Predators Notes: Marchessault, McCarron, GM Search
There is a willingness from both the Predators and winger Jonathan Marchessault to see if something could happen on the trade front, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column. The 35-year-old is in the second season of a five-year contract that carries a $5.5MM AAV. Marchessault has battled injuries this season and has been a little quiet when he has played, notching 10 goals and seven assists in 38 games. However, he was one of the few players who lived up to expectations last season when he collected 21 goals and 35 helpers to finish second on the team in scoring.
While a $5.5MM cap charge for a top-six forward in an increasing cap environment is reasonable, there will be teams questioning just how long he’ll be able to stay in that role which will largely dictate the viability or lack thereof of a swap. Marchessault has a full no-move clause which gives him control over where he could be moved to with Friedman noting that one particular priority for the winger is going somewhere with strong minor hockey infrastructure for his children.
More from Nashville:
- On Friday, the league announced that winger Michael McCarron was fined just over $2.3K for a slash on Washington blueliner Trevor van Riemsdyk on Thursday night. The amount is the maximum allowable under the CBA, amounting to the lower of $5K or one-half of one day’s salary, in this case the latter. The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
- When GM Barry Trotz announced he’d be retiring, the Predators appointed CAA Executive Search to assist in the search for his replacement. However, following concerns from the NHLPA about potential conflicts of interest (CAA Hockey also represents 153 active NHL players), CAA has withdrawn from the agreement with the team, reports Alex Silverman of the Sports Business Journal. The NHLPA’s rules governing agencies prohibit those agencies from representing NHL players and also assisting in executive searches, even if they’re run by two completely distinct elements of that firm. Trotz remains in place as the GM for the time being and is expected to take the team through the trade deadline and beyond that until a replacement is found. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean adds (Twitter link) that the search will now be done in-house.
Predators Reassign Reid Schaefer
2/6/26: The Predators reassigned Schaefer to AHL Milwaukee today. He dressed for each of Nashville’s last two games, skating in just under seven minutes of ice time per contest.
2/4/26: The Nashville Predators have added some forward depth to their lineup ahead of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild. According to a team announcement, the Predators have recalled forward Reid Schaefer from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.
Schaefer, 22, is viewed as one of the better prospects in Nashville’s system. He was originally selected with the 32nd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers moved off him relatively quickly, trading him to the Predators a year later in the deal that brought defenseman Mattias Ekholm to Alberta.
Since then, he’s been a relatively solid secondary contributor with AHL Milwaukee. Debuting in the 2023-24 season, Schaefer has registered 21 goals and 53 points in 103 games in the game’s second-highest league. That averages out to just over a point every two games.
Being nearly a point-per-game player with the Admirals this season, the Predators believed it was time to allow Schaefer the opportunity to contribute at the NHL level. The Edmonton, Alberta native was recalled for the first time in late November and remained with the team for nearly two months.
He didn’t make too much noise during his first stint in the NHL, though it wasn’t all bad. Schaefer scored four goals and six points across 25 games with a -9 rating, averaging 10:30 of ice time per contest. He showed flashes of decent physicality, averaging 2.5 hits per game, and was efficient on offense, shooting at a 17.4% clip.
Considering the recent news that Barry Trotz will be stepping down as the team’s General Manager, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Schaefer get another extended look at the NHL level. Depending on how the team approaches the upcoming trade deadline, the next leader of the front office will want a better understanding of what the team has in some of the younger players.
Wood Assigned To Milwaukee
- The most notable prospect headed to the minors is Nashville Predators winger Matthew Wood, per a team release. Wood has spent the bulk of the season with the NHL club after a call-up in late October. He has scored nine goals and 17 points in 46 games, enough to rank seventh among all Predators forwards in scoring. Wood also scored one goal in the first two AHL games of his career earlier this season. He joined the Predators’ roster at the end of the 2024-25 campaign after posting 39 points in as many games with the University of Minnesota. Now, the volume-shooter could find a way to rediscover his scoring touch while also buoying the Admirals’ roster.
