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Predators Acquire Grigori Denisenko From Golden Knights

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The Predators have acquired winger Grigori Denisenko from the Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations, the latter club announced. He was previously on assignment to AHL Henderson and will now report to Nashville’s affiliate in Milwaukee. He does not need to clear waivers.

Denisenko, 24, is best known for his time in the Panthers system as a top prospect. His professional career never got off the ground after being selected 15th overall in 2018, though, and after failing to make Florida’s roster out of camp last season, he was waived and claimed by the Golden Knights. He’s appeared in just seven games with Vegas since the beginning of 2023-24, spending nearly all of his time in Henderson instead. Only one of those games came this season. He’s yet to record a point in a Knights uniform and has a minus-three rating while averaging 10:30 per game and recording five shots on goal.

This season, Denisenko cleared waivers in September and returned to Henderson. After recording a respectable 56 points in 65 games there last year, 2024-25 hasn’t been nearly as productive for the Russian forward. He’s posted 10-14–24 in 42 games with a -21 rating, although that was still good enough for sixth place on the scoring-challenged Silver Knights. His lone NHL appearance this year came on Nov. 13 against the Ducks, taking a minor penalty and recording five hits with no shots in 8:27 of ice time.

Now in the Nashville organization, Denisenko will look to get his AHL scoring numbers back up in search of another NHL recall. He doesn’t have a lot of runway to do it with two months left in the regular season, though. He’s also due to reach Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer as a result of him playing fewer than 80 NHL games while being at least 25 years old on July 1 with at least three seasons of professional experience. That makes him ineligible for a qualifying offer, and he’ll hit the open market without an extension.

With the move, the Knights open up a contract slot ahead of the trade deadline. They now have three with 47 out of a maximum 50 on the books.

Trade Deadline Primer: Nashville Predators

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off break here, the trade deadline looms large and is less than three weeks away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Nashville Predators.

Things were not supposed to be like this in Nashville.  After a stellar second half to last season, the Predators were one of the most active teams in free agency, signing a trio of core players to long-term contracts, making them a trendy preseason pick to be a safe playoff team, if not a viable contender in the Western Conference.  Instead, they currently sit 18 points out of a Wild Card spot, meaning they’re likely to be on the outside looking in, barring a fantastic run like they had a year ago.

Record

19-28-7, 7th in the Central

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$32.381MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: NSH 1st, TB 1st, VGK 1st, NSH 2nd, TB 2nd, NSH 3rd, NSH 4th, NSH 5th, COL 6th, NSH 6th
2026: NSH 1st, NSH 2nd, NSH 3rd, NSH 4th, NSH 5th, NSH 7th

Trade Chips

This season hasn’t been a great one for Gustav Nyquist.  The 35-year-old has just nine goals and 11 assists in 52 games despite logging over 17 minutes a night.  However, he’s only one season removed from a career year, one that saw him put up 23 goals and 52 assists in his first season with the Preds.  With that in mind, it’s quite reasonable to think that the veteran is more than capable of rebounding and bouncing back in the right situation although he’d likely be playing a little lower in the lineup.  Nyquist has a $3.185MM AAV and Nashville could pay that down by up to 50% which would make him easier for a lot of teams to afford.  He’d probably land them a mid-round pick in return.

The other veteran of some note up front isn’t a rental.  That would be center Ryan O’Reilly.  This is only the second year of a four-year contract and considering he’s Nashville’s top middleman, he’s not necessarily a logical trade candidate.  But the belief is that GM Barry Trotz is allowing teams to make pitches for the 34-year-old who is being treated as if he has full trade protection even though he doesn’t have any in his contract.  However, his $4.5MM cap charge is team-friendly for someone who would be a second or third-line option on most playoff teams and with it being difficult for teams to add impact centers, it stands to reason that the Preds could command a significant return for O’Reilly’s services which might be enough for Trotz to approach him about a move.

