Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Diagnosing Nashville’s Underwhelming Start To The Season

at CDT | by 8 Comments

To say the start of the 2024-25 campaign has been disappointing for the Nashville Predators is somewhat of an understatement. Nashville finished last year as the top wild-card team in the Western Conference with 99 points and handed out nearly $140MM in contracts this past offseason keeping around some old faces and bringing in some new ones.

The aggressive offseason led to skyrocketing expectations for the Predators organization, which have gone unrealized through the first month of the regular season. The team has a 5-9-2 record through 16 games, putting them dead last in the league.

This leads to the question, why exactly are the Predators not only underperforming but wholly noncompetitive?

Nashville’s special teams have been quite good to start the regular season. The team sits 11th in powerplay percentage thanks to a 22.22% conversion rate and has the league’s second-ranked penalty kill with a 90.91% success rate. Both percentages are better than Nashville’s playoff-clinching roster from a year ago with a 20-team jump in the latter category.

If the special teams are not the issue and have even improved year-on-year, reductive reasoning would indicate that the Predators’ 5-on-5 play is the culprit for the poor start. Unfortunately, although Nashville’s 5-on-5 play from last year has depressed, it doesn’t explain the discrepancy in success.

According to Hockey Reference, the Predators have managed a 51.3% CorsiFor% to start the year, which puts them around the league average. It’s a slight downturn from the team’s 51.8% output from last season, but it’s still better than six playoff-bound teams from a year ago. Outside of controlling the puck and looking primarily at offensive generation, Nashville is 15th in the league with a 31.2 xGF which is two expected goals better than the 10-2-3 Minnesota Wild.

Still, after looking further under the hood, two major areas of Nashville’s game need some work. There have been 222 high-danger chances (shots from approximately in the slot, or rebounds) generated in the Predators’ 16 matchups this year with the team earning 116 of those chances. However, they are only converting on those chances at a 7.2% rate putting them 29th in the league. On the flip side, Nashville’s opponents are converting 11.9% of the time, also 29th in the league.

The other discrepancy is the Predators’ -20 axDiff (actual goal differential minus expected goal differential) which is the worst in the league. This indicates that Nashville is generating an adequate number of good scoring chances but isn’t converting at the expected rate.

A diagnosis of the issue isn’t good enough for a team still looking to make the playoffs this season. The Predators will want a prescription to resolve the problems on the ice and there are a few different pathways they can go.

First, to put it bluntly, a playoff-caliber team can’t compete with a combination of Colton Sissons and Juuso Parssinen centering the team’s second line. The two have combined for seven points this season with a -13 rating and an E +/- of -4.6. When taking a look at high-danger conversion or prevention, there are a couple of names that could help out Nashville.

Kyle Palmieri, a veteran forward for the New York Islanders, immediately jumps off the page as an offense-generating candidate. Palmieri has accrued a 14.0 xGF this season which would be good for second on the Predators behind Roman Josi. According to Natural Stat Trick, Palmieri sits 20th in the league in high-danger scoring conversions. This would allow Nashville to move Stamkos to center the team’s second-line opening a spot on the right wing for Palmieri.

Given that Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair are currently on the injured reserve it’s unlikely the Islanders would agree to this trade now. Still, with a desperate need for cap space New York may be willing to entertain offers on any expiring contract. Unfortunately, Palmieri doesn’t project as a long-term answer for Nashville given that he’s 33 years old, but he would at least allow them to kick the can down the road for now.

If the Predators seek out a player who limits opposing teams from converting on high-danger chances look no further than the Detroit Red Wings. Andrew Copp has averaged an ’on-ice high danger shot attempts against per 60 minutes’ of 1.34 during 5-on-5 play which would put him second on Nashville just above Ryan O’Reilly. He’s also formidable enough in the faceoff dot to give the Predators the confidence to leave Stamkos on the right wing.

The downside of acquiring Copp is the contractual complications. Copp is earning $5.625MM for the next three years and has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract. This isn’t to say that Nashville is one of the 10 teams on Copp’s no-trade last but it’s still a hurdle to clear. The Predators could gauge Detroit’s interest in retaining some of the remaining salary of Copp’s deal and even include Sissons in the return package who’s making $2.86MM this year and next.

The hypothetical trade wouldn’t project as a ’season-punting’ move by the Red Wings either. They’ve already shown a willingness to trade legitimate NHL talent (i.e. Olli Maatta) to create room for some of their up-and-coming players. Detroit, a team that has struggled to produce offense this season, could strike two birds with one stone in this move by clearing a spot for Vladimir Tarasenko or Marco Kasper on the team’s second line while opening up additional cap space.

