Zachary L’Heureux To Miss Four To Six Weeks
Things were looking up were Predators winger Zachary L’Heureux earlier this week. He was recalled from the minors on Tuesday although he didn’t see any game action. It turns out he won’t be playing anytime soon as the team announced (Twitter link) that he will miss the next four to six weeks due to a lower-body injury.
The 22-year-old spent most of last season with Nashville as an early-season recall following a strong start with AHL Milwaukee turned into a permanent promotion. L’Heureux wound up playing in 62 games in his freshman NHL year, picking up five goals and ten assists along with 198 hits in just over 12 minutes a night of action, becoming a key part of their physical bottom six.
With that in mind, it was expected that L’Heureux would break camp with the Predators and pick up where he left off. However, he only played in two preseason games and then was sent to the Admirals at the end of training camp, becoming a somewhat surprising training camp cut. He did well in the early going with Milwaukee though, collecting four goals and two assists in seven games to earn his promotion.
L’Heureux is in the final season of his entry-level contract and was hoping for a strong platform year to give him a sizable raise from his current $863K AAV. Instead, he’ll wind up going without any NHL action for more than two months which is hardly the outcome he or the Predators were hoping for.
Predators Place Cole Smith On Injured Reserve
The Predators announced they’ve placed winger Cole Smith on injured reserve. The placement is retroactive to Nov. 1, his most recent appearance.
Smith left that night’s game against the Flames with an upper-body injury early and didn’t return. The next day, the team announced he’d be out for three to six weeks. That renders the minimum absence of the IR placement ineffective, as he’s technically eligible to return on Nov. 10 against the Rangers but won’t be available until later in the month at the earliest.
As such, today’s move has less to do with Smith’s injury and is more about opening up a roster spot. After recalling Zachary L’Heureux from AHL Milwaukee earlier in the week, the Preds didn’t have an open one. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Nashville use Smith’s spot to recall a defenseman. Adam Wilsby has missed the last five games due to a lower-body injury and is close to returning, according to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean. However, with Wilsby still on the active roster and unavailable, the Predators don’t have an extra rearguard available.
Before his injury, Smith was having a good start in a fourth-line role alongside Michael McCarron and Ozzy Wiesblatt. The 30-year-old had three goals through 13 games while averaging 13:26 of ice time per game, including a spot on their top penalty killing unit. Despite a -2 rating, his underlying numbers with McCarron and Wiesblatt at 5-on-5 were excellent. The trio has controlled 64.3% of expected goals and 57.6% of shot attempts, which are spectacular numbers given their role as defensive specialists.
Ryan O’Reilly Emerging As Trade Candidate
On an episode of Oilersnation Everyday earlier this week, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period mentioned Ryan O’Reilly’s name, saying that it is starting to make the rounds again. With Nazem Kadri making headlines in recent days, the demand for centers is already taking shape in November, and is expected to heat up as the season goes on. If Nashville does not go on a serious push soon, perhaps O’Reilly, a pending free agent, could be on the move again at some point.
The 34-year-old center has appeal not only for his ongoing production and leadership, but also that he comes in at just a $4.5MM cap hit, one of Barry Trotz’s first signings as a general manager in 2023. Given O’Reilly’s declining production at the time, it appeared he would be a perfect stop-gap, set to mentor the Preds’ youth and age into a third-line center by contract’s end. Instead, he had a resurgence, posting 69 points, and even despite Nashville’s major struggles last season, O’Reilly still notched 53 points in 79 games, and is maintaining such levels so far this year.
Now, with the contract coming to an end, O’Reilly remains a key presence for the Predators, but if things do not change, offers for the center could be too much for Barry Trotz to pass up. In a market where the Hurricanes and Canadiens have been speculated as wanting centers, along with outside possibilities such as the Red Wings or Devils (who showed interest in O’Reilly last year), Nashville could take advantage and get a haul for an aging player, while also giving him another chance at contention. It’s likely O’Reilly would fetch a first-round pick as long as he can maintain such offensive production. Even as he turns 35 and beyond, with his skillset, O’Reilly can be a serious bottom-six asset.