Veteran forward Michael McCarron hasn’t lived up to his first-round draft billing back in 2013 but has become a quality fourth liner.  As someone who can play both center and the wing, kill penalties, and play with an edge, he’s likely to generate some interest.  Considering he’s signed through next season at $900K, his market could be stronger than it might seem.  With Colton Sissons only having one year left after this on what was once a seven-year contract worth $2.857MM per season, he’s likely to attract some attention from teams looking to add some grit and versatility to their bottom six.  Center Thomas Novak has struggled this season after two straight years of more than 40 points.  With two years left at $3.5MM, he isn’t someone Nashville might be ready to give up on but if they are looking to shake things up, there should be teams interested in him as well.

The options aren’t as plentiful on the back end but veteran Luke Schenn is someone to keep an eye on.  He’s no stranger to being moved at the trade deadline and would be of interest to teams looking to add some grit to their third pairing while the fact he’s a right-hand shot will make him a bit more appealing.  A $2.75MM price tag through next season for someone who’s best served as a sixth defender tempers that appeal a bit, however.  Even so, Nashville might be able to unload the full contract for a light return while if they retain some money, he could bring back a mid-round selection.

Team Needs

1) Young, NHL-Ready Pieces: While Nashville has traded some of its younger players away this season, they’ve also added one in Justin Barron in exchange for veteran Alexandre Carrier.  With an older roster in general and a couple of months of likely just playing out the stretch, this feels like a good time for Trotz to take a flyer on two or three younger players that could potentially benefit from a change of scenery.  Not all will pan out, obviously but if they could even pick up one player who could be part of the plans beyond this season, that would be a good step in the right direction while hedging against some concerns they seem to have about rushing their top prospects with AHL Milwaukee to the big club.

2) Impact Center: With three first-rounders, they could possibly take a bigger swing on the trade front as well and look to bring in someone more established.  Someone like Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens, for example, is young enough to be a key player for a while so even though buying might not make a lot of sense right now, if the right opportunity presents itself, they could strike.  If Trotz goes that route, getting a center should be the priority.  With O’Reilly in possible trade discussions and Novak struggling, targeting a longer-term player down the middle would be a reasonable target.  That feels like more of an offseason move but if the opportunity presents itself now, the Predators could plausibly try to land that player even while selling some of their veterans.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

Predators Claim Andreas Englund

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The Predators have claimed defenseman Andreas Englund off waivers from the Kings, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. No corresponding transaction is necessary after Nashville opened multiple roster spots yesterday with reassignments ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Englund, 29, was a second-round pick by the Senators back in 2014 and has skated in parts of seven NHL seasons since making his debut in Seattle in 2016-17. He’s only recently emerged as a roster fixture, though, factoring in solely as a bottom-pair enforcer. He played in all 82 games for Los Angeles last year after signing a two-year, $2MM contract, leading the club with 81 PIMs and 189 hits while averaging 13:13 per game. His career 2-16–18 scoring line with a -17 rating in 173 NHL games doesn’t inspire confidence that he’ll ever be anything else, and as such, he lost his regular spot with the Kings in 2024-25 and has only factored into 11 games, including an active run of 13 consecutive scratches leading into the break.

The move marks Englund’s third stint in the Central Division. He skated in 47 games split between the Avalanche and Blackhawks in 2022-23, his first year back in the NHL after spending two years buried in the minors.

His claim doesn’t spell good news for injured defender Jeremy Lauzon, who Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean now suspects could sit out the remainder of the season with the lower-body injury that’s kept him out of the lineup since New Year’s Eve. The 6’4″ Englund is an apt replacement for the heavy hitter, who led the league with 386 last season. A pending UFA, Englund will likely serve in a support role down the stretch while names like Nick Blankenburg and Adam Wilsby, the latter of which just signed a two-year extension, see routine deployment.

Minor Transactions: 2/9/25

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The league will continue to see many AHL demotions today after all but four teams wrapped up their pre-4 Nations Face-Off break schedule on Saturday. We’ve already seen a few this morning, namely in Pittsburgh and Boston, and we will continue to track the rest in this article as fringe players head to the minors to get playing time over the next few weeks.

