Mark Borowiecki Announces Retirement
Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki has officially announced his retirement from the NHL after playing 12 seasons in the league. The 33-year-old, known for his physical play and strong leadership, made the announcement on Wednesday via Instagram.
Borowiecki was a fan favorite wherever he played, but most notably with the Ottawa Senators, where he spent the majority of his career. He was drafted by the Senators in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL Draft, and would establish himself as a hard-nosed defender who wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves. Over the course of his career, he recorded 848 penalty minutes in 458 regular-season games, leading the league in that department twice. He wraps up his NHL career with 15 goals and 41 assists for 56 points.
In his retirement statement, Borowiecki thanked his family, friends, and former teammates for their support throughout his career. He also expressed his gratitude to the Senators organization, saying, “I am so appreciative of everyone who has helped me along the way. Especially the [Senators], where my career began, and the [Predators] where my career ended.”
Borowiecki’s retirement comes after he sustained a season-ending injury just four games into the 2022-23 campaign. He was stretchered off the ice in an October game against the Philadelphia Flyers after a hit from Morgan Frost resulted in Borowiecki’s head making contact with the glass before falling to the ice.
Borowiecki was known not just for his on-ice contributions but also for his off-ice work. Near the end of his career especially, Borowiecki was an outspoken advocate for mental health among hockey players, notably among concussion victims. Borowiecki also gained positive notoriety for performing a citizens’ arrest in late 2019 while on the road in Vancouver, stopping a car break-in, doubling down on the “Borocop” nickname.
Predators Assign Jack Matier To AHL
After the Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators took a convincing Game One victory over the Manitoba Moose on Friday night, it appears they will receive some exciting reinforcements on defense. The Predators have announced they have assigned defenseman Jack Matier to the Admirals, shortly after he closed out his season with Ottawa 67’s on Monday.
Originally drafted by the Predators at 124th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Matier was officially rostered on the 67’s for four seasons but only ended up playing in three due to the canceled season in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from the OHL, Matier also played internationally, winning a gold medal with Team Canada during the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
In his three seasons in Ottawa, Matier had some serious developmental progression throughout his career. Scoring nine points in 56 games his rookie season, this year, he finished with 13 goals and 36 assists in 58 games for the 67’s, also chipping in six points in 11 playoff games.
In their pursuit of the Calder Cup, the Admirals already sport some above-average players on the back end. It is hard to imagine defenseman Jordan Gross, Kevin Gravel, or Marc Del Gaizo coming out of the lineup in their semifinal matchup, but there is some potential for Matier to gain some important playoff minutes in a limited fashion for the Admirals down the stretch.
Nashville Predators Extend Michael McCarron, Kiefer Sherwood
The Nashville Predators have announced that forwards Michael McCarron and Kiefer Sherwood have been signed to one-year contract extensions. Though more extensive financial details on the contract were not included in the team announcement, it was revealed that their deals each carry a league-minimum $775k cap hit.
First up is McCarron, 28, who has been with the Predators organization since an early 2020 trade saw him dealt from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for fellow 2013 draft choice Laurent Dauphin. This season, he split time between Nashville and their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. He scored six points in 16 AHL contests and notched four points in 32 NHL games.
McCarron’s 2022-23 campaign took a pause when he entered the NHL-NHLPA joint Player Assistance Program, but he made his return in a late January AHL contest for the Admirals.
After working his way back onto the NHL roster during the month of February, McCarron earned a recall in early March and ended up playing seven NHL games in the 2023 calendar year.
While McCarron only posted one assist in those games, the Predators did manage a 4-2-1 record with him in the lineup.
Last season, McCarron spent the bulk of the year with the Predators, getting into 51 games and scoring 14 points.
He set career highs in both games played and points that season, and began the process of establishing himself as an NHL bottom-sixer rather than more of an AHL player.
McCarron had spent far more time in the minors with the Canadiens organization than in the NHL and even made it to the AHL All-Star Game in his rookie pro campaign. A 2013 first-round pick with an intriguing six-foot-six frame, McCarron never developed the type of offensive game that the Canadiens organization hoped he’d grow, and he ultimately fell out of favor with them as he aged out of prospect status.
