- The Nashville Predators are without a few middle-six forwards tonight as the team announced Thomas Novak is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Colton Sissons has a similar injury designation. The news will inevitably hurt the Predators in one of their least productive areas as their 2.38 GF/G currently ranks 27th in the NHL.
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Predators Rumors
Predators Could Test Young Prospects, Trust Andrew Brunette Amid Struggles
The Nashville Predators are far from where they want to be after spending a heap to sign Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei this summer. The team sits at the bottom of the Central Division with a 4-7-1 record – one less win than the notably-rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. That led general manager Barry Trotz to hint that a complete teardown would follow continued failure, saying in an interview on Nashville’s 102.5 The Game on Tuesday, “I’m trying to do some things right now. We will be limited a little because of the contracts that we have… but if we don’t get it going, then I’m going to start our rebuild plan.”
Trotz went on to clarify the comments to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean earlier today, emphasizing that the team won’t, “burn it down to the studs”. Instead, any “rebuild” would be focused around finding space for the team’s young core. Trotz said, “if it doesn’t work, I’ve still got to buy the time for those young players.”
He went on to name roughly 10 players that he identifies as the team’s next-up. Per Daugherty, that list includes forwards Teddy Stiga, Reid Schaefer, Joakim Kemell, and Matthew Wood; and defenders Tanner Molendyk and Andrew Gibson. Trotz pointed out that the team is walking a fine line between trying to be competitive and trying to properly develop their youngsters, and pointed out that they could take out veterans down the depth chart to give prospects more of a chance. Most notably, Nashville is searching for a productive second-line center – a role that could one day be filled by Schaefer, Kemell, or Zachary L’Heureux.
The dozen players that Trotz mentioned are certainly a strong core to build around. The grouping – save for Wood, Molendyk, and Gibson – are currently driving the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals to clear success. The team is 8-1-0 through their first nine games, spurred by Kemell’s eight points in nine games, L’Heureux’s five points in four games, and Fedor Svechkov’s five points in five games. It’s a trio that’s found success time-and-time-again in Milwaukee, though L’Heureux’s seven appearances this year stand as the only NHL time among them all. The oft-undisciplined winger managed two assists and one penalty in those appearances – just low enough to fall out of Nashville’s lineup, despite being one of only 12 Predators with multiple points this season.
While they all still need to develop NHL-ready traits, Nashville’s prospect pool offers a large array of takeover ability. Molendyk’s ability to create pace and tempo through hard passes in the neutral zone made him a standout at this year’s training camp; while each of Kemell, Wood, and Schaefer have thrived on the back of hard shooting and gritty play along the boards. They’re translatable talents that Nashville should be reaping soon. At least, that’s Trotz’s full intention – as he emphasized to Daugherty that the last thing he wants to do is drag Predators fans through a long-term rebuild.
Trotz also pointed out that the head coach Andrew Brunette isn’t on the hot seat. Brunette led Nashville to a 47-30-5 record and first-round playoff exit last season, and has made his frustrations with the lack of cohesivity in the lineup known to the GM. Speaking on his head coach, Trotz said, “He’s saying ’I’ve got no one going right now.’… Nothing’s really working. You’re trying hard to find the magic potion and you get a little frustrated.”
Nashville’s new additions are struggling in their new setting. The trio of Stamkos, Skjei, and Marchessault are sitting at five, six, and seven points through 12 games respectively – far too little for the prices they were paid this summer. The depth isn’t fairing much better, with Philip Tomasino and Jeremy Lauzon (no scoring) being outscored by starting goaltender Juuse Saros (one assist). That’s led the team to a dismal record, and led Trotz to start turning his attention towards the young bloods. The team likely still sits a few steps away from fully leaning into their promising prospects, but continued struggles will force a hard decision sooner rather than later, and getting a chance to play alongside future Hall-of-Famers in Stamkos and Josi could be a cheeky way to accelerate their development.
Predators Not Ready To Hit The Panic Button
The Nashville Predators were expecting better than a 4-7-1 record through the first month of the regular season, especially after spending $108.5MM to bring in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in free agency. Still, despite the poor start, it doesn’t appear the team is ready to hit the panic button yet.
The issues in Nashville fall on both sides of the ice. The offense hasn’t generated much enthusiasm with 2.42 GF/G and the defense hasn’t been able to hold down the fort with a 3.42 GA/G through 12 games. There are still some encouraging signs with the Predators sitting eighth in the league with a 52.8% CorsiFor% and the biggest disparity in actual goal differential minus expected goal differential according to Hockey Reference. Time will tell if Nashville has fundamental problems with their play or if they have to wait a bit longer for pucks to start bouncing their way.
