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Nashville Predators Recall Nine Players From AHL

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The Nashville Predators have recalled their group of Black Aces—players who will skate with the team throughout the playoffs but not get into any game action. The group includes Frederick Gaudreau, Harry Zolnierczyk, Brandon Bollig, Tyler Gaudet, Emil Pettersson, Alexandre Carrier, Petter Granberg, Frederic Allard and Troy Grosenick.

Though these types of call-ups rarely play in the postseason, there are a few interesting names in the group. Most notably perhaps is Gaudreau, who scored two game-winning goals (three total) in the playoffs last season for the Predators, stepping in due to injury and making an impact right away. Zolnierczyk too played in 11 games for the club last posteason, which just shows even further how much depth the Predators have amassed this season.

Most interesting this time around though might be Pettersson, who led the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring during his first professional season in North America. The 24-year old forward came over from Sweden this season, and registered 46 points in 72 games in the minor leagues. Like the others he isn’t expected to make his debut in the playoffs, but could fight for a roster spot with the Predators next season.

Ryan Hartman Suspended One Game For Illegal Check

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The decision is in, and the fourth suspension of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been handed out. Nashville Predators forward Ryan Hartman has received a one-game suspension for his illegal check to the head of Colorado Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg. As the accompanying video from the Department of Player Safety explains:

It is important to note that Soderberg does not materially change the position of his head just prior to, or simultaneously with contact in a way that contributes to the head being the main point of contact. If Hartman wishes to deliver this hit, he must hit squarely through Soderberg’s core with a full body check.

Instead, Hartman takes a poor angle of approach that picks Soderberg’s head and makes it a main point of contact, and delivers the hit with substantial force.

Hartman has not previously been suspended in the NHL, only fined earlier this season for a slashing incident. He will now have to sit out Game 5 as the Predators look to eliminate the Avalanche from their first-round matchup.

Adding Hartman’s suspension to ones already given out to Drew Doughty, Nazem Kadri and Josh Morrissey this postseason, the league has already easily exceeded the two playoff games served last year by suspended players. Nick Ritchie was forced to sit out Game 1 of the Anaheim Ducks first-round series after being suspended in the second last game of the season, and Matt Calvert earned a one-game ban in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ series for cross-checking.

Like with Morrissey, Hartman could miss out on clinching the series for the Predators as they currently sit up three games to one over the Avalanche. If Colorado can win and stay alive, Hartman is eligible to return for Game 6, though his future actions will be looked at with even more scrutiny.

Andrew Hammond To Start Game 5 For Colorado Avalanche

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The Colorado Avalanche are down 3-1 in their series with the Nashville Predators, but fans can take solace in the fact that they haven’t looked completely overmatched. Even if they lose the series, it’s a huge step forward for a team that recorded a historically bad 2016-17 campaign. If they could win, it would be a tremendous upset.

That upset seems even further away now, as the team announced today that Andrew Hammond would start Game 5 after Jonathan Bernier suffered a lower-body injury. The Avalanche were already without Semyon Varlamov, meaning third-string Hammond will have to be the savior if a comeback is in store.

Hammond was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Matt Duchene deal, but was called a salary dump at the time. The 30-year old goaltender didn’t even change AHL affiliations right away, instead staying with the Belleville Senators for most of the season. That won’t matter now, as he will have the fate of the Colorado organization in his hands (or pads?) in his first playoff experience since 2015. That’s when made his presence known in the NHL with an outstanding run for the Senators down the stretch, earning him a third-place Vezina vote and even a few more for the Hart Trophy.

He played just two playoff games that season and lost both, meaning he’ll be looking for his first postseason win on Friday night.

Ryan Hartman To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The playoffs have so far been quite the busy period for the Department of Player Safety, already handing out suspensions to Drew Doughty, Nazem Kadri and Josh Morrissey. Today, they’ll have a hearing with Ryan Hartman of the Nashville Predators to determine whether his hit on Colorado’s Carl Soderberg last night requires any supplementary discipline.

Hartman collided with Soderberg midway through the third period, and was given a two-minute charging penalty. The hit came after Soderberg had passed the puck and seemed to have significant contact with the head. It was actually Hartman’s third penalty of the game, and now he might face even more discipline from the league offices.

Nikita Kucherov, who was also involved in an incident last night, will not receive a hearing after his hit on Sami Vatanen last night. The league, according to Darren Dreger of TSN, decided that the head was not the main point of contact and will not review it further.

Vezina Finalists Announced; Is The Evaluation Process Flawed?

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The NHL has announced the three finalists for the Vezina Award, given each year to the league’s best goaltender, as voted on by the league’s general managers. Vying for the trophy at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas this June will be the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, the Nashville Predators’ Pekka Rinne, and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy. This is the first nomination for Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy, while Rinne has previously been up for the award three times.