He seems to have put the disappointments of his time in Montreal behind him, though, and become a valued contributor for the Predators. He’ll now remain in that organization for its first year under new general manager Barry Trotz, and will look to earn a role next season as a full-time NHL contributor for the first time in his career.
The second player to be extended is Sherwood, 28, a player whose career has taken a wholly different trajectory from McCarron’s. While McCarron was a highly-touted first-round pick, Sherwood went undrafted out of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms and didn’t even make his NHL debut until 2018-19, by when McCarron had already played enough NHL games to drop out of the Canadiens’ future plans.
Sherwood’s first professional season was a challenge, and he managed just 12 points in 50 NHL games. He found more success in the AHL, scoring 41 points in 66 games across two years for the San Diego Gulls, but eventually left the Anaheim Ducks organization to sign with the Colorado Avalanche.
Sherwood excelled in Colorado, scoring 75 points in just 57 games for their AHL affiliate. That stellar AHL performance earned him the contract he signed last summer with Nashville, and this year he played in his most NHL games since his rookie year, 32. Sherwood acquitted himself decently well at the game’s highest level, scoring seven goals and 13 points, and maintained his high standard of AHL play with the Admirals, scoring 22 goals and 38 points in 42 games.
Now signed for another year, Sherwood will serve as premium depth for the Predators’ organization, acting as a leading scorer for their AHL affiliate and a down-the-lineup offensive contributor in the NHL.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nashville Predators Reassign Egor Afanasyev To AHL
The Nashville Predators have reassigned forward Egor Afanasyev to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, according to an announcement made by the team Wednesday.
Afanasyev, 22, scored his first career NHL goal in Monday’s win versus the Calgary Flames. He made his NHL debut on March 11 versus the Los Angeles Kings and went on to appear in 17 total games, averaging 10:51 of ice time with 23 hits and 13 blocked shots.
The 6-foot-4, 211-pound forward has also scored a career-high 13 goals for Milwaukee, adding 13 assists for 26 points in 55 contests at the AHL level. Nashville selected Afanasyev with the 45th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
He may not be ready yet for full-time NHL action, but Afanasyev remains a talented shooter with a power-forward type game that makes him one of the more tantalizing prospects in the Nashville system. With his first lengthy NHL recall under his belt, he’ll return to Milwaukee a more seasoned professional, especially after competing in high-stakes games with the Predators down the stretch.
Predators Reassign Kevin Gravel
Apr 10: The Nashville Predators announced Kevin Gravel has once again been reassigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals after serving as a healthy scratch in Saturday night’s game.
Apr 8: Defenseman Kevin Gravel has been no stranger to being recalled this season and he is once again rejoining the Predators as Nashville has recalled him from AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log.
It is the seventh promotion of the season for the 31-year-old, all of which have been on an emergency basis. The recall is needed with four blueliners – Roman Josi, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, and Mark Borowiecki – all banged up and the team hesitating to play college free agent signing Jake Livingstone in a regular role while the Predators remain in the hunt for a playoff spot; they’re one point out of the final Wild Card spot with four games left in their season.
Gravel has played in 23 games with Nashville this season, picking up an assist along with 36 blocked shots and 23 hits while averaging a little over 14 minutes on the back end. It has been his first taste of NHL action since getting into three games with Toronto back in 2019-20. Gravel will likely reprise his typical third pairing role in what is basically a must-win game against Winnipeg tonight.
Nashville Predators Recall Zach Sanford
With just five games left in their season, the Nashville Predators are still in the race. They remain just three points behind the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames, with one and two games in hand, respectively.
They’ll try to make up some ground tonight with the Carolina Hurricanes in town and have recalled Zach Sanford to give them some reinforcements.
It would be quite the feat should the Predators pull it off, given how their trade deadline went. Tanner Jeannot, Nino Niederreiter, Mattias Ekholm, and Mikael Granlund were all moved, leaving Nashville with several young players in the lineup nightly.
They’ve also been without captain Roman Josi since the middle of March, and his return is still questionable. Despite that, the Jets and Flames have each failed to really grab hold of that final playoff spot, opening the door for some Juuse Saros-led magic in the final few weeks.
Sanford, 28, has played just 11 games in the NHL this season, the fewest total of his career. The big forward has scored two points with the Predators and 28 with the Milwaukee Admirals during his time in the AHL.
