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Predators Activate Cody Glass From Injured Reserve

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Yesterday, Nashville opened up a pair of roster spots when they assigned Liam Foudy and Spencer Stastney to the minors.  One of those spots has now been filled as 102.5 The Game’s Nick Kieser relays (Twitter link) that center Cody Glass has been activated off injured reserve.

Last season was somewhat of a breakout year for the 24-year-old.  After being more of a fringe player up to that point, the sixth pick in 2017 locked down a regular middle-six role, setting career highs across the board in games (72), goals (14), assists (21), and points (35).  That helped Glass earn a spot on Canada’s entry at the Worlds where he added four more assists in ten games.

His play also helped earn him a two-year, $5MM deal, a nice raise for someone who had to settle for a two-way qualifying offer the year before.  The contract basically amounts to a second bridge deal to see if this type of production was repeatable or could be improved on or if he’s likely to remain more of a secondary contributor moving forward.

Unfortunately for him and the Preds, Glass struggled out of the gate offensively this season, recording just one assist in his first nine appearances despite averaging nearly 14 minutes a night of action before suffering an upper-body injury last month.  It’s fair to say they’ll be counting on him to provide more than that now that he has been cleared to rejoin the lineup.

Trotz Unhappy With Barrie Leak; Preds Prefer Not To Use Last Retention Slot On Him

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Over the weekend, news got out that Predators defenseman Tyson Barrie and his camp had been given permission to seek a trade.  Speaking recently with 102.5 The Game (video link), GM Barry Trotz expressed his frustration over the news being leaked and how Barrie himself handled being made a healthy scratch for the first time in his career last weekend.  The 32-year-old has typically been one of the better offensive producers from the blueline in his career with ten straight seasons of at least 38 points.  However, he has been held without a goal and has just ten assists in his first 23 games this season.  Barrie is in the final year of his contract which carries a $4.5MM AAV and with his offensive struggles so far, it might not be a deal that’s easy to move.  Meanwhile, in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun noted that the Preds aren’t particularly inclined to use their last salary retention slot to help facilitate a swap which will only complicate those attempts further.

Predators Assign Liam Foudy And Spencer Stastney To AHL

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After clearing waivers earlier today, the Predators wasted little time sending forward Liam Foudy to the minors.  The team announced that both Foudy and defenseman Spencer Stastney were assigned to AHL Milwaukee.  No subsequent recalls were announced.

Foudy was claimed off waivers from Columbus early in the season but was in and out of the lineup with Nashville.  Between the two teams, he has played in 13 games so far, picking up three assists and seven shots on net in just under ten minutes a night of ice time.

The 23-year-old spent all of last season in the NHL with the Blue Jackets, getting into a career-high 62 contests.  Now, he’ll head back to the minors where he should have a chance to play a much bigger role for the Admirals.  Foudy’s last AHL stint was in the 2021-22 campaign when he had 19 points in 29 games with Cleveland.

As for Stastney, the 23-year-old has been up for a pair of stints with the Preds this season, spanning nine games in total where he has his first career goal while logging just over 16 minutes a night.  He also has four points in ten games so far with the Admirals.

Nashville’s skater roster now stands at just a dozen healthy forwards and seven blueliners so they have a couple of open spots at their disposal.  Considering they’re back in action on Saturday against Toronto, it wouldn’t be surprising to see at least one of those spots filled by then.

Injury Notes: Novak, Carrier, Goodrow, Kreider, Martin

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The Nashville Predators have activated Thomas Novak off of injured reserve. The 26-year-old has been out of action since November 14th with an upper-body injury. Nashville’s head coach, Andrew Brunette, suggested that Novak could return soon, saying, “I think Novak, depending on when I go back and see how his [injury] has healed… if he feels better, I think he’ll go.” 

Both Novak and Alexandre Carrier returned to the Predators’ practice on Thursday. Carrier is working back from an upper-body injury suffered on a hit from Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov.

Novak has appeared in 14 games with the Predators this season, scoring six goals and 12 points and recording six penalty minutes. Carrier has appeared in 22 games of his own, recording eight points and 12 penalty minutes. The Predators drafted Novak and Carrier with consecutive picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, taking Novak in the third round and Carrier in the fourth round. Carrier has scored 50 points through 166 career NHL games, while Novak has totaled 62 points in 92 games of his own.

Other injury notes from around the league:

Predators Place Liam Foudy On Waivers, Return Mark Jankowski To AHL

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The Nashville Predators have placed Liam Foudy on waivers and returned Mark Jankowski to the AHL. Foudy has appeared in 12 games with Nashville this season, while Jankowski slotted into the team’s last two games.

