Roman Josi Out Due To Injury
In desperate need of a win to keep playoff hopes alive, the Nashville Predators will have to do so without a top player. Just before puck drop in Utah, the team shared that captain Roman Josi won’t play, listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Canucks Denied Predators Permission To Speak To Ryan Johnson
The Predators had interest in discussing their general manager opening with Canucks assistant GM Ryan Johnson, but were denied permission by Vancouver, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. As Thomas Drance of The Athletic adds, that stems from a willingness to keep Johnson in the conversation as a promotion candidate to replace Patrik Allvinas the Canucks’ GM if they decide to move in a different direction.
Not to be confused with Sabres defense prospect Ryan Johnson, the Vancouver exec played over 700 NHL games as a center with the Panthers, Lightning, Blues, Canucks, and Blackhawks from 1997 to 2011. After retiring as a player with the Hawks, Johnson returned to B.C. as a development coach two years later. He’s remained in the organization ever since.
Johnson has seen a ladder of promotions over the years. In 2015, he was promoted to assistant director of player development. Two years later, he had the assistant dropped from his title and also took over as the GM of their AHL affiliate, a role he still holds today. The Canucks made him a special assistant to Allvin in 2022, then formalized him as one of Allvin’s assistants in 2024.
While the Canucks’ AHL farm in Abbotsford is wrapping up a season nearly as dreadful as their NHL parent’s, Johnson did help build them into a Calder Cup winner just last year. Since taking over as the minor-league GM (then affiliated with the Utica Comets) back in 2017, Vancouver’s AHL teams have amassed a record of 309-227-57 (.569) under Johnson.
As for Nashville, they still have several other candidates in the running to succeed Barry Trotz. Several other AGMs around the league are believed to be in contention, plus a new face in the equation after the Devils fired former Predators captain Tom Fitzgerald earlier this week.
Latest On Predators GM Search
- Insider Frank Seravalli of Frankly Hockey believes the Nashville Predators will explore former Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald as a candidate, as noted in the April 7 edition of the podcast. Fired by New Jersey just yesterday, Seravalli suspects that the timing was with this in mind. The 57-year-old is a natural fit with the Predators, having served as their inaugural captain, playing alongside current head coach Andrew Brunette, under the departing general manager Barry Trotz, no less. Fitzgerald stands out as a candidate with over five years of general manager experience at the NHL level, a trait favorable compared to other options. The Predators are thought to be seeking an entirely new voice, but at the very least, Fitzgerald will garner consideration.
Nicolas Hague Leaves Game With Injury
- Nashville Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague left yesterday’s crucial win over the San Jose Sharks with an undisclosed injury, according to a team announcement. Hague missed some time earlier this season with a lower-body injury, though it is unclear at this point if what sidelined him yesterday is related to that ailment. Hague has been Nashville’s No. 3 defenseman this season, averaging 19:37 time on ice per game. He’s also a leading penalty killer for the club, averaging 2:04 per game while short-handed. The extent of Hague’s injury has yet to be revealed, but his status before the team’s all-important game Monday against the Los Angeles Kings will be important to track. If he ends up unable to dress for that game, the team is likely to rely more heavily on third-pairing left-shot defenseman Adam Wilsby.
Viggo Gustafsson Joins Milwaukee On ATO
- The Predators have reassigned defenseman Viggo Gustafsson to AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old was a third-round pick by Nashville in 2024, going 77th overall. He signed his entry-level deal last month but it begins next season, so Gustafsson will play on a tryout deal for the Admirals down the stretch. He played in 40 games with AIK in Sweden’s Allsvenskan this season, picking up eight assists and 28 penalty minutes.
Latest On Nashville’s GM Search
The Predators are no longer the only team currently in the market for a new general manager after Toronto fired Brad Treliving earlier this week. That said, given that current GM Barry Trotz gave notice of his intention to step down just over two months ago, Nashville is much farther along in their search for a replacement.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Preds are believed to be nearing the in-person stage of their interviewing process, if they’re not there already. He added that he believes Bill Scott (Oilers), Scott White (Stars), Brett Peterson (Panthers), and former Arizona GM John Chayka will be part of that process. Additionally, the team reached out to Win Hockey Agency’s Matt Keator to assess his possible interest but it doesn’t appear he is in the next round of interviews. Meanwhile, Friedman added that Predators assistant GM Jeff Kealty could still be in the mix as well.
Scott has held various roles in Edmonton dating back to 2010 when he first joined the team as GM of their AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City. Since then, he has also held the title of Director of Hockey Operations (including Director of Salary Cap Management) and has been an assistant GM for the Oilers since the 2022-23 campaign.
As for White, he has been with Dallas even longer, dating back to the 2005-06 season when he joined AHL Iowa as their Director of Hockey Operations. Before that, he had spent the past ten years coaching in either college of the ECHL. Since then, White worked his way up to being assistant GM of their AHL squad (now in Texas) and has been an assistant GM with the Stars since 2016.