Predators Sign Ozzy Wiesblatt To Two-Year Extension
The Predators have signed forward prospect Ozzy Wiesblatt to a two-year, two-way extension, per general manager Barry Trotz. The deal is worth $775K per season at the NHL level, but his minor-league salary wasn’t disclosed.
It’s a nice bit of organizational security for the 2020 first-round pick of the Sharks, who’s had a peculiar last few months. The 22-year-old winger was in his second season with the Sharks AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, last year. But after posting underwhelming rookie totals, he still struggled to pop off offensively on one of the AHL’s worst teams. After scoring three goals and 11 points in 34 games and struggling to get much playing time, the Sharks loaned him to Nashville’s affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, without rescinding his NHL rights.
Wiesblatt finished the season with a goal and five assists in 16 appearances for Milwaukee. He appeared to gain more confidence in postseason play, registering nine points in 15 Calder Cup Playoff games as the Admirals advanced to the Western Conference Final. That showing piqued the Preds’ interest enough to acquire his NHL rights in June, sending the signing rights to forward Egor Afanasyev to the Sharks in return.
Now in the final year of his entry-level contract, the Calgary native has two assists and a +1 rating in six appearances for Milwaukee in 2024-25. He’s still likely a ways away from seeing NHL action, but he’s done enough to secure an extended minor-league audition. He has plenty of runway to continue his development and rediscover the form that led him to churn out 25 goals and 70 points in 64 games in his draft year for WHL Prince Albert, convincing San Jose to select him with the final pick of the first round.
Wiesblatt will be 25 years old when his extension expires in the summer of 2027. He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at that time and will have two years of team control left.
Mark Jankowski Considered Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
Just before puck drop of tonight’s contest between the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers, the former announced an injury update for one of their forwards. The Predators shared Mark Jankowski would not suit up in tonight’s action as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Before tonight’s injury designation, Jankowski had suited up in all nine of the Predators’ games to start the season. He’s only tallied one assist while primarily playing left wing on the team’s third line averaging 12:43 of ice time per game. Juuso Pärssinen drew in for the injured Jankowski tonight marking his second game of the season and could draw in again on Saturday.
Nashville Predators Reassign Marc Del Gaizo
Oct. 30: It appears Del Gaizo’s demotion was a temporary one to bank cap space. He’s back up with the Preds today, the team announced.
Oct. 28: The Nashville Predators are switching things up on their blue line. The organization announced they reassigned defenseman Marc Del Gaizo to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
The transaction indicates the Predators are ready to re-insert defenseman Dante Fabbro into a starting role. Five defensemen on Nashville’s roster have played in each of the team’s eight games while Fabbro (five) and Del Gaizo (three) are the only two with less than eight.
Nashville won two out of the three games with Del Gaizo in the lineup with promising results from the defenseman. Del Gaizo failed to crack the scoresheet during this call-up while averaging 14:23 of ice time per game but his possession metrics proved encouraging. His 59.6% CorsiFor% and 0.8 E +/- according to Hockey Reference show that the Predators performed better with Del Gaizo on the ice despite the small sample size.
The results haven’t been as promising with Fabbro. The former 17th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft has been held scoreless after five games with Nashville this season and has produced relatively null possession metrics with a 51.6% CorsiFor% and 0.0 E +/- while averaging 13:24 of ice time.
He didn’t perform much better next to captain Roman Josi two nights ago although the team secured an overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Nashville must have seen something encouraging in Fabbro’s game giving them confidence to reassign Del Gaizo.
The latter will return to an Admirals team after already registering two games played earlier in the season. The team hasn’t missed him much with a promising 6-1-0-0 record to begin the 2024-25 AHL campaign.
Blackhawks, Predators Looking To Add Middle-Six Center
The Blackhawks and Predators are among the teams looking to add an impact piece down the middle to aid their second and third forward lines, writes Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Unluckily for them, it’s a quiet trade market, as acknowledged by Nashville general manager Barry Trotz on 102.5 FM The Game recently. “No one is trading anyone right now,” Trotz said, Friedman relayed. They’re also not the only game in town. Earlier this week, Flames GM Craig Conroy spoke to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis and acknowledged/confirmed a report from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli that he’s looking to give his upstart Calgary club a boost down the middle.
For Nashville, the need for a No. 2 behind Ryan O’Reilly is obvious. Almost nothing has gone right for the Predators, who are last in the Central Division with a 1-5-0 record after backing up the armored truck for Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei, and Steven Stamkos in free agency. But addressing what looked like the biggest hole on their roster heading into the season would likely still be a good place to start, at least once other teams start seriously considering moves.
