- Predators prospect Gunnarwolfe Fontaine has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 23-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Nashville back in 2020 (202nd overall) and has been a capable producer in his four seasons at Northeastern, capped off by a 27-point showing this past season. He’ll now try to beat that with another school for his fifth and final college campaign.
Predators Rumors
Predators Recall Marc Del Gaizo
The Predators recalled defenseman Marc Del Gaizo from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals on Monday, according to a team release. His recall is an emergency loan, per CapFriendly’s transactions log, so the Preds retain their three remaining post-trade deadline standard recalls. They used their first of four last week by recalling defenseman Spencer Stastney from Milwaukee.
Del Gaizo, 24, gets his second recall of the season. Nashville summoned their 2019 fourth-round pick for a five-game stint in November, where he impressed with three assists and a +2 rating while averaging 16:22 per game. It was the first call-up of his career.
Now in his third full professional season, Del Gaizo is having a career year with the Admirals. The New Jersey native leads Milwaukee defenders across the board with eight goals, 24 assists and 32 points in 51 games, and his +16 rating is second to Stastney’s +27. He’s been the highlight of a stingy Admirals defense in front of star goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who have combined to allow only 150 goals this season, the third-lowest in the AHL.
Recalling Del Gaizo under emergency conditions suggests one of the Predators’ six healthy defenders may be unavailable for Tuesday’s game against the Sharks. If Del Gaizo is not needed for tomorrow’s contest, they must either convert his emergency recall into a standard one or return him to Milwaukee.
Size remains a concern with Del Gaizo, who checks in at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. He’s shown linear development in the minors after a solid three-year collegiate stint at UMass, however, and this likely won’t be his last chance to show what he can do in the NHL. He’s nearing completion of his three-year, $2.775MM entry-level contract and will be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer.
Wayne Simmonds Confirms Retirement
March 18: Simmonds has officially announced his retirement and will sign a one-day contract with the Flyers, per a team release. He’ll sign the contract and be honored by the team on April 13, the second-to-last home game of Philadelphia’s season.
Jan. 26: Free agent winger Wayne Simmonds told Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press on Friday that he won’t continue his 15-season NHL career. The 35-year-old has yet to file retirement paperwork with the league but confirmed he will not attempt a comeback.
Simmonds last suited up in 2022-23, making 18 appearances with the Maple Leafs. The Scarborough, Ontario native reached UFA status after completing a two-year, $1.8MM extension signed with Toronto in June 2021.
He played for six NHL clubs during his career. The first of those was the Kings, who selected him with the final pick of the second round in the 2007 draft from the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack after racking up 49 points and 112 PIMs in 66 games.
Simmonds spent the following season back in junior hockey, breaking out for his first point-per-game campaign and winning gold with Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championship. That was enough of a development jump for the Kings, who named Simmonds to their opening-night roster in 2008-09.
The Kings struggled that season, finishing three games below .500 and scoring only 2.46 goals per game, but Simmonds’ rookie performance was promising. He didn’t earn Calder Trophy consideration, but he played in all 82 games while posting 23 points in a bottom-six role.
His sophomore season wasn’t his defining campaign, but it was a large step forward. The Kings offense went from 28th to seventh in 2009-10, and Simmonds’ 16 goals and 40 points (along with 116 PIMs) helped kickstart the jump. He finished with a team-high +22 rating, too, earning him a handful of Selke Trophy votes.
He took a small step back in the third and final season of his entry-level contract, though, seeing his goal and point output drop to 14 and 30, respectively. With the Kings exiting their late 2000s rebuild and looking to build a more veteran core around Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty, they decided to cut bait with Simmonds and ship him, along with center prospect Brayden Schenn, to the Flyers in the 2011 offseason in exchange for established top-six threat Mike Richards.
The trade worked out well for the Kings, who won two Stanley Cups over the next three seasons with Richards anchoring their second line. It also worked out quite well for Simmonds, who scored 28 goals in his first season with Philadelphia and spent parts of eight years in the City of Brotherly Love.
With the Flyers, Simmonds became one of the most visible power forwards in the league, inking a six-year, $23.85MM extension within two years of the trade and eventually eclipsing the 30-goal mark twice. He racked up 203 goals, 175 assists and 378 points over his 584 games for the Flyers, consistently logging top-six minutes and serving an important leadership role, as evidenced by his Mark Messier Leadership Award win in his final season with the team.
As the extension wrapped up, though, it was clear Simmonds was in an early decline. His totals had steadily dropped since his 32-goal, 60-point season in 2015-16, and the Flyers decided to part ways with the fan-favorite near the 2019 trade deadline. They dealt him to the Predators, who were two years removed from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, but his play outside of Philadelphia stagnated further. He recorded one goal and three points in 17 games with Nashville after the trade and played in two of six games during their first-round loss to the Stars.