Peterson, meanwhile, has held an AGM title with Florida since 2020. He also has some international experience, having worked with USA Hockey for the last two World Championships and will serve as the GM for their entry into next month’s tournament as well.
Chayka is the one candidate on this list who is well-known going back to his time with the Coyotes. After just one season as an assistant GM, he was promoted to the top job for the 2016-17 campaign and executed a data-driven approach. Along the way, he brought in several players of consequence (including Derek Stepan, Taylor Hall, and Nick Schmaltz, among others) while utilizing his cap space to add assets for taking on burdensome LTIR-bound contracts. He abruptly resigned from the team in July 2020, just before the ‘bubble playoffs’ started, and hasn’t worked in the NHL since then.
Kealty is certainly the longest-tenured person in this group; he has worked with the Predators since 2001. He started off as a scout, working his way up to Director of Amateur Scouting, then Director of Scouting (professional and amateur). Kealty added the assistant GM title back in 2018 and has held the dual role ever since.
With Trotz staying in his role until a successor is found and the draft still a little more than two months away, there is still plenty of time for the Predators to pick their next general manager. But it appears they’re a step closer to doing so now that they’ve entered the next phase of their search.
Predators Sign Aiden Fink To AHL Tryout
Predators right-wing prospect Aiden Fink signed an amateur tryout contract with the club’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, on Tuesday, Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey relays. The transaction signals Fink is turning pro, but gives Nashville more time to decide if they want to sign him to an entry-level contract with immediate effect or beginning next season.
If Fink signed an NHL contract that began now, he would be ineligible for AHL assignment. Signing the ATO first will allow the Penn State product to play a few games in Milwaukee to get up to speed before the Preds make the call on whether to work him into their lineup for their push for a wild-card spot.
Fink, 21, was a seventh-round pick in 2023 – as Kieser points out, the last selection that former general manager David Poile made. Since then, all the 5’10” winger has done is score.
Fink was drafted from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The junior ‘A’ organization is far from a powerhouse compared to Canadian Hockey League clubs but has produced several NHL alumni, highlighted by Avalanche superstar Cale Makar. Fink was voted as the top player in all provincial junior ‘A’ leagues in his post-draft season, erupting for 41 goals and 97 points in 54 games for the Bandits.
After committing to Penn State University the year prior, he arrived in State College as a freshman in 2024. Fink scored a point per game or better in each of his three seasons as a Nittany Lion, wrapping up his collegiate career with a 38-point effort in 30 outings this season. Injuries and a goal-scoring slump meant he didn’t reach the heights of his 23-goal, 53-point sophomore season that truly put him on the map, but he was still one of the top talents in the Big 10.
Fink was particularly impressive on the international stage this year. The Calgary-born forward has never been part of the Canadian national junior or senior team but joined a select team of NCAA players that traveled to compete against top-flight European talent in the Spengler Cup invitational back in December. While they ended up losing the final to hosts HC Davos of the Swiss National League, Fink’s four goals and four assists in four games led the tournament in scoring.
His size and defensive limitations have kept Fink from being regarded as a legitimate top-10 prospect in a Nashville pool that’s on the deeper side. That said, his pure offensive ceiling is right up there among Nashville’s best – if he can handle the physical grind of the NHL and get to the areas he needs to in order to score.
Peter Chiarelli, Kevin Maxwell Departing Blues Front Office
Blues vice president of hockey operations Peter Chiarelli and pro scout Kevin Maxwell will not return to the club next season, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Chiarelli’s departure comes as he’s progressed in the interview process to fill the Predators’ pending general manager vacancy, while Maxwell will be joining the Rangers in a yet-to-be-disclosed management role, Dreger adds.
It may not be the only front office turnover St. Louis will see in the coming weeks. This is Doug Armstrong’s last season in the GM role. The team announced way back in 2024 that following the end of the 2025-26 campaign, Armstrong would elevate to president of hockey operations, while Alexander Steen, who played 765 games as a Blue and has been a special assistant to Armstrong over the past two years, would step into the GM’s chair.
It’s not a complete overhaul – Armstrong will still hold a fairly powerful role – but one that will nonetheless lead to a bit of a shakeup. Chiarelli, 61, had been part of the Blues’ front office for the past seven years. He first joined Armstrong as a senior advisor following their Stanley Cup win in 2019 and was promoted to his current VP role two years later.
As one of the league’s more experienced executives, it’s no surprise the Predators have reached out to him about succeeding Barry Trotz. It would be Chiarelli’s third go-around as a GM, first heading up the Bruins from 2006-15 (and winning a Stanley Cup in the process) before managing the Oilers from 2015-19.
The Predators have cast a wide net in their search, opening themselves up to experience-heavy candidates like Chiarelli while also considering up-and-comers. They’ve previously been linked to former Habs GM and current Sabres AGM Marc Bergevin as well as Panthers AGM Brett Peterson. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported today that they’ve also interviewed Oilers AGM Bill Scott.
