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Nashville Predators Extend Tommy Novak

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The Nashville Predators have signed another depth forward to an extension, inking Tommy Novak to a new one-year deal for next season. The contract comes with a salary of $800K, a nice reward for a player who has been in the organization for several years.

Novak, 25, was a third-round pick of the Predators back in 2015, but didn’t make his NHL debut until last season. This year, after lighting up the minor leagues (again), he was given a chance to play meaningful minutes and has scored four goals and 11 points in 20 games.

A contract like this doesn’t guarantee his spot in the lineup moving forward, but does serve as a bit of financial security for the depth forward. This will be his first one-way deal, and keeps him away from Group VI unrestricted free agency, which he would have qualified for this summer.

The Predators have now inked two depth pieces this week, after signing Cole Smith on Monday. These bargain-basement contracts will help them spend elsewhere on the roster, though they likely won’t have a huge impact on the scoreboard.

Given that he will be a UFA when this contract does expire, Novak will certainly be motivated to put up even bigger offensive numbers. Whether he’s given that opportunity remains to be seen.

Nashville Predators Extend Cole Smith

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The Nashville Predators have decided to reward one of their depth forwards with a contract extension, signing Cole Smith to a one-year, $775K contract for the 2023-24 season. Smith was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Signed to a one-year, two-way contract for this season, Smith is a 27-year-old rookie at the NHL level. The undrafted forward never did much scoring during his time at the University of North Dakota but found a new level last year for the Milwaukee Admirals, racking up 21 goals and 41 points in 59 games.

This year, with Nashville, he has two goals and 11 points in 42 games while playing a physical, in-your-face style every night. His 112 hits and 43 penalty minutes trail only Tanner Jeannot among Predators forwards, despite playing fewer than 12 minutes a night.

Getting him to sign on again for the league minimum is certainly a win for Nashville, even if he isn’t going to light up the scoreboard much. Smith is a great bottom-six option that will allow the Predators to spend a little bit more money elsewhere.

Nashville Predators Recall Tommy Novak, Kevin Gravel

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02/05/23: Both Gravel and Novak have been recalled from the AHL, in advance of the Predators’ return to the ice after the All-Star break. The move leaves the Predators with 22 out of 23 spots filled on their active roster.

01/27/23: With the Nashville Predators finished their pre-All-Star break schedule, they’ve sent a couple of bodies back to the minor leagues for the time being. Kevin Gravel and Tommy Novak, neither of whom need waivers at the moment, have been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Gravel only came up this week when Alexandre Carrier was ruled out, and will likely be right back with the NHL club following the break. The big defenseman played 11:12 last night, recording four shots on goal, two hits, and three blocks. With Carrier missing for at least a month, the Predators defensive depth will be tested, and even more responsibility placed on the top few names.

Novak, meanwhile has been a semi-regular this year, playing in 19 games for the Predators so far. His performance in those games has been excellent, racking up four goals and 11 points despite playing just over 11 minutes a game.

The 25-year-old forward has been an excellent offensive player in the minor leagues for the last few years, but only has 46 NHL appearances to his name. He’ll also qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer unless he plays in every single remaining game for the Predators this season.

He’ll be back next week when the Predators return to action.

Predators Unsure Of Deadline Plans

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After making the playoffs a year ago, the Predators added a pair of key veterans in Ryan McDonagh and Nino Niederreiter in the hopes of trying to take another step forward.  However, they’ve gone in the wrong direction and find themselves three points out of a playoff spot heading into tonight’s action.   Speaking with Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean (subscription link), GM David Poile acknowledged that while he wants to do something, the lack of success in the playoffs gives him some pause so he’s not sure what his plan is yet leading into the trade deadline:

In the last few years we’ve been in the middle, been making the playoffs. But we have not been able to be successful in the playoffs, (which) causes me pause in terms of where the team is headed, where we should go. This next month before the trading deadline is critical to our thinking and in our planning.

We’ve been here for a few years, so I’d like to get out of that in some form or fashion. That means doing something. Does that mean buy more? Does that mean taking a step back? I don’t know the answer to that yet. That’s what we work on, think about every day.

If Nashville decides to sell, they don’t have much in the way of expiring contracts which is typically the currency at this time of the season; their most prominent pending UFA is goaltender Kevin Lankinen.  Next up would be depth winger Cole Smith.  Neither player is going to garner much of a return if any.  Pending RFA defenseman Dante Fabbro has been a speculative trade candidate dating back to last season but he’s in the midst of a down year and is averaging just over 16 minutes per night; if they move him now, they’d be doing so at a low point in his value.