There’s little reason to break up last year’s first line of O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, and Gustav Nyquist, which resulted in a career year for the latter and was one of the division’s best trios. That means marquee signings Marchessault and Stamkos slot in on the wings on line two, but who to center them was always a lingering question after their July 1 additions. Currently, veteran Colton Sissons is being tasked with the role, but as a checking center, he’s grossly miscast in a top-six role. He’s also been a complete non-factor to begin the season with no points and a -8 rating in six contests, averaging under 15 minutes per game. The Preds hoped Thomas Novak might also be an option, and while he’s done more offensively with three goals in six games, he’s 11 for 30 in the faceoff dot (36.7 FOW%).
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have deployed rotating personnel on their bottom three lines, with Connor Bedard off to a point-per-game start in his second NHL season. After playing most of last season on Bedard’s wing, Chicago wanted to move Philipp Kurashev back to the middle and cast him as their No. 2 center. It hasn’t worked out, though, as he’s already been a healthy scratch once and has just one goal and a -6 rating in six games. Andreas Athanasiou, a pending UFA, also doesn’t look like an option, with no points through five games. They have a few future options for the role internally, namely first-round picks Oliver Moore and Frank Nazar, but they’re understandably looking to take a small step forward out of their rebuild in the interim until they’re ready for that type of usage.
Predators Recall Zachary L’Heureux
The Predators have called up left winger Zachary L’Heureux from AHL Milwaukee, and line rushes indicate he’ll make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Bruins (per 102.5 The Game’s Nick Kieser). Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean was first to report the move, which doesn’t require a corresponding transaction with an open spot on the Preds’ 23-man roster. It appears he’s entering the lineup for Philip Tomasino, who’s headed to the press box after playing just 5:08 against the Red Wings on Saturday.
L’Heureux, 21, was the 27th overall pick in 2021. Most describe the 5’11”, 196-lb forward as an agitator, which might be a contender for hockey’s understatement of the year award. The Montreal native’s games played totals during his time in juniors with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads consistently remained low due to multiple lengthy suspensions, and he wound up posting a whopping 197 PIMs in 66 games with Milwaukee last year in his first professional season.
However, that doesn’t take away from the legitimate upside in L’Heureux’s offensive game. After a 19-goal, 48-point regular season, L’Heureux led the AHL postseason in goals with 10 in just 15 games as the Admirals lost the Western Conference Final to Coachella Valley. He also led all rookies in overall scoring with 15 points.
He was also a legitimate scoring threat in juniors, totaling 190 points in 167 career QMJHL games. In February of this year, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked L’Heureux sixth in Nashville’s prospect pool. He’s not cracking many league-wide Top 75 or Top 100 rankings, but he still carries great upside. He could be legitimately impactful in a fourth-line scenario long-term, even if his offensive game never pops at the NHL level.
L’Heureux is expected to suit up on a line with Michael McCarron and Cole Smith as the Preds look to record their first win of the season tomorrow and make progress in getting out of a 0-5-0 hole.
Predators Recall Marc Del Gaizo
The Predators have added some extra depth on their back end heading into today’s game against Detroit. The team announced that they have recalled blueliner Marc Del Gaizo from AHL Milwaukee.
The 25-year-old made his NHL debut last season, getting into nine games with Nashville where he had three assists, 10 blocks, and 20 hits while averaging 16:28 per night. Del Gaizo spent most of the year in the minors with the Admirals, notching eight goals and 26 helpers in 60 contests.
With Spencer Stastney away from the team indefinitely for personal reasons, Del Gaizo was expected to be Nashville’s seventh defenseman heading into the season but the team elected to carry just the minimum of six. That allowed Del Gaizo to get into Milwaukee’s first two contests this season where he has been held off the scoresheet.
On the surface, it’s a bit strange and risky for a team to have only carried the minimum number of blueliners thus far, especially with the team projected to have nearly $5.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. However, $4MM of that space is in jeopardy with Ryan Johansen appealing his termination from Philadelphia. If that amount was restored by an arbitrator, then Nashville’s cap room would be more limited and the savings from Del Gaizo’s early demotion would become more important.
Now, at a minimum, Nashville has a bit of injury insurance for their back end with Del Gaizo on the roster. He’s on a one-year, two-way deal worth the minimum $775K salary in the NHL and is on track to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent next summer.
Matt Murray Re-Assigned To AHL Milwaukee
- The Predators have returned goaltender Matt Murray to AHL Milwaukee, relays Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean (Twitter link). The 26-year-old was recalled on Wednesday with Juuse Saros listed as day-to-day so it appears that Saros should be good to at least dress as the backup on Saturday against Detroit. Murray had a 3.02 GAA with a .896 SV% in 31 games in the minors last season and signed a one-year, two-way deal with Nashville this past summer.