Meanwhile, Maxwell has been with the Blues since 2022. In addition to his scouting duties, he’s also served as the GM for their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, a role normally reserved for an AGM. St. Louis will need to find a replacement there.
The 65-year-old Maxwell has been in scouting roles as far back as the late 1980’s with the Flyers, and has also logged stints with the Whalers, Islanders, and Stars. He then joined the Rangers, where he’s set to return now, as a pro scout in 2008 and was promoted to their director of pro scouting in 2011. He held that role until his departure from the organization to join the Blues in 2022.
That the Blues are willing to part ways with Maxwell is unsurprising. Springfield is on track to miss the playoffs for the second time in four seasons under Maxwell – a hard feat in a league where 23 of 32 teams qualify. The year before he took over, Springfield had advanced all the way to the Calder Cup Final.
Predators Sign Fedor Svechkov To Two-Year Extension
The Predators announced this afternoon that they’ve signed center Fedor Svechkov to a two-year extension worth $2.5MM, yielding an average annual value of $1.25MM. He was set to be a restricted free agent this summer without arbitration rights.
Svechkov, 23 next month, is in his second NHL season after being drafted 19th overall in 2021. Since making his debut for the club in November 2024, he’s been a serviceable fourth-line piece but not much more. He’s put up an 11-19–30 scoring line in 110 career games with a -23 rating. Touted as a two-way center, he’s made progress in that department this year with a 51.1 CF% and 50.7 xGF% at 5-on-5, but his limited offensive utility thus far has kept him from climbing above 11 to 13 minutes of ice time per game.
This year, he’s shooting at just 5% and has three goals and 13 points through 58 games. He’s struggled on faceoffs, although his 42.9% win rate is up from his untenable 36.7% mark as a rookie. Given that he hasn’t excelled in any particular area outside of his possession impacts this year, he’s been in and out of the lineup. The Preds took advantage of his continued waiver-exempt status to assign him to AHL Milwaukee in late January, where he had five goals and eight points in just 10 games before being added back to the roster in early March.
Nashville’s trades sending Michael McCarron and Cole Smith out of town at the trade deadline have provided more security in the lineup for Svechkov in the last couple of weeks. He’s still only averaging 11:06 per game since the deadline as the Preds’ fourth-line center between fellow developing first-rounders Reid Schaefer and Joakim Kemell, but has a 1-2–3 scoring line and 14 shot attempts in eight games in that span. His new deal, which makes him an RFA in 2028, should lock him into Nashville’s #4C slot again next season.
Predators Reassign Matt Murray
3/22: Ahead of their Sunday afternoon game in Chicago the Predators reassigned Murray to AHL Milwaukee. Still awaiting his debut with Nashville, the 28-year-old did not appear in a game, as Annunen won both games with excellent play in goal, headlined by a 40-save effort against Vegas. Saros has returned to action, getting the nod today.
3/19: The Nashville Predators had to change plans just before puck drop in Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. The team recalled depth goaltender Matt Murray to back up Justus Annunen after it was revealed that Juuse Saros would miss the game with an upper-body injury. The injury was sustained at morning practice, per Alex Daughterty of The Tennessean.
Murray is having to travel away from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, who are on their own road trip through Canada, to fill his recall to the NHL. He is traveling from Winnipeg to Nashville and is expected to arrive in the second half of the game, per NHL.com’s Brooks Bratten. That news will likely necessitate an emergency backup goalie in the stands for the first half of the game, though Nashville did not officially sign any temporary tryouts.
Saros is officially listed as out day-to-day. His absence will leave big shoes to fill after the veteran goaltender posted wins in four of his last five games, including back-to-back shootout wins. He has faced an average of 31 shots against since March 1st and posted a .910 save percentage in that stretch. That stretch has far outperformed Saros’ season-long performance, marked by 24 wins and a .894 save percentage in 51 games.
The Predators haven’t found much more relief in turning to backup Annunen, who has six wins and a .888 save percentage in 21 games this season. He has matched the save percentage he posted in 23 games with the Predators last season, after joining the team in a December 2024 trade that sent Scott Wedgewood to the Colorado Avalanche. Annunen will stand as the de facto starter if Saros is forced to miss additional time, as Murray hasn’t played in the NHL since the Dallas Stars’ 2023-24 season. He recorded a shutout in his last NHL contest.
Murray has spent this season in command of the Admirals’ starting crease. He has recorded 17 wins and a .908 save percentage in 37 games: team-highs in all three stats. His stat line was much stronger in his debut with the Admirals last season, when Murray posted 28 wins and a .932 save percentage in 43 games. He will offer extra hands if Nashville runs into another goalie injury – though the team should go back to their usual pairing of Saros and Annunen as soon as the former is back to health.