While they in theory could turn around and do a bigger selloff, Poile ruled out that course of action.  Plus, this isn’t typically the right time to move out players with pricey contracts and long-term commitments.

Speaking of those commitments, with nearly $70MM on the books for next season already per CapFriendly, there’s not much room to add aside from rentals if Poile wanted to try to bolster his roster to make a late push at a playoff spot.  That said, it’s fair to wonder if a non-playoff team should be adding rental players; that’s generally not a wise course of action to take.

If they sell, they don’t have much to work with in terms of typical trade deadline currency.  If they buy, they’re going to be more or less limited to short-term rentals with no guarantee that they can get back into the mix.  Either way, the Preds don’t appear to be in an ideal situation with the deadline now just five weeks away.

Alexandre Carrier Out 4-6 Weeks With Upper-Body Injury

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The Nashville Predators have made a roster move, recalling Kevin Gravel from the Milwaukee Admirals. He arrives following news that Alexandre Carrier will miss four to six weeks with an upper-body injury.

The diminutive Carrier, who never seems to back down from a challenge, decided to take on the 6’7″ Logan Stanley earlier this week, after the Winnipeg Jets defenseman delivered a hard hit on Cody Glass. Unfortunately, it resulted in an injury, one that will keep him out for at least a month.

While he hasn’t been playing quite as much as he did last season, Carrier is still an important part of the Predators group. Through 40 games he has eight points and is averaging a little over 18 minutes a night. Call it a sophomore slump, perhaps, but losing a huge chunk of the season right in the middle of the year certainly won’t help Carrier get back on track.

The Predators can’t really sit around and wait, either. The club has climbed back into the Central Division playoff race and could potentially consider themselves buyers ahead of the upcoming trade deadline. Losing a key defender for the next month could drastically affect that position, even if the Predators do have a number of veteran options who can carry the load.

Gravel, 30, isn’t really that. The big left-shot defenseman is a fringe NHL player at best, suiting up 113 times over parts of six seasons. Four of those appearances have come this year. He’ll likely see some playing time, but don’t be surprised to see the Predators shuffle some things around to try and find the perfect fit in Carrier’s absence.

Vinnie Hinostroza, Michael McCarron Clear Waivers

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Jan 19: Both Hinostroza and McCarron have cleared. They can now be sent to the minor leagues. For Buffalo, that means JJ Peterka can come back up, after being sent to the AHL this morning.

Jan 18: The Buffalo Sabres were trying to find a new home for Vinnie Hinostroza, and now they might just let him go for nothing. The veteran forward has been placed on waivers today, along with Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Friedman reports that McCarron is returning to play after entering the Player Assistance Program last month, and would be headed to the Milwaukee Admirals if he clears.

Hinostroza’s $1.7MM cap hit makes him a tough asset for teams to acquire, but clearing waivers actually could facilitate a trade. Any team would then be able to stash him in the minor leagues, burying $1.125MM until he gets back up to speed. A veteran of more than 350 NHL games, Hinostroza has played just 19 this year and doesn’t have a single goal.

If he goes unclaimed, the Sabres will at least be able to give him some playing time with the Rochester Americans. It’s not perfect, but at least would get him back on the ice regularly.

McCarron, meanwhile, hasn’t played since early December and has just two points in 15 games this season for the Predators. If there’s any chance of him suiting up for Nashville down the stretch, he needs some time in the AHL to get his legs back.

The 27-year-old forward costs just $750K, but is an unlikely target for claim given his recent absence.

Nashville Predators Reassign Roland McKeown

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Jan 18: McKeown has now been sent back to the AHL.

Jan 14: After opening up a roster spot yesterday when they returned Yaroslav Askarov to the minors, the Predators have filled that vacancy, announcing that they’ve recalled defenseman Roland McKeown from AHL Milwaukee.

It’s the fourth recall of the season for McKeown and the third in the last two weeks as he has been shuffled back and forth a bit more than usual lately, including to create the roster spot when Askarov had to be brought up a few days ago.  The 26-year-old has gotten into five games with Nashville this season, logging 13:32 per night on the back end in his first NHL action since the 2017-18 season.  In his career, he has three assists in 15 appearances at the top level.