Predators Place John Leonard On Waivers
April 5: Leonard has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville announced today.
April 4: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Nashville Predators have placed forward John Leonard on waivers. Leonard was recalled by the Predators on an emergency loan yesterday. The forward was acquired by the Predators from the San Jose Sharks in the trade for Luke Kunin.
Leonard was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Sharks out of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. As he made his transition to the NHL, Leonard scored three goals and 10 assists in his first 44 games in the professional leagues.
During last year, Leonard primarily played for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda, scoring 17 goals and 15 assists in only 45 games played. Although he was scoring over a 0.5 PPG basis in the AHL last season, Leonard posted a dreadful -28 +/-, leading to serious questions about his play on the defensive side of the puck.
As he was acquired from Nashville over the summer, Leonard has once again played a majority of his year in the AHL, this time playing for the Predators’ AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. Although he is still scoring over a 0.5 PPG basis, his offensive output is slightly down this season. Playing in 61 games for the Admirals, the forward has 14 goals and 24 assists. For the next 24 hours, Leonard will be sitting in roster limbo, as every team will have the opportunity to claim him, or the Predators will stow him back down in the AHL.
Nashville Predators Recall John Leonard
The Nashville Predators disclosed Monday that the team has recalled forward John Leonard from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. With a road-home back-to-back upcoming over the next two days, recalling Leonard gives the team a 13th healthy forward on the roster should an unforeseen injury occur.
Leonard is the most experienced recall option among forwards still waiver exempt. The 24-year-old winger has accumulated 62 games of NHL experience over the past three seasons, with four coming in Nashville this season. He has one point, his first goal as a Predator, coming in a March 2 game against the Florida Panthers.
This is Leonard’s third recall of the season after he was recalled twice in three days on an emergency basis in the first week of March. Acquired along with a third-round pick from the San Jose Sharks last summer in exchange for the rights to Luke Kunin, Leonard has 14 goals and 38 points in 61 games in the AHL this year.
A pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Leonard could be a candidate to not receive a qualifying offer and head to unrestricted free agency in July. The 2018 sixth-round pick has seen a step back from last season’s offensive production in the minors, and with his NHL opportunities diminished, the Predators may opt not to retain his services.
Predators Recall Spencer Stastney
Spencer Stastney has had a good first full professional season and he is being rewarded for his efforts as the Predators announced that they’ve recalled the blueliner from AHL Milwaukee. It’s the first recall of his NHL career.
The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Preds back in 2018 (131st overall) and spent four years at Notre Dame where he picked up 63 points in 143 games before turning pro late last season. He got into a couple of games with the Admirals down the stretch but this has been his first extended campaign in the pros. Stastney has five goals in 56 games for Milwaukee, good for third on the team in goals by a blueliner.
Nashville is dealing with multiple injuries on the back end with Roman Josi, Alexandre Carrier, and Mark Borowiecki out of the lineup. That list is growing by one more as Jeremy Lauzon will not play today due to an upper-body injury, opening up a spot for Stastney to make his NHL debut against St. Louis.
Nashville Predators Sign Jake Livingstone To Entry-Level Contract
The Nashville Predators have nabbed one of the top college free agents left on the market, signing defenseman Jake Livingstone to a one-year entry-level contract for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, per a team release.
The 23-year-old defender has been the highlight of Minnesota State’s blueline for the past two seasons, earning CCHA Defenseman of the Year honors and conference tournament championships in back-to-back years. Livingstone will be a restricted free agent in just a few months and will need a new contract.
Livingstone certainly has NHL-ready size at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him report directly to Nashville and earn his first NHL experience down the stretch. With Alexandre Carrier still out with an upper-body injury, there’s a natural place in the lineup for the right-shot Livingstone.
Defensively sound in his own right, Livingstone is also intelligent in transition and makes clean passes to his teammates. He approached the point-per-game threshold with Minnesota State this season, recording eight goals and 27 assists in 39 games, finishing second on the team in scoring.
He becomes the second member of his defense pairing at Minnesota State to put pen to paper on a contract today, joining now-Vancouver Canuck Akito Hirose.
Nashville does not have a particularly deep prospect pool at defense, making this signing impactful for a team looking to retool under a new management regime this offseason.