Predators Recall Tommy Novak
Dec. 27: As expected, the Predators have recalled Novak from Milwaukee today.
Dec. 24: Tommy Novak did well in his first recall of the season but, at least for the time being, he’s off to the minors as the Predators announced that they’ve loaned the center back to Milwaukee of the AHL.
The 25-year-old was recalled back on Monday and picked up a point in each of his three games with a goal and two assists while logging a little over 13 minutes per game. While it’s a small sample size, that’s a nice improvement compared to the goal and six helpers he had in 27 contests with Nashville last season. Novak has also been quite productive in the minors with the Admirals this season, collecting 11 goals and 15 assists in 25 contests, making him Milwaukee’s leading scorer.
As Novak was recalled after December 11 and didn’t require waivers to go back down, Nashville was permitted to assign him today even with the roster freeze in effect. Considering how well he did this past week, there’s a good chance that he’ll be recalled in advance of their game on Tuesday against Dallas. If that happens, the Predators will save about $12K in cap space with this move.
Ryan McDonagh To Return For Predators; Jordan Gross Sent To AHL
Dec 21: McDonagh has now been officially activated from injured reserve and will play tonight.
Dec 20: After staying up with the Nashville Predators on an emergency loan for more than two weeks, Jordan Gross has been returned to the AHL. The team had recalled him when moving Ryan McDonagh to injured reserve, and he played seven games since then.
With McDonagh returning tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks and Alexandre Carrier getting back in the lineup last night, Gross is no longer needed at the NHL level.
The 33-year-old McDonagh has been out since December 2 after taking a puck to the face and is practicing with a full cage as he gets ready to return. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was averaging more than 20 minutes for the Predators when he went down, and had recorded six assists in 23 games.
While he is no longer the two-way force that dominated for the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning in his prime, McDonagh is still a very capable defender that should only strengthen a Predators team coming off a statement win over the Edmonton Oilers last night.
Coincidentally, Gross actually scored his third NHL goal in that game, as three of the four tallies from Nashville were from their defense. The 27-year-old will likely be back up at some point, should the team face any further injuries from this point.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Novak, Sharks
The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Alex Ovechkin taking the top spot. The legendary Washington Capitals forward became just the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals, and the third to record 18 consecutive 20+ goal seasons. Gordie Howe, ahead of him on both of those lists, is the target now, as Ovechkin’s next goal will tie him with Mr. Hockey at 801.
Second and third place went to Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and Mats Zuccarello of the Minnesota Wild, who both had eight points on the week. Thompson, 25, continues what has become one of the most impressive breakouts in recent memory, with 25 goals and 49 points this season. Through his first six seasons of professional hockey, Thompson scored 44 goals at all levels combined (including playoffs). Since the start of 2021-22, he now has 63. Zuccarello meanwhile just continues to impress in Minnesota. The undrafted, 5’8″, 35-year-old playmaker now has 36 points in 31 games and is well on his way to another outstanding campaign.
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Tommy Novak from the AHL, and he’ll get quite the opportunity. Team reporter Emma Lingan tweets that Novak will center Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund while also getting a chance on the powerplay. The 25-year-old has 26 points in 25 games for the Milwaukee Admirals this season after getting his first chance in the NHL during 2021-22.
- The San Jose Sharks, off today after a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames last night, have sent Nick Cicek and C.J. Suess to the minor leagues. With Tomas Hertl likely facing a suspension, it wouldn’t be surprising to see additional moves tomorrow ahead of the rematch in this odd two-game, no-travel series with the Flames.
Nashville Predators Re-Assign Kevin Gravel, Roland McKeown To AHL
The early roster shuffling on this Sunday morning continues with the Nashville Predators, who announced they’ve re-assigned defensemen Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. Both players had been recalled on an emergency basis on December 12th. No corresponding move was announced, but with Jeremy Lauzon‘s return last night, Nashville did have flexibility to send a defenseman down.
Gravel, 30, certainly didn’t go unused during his stint with Nashville. The defenseman made his Predators debut, getting into four games this week, averaging 14:38 while dishing out seven hits and blocking six shots. These games represented Gravel’s first NHL action since he appeared in three with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019-20. A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2010, the St. Cloud State alum has spent the bulk of his NHL career to date with the Kings (70 games) and the Edmonton Oilers (36 games).
A fellow Kings draft pick, McKeown, 26, also made his Predators debut this week, getting into three games, averaging 14:33 over that time. A longtime AHL veteran, this was McKeown’s first appearance in the NHL since his only other stint: 10 games with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017-18. In the time since, the defenseman has appeared with the Charlotte Checkers, Colorado Eagles, and the Admirals in the AHL, as well as 24 games with Skelleftea AIK in the SHL during the 2019-20 season. Through 22 games for Milwaukee this season, McKeown has eight points along with a very healthy +12 rating.
