The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Josh Healey to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. The 26-year-old has been playing with an AHL contract with the Chicago Wolves.
After a solid four-year career at Ohio State University, signed with the Calgary Flames as an undrafted free agent, playing two years with the Stockton Heat. However, he never received a promotion to the NHL. He became an unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season, signing an AHL deal with the Milwaukee Admirals where he has stayed other than the fact that he is now playing with the Wolves since the Admirals shut down for the 2020-21 season, forcing Predators’ prospects to join Chicago.
The defenseman has a goal and an assist in 20 games to go with 36 penalty minutes, which could be a reason for the NHL deal. He has 108 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Predators’ AHL organization. With numerous injuries on defense, Healey might be a good choice to add depth to the organization. On top of that, while Nashville has been winning of late, that doesn’t mean they won’t move a defenseman before the trade deadline and the team might want some depth at that position just in case, hence why the team signed him for the rest of this season.