The Nashville Predators have recalled Milwaukee Admirals captain Kevin Gravel. He is expected to step into the lineup on Thursday to fill in for Predators captain Roman Josi. Josi left Nashville’s Tuesday loss to Calgary roughly halfway through the first period. He returned a few moments later, and took three more shifts, but left again before the first period ended. Josi has since been announced as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury by the team.
Nashville made room for Gravel’s recall by placing defender Alexandre Carrier on injured reserve. Carrier was designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury earlier this week. He hasn’t played since December 7th, meaning he’ll be eligible to return as soon as Saturday – though his designation suggests a longer absence.
Josi’s absence adds to a mounting injury list for the Predators. Their blue line is down multiple key pieces, with Jeremy Lauzon and Spencer Stastney joining Josi and Carrier on the absentee list. That’s left summer signee Brady Skjei as the sole pillar of the defense, with Luke Schenn, Marc Del Gaizo, and Adam Wilsby as his top supports.
They’ve already struggled with Carrier and Lauzon out – posting a league-worst 0-2-0 record and four-to-seven goal differential since the former left the lineup. Now, the test gets harder – with the most utilized Predator now at risk of missing a few games with his day-to-day designation. Josi has a team-leading 23 points in 29 games this season while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time – over three minutes more than any other Predators skater. Josi is one year removed from a 23-goal, 85-point season where he played in all 82 games, and only four years removed from a 96-point year in 2021-22. He’s proven one of the best Swiss players to grace the NHL, and his absence leaves a glaring hole in every aspect of Nashville’s lineup.
Gravel won’t fill in Josi’s hole one-for-one, but he will offer the stout veteran presence of a 12-year pro. Much of Gravel’s career has been spent in the AHL, where he won a Calder Cup with the Manchester Monarchs in 2015 and the Bakersfield Condors in 2021. He joined the Predators organization in 2022 – suiting up for his sixth AHL club in Milwaukee the sixth AHL team, and his fourth NHL club in Nashville. Gravel appeared in 23 games of Nashville’s 2022-23 season, contributing one assist, two penalties, and a -10 from a limited role. He’s since spent all his time in with the Admirals, totaling 28 points and a +4 through 132 games and three seasons. He was named Milwaukee’s captain last season, and carried the title into this year. Now, Gravel will be called upon to support the top club amidst injuries to an overabundance of talent.