Nashville Predators Make Several Roster Moves
After losing Eeli Tolvanen on waivers, the Nashville Predators recalled Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to help their bruised and battered defense corps. The team also announced updated timelines for two players with upper-body injuries. Alexandre Carrier will be out week-to-week, while Jeremy Lauzon is now listed as day-to-day.
Adding help on defense is one of the biggest reasons why the Predators were forced to waive Tolvanen in the first place, though neither one of the players coming up should be expected to make a huge impact. Gravel is the more experienced of the two with 109 NHL games under his belt, though his last appearance was in 2019-20. The 6’4″ left-shot defenseman can be a useful penalty-killing option but offers almost no offense, with just one goal and 12 assists in his career.
McKeown, meanwhile has a bit more well-rounded game, though it has landed him only ten NHL appearances so far. The 26-year-old was the 50th overall pick in 2014 and played all ten of those games with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017-18. He is the right-shot that can help replace Carrier, though certainly won’t be able to fill his shoes entirely.
Seattle Kraken Claim Eeli Tolvanen
As expected, Eeli Tolvanen‘s time with the Nashville Predators is over (at least for now). The former top prospect has been claimed off waivers by the Seattle Kraken, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Given Seattle’s place in the standings, quite a few teams passed on the chance to take the 23-year-old sniper. Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside tweets that the Predators’ front office was “pretty confident” that Tolvanen would clear, likely because of the $1.45MM cap hit that Seattle will be taking on in full. Signed to a three-year, $4.35MM deal in 2021, Tolvanen has just two goals and four points this season in 13 games. He hasn’t played since November 19, and even then was seeing limited minutes.
Expansion clubs are often where a player can rejuvenate their career, though, and perhaps the Kraken can do it for Tolvanen, the 30th overall pick in 2017. A rather similar player, Daniel Sprong, had experienced his own rollercoaster ride through waivers and trades before arriving in Seattle, where he seems to have found a home with 15 points in 20 games so far this season.
There is no shortage of skill in Tolvanen, who possesses one of the hardest shots in the league and has scored at every level – including the NHL. In his rookie season, he had 11 goals and 22 points in just 40 games, totals that were only barely matched in his sophomore year.
It is important to remember that several teams could not have claimed Tolvanen because of cap space, and the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t have a contract slot available. Still, it is somewhat surprising that he reached the Kraken, who were 23rd in line.
Eeli Tolvanen Placed On Waivers
According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Nashville Predators have placed former top prospect Eeli Tolvanen on waivers this afternoon. While the merits of putting the once-elite prospect on waivers could be debated, the move is also interesting in that it comes roughly an hour after the team learned it would be losing forward Michael McCarron for an indefinite period of time as he enters the Players Assistance Program. No corresponding move related to either player, has been announced at this point.
The 30th overall selection in 2017 by Nashville, Tolvanen quickly became one of the game’s more exciting prospects in short order. Considered a pure sniper, the winger was expected to change the face of Nashville’s offense and add a compliment to already-established stars like Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Johansen. Now 23, Tolvanen hasn’t exactly been a bad NHLer, but hasn’t lived up to the hype that had been surrounding him when he came into the league. This season, the forward has four points, two goals and two assists, in 13 games. For his 135 game NHL career, he has 25 goals and 26 assists.
Seeing a player with Tolvanen’s career path hit waivers surely isn’t unprecedented, however some may argue that the decision feels a bit soon, given his age and especially his track record of performance at the NHL level. In other words, though he’s not the player many were hoping for, he has shown he can certainly play at this level and at 23, there could be room to grow from it. Tolvanen’s placement does feel similar to the New York Islanders waiving of Kieffer Bellows earlier this year. Once one of their top prospects, Bellows put up 19 points in 45 games last season, then after suiting up for one game with the Islanders in 2022-23, was placed on waivers, claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Michael McCarron Enters Players Assistance Program
The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced this afternoon that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron has entered the Players Assistance Program effective immediately. McCarron will be away from the team for an indefinite amount of time while he receives the care he needs through the program.
McCarron will be eligible to return to on-ice activity once cleared by the program administrators, per the release. His care will be administered pursuant to the NHL/NHLPA assistance program.
The 27-year-old, a former first-round pick, has played parts of six seasons with Nashville and the Montreal Canadiens. The forward has split this season between the AHL and NHL, last playing on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Everyone here at PHR wishes McCarron the very best while he gets the help he needs.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Nashville Predators
With American Thanksgiving now behind us and the holiday season coming up, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Nashville Predators.
Who are the Predators thankful for?
There isn’t much that instantly stands out from this Predators season for the franchise to be thankful for. While the Predators seemed to cruise to another playoff spot last year, powered by the heroics of Juuse Saros, the early part of this year has been more of a challenge. The Predators are 12-10-2 with 26 points, just a single point behind the Minnesota Wild for the Central Division’s third playoff spot.