One defensive pairing sticking out like a sore thumb in Nashville is the combination of Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier. The two have played the most minutes together compared to any other combination on Nashville’s blue line (188.2) and have combined for a team-worst 40.2% xGoals % according to MoneyPuck.

Marcus Pettersson of the Pittsburgh Penguins immediately comes to mind as a viable trade candidate to replace one of Lauzon or Carrier on the team’s second defensive pairing. Petterson currently leads the Penguins in blocked shots (27) and carries a contextually impressive E +/- of -0.8 while playing next to one of the league’s worst blue-liners on the defensive side of the puck. He’s in the last year of his contract and should find himself on the trade block further down the season if Pittsburgh continues at their current pace.

This list of solutions for Nashville isn’t exhaustive as there are plenty of directions they could ultimately take. The organization could wait things out and hope the gap between expected and actual goals narrows over the next few weeks. Still, given the nature of their aggressive approach to this past offseason, the Predators may want to make a move sooner rather than later before the bottom completely falls out on their 2024-25 aspirations.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Maple Leafs, Senators

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Buffalo Sabres used both rostered goaltenders in a tough loss to the Montreal Canadiens earlier today. After the game, Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Times-Herald passed a note from head coach Lindy Ruff indicating Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered an ’ailment’ in yesterday’s practice before Luukkonen’s game descended further.

The injury concern didn’t end there for Buffalo as the team announced Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson had left the game due to upper-body injuries. Samuelsson, whom the team had made a healthy scratch for the last three games, only managed 6:49 of today’s contest.

No further updates were made regarding the status of the injured players but the Sabres are again heading in a negative direction. Despite making a head coaching change and overhauling the bottom-six forward group this past offseason, Buffalo has a 7-8-1 record through 16 games and has given up the second-most goals of any team in the Atlantic Division.

Other Atlantic Notes:

  • According to David Alter of The Hockey News, it’s trending toward a fourth-straight missed game for Auston Matthews. The franchise icon hasn’t missed this many games in a row since the 2022-23 NHL season and the Toronto Maple Leafs hope it doesn’t extend further. To add insult to injury, Alter further added that forward Calle Jarnkrok experienced a setback in his recovery from a sports hernia and he’s now headed to New York to see a specialist. Jarnkrok hasn’t skated put together a full season since the 2022-23 campaign and it appears this year may be more of the same.
  • Nearly 250 miles northeast in Ottawa, the Senators are experiencing better luck on the injury front of late. Shane Pinto, who hasn’t played since October 22nd after scoring three points in his first six contests, could be an option for the team tomorrow night (X Link). If Pinto can’t go, the team announced the call-up of Zack Ostapchuk from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to fill out the rest of their forward core.

Metro Notes: Karlsson, Flyers, Romanov

at CDT | by 14 Comments

In a hard-hitting piece for The Athletic, Josh Yohe highlights internal frustrations within the Pittsburgh Penguins regarding Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. Yohe unabashedly describes Karlsson’s poor defensive play, and the Swede’s public praise of his own game is drawing discontentment from the Penguins’ coaching staff.

Karlsson’s offensive play throughout his career has typically masked most of his defensive drawbacks, but they’re becoming too consistent to overcome. The three-time Norris Trophy winner normally produces a positive Expected +/-, thanks to the number of goals he creates, but this season is only one of three that has him in the red of that category.

His 87.3% on-ice save percentage at 5-on-5 is nearly two points lower than his previous career-worst suffered in back-to-back years with the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks in 2017-2019. Karlsson’s defensive play at this point in the regular season has him headed toward a reality of only being trusted with powerplay minutes, which is a major disappointment for a defenseman $10MM for the next three years.

Other Metro notes:

  • There haven’t been many trade rumblings outside Rasmus Ristolainen for a 29th-ranked Philadelphia Flyers team. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period added two more names to that list this afternoon — Scott Laughton and Nicolas Deslauriers. Both players have relatively low cap hits at $3MM and $1.75MM, respectively, but have another year on their deals after this season. Pagnotta argues that with two out of three retention slots available, the Flyers could get creative with salary retention to maximize any return offers.
  • Defenseman Alexander Romanov has missed seven of the last eight games for the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury. Ethan Sears of the New York Post reported Romanov took part in the team’s practice today albeit in a non-contact jersey. It’s an encouraging sign for Romanov who recently skated in 24 minutes of the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres in a winning effort. It’s unclear if Romanov reaggravated his injury in that game or if simply wasn’t healthy enough to return originally.