Nashville’s head coach, Andrew Brunette, spoke highly of Foudy in light of the news, saying, “He brings speed and I’d like to see him go [to the AHL] and get a little more finish and get a little stronger. If he clears, I’m really excited to have him in the organization.”

Nashville claimed Foudy off of waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in late October. The 23-year-old centerman has recorded three assists and a -2 in 13 games between Nashville and Columbus this year, after recording 14 points in 62 games as a rookie last season. Columbus drafted Foudy in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft and awarded him with his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season. He’s totaled 22 points in 102 career NHL games.

Jankowski has spent most of his season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, ranking second on the team in scoring with 14 points in 17 games. He’s in his second year in Nashville, playing in 50 games and scoring 12 points with the Predators last year. It was only the fourth time that Jankowski has played in 50 or more games in one season, scoring 25 points in 72 games in 2017-18, 32 points in 79 games in 2018-19, and seven points in 56 games in 2019-20. The 29-year-old forward was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames and has totaled 50 goals and 93 points in 324 career NHL games.

Cole Smith Out Day To Day With Illness

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On TSN’s Insider Trading today, Pierre LeBrun relayed some of the reservations the NHL might be having about a potential NHL return to Olympic hockey participation in 2026. The NHL hasn’t taken part in the Olympics since the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia, a tournament in which Canada took gold. The league did not participate in the events in 2018 and opted not to return in 2022 due to COVID concerns as well as concerns surrounding travel.

LeBrun told viewers that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to the NHL board of governors and had concerns about the Olympic arena in Milan, Italy which is not built yet and has a projected timeline that would see construction conclude just six to eight weeks before the Olympics begin.

On top of that, there remains no agreement on many important details such as families travelling to the Olympics as well as an agreement on the players’ insurance.

Lebrun added that he believes this is the most negative he has heard the NHL talk about 2026 Olympic participation but he does add that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is not pessimistic towards NHL players returning to the Olympics.

In other evening notes:

  • The Nashville Predators announced that forward Cole Smith missed tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an apparent illness. The 28-year-old is currently listed as day-to-day, and it is unknown whether he will be able to suit up on Thursday when the Predators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Smith has just one full NHL season under his belt and has started this year at a solid pace with four goals and five assists in 24 games while averaging nearly three hits a game.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine was a scratch tonight due to an illness. No word yet on any timeline for Laine to return as the news came out just before the start of the Blue Jackets’ game against the Los Angeles Kings. Mathieu Olivier was expected to be scratched for the game but took Laine’s place in the lineup and scored his first goal of the season in the 4-3 loss. Laine has struggled out of the game this season and has been a healthy scratch at times, he has just five goals and two assists in 16 games thus far which is well short of the numbers he has put up in recent years where he has been a point-a-game player.

Nashville Predators Recall Mark Jankowski

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The Nashville Predators have recalled forward Mark Jankowski from their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

The 29-year-old 2012 first-round pick has spent the entirety of this season so far with the Admirals, and is currently second on the team in points with 14 in 17 games. The Predators played the New York Rangers last night and today play the Buffalo Sabres.

The recall of Jankowski allows the Predators to have an extra forward on their roster for depth purposes, just in case coach Andrew Brunette elects to shuffle his lineup for tonight’s game. With Jankowski recalled, the team now has the flexibility to give a forward the night off if they so choose.

A versatile six-foot-four center, Jankowski can also play along the wings and has a decent track record of secondary offensive production. Not only is he a former AHL All-Star, Jankowski also has a career-high of 17 goals in the NHL and has over 322 games of NHL experience.

If Jankowski ends up playing, he’d likely be slotted onto Nashville’s fourth line, either in the place of Michael McCarron at the 4C spot or in place of Dante Fabbro, who has been dressed as a seventh defenseman.

Predators To Scratch Tyson Barrie, Give Him Permission To Speak To Other Teams

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Tyson Barrie’s time in Nashville hasn’t gone the greatest as the offensive blueliner is still looking for his first goal of the season.  Now, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Predators have opted to scratch Barrie for today’s game against the Rangers while also granting him permission to speak to other teams about a potential trade.

The 32-year-old was acquired near the trade deadline last season from Edmonton for salary-matching purposes in the Mattias Ekholm deal.  Between the two teams, he played in 85 games (tying an NHL record for most games played in a single season), collecting 13 goals and a career-high 42 assists.  At a minimum, there was some enthusiasm that Barrie could produce at a somewhat similar clip this year, giving the Preds either a good trade asset for the March 8th trade deadline or a short-term veteran to try to keep around.