  • The Predators announced they’ve reassigned wingers Joakim Kemell, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and defenseman Kevin Gravel to AHL Milwaukee. They now have three open roster spots, two of which could go to IR-bound Mark Jankowski and Jeremy Lauzon in the likely event they’re ready to return from injury when their schedule resumes on Feb. 22. The most notable of the trio is Kemell, who made his NHL debut across Nashville’s Friday-Saturday back-to-back and managed eight shots on goal across the pair of games. However, he’s still looking for his first NHL point. The 2022 first-rounder has 9-16–25 in 38 AHL contests this season.
  • Wild winger Liam Ohgren will return to AHL Iowa over the break, per a team announcement. The fellow 2022 first-rounder has bounced between Minnesota and Iowa this year but spent the past couple of weeks filling in the Wild’s top six with Marcus Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov missing time. It hasn’t been an overly productive first look in the NHL for the Swedish winger, who’s managed 2-4–6 in 23 appearances since debuting late last season. He’ll likely be back up after the break, with Kaprizov still set to miss another couple of weeks following lower-body surgery.
  • The Sharks reassigned forwards Collin Graf and Andrew Poturalski and defenseman Jack Thompson to AHL San Jose, the club said. Their post-break returns likely depend on the health of Nikolai Kovalenko, Jan Rutta, and Nico Sturm, all of whom enter the break on injured reserve with day-to-day designations. If all three are ready to return, the Sharks will need those roster spots to activate them, as they were carrying a full roster before this morning’s moves.
  • The Blues sent forward Zachary Bolduc down to AHL Springfield this morning. It’s just the second time this season he’s been assigned to Springfield, and the first was a one-day demotion before opening night to help St. Louis optimize their LTIR capture. The 21-year-old has 6-12–18 through 46 games and will return to the NHL following the break. In the meantime, the 2021 first-round pick will continue to get reps in Springfield amid a promising sophomore campaign in the majors with good possession numbers.
  • Blackhawks rookie defenseman Ethan Del Mastro is back down with AHL Rockford, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The 22-year-old lefty has one assist and 13 hits in six games since being recalled on Jan. 23. His 52.0 CF% at even strength is far above team average and is a promising sign for the 2021 fourth-rounder’s prospects at making the opening night roster next year. The 6’4″, 210-lb active defender has eight assists in 38 showings with Rockford this year, along with a plus-four rating.
  • The Rangers returned goaltender Dylan Garand to AHL Hartford after his services were needed to backup Jonathan Quick in last night’s 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. The 22-year-old will only be back up after the break if Igor Shesterkin, who missed the game due to an upper-body injury, isn’t cleared to return. The 2020 fourth-rounder is coming off an appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic and has a 2.68 GAA, .913 SV%, three shutouts, and a 12-7-4 record in 23 showings for Hartford.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has assigned Josh Doan to the minor-leagues per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. This move is likely intended to keep Doan on the ice while the club prepares for their two-week break. Doan has been in the NHL roster routinely since January 10th. He has five points in 15 games in that span, including two in his last two games. He’s been highly impactful even despite modest scoring totals, and should get a chance to continue carving out a role when Utah returns on February 22nd.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Predators Sign Adam Wilsby To Two-Year Extension

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The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Adam Wilsby to a two-year, $1.55MM contract extension. It will be a two-way contract in 2025-26 and a one-way deal in 2026-27. Wilsby has played in the first 23 games of his NHL career this season, netting five points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-three while averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time. He has also played in 13 minor league games, with five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five. Wilsby was set to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, after signing a one-year, league-minimum deal with Nashville this summer.

Nashville originally drafted Wilsby in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft out of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, the country’s second-tier pro league. He spent the two seasons following his draft with Skelleftea AIK of the SHL, where he carved out a solid role as a middle-pair defender. Wilsby totaled 35 points, 46 penalty minutes, and a scorching plus-42 in 99 games with Skelleftea, before moving to join the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals at the end of the 2021-22 season. He wouldn’t make it over in time for any regular season games, instead debuting in the minor league with three postseason games. Wilsby got a more formal start to his AHL career in the following year and quickly carved out another productive niche on Milwaukee’s second pair. He recorded 18 points and 32 penalty minutes in 72 games of his rookie AHL season and started to break out in the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs with eight points in 16 games. He’d return for much of the same last season – netting 24 points in 76 AHL games between the regular and post seasons.