Pacific Notes: Fowler, Stone, Walman, Stezka, Boeser, Joshua

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman unveiled that the Anaheim Ducks were working on a trade with their longest-tenured player, defenseman Cam Fowler, just before the 2024-25 preseason. Despite the rumor, and a few team’s obvious need for a top-four defenseman, Fowler still finds himself a member of the Ducks’ organization.

According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, that’s not for a lack of trying. In last week’s rendition of ’The Latest’, Pagnotta said, “He wants to go to a contender, just like John Gibson, the goaltender there as well. They’re kind of over this little rebuild situation that they’re in. But because of that extra year, that value is propped up a little bit. He’s not an expiring deal. This isn’t a rental situation. So those conversations will continue as the season progresses.”

He went on to note that Fowler may be interested in waiving his four-team no-trade clause to help facilitate a deal and Anaheim would retain some salary on their end. Few contending teams could absorb Fowler’s $6.5MM cap hit for this season and next but the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and Utah Hockey Club all strike as clear choices that could use a veteran presence in their top-four.

Other Pacific notes:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights were dealt a blow a few days ago after captain Mark Stone went down with a lower-body injury. Thankfully there won’t be any long-term concern for Stone as Elliotte Friedman reported the injury isn’t considered serious. Stone hasn’t participated in a full season since the 2020-21 campaign. Still, the Golden Knights will want to get him as close as possible this year with Stone scoring six goals and 21 points already in only 13 games.
  • According to beat reporter Max Miller, San Jose Sharks defenseman Jake Walman will miss his fourth straight game due to an upper-body injury. The Sharks have weathered the storm without Walman with two wins in their last three games but the injury is a major buzzkill for a defenseman who recorded seven points in four games before the injury.
  • Philipp Grubauer still isn’t ready for the Seattle Kraken meaning the team had to get a second goaltender on the roster. For the second time in less than a week, the team announced they had recalled netminder Ales Stezka from their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, on an emergency basis. Stezka has a 2-5-0 record with the Firebirds this season with a .894 SV% but has yet to debut with the Kraken.
  • It became apparent rather quickly that Vancouver Canucks’ forward Brock Boeser would miss some time after being on the receiving end of a hit from Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot which warranted a three-game suspension. Offering an update this afternoon, Vancouver’s play-by-play announcer, Brendan Batchelor, shared that Boeser is only expected to miss the next few days. This means that Boeser will likely miss Vancouver’s game tomorrow night against the Calgary Flames but could return for Thursday’s action against the New York Islanders.
  • Unfortunately, the Canucks won’t be able to replace Boeser with Dakota Joshua as Batchelor also shared he isn’t expected to return tomorrow. There’s no indication that Joshua suffered a setback in his recovery from testicular cancer. Still, the team is likely doing its due diligence to be sure that Joshua is fully healthy and ready for game speed.

Central Notes: Colorado Injury Updates, Blackwood, Stankoven, Joseph

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Colorado Avalanche continue to inch closer toward a healthy roster. Play-by-play announced Conor McGahey reported earlier that Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog were present on the ice during the team’s morning skate while Miles Wood and Jonathan Drouin skated in non-contact jerseys.

The jury is still out on whether Landeskog can return this season but the expectation is that Nichushkin, Wood, and Drouin will return to the lineup over the coming weeks. This would leave Landeskog and Ross Colton as the only formidable top-six talents left on the injured reserve making the deepest rendition of Colorado’s lineup up to this point in the 2024-25 campaign.

Colorado has stayed afloat in the Western Conference thanks to the team’s usual suspects. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar are all well over a point-per-game production this season, and the Avalanche could start to generate rapid success should the team get closer to fully healthy.