Simmonds spent the following four seasons playing for the Devils, Sabres and Maple Leafs in a reduced role, seeing his ice time dip below 10 minutes per game by the 2021-22 season. He was waived twice over the course of the 2022-23 campaign, recording two assists in 18 games to close out his career.
He ends his time in the NHL with 263 goals, 263 assists and 526 points, along with 1,313 PIMs, over the course of 1,037 games. He also added 22 points in 53 career playoff games.
PHR extends its best wishes to Simmonds in his post-hockey career and congratulations him on a lengthy and impactful NHL stint.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Stastney Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury
- The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Spencer Stastney is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old was injured on Thursday, his first game with Nashville since mid-December. Stastney has a goal in ten NHL contests so far this season while he has chipped in with 20 points in 44 appearances with AHL Milwaukee. With Dante Fabbro also injured, Nashville is down to just six healthy defensemen so they may recall someone before today’s game against Seattle.
New Jersey Devils To Circle Back On Juuse Saros Trade
The New Jersey Devils made valiant efforts to acquire a top goaltender this Trade Deadline but weren’t able to grab a bona fide star, instead landing Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks and Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens. That will have to be enough to get the Devils through the end of the season, but James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now reports that the team isn’t done searching for their top netminder, planning to “investigate” a trade for Juuse Saros this summer. The Devils were interested in Saros ahead of the Deadline, though the Nashville Predators weren’t then eager to move their top goalie.
Only one goaltender – Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck – has played in more games than Saros since 2019. And only five goalies have managed better save percentages in that stretch – Linus Ullmark, Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman, and Hellebuyck. Saros is apart of elite company, and boasts some of the best consistency in the league, with a save percentage above .910 in seven of his nine NHL seasons. That includes his career-high .927 set in 36 games during the 2020-21 season. The strong performances have earned him Vezina Trophy votes in each of the last three seasons – finishing sixth, third, and fourth in voting respectively. And while his streak of Vezina voting may end this year, Saros has still been solid, posting 28 wins and a .907 – 17th among the league’s starting goalies (minimum 30 games played).
Saros, 28, has been simply fantastic in Nashville, posting a career .918 save percentage in 339 games. His departure would leave big shoes to fill – and an exciting opportunity for top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who Nashville selected 11th-overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. Askarov has since carved out a major role in the minor leagues, posting 22 wins and a .915 save percentage in 33 games this season. It’s his second year in the starting cage of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, with Askarov posting an impressive stat line of 26 wins and .911 in 48 games last year. His success has extended to the three NHL games he’s received over the last two years as well, with Askarov saving 58 of the 64 shots he faced while posting a 1-1-0 record. There’s a lot to be excited about with Askarov, who is still just 21 and already has the bravado needed to carry his teams to hard-earned wins, ranking second in the AHL with five shutouts.
Nashville could charge a very, very high price for the consistently-effective Saros. But the deal would be unprecedented, with the St. Louis Blues’ Deadline acquisition of Ryan Miller in 2014 likely the closest trade in terms of scale. That move cost the Blues their current starter – Jaroslav Halak – two depth forwards, and a first and third round draft selection. And that move came without a contract extension, with Miller playing just 25 games in St. Louis before moving on to the Vancouver Canucks. While Saros will also be in the last year of his contract next season, the Devils – or any interested team – will have all season to work out a long-term extension. That opportunity provides value in its own right, likely boosting the already pricey return.
New Jersey currently possesses a first-round pick in 2024, 2025, and 2026, as well as a healthy deal of mid-round selections. They also have plenty of promising young talent in Alexander Holtz, who hasn’t yet carved out a strong NHL role, or Seamus Casey, a fantastic defense prospect who could struggle to find his own role on New Jersey’s impressive blue-line. Nashville will be embracing the future when they move from Saros to Askarov, and high-value picks or prospects will need to be the focus of a return as a result. Hockey fans are set up for an exciting summer, as the Predators see just how much they can receive for their top-notch starter.
Devils Still Intend To Pursue Starting Goaltender During Offseason
The Devils rebuilt their crease at the trade deadline, swapping out struggling starter Vítek Vaněček for Kaapo Kähkönen in a deal with the Sharks and acquiring Jake Allen from the Canadiens. Neither of their two pickups is a long-term solution as New Jersey continues to build around their young Jack Hughes-led core, though, and GM Tom Fitzgerald knows it. He plans to revisit his team’s uncertainty in the crease over the summer and will pursue a true starter in the process, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun wrote for The Athletic on Tuesday.