Latest On Predators GM Search
As the Nashville Predators take first steps into their general manager search, following Barry Trotz’s sudden resignation announcement earlier this week, an interesting roadblock emerged. According to Insider Frank Seravalli, the NHL Players Association is reviewing Creative Artists Agency, who were hired by the franchise to conduct their search.
The agency also represents NHL players, and therefore may not be permitted for involvement in front office personnel processes, even if coming from a different arm of the agency. It is considered a potential conflict of interest. CAA’s website shows a long list of NHL players represented, headlined by Sidney Crosby, not to mention Predators cornerstone Filip Forsberg and numerous other stars of the game.
A somewhat similar situation occurred in 2023, also reported by Seravalli back then, when the NHLPA investigated former Maple Leafs and current Penguins GM Kyle Dubas’ relationship with an agency connected to Auston Matthews and other NHLers, which did not lead to violations. It’s unclear what will arise from the situation with CAA and the Predators, but worth monitoring nonetheless.
Latest On Michael McCarron
Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar told reporters earlier today, including Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports, that Logan O’Connor has resumed skating and is progressing. Bednar also emphasized that the upcoming Olympic break will benefit the forward as he works toward a debut this season.
The 29-year-old has been out long term after undergoing hip surgery in June, the second such procedure since 2024. Signed to an extension through the 2030-31 season, when healthy, the Avalanche are banking on the undrafted O’Connor to be a relentless bottom six forward with strong defensive capabilities and penalty killing. He is firmly a 20-30 point contributor at this point, but not needed for more on the high flying team.
Even without him, the Avalanche rank comfortably in first place, and O’Connor will be a classic case of “Trade Deadline at Home”, rejoining the team just in time for a run this spring.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is not expected to return tomorrow against his former club at Winnipeg, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet. The sniper will have to look past the Olympic break to make a return, after undergoing surgery in October, and not playing since. In just five games prior to going down, Laine recorded just one helper, as he continues to have highs and lows. The 27-year-old will be in a fascinating spot once healthy, as Montreal is holding firm playoff position without him and may not be so keen to shake up their lineup. On the flip side, the former 40-goal-scorer is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and will be anxious to showcase his worth for a new opportunity, likely elsewhere.
- Nashville Predators pending free agent Michael McCarron has interest from “a lot” of teams, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, shared on yesterday’s episode of the Real Kyper & Bourne podcast. The 30-year-old was listed as a possible trade candidate last week, and now a market is taking shape which may prove enough to sway Nashville to part with their respected grinder. A face-off specialist standing at 6’6″ with serious physicality and just a $900k cap hit, the former first-round pick of Montreal isn’t necessarily a “must” trade, given his improvement as a Predator, but GM Barry Trotz, who made headlines with his sudden resignation announcement yesterday, would be wise to capitalize on a seller’s market where a second or third round pick isn’t entirely out of possibility.
Predators Reassign Andreas Englund
Feb. 3rd: According to the AHL transactions log, the Predators have returned Englund to AHL Milwaukee. The news indicates that blueliner Nick Blankenburg has recovered from his illness and will return to the lineup tomorrow.
Jan. 27th: The Predators announced today that they’ve recalled defender Andreas Englund from AHL Milwaukee. They’ve been carrying an open roster spot for quite some time, so no corresponding transaction is required.
Englund has spent virtually the entire year in the minors after clearing waivers during training camp, aside from a one-day recall earlier this month that saw him serve as a healthy scratch for a Jan. 16 game against the Avalanche. The veteran of 197 NHL games landed in Nashville midway through last season as a waiver claim and played 24 games down the stretch for the Preds, even earning a one-way extension to stick around. The subsequent offseason additions of Nicolas Hague and Nicklaus Perbix, though, left him without an NHL job.
An enforcing shutdown defender who checks in at 6’3″ and 201 lbs, Englund now comes up after Hague landed a week-to-week designation with his lower-body injury. He’ll be serving as the Preds’ press box extra for the foreseeable future. In 34 games with Milwaukee this season, he’s posted six points and a +1 rating with 44 penalty minutes.