Other Central notes:

  • Staying in Colorado — one of the most disappointing factors for the team this season has been its goaltending. Avalanche netminders have combined for a .868 SV% over 15 contests leading many pundits to believe Colorado will trade for a goaltender. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman spoke about the issue in his latest episode of ’32 Thoughts’ and reiterated that the Avalanche have circled back on San Jose Sharks’ netminder Mackenzie Blackwood. Colorado’s interest in Blackwood, which reportedly spanned back to last season, could have been reignited by the netminder’s recent 44-save shutout against his former team last night.
  • Senior draft writer of the NHL, Mike G. Morreale, recently surveyed the top rookies in the NHL’s Central Division and it’s no surprise that Logan Stankoven of the Dallas Stars is leading the pack. Stankoven currently leads the 2024-25 rookie class with two goals and 12 points in 13 games while averaging top-six minutes. Morreale quoted Stars head coach Peter DeBoer saying, “Anybody you put him with, he complements. Good players want to play with a guy like that because he’s competitive, he’s on pucks, he recovers pucks, he can make a play.”
  • Expect forward Mathieu Joseph to be in the lineup tomorrow night for the St. Louis Blues after missing the team’s last six games (X Link). Joseph, who had been nursing a lower-body injury, hasn’t played since October 26th. In his first year with the Blues organization, Joseph has collected two goals and four points in nine contests while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per night.

New Jersey Devils Recall Nick DeSimone

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New Jersey Devils had an opening on defense after reassigning Simon Nemec to the AHL’s Utica Comets yesterday. To fill that opening, the organization recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone.

DeSimone has suited up in NHL games for the last two years despite spending the past eight seasons in professional hockey. After signing as a collegiate free agent out of Union College, he began his professional career in the San Jose Sharks system.

His contractual rights bounced from the Vegas Golden Knights to the New York Rangers organization before finally landing as an unrestricted free agent with the Calgary Flames. It was with the Flames that DeSimone ultimately made his NHL debut securing four games played in the 2022-23 season.

Last year garnered the most playing time for DeSimone at the NHL level as he managed one goal and five points in 23 games with the Flames. He became a piece in Calgary’s blue-line exodus from last year after being claimed off waivers by the Devils in late January.

DeSimone scored one goal and two points with the Devils in 11 games down the stretch. His play for the team turned into a one-year, $775K extension on June 24, 2024.

Unfortunately for DeSimone, he’s more of a roster filler at this point with the Devils. He’s off to a dismal start in the AHL this year with two assists in nine games and a -10 rating. Even if New Jersey experiences on the blue line, they’ll likely make a call-up rather than give DeSimone meaningful minutes.

Penguins Activate Bryan Rust, Place Cody Glass On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins will have one forward in the lineup tonight exchanged for another. The organization announced it has activated Bryan Rust off the injured reserve while placing Cody Glass on it.

Rust has been dealing with a lower-body injury for the last little while, and it’s related to the injury that kept him out of the lineup at the beginning of the season. The veteran didn’t make his 2024-25 debut until October 12th and managed three goals and four points in eight contests before re-aggravating the lower-body concern on October 26th.

The Penguins expect Rust to serve in a top-six role this evening and could even rediscover his role on the team’s first line. He’s typically been Sidney Crosby’s linemate, but the team may opt for Rust to play on the second line in light of Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell playing on the captain’s wings.

It’s not all good news on the injury front in Pittsburgh. Glass, who’s nursing an upper-body injury, lands on the injured reserve for the first time this season.

After leaving the contest without a return, Glass was seemingly injured in last night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. In his first year with the franchise, he’s played in 14 contests for the Penguins but has only collected four assists while posting a -7 rating.

He’s primarily played in a bottom-six role averaging 11:48 of ice time per game so there shouldn’t be too much roster maneuvering for Pittsburgh. Still, with the team sitting toward the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings, it’s more insult to injury for Pittsburgh.

Jets Activate, Reassign Jaret Anderson-Dolan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In a minor move heading into the weekend, the Winnipeg Jets activated forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan and reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Anderson-Dolan signed a two-year, $1.55MM with the Jets on the second day of free agency this past offseason.

Anderson-Dolan landed on the injured reserve shortly before the regular season started due to a broken foot. He featured in three preseason contests for the Jets but failed to find the scoresheet besides posting a +1 rating.

He’ll likely feature as a flex forward in Winnipeg for much of the season. If the last few seasons are any indication, Anderson-Dolan should spend most of his time in the AHL unless there’s an injury at the NHL level.

Aside from a few injuries, Anderson-Dolan suited up for the Los Angeles Kings from 2018-2023 collecting 15 goals and 28 points in 126 games. The Nashville Predators claimed Anderson-Dolan off waivers last season but he only featured in one game.

He’ll now head to a Moose team that’s struggled out of the gates to start the 2024-25 AHL campaign. After qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs last year as the fifth-ranked team in the Central Division, the Moose have started this year 3-5-0-0 and sit seventh in the division.

