The Predators have reinstated winger Cole Smith from injured reserve, Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey reports. They’ve had a whopping three open roster spots since sending Zachary L’Heureux to the AHL last weekend, so no corresponding transaction is required.
Smith has been tracking toward a return for several days now. Head coach Andrew Brunette labeled him as day-to-day last week as he returned to practice. The 30-year-old has been out of commission since the beginning of November, missing the last 19 games with an upper-body injury. He was given a rather vague three-to-six-week recovery timeline, and although he missed the long end of that by a few days, he’ll be available for tonight’s game against the Hurricanes.
Before his injury, Smith was part of one of the most effective checking lines in the league. His offense wasn’t jumping off the page with three goals in 13 games – he’s only ever hit 20 points in a year once – but his line with Michael McCarron and Ozzy Wiesblatt was one of Nashville’s best at controlling play at 5-on-5. Not only do those three lead the Preds in hits per game, but they controlled 64.3% of expected goals at 5-on-5 to lead the team, per MoneyPuck. Among forward lines league-wide with at least 50 minutes together, only four trios have allowed fewer expected goals against per 60 than the Wiesblatt-McCarron-Smith line’s 1.58 mark.
Nashville won’t be able to reunite that line tonight, though. Wiesblatt is on IR with an upper-body issue and isn’t slated to return until after the Olympic break.
With Smith coming in, veteran Tyson Jost will likely be the one heading to the press box. Reid Schaefer, a first-round pick in 2022, seems to have grabbed hold of a regular spot with three goals in nine games since being summoned from AHL Milwaukee late last month.