The Predators are about to be faced with a nice problem to have, too many NHL-capable forwards. Recently-acquired right winger P.A. Parenteau is expected to make his Nashville debut sometime this week during their three game road trip, reports Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Additionally, the Preds are expected to have winger Miikka Salomaki back in the near future as he’s currently on a long-term injury conditioning loan after being out since mid-October.
Vingan suggests that Parenteau’s acquisition could force right winger Craig Smith either onto a lower line or out of the lineup entirely. Smith has struggled considerably at the offensive end this season, scoring just four goals in 54 games, hardly the type of production they were expecting from a player carrying a $4MM cap hit. He adds that someone like Salomaki, who was a regular for most of last season, may have to wait a little while to get back in the lineup as fourth liners Harry Zolnierczyk and Austin Watson are playing well enough to stay where they are for now.
Elsewhere in the West:
- The Blues are looking to find a way to trim defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s ice time, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Although he’s averaging his lowest amount of playing time per game (24:57) since 2011-12, the captain has had to take on a larger role following the trade of Kevin Shattenkirk to Washington last week and has passed the 27 minute mark in each of his last two games. While that could suggest that Colton Parayko could be in line for a heavier workload, St. Louis is likely hoping that rookie Jordan Schmaltz may be able to take some of the pressure off Pietrangelo in the coming weeks as he gets acclimated to his first tour of duty in the NHL.
- San Jose is expected to have winger Jannik Hansen in the lineup on Thursday against the Capitals, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He’s dealing with the long process getting a work visa to move from Canada to the United States but the process is nearing completion. International players being traded from Canada to the United States often take longer to get clearance to play for their new team as on top of needing a P-1 visa, they also have to go through an interview process which often takes several days to get an opening as most of those slots are reserved for Canadians.