Pacific Notes: Kraken, Walman, Turcotte, Janmark, Stonehouse

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With another day off after losing to the Colorado Avalanche on November 5th, the Seattle Kraken have made a few transactions to shore up their cap space. The organization announced they reassigned Cale Fleury, John Hayden, and Ryan Winterton to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, although all three are expected to return tomorrow.

Each of the trio has played in limited action at this point in the regular season as Fleury leads the pack with only two games played. Considering how close the Kraken are to the salary cap limit it’s likely not the last team these three will be papered down to the AHL this year.

On the injury front, Seattle won’t have Philipp Grubauer for the next few days with reports indicating he had an “unfortunate accident” at home (X Link). There weren’t specifics offered for Grubauer’s injury though it’s not expected to be long-term.

It’s not all bad news on the injury front for the Kraken as the team’s radio host Mike Benton shared that defenseman Vince Dunn is expected to begin skating soon. Dunn hasn’t played since October 17th after starting the year with one goal and three points in four games.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Defenseman Jake Walman was surprisingly listed as a healthy scratch for the San Jose Sharks’ most recent game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, this may not have been the full story with Max Miller of The Hockey News reporting Walman won’t play tonight due to an upper-body injury. He’s been a bright spot on the Sharks’ roster this season with nine points in 13 games while averaging 22:42 of ice time per game.
  • Los Angeles Kings’ manager of editorial content, Zach Dooley, reported earlier that forward Alex Turcotte will not play tonight due to an upper-body injury. Dooley noted that it’s not a head injury for Turcotte but he will still miss a second straight game. He’s only scored one goal and five points in 13 games this season but he has been one of the Kings’ most formidable players with a team-leading 3.6 E +/- according to Hockey Reference.
  • In more injury news from the Pacific Division, Edmonton Oilers’ reporter Tony Brar shared that Mattias Janmark is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. There won’t be a major shakeup in Edmonton’s roster in Janmark’s absence with the veteran forward averaging under 13 minutes a night on the season.
  • Staying in Edmonton, the organization announced Brady Stonehouse had been activated from the season-opening injured reserve and loaned back to the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. Stonehouse will begin his fourth season with the 67’s after signing his entry-level contract with the Oilers 13 months ago. In his first three years with OHL Ottawa Stonehouse has collected 75 goals and 136 points in 200 games.

Central Notes: Holloway, Kapanen, Makar, Novak, Sissons, Marchment, Vlasic

at CDT | by 1 Comment

In an impressive feat, St. Louis Blues’ forward Dylan Holloway will return to the lineup tonight after leaving the team’s most recent game after taking a puck to the neck (X Link). He left the game on a stretcher and was taken to an emergency department following the incident.

He’s been a solid addition to the Blues this season, as he’s off to the best scoring pace of his career to start the season. Four goals and six points in 13 games don’t necessarily jump off the page but considering he’s only managed nine points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, it’s a good improvement.

Unfortunately for St. Louis, the team will still be without forward Kasperi Kapanen tonight. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported the projected lineup for tonight’s game and it didn’t include Kapanan meaning he’s likely still recovering from his upper-body injury.

Other Central notes:

  • Marc Moser of the Colorado Avalanche originally reported earlier that defenseman Cale Makar would be a game-time decision for the team’s contest tonight. As it turns out, Makar is expected to play in tonight’s action. Makar left during the second period of the team’s recent game against the Seattle Kraken but returned for less than a minute in the third period. He’s been the team’s best and arguably the league’s best player this season with five goals and 23 points in 13 games.
  • The Nashville Predators are without a few middle-six forwards tonight as the team announced Thomas Novak is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Colton Sissons has a similar injury designation. The news will inevitably hurt the Predators in one of their least productive areas as their 2.38 GF/G currently ranks 27th in the NHL.
  • Brien Rea of Victory+ reports that Dallas Stars’ forward Mason Marchment is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. This means that Marchment won’t be in the lineup tonight but could make his return this weekend against the Winnipeg Jets. He’s gotten off to a decent start on the year with two goals and eight points in 11 games.
  • Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman Alex Vlasic had an impressive defensive season last year with a 90.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations on a basement-dwelling Blackhawks roster. Now that he’s recorded seven assists in 14 games this year, Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic share that Vlasic is now getting outside consideration for Team USA’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He played internationally for the United States this past summer recording two assists in eight games in the 2024 IIHF World Championships.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top