At first glance, the three nominees are not surprising. All three have had great seasons and are clearly among the top goaltenders in the league. However, hockey analytics guru Rob Vollman makes a pretty good case for why the evaluation process my be flawed. As Vollman points out, the only category in which the trio were tops in the league is wins, a statistic based entirely off of team performance, not individual performance. Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy led the league with 44 wins, while Rinne was right behind with 42.  Yet, only Rinne was top three in the league among goalies with 41+ starts in save percentage, quality starts percentage, and goals saved above average, Vollman’s stats of choice. By those standards of evaluation, Vasilevskiy should have been nowhere near Vezina contention. Instead, Vollman’s poster boy for proper evaluation is the Anaheim Ducks’ John Gibson, who was a top-four finisher in each of those three categories and a top-ten finisher in wins. Also garnering some more attentions should have been the Vegas Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury and the Arizona Coyotes’ Antti Raanta, both of whom were excellent statistically, but lacked the number of starts and wins that are apparently requisite for Vezina contention in today’s NHL.

It’s no surprise that the three contenders for best goaltender are who they are. However, that doesn’t mean it’s correct, especially in a season so many other obvious choices. General managers surely do not evaluate goalies based on wins alone when evaluating them for acquisition, so why does a clearly-flawed statistic hold so much weight in the Vezina race? It’s a question worth asking and Vollman’s reaction, as well as others’, may change the voting results come next season. In the meantime, look for Rinne to finally take home the hardware this year in his fourth try, a result that was likely even with proper evaluation.

Nashville Predators Sign Tyler Gaudet To One-Year Extension

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The Nashville Predators have announced a contract extension for Tyler Gaudet, inking the minor league forward for another year. The deal will pay Gaudet $650K at the NHL level, while just $105K in the minor leagues. Despite being just 25, Gaudet was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer as he qualified for Group VI status.

Gaudet was acquired earlier this season as part of a minor league deal with the Arizona Coyotes, and joined a Milwaukee Admirals team in a checking role for the second half of the season. The undrafted forward has never been a huge scoring threat in the minors, but plays responsible heavy hockey that can help any AHL team.

It’s unlikely he’ll be given much of an opportunity in Nashville, but he does provide some center depth for a club that expects to compete for the Stanley Cup every year. If he sees the NHL, the Predators are clearly dealing with several injuries.

 

Western Notes: Coyotes Free Agency, Perron, Jarnkrok, Fowler

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With the team comfortable at both goaltending and defense, the Arizona Coyotes are expected to be add to their forward lines this offseason. Don’t be surprised if Arizona looks into the free agent market this summer and attempts to grab itself a top-six forward, according to AZCentral’s Richard Morin.

A team with ample cap space, Arizona has spent the last few years building through the draft and then this past season made multiple trades to upgrade its roster, acquiring the likes of Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Richard Panik. The scribe writes the franchise, especially after an impressive second-half run, might look to dip its feet into the free agency market. While acquiring center John Tavares is not a likely scenario, the team might be able to snag an elite winger such as James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Maroon or Rick Nash. The team will have a couple of their own free agents they must sign, including veteran Brad Richardson, Zac Rinaldo, Kevin Connauton and Luke Schenn (as well as try to extend defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson), but the team should have the assets to upgrade their offense.

Morin does also admit that general manager John Chayka might also go back to the trade route as well, but at the same time, the team believes they will see an uptick in production from rookie Clayton Keller and now believe that prospect Dylan Strome is ready to handle full-time duties in the NHL.

Poll: Who Will Be Western Conference Champions?

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The NHL Playoffs kick off tomorrow night with three first round matchups. The Minnesota Wild head to Winnipeg to take on the Jets, the Pittburgh Penguins welcome in their rival Philadelphia Flyers, and the Vegas Golden Knights host the first playoff game in franchise history when they take on the Los Angeles Kings. All three should be exceptional games, featuring superstars and underrated talents.

By Thursday evening, all eight series will have started and the first round will truly be underway.

So who do you think comes out of it all? This year more than ever the conferences seem wide open, with several teams built to be real contenders for the Stanley Cup. Even with weaker records, some of the lower seeds have the ability to catch fire for a few weeks, while injuries can always upset the favorites. Vote below on who you think will win the Western Conference, and explain why in the comment section. Will the Predators head back to the Finals for the second year in a row? Is it another long playoff run for Joe Thornton (when he returns) and the Sharks? Can the Anze Kopitar and the Kings score enough to shock the world again?

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Calle Jarnkrok Now Listed As Day-To-Day

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  • The Predators are getting closer to getting one of their forwards back, potentially in time for the start of the playoffs. GM David Poile told reporters, including NHL.com’s Robby Stanley (Twitter link) that center Calle Jarnkrok is making progress and is now listed as day-to-day.  The 26-year-old has been out for nearly a month due to an upper-body injury.  His eventual return should boost an already-deep Nashville lineup that heads into the postseason as the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

Minor Transactions: 4/8/18

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With the Eastern Conference still undecided until today’s final regular season game, the Western Conference has no questions as the Colorado Avalanche finished off the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 victory Saturday as they clinched the final playoff spot. The Nashville Predators got the top spot and will face the Avalanche. In other first-round matchups, the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks will face the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild will face the Winnipeg Jets. 

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