Predators Place P.K. Subban On IR

After reporting yesterday that superstar defenseman P.K. Subban’s recent absence from the Nashville Predators lineup may be more than just the “day-to-day” injury that the team had announced, it now appears that his condition is in fact more serious. The Predators placed Subban on the injured reserve today and will re-evaluate his condition in two to three weeks.

Subban has missed the Predators’ last seven games, and now it appears that he could be out for much longer. The injury in question is a herniated disk in his back, and Subban met with doctors this morning for further evaluation before Nashville made their decision. As Elliotte Friedman opined yesterday, the options with a herniated disk are either rest, in hopes that the body will heal itself, or surgery. It seems likely, given that there has been no word of surgery yet and that any procedure would substantially lengthen the recovery period, that the Predators have instead chosen to simply rest Subban. The multi-week recovery time line will allow for Subban to receive ample rest and work his way back at his own pace without potentially impairing the Predators’ season with the much longer absence that would have resulted from surgery.

Thus far in his first season in Nashville, after being traded by the Montreal Canadiens in a blockbuster swap for Shea Weber this summer, Subban has 17 points in 29 games. When healthy, Subban has looked good and continues to carve out a role for himself on his new team, which relies heavily on puck movement by defensemen. However, the Predators have been spectacularly underwhelming thus far in 2016-17. A popular dark horse Stanley Cup pick this summer, a very slow start to the season and an inability to string together more than two or three wins at time has crippled those title chances. Nashville is 16-14-6 and currently sits 13 points back of the Chicago Blackhawks in the Central Division. If the playoffs started today, the Predators would not even have a chance to compete out West. While easing Subban back into the lineup is the safe and smart play, they certainly would like to see him back sooner rather than later if they want a shot at the 2017 postseason.