Wilsby seemed doomed to repeat his productive minor-league role this season, until a trio of injuries and the trading of Alexandre Carrier forced Nashville to tap into their defense depth midseason. He earned the first call-up of his career on November 13th, after starting the year with five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five in his first 13 AHL games. Wilsby bounced between rosters over the next two weeks, before eventually making his NHL debut on November 27th. It’d take Wilsby eight games until he recorded his first point – an assist in a game he’d end with a plus-four and 22 minutes of ice times. He’d go on to score in his next two games and hasn’t looked back since. Wilsby has been on the NHL roster since late-November and played a career-high 22:36 of ice time in his most recent game – a 2-5 loss against the Ottawa Senators on February 3rd. He’s still working to bring his productive two-way play to the top flight, but his confidence in driving the puck through the neutral zone and getting shots on net is clearly growing. This two-year extension will be a bode of confidence from the Predators’ brass, and could give Wilsby the security he needs to start making a consistent impact on the NHL roster.

Predators Place Mark Jankowski On IR, Recall Ozzy Wiesblatt

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The Predators have made a pair of roster moves heading into their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.  Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game relays (Twitter link) that Nashville has placed center Mark Jankowski on injured reserve.  With the open roster spot, they’ve recalled winger Ozzy Wiesblatt from AHL Milwaukee.

It’s a bit surprising that the Preds wound up waiting this long to put Jankowski on IR.  The 30-year-old has been out for the last three weeks with an upper-body injury that carries a week-to-week designation.  Jankowski has played in 37 games this season, notching three goals and five assists while logging a little under 13 minutes a night.  Having been out this long, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any point when he’s cleared to return.

As for Wiesblatt, this is his second recall of the season.  He got into two games on his first one back in January where he had four hits in a little over ten minutes a night of action.  This one will be shorter-lived, however, as he’ll almost certainly be sent back following the game to keep playing with the Admirals.  On the farm, the 22-year-old has 11 goals and 12 assists in 41 games, already making it the most productive of his three professional seasons.

Wilsby Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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  • The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Adam Wilsby was scratched tonight versus Chicago due to an upper-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day.  The 24-year-old has impressed in his first season at the top level, logging over 18 minutes a night through his first 23 outings.  Nashville has one more game before the break, that coming on Saturday so it’s possible they rest Wilsby for that one, allowing him two full weeks of recovery time.

Predators Acquire Mark Friedman From Canucks

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The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Mark Friedman to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. Friedman has appeared in five NHL games this season and recorded no scoring, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-four.

Friedman has spent the majority of this season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. He’s recorded one goal, six points, 15 penalty minutes, and a plus-four through 20 games with the minor Canucks, continuing his service as a low-scoring, physical depth defenseman. That’s exactly what the Canucks were searching for when they acquired him via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins early into the 2023-24 season. Vancouver sent defenseman Jack Rathbone and winger Karel Plasek back the other way. Friedman has appeared in 28 games with the Canucks since then. He’s only managed one point and an average of 12:34 in ice time in that span, but his 39 hits equates to the fourth-highest hits-per-60 (6.65) of any Canucks defenseman since the start of last season. He ranks behind Noah Juulsen (11.52), rookie defender Elias Pettersson (9.13), and Nikita Zadorov (8.07).

The Philadelphia Flyers originally drafted Friedman in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He made his AHL debut two years later, and has since spent the last nine seasons bouncing between NHL and AHL lineups. His career as a depth forward has taken him through stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and now Nashville. In that time, Friedman has totaled 93 NHL games, 13 points, 80 penalty minutes, and  141 hits.

Friedman now seems destined to join a burly group of defenders with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s minor league affiliate. The squad carries plenty of heft thanks to captain Kevin Gravel, Jack Matier, and Spencer Stastney. The trio have served as the physical compliment behind more nimble blue-liners like Ryan Ufko and Nick Blankenburg. But an injury to Jeremy Lauzon and the departure of Alexandre Carrier have forced Gravel and Blankenburg into the NHL lineup, and dried out Nashville’s previously abundant defense depth. The Predators have erred on the side of physicality rather than finesse in addressing that issue, and now add the burly Friedman to their list of fringe NHL defenders.