Although it is mostly speculation at this point, Steven Stamkos’ name has floated around of late as well, and it may, at long last, be time for the Predators to waive the white flag and tear things down by any means necessary. If an O’Reilly deal is indeed made at some point this season, Trotz would likely look to bring back a short-term center. The young Fedor Svechkov has flashed potential, but does not appear ready for a true top six role, with just one point in 13 games. Erik Haula, another pending free agent, could also be a flip candidate for Trotz, but again, he is a placeholder, and without the two Nashville would be dangerously thin down the middle.
Trotz’s hesitance to deal O’Reilly for now could be two-fold; wanting to see if his group can make one more push, along with not wanting to deplete his forward core and hurt morale. However, O’Reilly’s name is one worth following if the Predators cannot turn things around, and at some point, teams like the Hurricanes could make a push.
Evening Notes: Murphy, Josi, Team Canada
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote today on Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and his falling role with the club. Murphy is the longest-tenured Blackhawk, whose timeline overlapped with the likes of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Patrick Sharp in 2017-18. A steady presence throughout Chicago’s tougher times, it appears the 32-year-old is on the outside looking in. His ice time has fallen dramatically this season, some of the lowest of his entire career.
The veteran has handled it professionally, saying he understands the decision, as mentioned by Pope. Injuries have not been a factor either, as it seems that Murphy’s seat has simply been taken by the younger 6’8″ Louis Crevier, and fellow veteran Matt Grzelcyk, who offers more mobility in new Head Coach Jeff Blashill’s system.
It is not ideal for a player in his ninth season with the Blackhawks, with the team finally showing progress, to only now lose his role. However, Murphy could have interest from teams looking for a veteran rental on the back-end. His $4.4MM cap hit may need retention for a deal to work, however Chicago has the room to retain. One way or the other, GM Kyle Davidson will surely do the veteran right, considering his contributions over the years.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey shared earlier today Predators GM Barry Trotz’s update on Roman Josi. The Preds’ captain is still a few weeks away from a return. Josi was listed late last month as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. In his absence, Nashville remains above bottom-feeder status, an improvement from last year, but their play has not evoked much confidence of contention either. The Swiss defenseman’s presence is critical for the group, but at 35, it is hard to imagine Josi can sustain his usual workload into 2026 and beyond. If he can stay healthy for 30 more games this year, Josi will reach the esteemed 1,000 game mark.
- Marco D’Amico of RG Media shared that Don Sweeney, Bruins GM, and Doug Armstrong, Blues GM, are both in attendance for tonight’s game between the Canadiens and Flyers. While this may raise some eyebrows, both are with Team Canada ahead of the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy, set to start next February. The matchup features a wealth of players to scout for Team Canada; and D’Amico mentioned Nick Suzuki, Noah Dobson, Sam Montembeault, Travis Konecny, and Travis Sanheim as all possibilities.
Predators Recall Zachary L’Heureux
The Predators have recalled left-winger Zachary L’Heureux from AHL Milwaukee, according to a team announcement. The team has an open roster spot with captain Roman Josi on injured reserve, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
L’Heureux, 22, is in contention to make his season debut tonight against the Wild after being an unexpected cut from Nashville’s training camp. The 2021 first-round pick spent most of 2024-25 up with the Preds after starting in Milwaukee, making 62 appearances in his rookie season. The aggressive 5’11” forward settled nicely into a bottom-six role, posting five goals and 15 points while averaging a shade over 12 minutes of ice time per game. L’Heureux’s 198 hits led Nashville forwards. He was middle-of-the-pack defensively – the Preds allowed 28.7 shots and 2.84 goals per 60 minutes while he was on the ice at 5-on-5.
The Preds have carried a slim forward group for most of the season. They needed an extra body, though, after the weekend’s announcement that Cole Smith will be out for at least three weeks with an upper-body injury. L’Heureux has thoroughly earned the promotion. Through seven games for Milwaukee, he’s among the club’s top scorers with four goals and two assists.
L’Heureux spent most of his time in the lineup last season in fourth-line duties alongside Smith and center Michael McCarron. It stands to reason he’d have a similar deployment this time around if he slots back in, particularly with fellow early-season call-up Matthew Wood performing well in a top-nine role for the Preds over the last couple of weeks. He’s in the final season of his entry-level contract and needs a new contract to avoid becoming a restricted free agent next summer.