“The idea here is to try to finally reel in a stud goalie and have Allen there to create a 1A-1B situation,” LeBrun said. Allen has one season remaining at a $1.925MM cap hit, thanks to Montreal retaining half of his $3.85MM AAV in the trade.
All signs point to the Devils letting Kähkönen, who will be a UFA this summer after completing a two-year, $5.5MM deal, go to market. Fitzgerald said in his post-deadline media availability that the primary objective of the trade with San Jose was shedding Vaněček’s $3.4MM cap hit for this season and next.
A bonafide number-one netminder is Fitzgerald’s first choice, and he’s willing to surrender the assets to make it work. As such, LeBrun said New Jersey will re-engage in talks with the Flames and Predators regarding Jacob Markström and Juuse Saros, who could be on the move regardless of whether the Devils swing a deal for them.
The Devils attempted to acquire Markström, who has a no-move clause in his contract, before this year’s deadline. After talks initially fizzled out due to the Flames’ unwillingness to retain salary in a trade, Fitzgerald re-engaged with an offer that included New Jersey taking on all of Markström’s $6MM cap hit through 2026.
Markström reportedly waived his no-move clause to green-light the trade, but the Flames ended up not moving him as the team was making progress toward a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. This caused the goaltender to publicly voice his discontent with the Calgary front office. The Flames have lost all three games after the deadline, each by four or more goals, and now stand with just a 2.2% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.
The Devils also talked with Nashville about Saros but didn’t get as far down the road. Unlike Markström, Saros will be a pending UFA beginning on July 1 and does not have trade protection. He also costs $1MM less than his Swedish counterpart.
If Fitzgerald swings for the fences on both and misses twice, it’s possible the Devils would still rather look for a tandem netminder to partner with Allen, keeping youngsters Nico Daws and Akira Schmid in the minors. Options on the UFA market will be slim, though – in fact, Kähkönen would be one of the better pickups if that’s how they opted to address their crease. Other top options are either on the precipice of decline (Marc-André Fleury, Cam Talbot) or have been inconsistent when given expanded roles (Kähkönen, Alex Nedeljkovic, Ilya Samsonov).
While Daws and Schmid are promising options and have more NHL games in their future, neither projects as a true starter. If New Jersey wants to truly kick off its window of contention with talents like Jack and Luke Hughes, Dawson Mercer and Simon Nemec, all 23 years old or less, they’ll need a more veteran presence as a longer-term answer.
Predators Recall Spencer Stastney With Dante Fabbro Week-To-Week
The Nashville Predators have made their first move since the Trade Deadline, recalling defenseman Spencer Stastney. Stastney will fill in for Dante Fabbro, who the team shared is out for two-to-three weeks with an upper-body injury. Fabbro suffered the injury in the first period of Nashville’s Sunday night loss to the Minnesota Wild, exiting the game early.
This is the third recall of Stastney’s season, with the 24-year-old previously serving two weeks on the Predators roster in late November and one week in December. He’s totaled nine NHL games on the season, with his first career goal marking his only scoring on the year. Stastney has also managed five goals and 20 points in 44 AHL games this season. It’s his second full year as a pro, after joining the Predators at the end of the 2021-22 season. He recorded five goals and 13 points in 56 games as an AHL rookie last year, adding two assists in his first eight NHL games.
Stastney will enter the lineup as a depth option, with the team likely to ice Jérémy Lauzon ahead of him. Lauzon has appeared in 66 games this season, netting six goals and 13 points. He is one of six Predators defenders, including Fabbro and Stastney, to not yet reach the 20-point mark. Stastney could also slot in for Luke Schenn – Nashville’s least-used defenseman, with just 15 minutes of average ice time across 47 games. Schenn has six points on the season, the lowest of Nashville’s current blue-line.
Stastney’s recall will limit the Predators to just three remaining this season.
Dante Fabbro Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury
- The Predators were on the losing end of a wild finish yesterday in Minnesota, as Wild head coach John Hynes pulled the goalie in overtime for an extra skater and took home a crucial two points thanks to a Matt Boldy game-winner. However, it wasn’t the only loss they suffered yesterday, as newly-extended defenseman Dante Fabbro sustained an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. This is Fabbro’s first injury of the season; all his previous absences have been due to healthy scratches. The 25-year-old, who inked a one-year, $2.5MM extension on deadline day, has not yet been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Jets. Tyson Barrie could re-enter the lineup instead of Fabbro after serving as a healthy scratch against Minnesota if the latter isn’t cleared to play.
Predators Sign Dante Fabbro, Two Others To Extensions
Predators GM Barry Trotz has announced the signings of defenseman Dante Fabbro and forward Mark Jankowski to one-year and two-year extensions, respectively (via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet). Fabbro’s deal sees him earn $2.5MM next season, per a team release, and is paid entirely in base salary. Jankowski’s deal will pay him $775K in 2024-25 and $825K in 2025-26, per the team, translating to an $800K cap hit. Additionally, the team has signed undrafted free agent goaltender Gustavs Grigals to a one-year, two-way deal for the remainder of the season, worth $775K at the NHL level.