Nashville is Englund’s fifth NHL club. The 30-year-old was a second-round pick by the Senators in 2014 and stuck around in a depth role there until becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first time in 2022. He’s since made stops with the Avalanche, Blackhawks, Kings, and now Predators. He’s mostly been an AHL option throughout his professional career but briefly surfaced as a full-time option for L.A. in 2023-24, playing in all 82 regular-season games.
Predators GM Barry Trotz To Step Down
In a notable announcement from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Barry Trotz will resign as the Nashville Predators’ General Manager later today. Friedman noted that since no successor has been decided upon yet, Trotz will remain as the General Manager until a replacement is found.
Until the Predators have their press conference formalizing the move, there’s no word whether Trotz will retire or continue his professional career in a different capacity. If it is the end of his hockey career, he’ll leave as one of the most celebrated sports figures in Nashville.
His first year with the team was in the 1997-98 season when he was hired as a scout. He didn’t last long in that role, as he was elevated to the team’s head coaching position ahead of the 1998-99 season. The Predators didn’t know it at the time, but Trotz would become one of the league’s longest-tenured coaches.
Serving as Nashville’s head coach for 15 years, Trotz guided the Predators to a 557-479-60-100 record in 1,196 games. Throughout the last decade of his run as the team’s bench boss, the Predators made the playoffs seven times. Unfortunately, they failed to advance past the Western Conference semifinals, being ousted by the Vancouver Canucks and Phoenix Coyotes in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
At the end of the 2013-14 season, Nashville announced that it wouldn’t be retaining Trotz for a 16th season. A month and a half later, Trotz was named head coach of the Washington Capitals, where he worked as a scout from 1988 to 1991.
His time in the District of Columbia was arguably the most successful of his career, finishing with a 206-89-34 record in 328 games. The Capitals won the Metropolitan Division in three out of four years under Trotz’s tutelage, and he guided the team to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2018. Despite the impressive climax of his tenure in Washington, he resigned as head coach later that summer due to a contract dispute.
Trotz moved quickly, signing on as the New York Islanders’ head coach for the 2018-19 season. The team reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021, but relieved Trotz of his duties after failing to qualify for the postseason in 2022. Being his last coaching experience, Trotz is fifth all-time in coaching wins with 914.
Without a home for the 2022-23 NHL season, Trotz moved to the front office, rejoining the Predators as a special advisor with the understanding he would become the team’s next General Manager after David Poile retired.
Despite the legendary coaching career, it’s safe to say that Trotz’s career as an executive hasn’t gone as well. Back in May, PHR’s Josh Cybulski analyzed many of Trotz’s head-scratching moves with the Predators.
It got off to a relatively good start, ridding the team of high-priced contracts for Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. The team used that newfound cap space rather quickly, signing Ryan O’Reilly, Gustav Nyquist, and Luke Schenn to multi-year deals.
Since then, rather than targeting veterans to fill a serious need, Trotz has seemed to throw money at the wall to see what sticks. Highlighted by the summer ahead of the 2024-25 season, the Predators signed Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, and Jonathan Marchessault to big-ticket contracts. Infamously, the Predators immediately bottomed out, finishing in 30th place with a 30-44-8 record.
He hasn’t done much to alter the roster in any meaningful way, since. Yes, the Predators have added a few younger players with good potential, but they’ve continued to add veterans like Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, Nicklaus Perbix, and Nicolas Hague, showing little internal direction.
Whether he faced top-down pressure from ownership or if he’s making the decision entirely on his own volition, it’s clear that Nashville is looking for a new voice to lead the front office. It allows the franchise to implement a firm refresh after being governed by the Poile/Trotz regime for the last quarter-century.
Nick Blankenburg Out With Illness
- Tied with the New York Islanders at the time of writing, the Nashville Predators are without one of their most underrated defenseman tonight. The Predators announced that Nick Blankenburg would miss tonight’s contest due to illness. Already setting career-highs across the board, Blankenburg sits eighth on the team in scoring with six goals and 21 points in 43 games.
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Predators Open To Trading Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron
Despite remaining in the conversation for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators are still expected to sell off a few pieces leading up to the trade deadline. In the most recent rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the Predators are assessing the market for forwards Michael Bunting and Michael McCarron.