McKeown has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, getting into 25 games with the Admirals where he has eight points.  He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal and is likely to return to his previous role of being Nashville’s spare defender as they were only carrying the minimum of six prior to this roster move.

Nashville Predators Reassign Yaroslav Askarov

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Jan 13: Askarov has been sent back down after making 31 saves in his NHL debut last night.

Jan 11: With Kevin Lankinen unavailable to dress for the Predators tonight in Toronto, they’ve brought up a top prospect to take his place as they announced that netminder Yaroslav Askarov has been recalled from AHL Milwaukee.  In a corresponding move, defenseman Roland McKeown was sent back to the Admirals.

The 20-year-old was Nashville’s first-round pick in 2020 (11th overall), the highest a goalie had been taken in a decade.  He was dominant in limited action in the KHL over the last couple of seasons and decided to make the jump across the pond for 2022-23.  Askarov is off to a good start to his first season in North America, posting a 2.66 GAA along with a .905 SV% and two shutouts in 22 appearances with Milwaukee.

As for McKeown, this is his second trip to the minors this month, an assignment that was needed as Lankinen remains on the active roster for the time being and no word yet on how long he might be out; the team noted (Twitter link) that the move was for precautionary reasons.  The blueliner has played in five games for Nashville this season – his first NHL action since 2017-18 – and has eight points in 25 games at the AHL level.

David Poile: Losing Tolvanen To Seattle "Could Be A Mistake On Our Part"

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When the Nashville Predators put Eeli Tolvanen on waivers earlier this season, it surprised a lot of the hockey world. Sure, he hadn’t found a ton of success yet, but Tolvanen was just 23 and had a ton of obvious scoring talent. Since being claimed by the Seattle Kraken, the young forward has three goals and five points in five games, leading to some interesting comments from Predators general manager David Poile on Nashville radio this morning:

In Tolvanen’s 135 games with the Predators over parts of five seasons, he received 16 or more minutes of ice time just 19 times. While it’s gone well early for him in Seattle, it should be noted that they too are limiting his ice time – he’s averaging just 12:32 through five games, less than he received in Nashville.

Loan Roundup: 01/06/22

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After Team Canada put gold medals around their neck last night to conclude the 2023 World Junior Championship, a variety of prospects under NHL contract were loaned back to their minor or junior teams today. We’ll keep a running list of those transactions right here.

All transactions are provided by CapFriendly.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets returned defenseman Stanislav Svozil to the WHL’s Regina Pats. Drafted 69th overall in 2021, Svozil had an incredible tournament with eight points in seven games for Czechia, winning a silver medal — the country’s first medal since 2005. Quickly looking like a draft steal, Svozil has 37 points in just 28 games, and he’ll return to playing with presumptive 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard.
  • Also from Columbus, 2022 sixth-overall selection David Jiricek is returning to the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus’ AHL affiliate. Jiricek also helped dominate from the Czech blueline, recording seven points and a staggering +10 rating in seven games. He played his first two NHL games before the tournament and has an impressive 20 points in just 19 games with the Monsters.
  • The Dallas Stars returned dynamic Canadian forward Logan Stankoven to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. Stankoven, who has a decent shot at making the team out of training camp in 2023-24, had three goals and 11 points in seven games with the Canadians. He was a second-round pick of the Stars in 2021, another budding draft steal.
  • Gritty forward Reid Schaefer, selected with the last pick of the first round in 2022 by the Edmonton Oilers, is returning to the WHL-leading Seattle Thunderbirds. Schaefer played at the bottom of the Canadian lineup and managed one assist in seven contests. He’s fourth on Seattle in goals with 15 in just 22 games.
  • Nashville Predators right-shot defense prospect Jack Matier was loaned back to the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. The 124th overall selection in 2021 is amidst a breakout season in Ottawa, recording 26 points and a +24 rating through 26 games. He had one assist at the World Juniors.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights returned Czech forward Jakub Brabenec to the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. Drafted 102nd overall in 2021, Brabenec was just dealt to the Phoenix today from the Charlottetown Islanders. His scoring had taken somewhat of a dip before the trade with 25 points in 28 games, but a strong World Juniors performance should instill some confidence.
  • Vegas also sent forward Zach Dean to the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. Taken 30th overall in 2021, Dean has 35 points in 27 games with Gatineau and recorded a goal and two assists for Canada at the tournament.

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