Fabbro and Jankowski will be UFAs at the end of their respective deals. Nashville was set for a potential arbitration hearing with Fabbro if he did not re-sign before the summer, while Jankowski was a pending UFA upon completion of the one-year, $775K extension he signed nearly a year ago.
The Predators drafted Fabbro, 25, with the 17th overall pick in 2016. He turned pro at the end of the 2018-19 campaign and has since appeared in 304 games for the Preds, recording 71 points and a +11 rating while averaging 18:10 per game. He’s slipped to a more limited role this year, averaging only 16:34, but he’s been effective in that sheltered even-strength role with 12 points, a +11 rating, and career-best possession numbers in 51 games.
Oddly enough, that career-best-showing hasn’t earned him the full trust of head coach Andrew Brunette. Fabbro was a healthy scratch for Nashville’s season opener and has been on 12 other occasions this season as part of a rotation with Tyson Barrie, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, and Luke Schenn for depth minutes.
Jankowski, 29, has spent the last two seasons in the Predators organization. The 2012 first-round pick stayed mostly in the NHL in 2022-23, recording seven goals and 12 points in 50 games, but has spent most of this year on assignment to AHL Milwaukee. He’s been a top performer there, notching 47 points and a +29 rating in 40 games, which has earned him some more NHL ice as of late. Aside from a few paper transactions, he’s stayed on the roster since Feb. 12 and has two goals and an assist in 14 NHL contests.
A one-way deal indicates the Predators envision Jankowski on next season’s opening night roster, but if he doesn’t make the cut, he’d have to clear waivers. The Hamilton, Ontario, native has also spent time with the Flames, Penguins and Sabres over his eight-year, 336-game NHL career.
By inking Grigals to an NHL contract, the Predators add a potential Black Ace for the postseason and give themselves the option to retain his exclusive signing rights with a qualifying offer this summer. The 25-year-old Latvian has spent most of the season with their ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators, where he has a 3.68 GAA, .898 SV%, 7-15-0 record, and one shutout in 26 games. He fared poorly in his lone AHL showing with Milwaukee on New Year’s Eve, posting a .846 SV% in a 4-3 loss to the Rockford IceHogs. He’s in his first professional season after four seasons with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and a graduate transfer season with UMass-Lowell last year.
Philadelphia Trades Wade Allison To Nashville For Denis Gurianov
The Philadelphia Flyers have sent depth forward Wade Allison to the Nashville Predators for winger Denis Gurianov, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Allison’s move was first reported by The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco.
Allison has spent the entirety of the season in the AHL, scoring a measly 10 goals and 17 points in 46 games – matching his scoring in 28 AHL games last season. He’s lost his grip on the NHL role he earned last season, when he played in 60 games and scored 15 points while averaging a commendable 13 minutes of ice time. Last year marked Allison’s first full-time NHL role, though he had played 15 games between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons as well. In total, he’s managed 75 career NHL games, with 13 goals, 22 points, and 40 penalty minutes. The 26-year-old winger hasn’t quite found his groove in the pros since making his debut in 2020-21 and was likely due for a change of scenery. He’ll now move to Nashville, who has focused on bringing in depth forwards this Trade Deadline – also acquiring Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier via trade, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan off of waivers.
Gurianov will move to his fourth team in the last three seasons, moving from Dallas to Montreal last season, and signing a one-year, $850K contract with the Predators last summer. He started the season in the minor leagues, scoring 30 points in 27 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, before getting called up in early January. He’s since managed just two points, split evenly, in 14 games with the Predators. The performance has brought his career totals up to 113 points across 294 games, though much of that scoring came during a three-season stretch from 2019 to 2022, when Gurianov scored 29, 30, and 31 points respectively while serving in Dallas’ top-nine. He was traded to Montreal in the subsequent 2022-23 season in a one-for-one swap with Evgenii Dadonov, and has struggled to regain his scoring touch since.
Moving Gurianov not only nets Nashville a depth forward with potential in Allison – it also gives the team much more flexibility to deploy their newest additions, with Allison not likely to rival an immediate NHL role. Gurianov was averaging over 12 minutes of ice time with Nashville, rotating between the team’s second and third lines. His role will now likely move to Zucker, who has a much more commendable nine goals and 25 points this season, and is coming off a 27-goal, 48-point performance last year. Added lineup flexibility could be enough to bring Zucker back to his high-scoring ways, or offer a chance for Beauvillier to once again become comfortable in a contending lineup.