: How do you look to build off a career year?
ML: For me and most guys, going into the season they want to improve on the previous year and build on it.  That’s what I want to do… I want to build on last year and get better as a player, more consistent, and try to help this team as much as I can.

RP: In Phoenix the last couple years, they’ve had a lot of off-ice distractions.  What was that like as a player, and how were y’all able to push that aside?
ML: We were a good team, had a really good group of guys.  It was a team that no one believed in, which kind of motivated us; but at the same time we were a motivated group in itself.  With the outside things, you couldn’t really control it.  You definitely pay attention to what’s going on because you’re anxious to see – with the talks of them moving – if you’ll be there the next year.  At one point, you just say it’s out of our hands.  A lot of things that were coming out were repeating themselves… so we just put it aside and played.

RP: What was your ‘Welcome to the NHL’ moment?
ML: I probably had a few that first year.  (Pause) You know what, it’s gotta be my fourth game in the NHL.  Things were going pretty good, and then I coughed the puck up in the third period against St. Louis.  It was a tied game 1-1 late in the third, and my coach had confidence in me and threw me out there, and sure enough I coughed one up in our zone and they scored and won the game 2-1.

RP: What’s been the toughest thing you’ve been through in your career?
ML: I got a concussion in the ’04 playoff run, and I didn’t play much at all the following year.  That was pretty tough going through that, not knowing when I’d come back.  It was an 11-month battle.

RP: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?
ML: I’m pretty superstitious, a lot of rituals.  Nothing really in particular, but just kind of do the same routine… the way I warm-up, the way I tape my sticks… everything kind of repeats itself.

RP: Do you have some hobbies you like to get into during the summer?
ML: When I have some time, I like to go play golf with friends and family; it’s definitely nice to get out there.  Now I enjoy my family and my kids and that stuff, so it’s good to spend time with them.

RP: Who were some players you looked up to when you were younger?
ML: My two players were Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman.  When you’re a kid, you dream about being those guys, but they’re obviously the best to ever play the game.  I always loved watching those guys play.

RP: It’s Nashville, the country music capital… are you a country music fan at all?
ML: I’m learning to be (laughs).  But in Calgary, it was a big country music kind of place.  In the room, a lot of guys like their country music.  You kind of learn to enjoy it... I’m definitely getting to know it.  I can’t say I’m a pro, though.

RP: What are your personal expectations or goals this year?
ML: I want to build on what I did last year, and try to be a big part of this team and help this team win.  The goal right now is to be a real good, consistent team and I want to be a big part of that.

Ryan Porth covers the Nashville Predators for TheFourthPeriod.com