Things haven’t gone according to plan, however.  Despite averaging 3:15 per game on the power play, Barrie has been limited to just three assists in 22 games with the man advantage, a situation where he often piles up the point.  He hasn’t fared much better at even strength either, notching just six helpers while logging over 15 minutes a game at five-on-five.  His 18:51 ATOI in all situations is his lowest since 2013-14.

That’s not exactly how Barrie wanted his contract year to go; he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.  Meanwhile, it’s fair to say his trade value has certainly dropped as well.

Barrie carries a $4.5MM AAV (with no trade protection) which is going to be difficult for many teams to fit in given how many are using LTIR or are very tight to the Upper Limit of the cap.  As a result, GM Barry Trotz will either have to retain part of his contract (they can hold back up to half) or take a similar-sized deal back to facilitate a swap.  However, it’s worth noting that Nashville has already used two of its three retention slots (on Ekholm and Ryan Johansen) so retaining on Barrie’s deal would take that open off the table for anyone else until July 1st.

Barrie has shown in recent years that he can still be a higher-end offensive blueliner.  But that hasn’t been the case in Nashville and now, his camp will begin the process of trying to see if there’s another option for him elsewhere.  More specifically, they’ll look to see if there’s another team with a viable need for him that can also afford his contract.  From being one of the higher-scoring blueliners in the league last season to this; this is certainly quite the drop in value in just a few short months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Predators To Recall Spencer Stastney, Alexandre Carrier Out Week-To-Week

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The Predators will recall defenseman Spencer Stastney from AHL Milwaukee while fellow defender Alexandre Carrier is sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Nick Kieser of Nashville Hockey Now reports. Carrier sustained the injury early in yesterday’s loss to the Wild, skating less than two minutes in the contest. The Predators had two open spots on the 23-man roster and, therefore, do not need to place Carrier on IR to accommodate Stastney’s recall.

After signing a one-year, $2.5MM contract as a restricted free agent in July, Carrier continues to see a more limited role than the top-four duties that earned him a tenth-place Calder Trophy finish in 2021-22. He has, however, been a steady fixture in the lineup. He’s played in all 22 of Nashville’s games thus far after appearing in just 43 out of 82 contests last season. He’s been paired almost equally with Jeremy Lauzon and Ryan McDonagh this year, posting high-quality possession numbers with the latter and posting a goal and eight points.

Stastney, 23, returns to the NHL roster just three days after being returned to the minors. After being cut from the roster during training camp, the Predators recalled Stastney for a two-week stint with the team in late November, playing him in five contests. The 2018 fifth-round pick now has 13 NHL appearances to his name after finishing out last season in the NHL, notching one goal, two assists, and a strong +9 rating in 16:44 of average ice time. The Notre Dame grad, now in his second full season of pro hockey, remains a strong two-way prospect who could convert these early call-ups to an eventual long-term role on the Predators’ second or third pairing.

The Woodbridge, Illinois-born defender will battle depth defenders Dante Fabbro and Luke Schenn for playing opportunities while on the roster, although he projects to serve as a healthy scratch with Carrier as the only injured defenseman. Stastney is in the final season of a two-year, entry-level contract and will be eligible for salary arbitration in the summer.

Predators Assign Spencer Stastney To AHL

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The Nashville Predators have assigned defenseman Spencer Stastney to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Stastney was recalled on November 14th, a move that coincided with Thomas Novak’s move to injured reserve. Stastney has since played in five games with the Predators, scoring his first NHL goal and recording a +4. He has also played in 10 AHL games this season, scoring four points.

Stastney was drafted by the Predators in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He went on to play four years at the University of Notre Dame, signing with Nashville following the conclusion of his senior year. Stastney totaled 143 career games in college and scored 63 points. Stastney played in his first full professional season last year when he recorded 13 points in 56 games with the Admirals. He also received his NHL debut last season, playing in eight games with the Predators and netting two assists.

Stastney’s assignment to the AHL lines up with Luke Schenn’s return to action. Schenn was activated on November 26th and played in his second game of the season, after suffering a lower-body injury that held him out for roughly six weeks. Schenn is in his first year with the Predators, making Nashville the eighth club that he’s played games for. The Predators signed Schenn to a three-year, $8.25MM contract on July 1st. He brings 935 games of NHL experience to the club, netting 191 points and 3161 hits in that span. With the assignment of 23-year-old Stastney, and the return of 34-year-old Schenn, the average age of Nashville’s blue line goes from 28.5 to 30.

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