If Nashville ultimately trades Bunting, it’ll be the third consecutive year he’s been moved at the trade deadline. He was included in the 2024 trade that sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes and the 2025 deal that sent Thomas Novak to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Relatively recently, some pundits have equated Bunting’s perceived trade value to Kiefer Sherwood. Sherwood was recently traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the San Jose Sharks for a pair of second-round picks and a low-level prospect, without an extension in place. It’s not a direct comparison due to Bunting’s lower physicality compared to Sherwood. Still, they have fairly similar scoring contributions despite Bunting averaging nearly three minutes fewer per night.
Despite his 12-goal, 29-point campaign this season, there shouldn’t be any expectations for Bunting to contribute on a team’s top line, particularly a postseason-bound one. He is likely to enter the secondary market for contenders interested in players like Evander Kane.
Meanwhile, McCarron is much more of a physical presence that contending teams could use in their bottom-six. Throughout the last three years, McCarron has scored 20 goals and 46 points in 196 games with a 53.6% faceoff percentage, adding 439 hits.
Despite the value he could provide, he shouldn’t be too expensive to acquire. McCarron is a 30-year-old pending unrestricted free agent who’s only earning a salary of $900K. Any contending team looking to strengthen its fourth line ahead of the playoffs may consider a player like McCarron.
Transaction Notes: Chrona, Makiniemi, Senyshyn
Nashville Predators AHL goalie Magnus Chrona will head overseas to the SHL next season, according to a report from Aftonbladet’s Simon Eld. Per the report, Chrona has signed a contract with Swedish club Brynäs, and will join the team starting in the 2026-27. The 25-year-old is currently playing out a one-year, two-way contract with Nashville, and is set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent unless he plays in 19 NHL games this season. Getting into that many NHL games at this point appears to be almost impossible for Chrona, as veteran Matt Murray appears to be clearly ahead of him in terms of who would receive a recall to Nashville in the event of an injury to Juuse Saros or Justus Annunen.
An NCAA national champion and former NCHC Goalie of the Year, Chrona has had an up-and-down pro career to this point. He was forced into some difficult on-ice situations in his rookie season as a member of the Sharks, and was dealt to Nashville in the summer of 2024 as part of the trade that sent Yaroslav Askarov to San Jose. He’s been the No. 2 goalie for the AHL Milwaukee Admirals since the deal, playing behind Murray. He posted a .903 save percentage in 30 games last season, and has duplicated that mark in 13 AHL games this season. Looking ahead to next season, one wonders if either goalie playing for the Predators’ ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators, might get a shot to earn a regular role in Milwaukee. 2019 fifth-rounder Ethan Haider has a .926 save percentage in 16 ECHL games this season, and won his lone AHL start of the year. 23-year-old T.J. Semptimphelter, a former Hobey Baker nominee, has a .942 save percentage through the first 18 games of his ECHL career. Both players are playing out one-year contracts this season.
Other notable recent transactions from around the hockey world:
- Another former Sharks netminder signed a contract this week, with Finland’s Eetu Makiniemi signing a one-year contract extension with his current club, Liiga’s TPS Turku. Makiniemi played in two NHL games for the Sharks in 2022-23 before playing through the 2024-25 season at the AHL level. He elected to leave the AHL after playing just five games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, and has been solid for TPS. Playing in a tandem with 20-year-old Noa Vali, Makiniemi has a .903 save percentage in 22 games. He’s been the more reliable netminder in the tandem for TPS this season, as Vali has an .887 save percentage through 20 games this year.
- 2015 Boston Bruins first-round pick Zachary Senyshyn has agreed to a contract termination with his DEL club, the Schwenninger Wild Wings. Senyshyn was in the middle of a third consecutive DEL campaign with the club, where he has been a reliable top-six goal scorer. Senyshyn, who has over 300 games of AHL experience, left North America at the end of 2022-23 to sign in the DEL, and he has helped the Wild Wings reach at least the playoff qualifiers in both of his prior seasons in Germany. He’ll now look to continue his career elsewhere, and there is no word at this point as to where he might end up signing. He had 10 goals and 15 points in 31 DEL games this season.