Predators Prospect Aiden Fink Out "For The Foreseeable Future" With Injury
- Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Guy Gadowsky announced today, per Penn State CommRadio’s Matt Becker, that star forward Aiden Fink has suffered an upper-body injury and will be out “foreseeable future.” Fink, 20, is a Nashville Predators prospect, selected in the seventh round of the 2023 draft as Hall of Fame GM David Poile’s final draft pick in charge of the club. Fink was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award last season after he scored 53 points in just 40 games, leading Penn State to its most successful season in program history. He had scored nine points through nine games this season, but now sees his momentum stopped as he’ll need to recover from this upper-body injury before he can hit the ice again.
Canucks Believed To Have Inquired About Steven Stamkos
The Canucks have long been searching for extra help down the middle, a need amplified by the latest injury to Filip Chytil. To that end, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic recently reported (audio link) that he has been told that Vancouver has kicked the tires on Predators forward Steven Stamkos as they continue to cast a wide net in their search for a center.
Stamkos was one of Nashville’s splashy signings in the 2024 offseason, a summer that also saw GM Barry Trotz bring in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei in the hopes of establishing themselves as a contender in a tough Central Division. While Marchessault has worked out reasonably well so far (though underachieving relative to expectations), the other two haven’t.
Stamkos is in the second season of a four-year, $32MM pact, signed with the belief that he could still be a steady scorer away from Tampa Bay where he spent the first 16 years of his career. However, after putting up 40 goals and 81 points in his final season with the Lightning, the 35-year-old managed just 27 goals and 53 points last season. This year, he’s off to a much slower start, managing just a goal and an assist through 13 outings.
It should be noted that on top of having a contract that looks to be well above market value with how he has played so far, Stamkos also has a full no-move clause. That means that even if the two teams could agree on a trade, he has full veto power if he doesn’t want to go there.
At this point, there’s no indication that Stamkos is interested in even considering a change of scenery. However, with how things went off the rails for the Preds last year, another quiet start this season, and his own struggles, it wouldn’t be shocking if he or the team decided to ponder the possibility.
Vancouver’s salary cap situation is quite tight; they’re nearly $2.8MM into LTIR, per PuckPedia. That means that the Canucks would need to match money to make a move work, something that could be mitigated in part by Nashville retaining salary. On the other hand, the Predators only have one retention slot remaining this season having already utilized them on Mattias Ekholm and Colton Sissons. Considering his value has dropped considerably, does it make sense to use that last slot (retaining several million dollars a year for multiple seasons) to elicit what would likely be a middling return? Or, would they be better off saving that last slot for someone else this season and revisiting the idea over the summer after those other two slots open back up?
While Stamkos is probably better off as a winger at this stage of his career, he has played with some regularity at center for the past few years after primarily playing the position before that. Given Vancouver’s need for help down the middle, he would certainly help there. However, considering how difficult it would be to make the cap fit work for the Canucks, Stamkos doesn’t seem like the most plausible of candidates at the moment. That said, they appear to be examining all possibilities as they look to upgrade the center position.
Cole Smith Out Three-To-Six Weeks With Upper-Body Injury
The Nashville Predators announced today that forward Cole Smith has suffered an upper-body injury and will be out with a three-to-six week recovery timeline. The Predators also announced that captain Roman Josi, who remains out on a week-to-week timeline with his own upper-body injury, has been placed on injured reserve.
Smith was limited to just 1:55 time-on-ice during the Predators’ victory over the Calgary Flames yesterday, leaving the game after he was on the receiving end of a hit from Flames grinder Ryan Lomberg. It’s an unfortunate development for Smith, who had started off the season well, scoring three goals in 13 games. Smith scored just four goals in all of 2024-25.
The 30-year-old winger is a player who has worked his way into a steady fourth-line NHL job as an undrafted former college free agent. While he’s never been much of an offensive producer, Smith brings valuable physicality and penalty-killing ability to the table. Smith has played a role Nashville’s the penalty kill dating back to 2022-23, his first full-time NHL campaign, and he took on a more central role there after the departures of Tanner Jeannot and later Yakov Trenin. Smith led all Predators forwards in short-handed ice time each of the last two seasons, and ranks second behind Michael McCarron through 13 games this season.
As a result, the loss of Smith for the next few weeks will be felt most prominently on the Predators’ penalty kill. Despite a poor all-around season, Nashville’s shorthanded operation ranked as the seventh-best in the NHL in 2024-25 and ranks sixth so far this season. This injury therefore costs one of the league’s top penalty kills one of its most important contributors.
