The Nashville Predators have announced that defenseman Luke Schenn will be out long-term after sustaining a lower-body injury. Schenn has been out of action since the team’s season opener. He played 15 minutes in the inaugural game, recording four hits, a blocked shot, and no points.
The source of Schenn’s lower-body injury hasn’t been narrowed down, but it will hold him out until closer to December. The Predators signed Schenn to a three-year, $8.25MM contract this summer, carrying an annual cap hit of $2.75MM. Schenn earned the deal after a strong 2022-23 season, split between the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Schenn played 70 games throughout the season, netting four goals and 22 points. But it was Schenn’s extra stats that stood out, with the defender recording 318 hits and 81 shot blocks throughout the year. His postseason earned a lot of attention as well, with Schenn showing out as a stalwart defender and a major piece of the Leafs first-round series win. Schenn added 54 hits in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games, the second-most “hits-per-game” of the postseason.
Dante Fabbro has slotted into the Predators lineup in place of Schenn. Fabbro appeared in 79 games for the Predators last season, recording 11 points and 50 penalty minutes. This was a step down in scoring from Fabbro’s 2021-22 campaign, where he netted 24 points in 66 games. The 25-year-old defender has tallied a total of 256 games and 59 points through his career so far, entering his sixth year of NHL experience.
The Predators are 1-3-0 to start the season, allowing an average of 3.5 goals-against. If and how they are able to reduce that number, despite being down their latest blue line signing, should be telling for the club.
Preds look well on their way to getting a top 10 pick next summer. Whether that was the gameplan is unknown, but there you have it. :/
@Gbear – I take full blame for the jinx I put on them, when I said they had a good, but very short, stretch in the game against the Bolts. Sometimes you just need to double-check the old work boots before going inside. :(
Preds fans: Oh boy, we’ll finally get our franchise center!
Barry Trotz: With the first pick of the 2024 NHL entry draft, the Nashville Predators are pleased to select, from HC Plzen of Czechia, defenseman Adam Jiricek
@KRB – GMBT – “We’re going to try to convert him to center, but there’ll be a lot of work under the hood to get there. In other words, that finely-tuned V8 will be reworked into a 1967-era VW 4-banger. We will call it the sound of the new and improved power forward.” ;)
I trust even Trotz wouldn’t pull a Poile and do that. But he did sign Schenn for 3 years, so who really knows. :/
@Gbear – I think Pete & Hal are in for a long year, unless Andrew can steer the train away from the oncoming cliff.
@Mac – Coach AB said he liked alot of what he saw despite the score (insert face palm). :/
I admire your optimism, Mr. Bear, but if you think David Poile isn’t standing over Trotz’s shoulder, I got a few late round draft picks (guaranteed top liners) to sell you.
BTW Thank you for Hardy Haman-Aktell. We really like him in DC. We expect him to get used to North American ice in Hershey for about half a season, then be a part of our Top Six for the next 7 years, or so.
@Gbear – I was hoping he wouldn’t go down spin-zone boulevard with junk like that. Reminds me of this back-and-forth from a famous movie —
“Could be worse!”
“How?”
“Could be raining!”
(Followed by thunder and rain…)
@KRB – Sounds like B-Mac likes “re-tool”, not “re-build”. That way, you have a better chance (if done right, of course) to be more consistently competitive. If more teams had the stones to do that, we might have fewer have-nots in the league.
@Mac
I follow draft picks and prospects very closely. I like where the Caps are at, right now. I count 5 scoring forwards (Leonard, Cristall, Suzdalev, Persson and Miroshnichenko), 3 defensemen (Chesley, Iorio, and Haman-Aktell) and 6 goalies (Sheppard, Clark, Stevenson, Keller, Gibson and Bjorklund) in the system now, who could all make the NHL someday. If there were a couple more lottery picks added, say a #1 center, and #1 defenseman, that’d be the world’s quickest rebuild. I’m liking the post-Ovi days better than this mushy mess now.
@KRB – I admit I don’t recognize all the names, but that sounds like the cupboard’s very much full and itching to go. As long as development goes as planned, it sounds like a new Caps group that could be fun to watch. Gord Wilson, on Ottawas’ TSN 1200 side, just mentioned that Alex has now gone back-to-back games without a shot on goal, which is almost unheard of. I just looked at all of his scoring logs. It’s never happened before. Wow. Both Dean & Gord said early in the game that Washington is one of the oldest teams in the league (2nd to PIT) and that they looked like it. You’re right about the “mushy mess”. If it’s any consolation, Dean said (paraphrased) when Alex breaks the record, he’s likely to retire during the game because of apathy.
@Mac
I watch about 30 hockey games a week. From Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Canadian juniors, NCAA, AHL and ECHL, even a game or two from China or Japan. In fact, my interest in the NHL is waning. Too much money spoils it. Games from Europe are fun. I like the singing and chanting, from the crowd. If you’ve ever watched soccer from Europe: same thing.
Thanks Bettman, for pushing me away from the NHL hockey I loved, into the amateur versions.
@KRB – Well, I definitely understand and share that frustration. I like watching the IIHF WCs every year, even though it involves using an otherwise dusty VPN connection to bypass their geo-blocking. More than a few times this past spring, Dennis, Brian, Gord or Johnny would comment on how much fun the fans were having. And, being able to watch various leagues on the “European Tour”, as I call it, means you’re bound to see former NHLers and AHLers there. It’s funny you mention the waning interest, as Marek was talking about the Winnipeg attendance last night, or lack thereof. That topic also came up on OverDrive, too. We’ve discussed how if some teams don’t take the proper temperature of their fanbases, they will need some type of bailout from Corporate Canada, or Corporate USA in the form of sizeable purchases of seats. Knowing Bettman, he’ll find a way to “fix” the problem with more gas cans and Zippos, then dump it in Daly’s lap on the way out.
@KRB – Trotz wants more offense, but his idea of offense is Vern Fiddler. :/
Well, here’s a joke for you, Mac:
What’s the difference between watching NHL hockey on TV, and the Swedish League?
In Sweden, the girl sideline reporters are natural blondes.
Hehe, I’m so bad
@KRB – You have earned the “Good one, Randy” award today! :)
Schenn is way overvalued, And don’t forget his major screw up last season In the playoffs that basically took the Maple Leafs out of the playoffs.