Predators Recall Joakim Kemell

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Ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Blackhawks, the Predators announced they’d recalled right-winger Joakim Kemell from AHL Milwaukee. He’s the corresponding move to fill Vinnie Hinostroza’s roster spot after they lost him to the Wild on waivers yesterday. If Luke Evangelista can’t play due to his lower-body injury, then Kemell should be in line to make his NHL debut – potentially in a top-six spot with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly.

Kemell, 20, was Nashville’s first-round pick in 2022 and is one of two players selected in the top 20 who have yet to make their NHL debut. He’s in his second full season with Milwaukee and third overall, co-leading active Admirals in scoring with 9-16–25 in 38 games. While his minus-nine rating is the worst on the team, he’s got a strong overall track record since arriving in North America and is coming off an AHL All-Star Classic appearance.

His six assists in his last five games helped convince the Preds to give him his first recall. They have 13 forwards on the active roster, but Evangelista and Mark Jankowski are doubtful for tomorrow’s contest and would leave Nashville in a bind if they can’t go.

The 5’11”, 183-lb Finn was named Liiga Rookie of the Year in his draft year, posting 15-8–23 in 39 games for JYP to lead the top-level league in rookie goal-scoring. He regressed a bit in 2022-23, logging 12-3–15 with a -16 rating in 43 games, but looked refreshed when Nashville recalled him from his loan at the end of the season and sent him to Milwaukee. He finished the year with 13 points in his first 14 AHL regular-season games and led the Calder Cup Playoffs in rookie goal-scoring with eight in another 14 games. He posted 16-25–41 in 67 games in his true rookie season with the Ads last year.

Kemell’s entry-level contract slid twice due to his lack of NHL appearances, so this is the first year his deal counts against their contract limit. He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in 2027.

Wild Claim Vinnie Hinostroza From Predators, Place Jakub Lauko On IR

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Feb. 5: The Wild claimed Hinostroza off waivers, Friedman reports Wednesday. He provides some much-needed veteran forward depth with a higher offensive ceiling than they already have, with players like Ben Jones and Devin Shore being overtaxed and struggling to produce with Kirill Kaprizov’s injury and Ryan Hartman’s suspension holding them out of the lineup. With no open roster spots, winger Jakub Lauko is headed back to injured reserve with the recurring lower-body injury that’s kept him out of 21 games this season, the team announced.

Feb. 4: The Predators have placed winger Vinnie Hinostroza on waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday. He’ll presumably be sent to AHL Milwaukee if he clears.

The versatile 30-year-old forward is the odd man out as Nashville looks to open a roster spot, potentially to activate defenseman Jeremy Lauzon off injured reserve. He’d been playing top-six spot duty for the Preds since they recalled him in late December, even recently skating on a line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly.

However, he hasn’t converted a strong start in the minors into impactful play at the NHL level. He has two assists in 13 games since his recall, averaging 11:32 per game and serving as a healthy scratch in three of Nashville’s last five contests.

Before his recall, the veteran of 387 NHL games was among the AHL’s leading scorers with 33 points in 26 appearances for Milwaukee. His 1.27 points per game still leads minor-leaguers with at least 20 games, although he didn’t participate in yesterday’s AHL All-Star Classic because of his summons to the big club.

The Chicago native inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Preds in free agency last summer and already cleared waivers once at the beginning of the season. He’s no longer the 30-point threat he was with the Blackhawks and Coyotes early in his career, and he hasn’t played more than 30 NHL games in a season since 2021-22, but his AHL numbers over the past couple of seasons indicate he’s still a capable depth scorer and a safe veteran recall option. That could draw some interest from some forward-needy teams on the wire, but a commitment past the end of the year is usually enough of a deterrent for players of Hinostroza’s caliber to pass through waivers unclaimed.

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