Veteran Ryan O’Reilly ranks fifth among Predators forwards in short-handed ice time per game this season and could end up seeing his usage on that unit rise as a result of Smith’s injury. It’s also possible that a younger player such as Fedor Svechkov or Ozzy Wiesblatt, who have each seen sporadic use on the penalty kill, could get a longer look on the unit in Smith’s absence.
Looking at yesterday’s game as a clue, Wiesblatt took Smith’s spot alongside McCarron on the Predators’ top shorthanded unit after Smith left the game. He finished with just over two minutes of ice time on the penalty kill. That’s the most shorthanded ice time he’s played in a single NHL game so far in his young career, and it could indicate that Wiesblatt will get a chance to play that role moving forward while Smith recovers.
Steven Stamkos Fueling Speculation Amidst Slow Start
In an episode of the DMase, Vingan, & Daunic Podcast covering the Nashville Predators earlier this week, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet raised an intriguing situation. The insider voiced concerns with Steven Stamkos, wondering if at some point, he and the club could explore their options if things do not improve.
While it is easy to pile on with criticism of GM Barry Trotz for his frivolous spending for Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, adding two Stanley-Cup-winning 40-goal-scorers is hard to pass up. Although both were on the wrong side of 30 at time of signing, the Predators had reeled off a season exceeding expectations. Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist were amazing fits, so Trotz figured to add to the mix, going for one more push. Worse case, even if Stamkos and Marchessault did not maintain their scoring levels, they would be tremendous leaders.
Unfortunately, for Stamkos especially, things have gone even worse than reasonably expected. His 2024-25 production, 27 goals, 53 points, was at a rate not seen since being a teenager rookie in 2008-09. Stamkos’ -36, a career worst by far, was highly indicative of his declining ability at 5-on-5. At times, the first overall pick in 2008 looked uncomfortable, which is reasonable considering his perhaps unexpected new digs, but things never really improved.
And although it is still just October, Stamkos has not looked any better in 2025-26, with just one goal and two points in 9 games. He is no longer a center, playing along the likes of Fedor Svechkov and Luke Evangelista. Both are respectable young players, but it is such a far cry from Stamkos’ heyday in Tampa Bay. Stamkos is purely a power play specialist, and unfortunately, that has not even gone much to plan. The Predators have him teeing off in his regular spot, but are among the league’s worst on the man advantage.
Fans may criticize the former superstar, but at 35, he is what he is, and Stamkos’ production seems to be more a result of the team around him. With an elite playmaker, it is likely he could still be a 30+ goal scorer, but there is just no such to offer on the Preds’ roster. Nashville has had a respectable start so far, but much is on the back of goaltender Juuse Saros. They have a key test tonight vs Dallas, and getting Stamkos going is becoming an urgent matter.
While it remains pure speculation in terms of Stamkos at this point, his production is a major story for the Predators. If the team begins to fall in the standings again, it may become a serious conversation. With three more years at a $8MM cap hit, it would not be easy, but Stamkos is one of few players which have a level of respect where he could have ultimate say in his future; whether in Nashville, or beginning to seek an alternate destination, no matter how difficult such a move could be to execute.
Roman Josi Out Week-To-Week
The Predators will be without their captain and top defenseman for a little while. Team reporter Brooks Bratten relays (Twitter link) that Roman Josi is listed as out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He further clarified that this is not related to his diagnosis of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome earlier this year.
The 35-year-old was off to a solid start to his season before the injury. Josi has played in eight games so far, picking up a goal and four assists while averaging over 24 minutes a night. As usual, he has played a big role on both special teams units while posting the best possession numbers of any regular Predators blueliner. He was injured in their last game on Thursday and while he returned to the game after missing part of the second period, clearly, the injury was more significant than originally thought.
Nashville has gotten off to an okay start to their season, picking up eight points in as many games as they look to rebound from a disastrous showing in 2024-25 when expectations were high following a summer spending spree. However, staying afloat in the tough Central Division will get a lot tougher without their top rearguard in the lineup.
However, it’s not all bad news on the back end for the Preds. Team broadcaster Max Herz notes (Twitter link) that defenseman Nicolas Hague appears to be set to be activated off injured reserve and make his team debut. Nashville acquired the blueliner from Vegas this summer, quickly signing him to a four-year, $22MM contract after that. He’s projected to play alongside Adam Wilsby on Nashville’s top pairing, subbing in where Josi typically lines up.