The Nashville Predators are going to make a trade deadline acquisition no one expected, as they announced Mike Fisher would sign in the next few weeks and join the team for the last part of the season. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic though believes that they might not be done there.
On TSN’s Insider Trading last night, LeBrun reported that Nashville would still like a top-six winger if possible, though there is an obvious lack of urgency in GM David Poile. The Predators will strike only if there is a deal they really like, especially after the addition of Fisher improves their forward group.
- The Department of Player Safety will be busy today, announcing that they have a hearing scheduled for Buffalo Sabres forward Johan Larsson after a cross-check last night against Florida. Interestingly, the DoPS did not make a similar announcement surrounding Radko Gudas, despite many believing that his interference penalty on the Devils’ Kyle Palmieri rose to the level of supplementary discipline.
- Goaltender interference again took center stage in the NHL last night, as players, coaches and executives all spoke out about their frustration with the rulings lately. The Winnipeg Jets were understandably fuming after a goal was allowed in last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, in which Connor Hellebuyck was hit in the head with a stick. Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues admitted to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required) that he has no idea what the rules are now, and couldn’t help his coaching staff decide to challenge a play against the Bruins last night.
Intent or not, the Gudas hit looked deserving of a 1 game suspension. I mean there’s no reason that he would need to leave his feet there and it didn’t look like he tried to avoid the contact.