That on its own isn’t a bad spot for the Predators to be, but it’s the way they’ve gotten there that’s raised eyebrows. Outside of a core four players who are lugging the Predators to wins each night (Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, and Mikael Granlund), the number of players on the Predators roster who are playing to or above expectations is decidedly slim. Due to those circumstances, then, it gives the Predators all the more reason to be thankful for their leading scorer.
The Predators made a major investment in Forsberg last summer, committing $8.5MM against the cap per year until the summer of 2030. Some questioned that investment in Forsberg seeing that in his platform year he flew past his career highs in production, raising the issue of if his brilliant 2021-22 performance was the exception rather than the rule.
So far this year, Forsberg has been exactly what the Predators wanted him to be when they signed him to that major extension. In 24 games Forsberg leads the team with 23 points, and if he does end up finishing the season around a point-per-game mark, the Predators will surely consider that $8.5MM cap hit money well spent.
What are the Predators thankful for?
Struggling Central Division teams.
While the Predators have had a bit of a slower start than they’d likely have hoped to have, they remain just a single point out of the Central Division’s last playoff spot. Thankfully for Nashville, other teams expected to be their major competition for a Central Division playoff spot have had their own struggles to start the season.
The Minnesota Wild, the current owners of that last playoff spot, have seen major regression from important centers such as Ryan Hartman and Frederick Gaudreau. That, combined with lackluster play from starting netminder Marc-Andre Fleury and some other underperformances have led to their regression from their 2021-22 form, where they were one of the more dominant teams in the NHL.
The St. Louis Blues were also expected to be a Central Division contender, but their season has been a disaster so far. The Blues are 3-7 in their last ten games and have been giving up goals at an alarmingly high rate. The Colorado Avalanche, the defending Stanley Cup champions, were rightly expected to be a powerhouse team but have thus far seen injuries lay waste to their hopes for a dominant regular season.
So while the Predators haven’t had the start they’ve wanted, their competitors have left them room to still find their way to Stanley Cup contention. That’s definitely something to be thankful for.
What would the Predators be even more thankful for?
Better play from Saros.
As previously mentioned, a major factor in the Predators’ run to the playoffs last season was the stellar play they received from Saros, their starting netminder.
In 67 games played Saros had a 38-25-3 record with a .918 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against-average, a performance that made him a Vezina Trophy finalist.
This season, Saros’ play has been more uneven. In 18 games Saros has a 9-7-2 record, a .905 save percentage, and a 3.05 goals-against-average.
The Predators are still treading water in the Western Conference’s playoff race, but in order to really build positive momentum they’ll need Saros to play a bit better than he’s done so far this year.
What should be on the Predators’ holiday wishlist?
A productive top-six center.
In the press conference announcing Ryan Johansen‘s eight-year, $64MM extension in 2017, Predators general manager David Poile referenced the rarity of number-one centers across the league and the difficulty associated with acquiring one as a major part of the justification for Johansen’s hefty extension. At that point, Johansen was coming off of a season where he scored 61 points, and the Predators had just made a run to the Stanley Cup Final.
A few years later, though, it became clear that Johansen was more of a second-line center than a true top-of-the-lineup pivot. Johansen hasn’t crossed the 70-point mark since 2014-15, and recognizing his team’s need for a truly dynamic center, Poile signed Matt Duchene to a seven-year deal with an AAV identical to Johansen’s.
While Duchene has undoubtedly been productive (he scored 43 goals and 86 points last season) he’s been largely shifted away from the center position in recent years. So, the Predators’ longstanding need for a top-of-the-lineup center has persisted into this year as well. As things currently stand, rookie Juuso Parssinen, with a grand total of ten NHL games to his name, is the Predators’ first-line center.
Poile signed his team’s core to extensions with the idea that the Predators would be trying to compete for the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship. Unless Parssinen manages to author a rookie season for the ages, the Predators will be in the position of needing to win a Stanley Cup without a true top-line center. That’s an extremely challenging prospect, and the lack of a top centerman is something that has doomed many a Stanley Cup hopeful.
Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ryan McDonagh Placed On Injured Reserve
One of the trades that probably didn’t get as much attention as it should have this offseason was one that sent Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators. Essentially a salary dump by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the 33-year-old defenseman was acquired for almost nothing, despite being one of the most experienced postseason players in the league.
Though it got off to a rocky start, the Predators-McDonagh partnership has been strong of late, resulting in a 7-2-1 record in their last ten. Unfortunately, things will stop there, at least for a little while. McDonagh has been placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss two to four weeks. Jordan Gross has been recalled in his place.
McDonagh is dealing with an upper-body injury, taking more than 20 minutes per night out of the Nashville lineup. The veteran was facing all of the top competition and logging heavy defensive deployment, while anchoring the team’s penalty kill.
Without him, even more responsibility will likely be placed on Mattias Ekholm, in order to keep Roman Josi free to deliver offensive results. In Friday’s game, when McDonagh left early, Alexandre Carrier also saw a season-high 21:39, a good sign that he will be leaned on heavily in the interim.