Predators Recall McCarron, Gravel
The Nashville Predators announced they have called up Michael McCarron and Kevin Gravel from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Emma Lingan of NHL.com added that both will be in the lineup tonight when the Predators take on the Boston Bruins tonight. The Predators will be looking for two points against the league’s best team as they look to stay in the Western Conference playoff race. They currently sit five points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the final wildcard spot.
McCarron is a big, physical forward who has already played 22 games with the Predators this season. He has scored one goal and two points in that time, while also scoring two goals and six points in 16 AHL games this season. He will slot in on the team’s fourth line and use his 6-foot-6 frame to add some energy to the lineup for the Predators.
Gravel adds a physical presence himself at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. The 31-year-old defenseman has one point in 18 NHL games this season as well as two goals and 13 points in 48 AHL game for the Admirals. Gravel has bounced around many teams over the years, but has 127 games of NHL experience under his belt and will provide a physical, defensive presence for the Predators.
Predators Recall McCarron, Gravel
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Michael McCarron and Kevin Gravel from the minor leagues, as they prepare for action against the Boston Bruins. While not officially eliminated, the Predators now find themselves five points out of a playoff spot with ten games to play after losses to Toronto and Seattle.
Jordan Gross Clears Waivers; Reassigned To AHL
March 28: Gross has cleared waivers and was reassigned to the minor leagues.
March 27: The Nashville Predators have waived defenseman Jordan Gross, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday afternoon.
The move could signal that Roman Josi, who’s been out of the lineup since March 18, is close to returning. He’s listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Players returning from injuries is one of the few reasons why a player would land on waivers post-trade deadline, given the absence of the normal 23-player roster limit. But with their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, near the top of their division, Nashville is carrying a trim roster in an effort to bolster their minor league club.
Gross, a 27-year-old product of Minnesota, has three goals in 15 games with the Predators this season. In Milwaukee, he leads the team’s defensemen in scoring despite seeing many days on the NHL roster, recording eight goals and 23 assists in 45 games.
Gross is expected to clear waivers, as he would be ineligible to play for any team in the playoffs or during the brief remainder of the regular season.
Predators Send Michael McCarron, Kevin Gravel To AHL
As Ryan McDonagh re-enters the lineup in tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators general manager David Poile announces that the team has sent defenseman Kevin Gravel and forward Michael McCarron to their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals.
Filling into the lineup for the injury to McDonagh, Gravel managed to play in four games for the Predators, averaging about 14 minutes of action a night. Over the entire year, that makes 18 games played for Gravel, only mustering one point this season. Playing in the minor leagues for most of the year, Gravel has put up two goals and 11 assists in Milwaukee. The transaction made by the Predators today marks the fifth time this year that Gravel has been sent down to the minors, clearing waivers twice.
Much like Gravel, McCarron has been caught in a call-up carousel of late. Having returned to hockey from a stay in the NHLPA player assistance program, this will mark his second demotion in one week. Although a valuable depth option for Nashville last season, McCarron’s production in the NHL has undoubtedly dipped this season. Playing in a total of 22 games for the Predators, McCaron has one goal and one assist. He’s fared a bit better in Milwaukee, scoring six points in 13 games, a 38-point pace over an entire season.
Ryan McDonagh Returns For Predators
During this morning’s meeting with the press, head coach John Hynes confirms that defenseman Ryan McDonagh will be back in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Not having played since March 12th, McDonagh returns after missing four games. Hynes also confirms that after missing the team’s last game against the New York Rangers, captain Roman Josi will remain out of the lineup with an upper-body injury.
McDonagh’s steady presence on the back end will be a welcomed return for the Predators, especially with Josi out of the lineup. McDonagh does not have the same point-scoring ability that Josi has, but McDonagh’s ability to block shots and limit mistakes makes him a valuable defender nonetheless. Even off the ice, a recent winner of two Stanley Cup rings with the Tampa Bay Lightning, McDonagh will be a solid veteran piece to put around Luke Evangelista and Egor Afanasyev as they look to fully graduate to the NHL long-term.
Cooling down a bit of late, the Predators are still well within the playoff race in the Western Conference. They currently sit five points behind the last wild card team, Winnipeg Jets, and have three games in hand against their central division rival. As the season comes to an end, they still have one remaining game against the Jets, and will also play another wild card team twice, the Seattle Kraken.
Nashville Predators Recall Jordan Gross
With captain Roman Josi out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the team has recalled defenseman Jordan Gross from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.
This is Gross’ third recall of the season, per CapFriendly, and his first since the calendar turned to 2023. In 10 games with Nashville across his previous two recalls, he recorded three goals and averaged 18:48 of ice time.
Gross joined the Predators organization last offseason, inking a two-year deal after he recorded over a point per game with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He hasn’t hit that offensive mark in the minors this year, but he does have a strong 31 points in 45 games for Milwaukee.
The undrafted 27-year-old is expected to step into a top-four role tonight for Nashville. Additional injuries to Ryan McDonagh and Alexandre Carrier are stretching their defensive depth to the limit.
Of note, Gross’ contract is set to convert from a two-way deal to a one-way deal next season. With Nashville’s retool in full swing after a series of trade deadline moves, Gross is an outside candidate to play a more significant role with the Preds next season.
Roman Josi Listed As Day-To-Day
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that Roman Josi is day-to-day after leaving the Nashville Predators 3-2 overtime loss to Winnipeg yesterday. Josi did not make Nashville’s scheduled trip to New York for tonight’s game against the Rangers.
Not much is known about Josi’s injury as he joins a long list of Predators players who are out of the lineup. Nashville is already short on manpower as they are without the services of Ryan Johansen, Juuso Parssinen, Alexandre Carrier, Filip Forsberg, and Ryan McDonagh. Now they will be forced to navigate Josi’s injury as they try and chase down a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Nashville has struggled to score this season with just 191 goals in 67 games, good enough for 28th in the NHL. Josi’s injury could further complicate matters as he leads the Predators in scoring with 59 points on the season. Despite the offensive struggles, Nashville sits just five points back of Winnipeg for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with three games in hand.
It seems improbable that Nashville could make the playoffs given the recent injuries as well as the recent trade deadline sell off, but somehow they have hung around, largely due to the play of Josi and goaltender Juuse Saros. Josi has been a horse for the Predators having averaged over 25 minutes of ice time a night. The former Norris Trophy winner hasn’t had the kind of offensive production he enjoyed last season, but he has led a defensive unit that is ranked ninth in the league in goals against.
Egor Afanasyev Recalled
- After papering him down, the Predators announced that they’ve recalled winger Egor Afanasyev to AHL Milwaukee. The 22-year-old made his NHL debut last weekend after being brought up and has gotten into three games with Nashville, logging 9:32 per night while being held off the scoresheet. Afanasyev also has 13 goals and 13 assists in 55 games with the Admirals in the minors this season.
Nashville Predators Assign Joakim Kemell To AHL
One of the Nashville Predators’ best prospects is about to get his first taste of professional hockey in North America. Nashville today assigned 2022 first-round pick Joakim Kemell to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, per a tweet from the team’s affiliate.
Kemell, a right wing, spent the 2022-23 season on loan from Nashville to JYP in Liiga, the organization where he’s spent his entire junior and professional career so far. His offensive production took a step back from his draft year, though, scoring 15 points in 43 games after scoring 23 in 39 last year.
Things deteriorated for Kemell down the stretch, with his scoring growing more inconsistent as his ice time waned. He had a solid start to the campaign, going on a four-game point streak early on, but he couldn’t replicate his success throughout the season.
Now, he gets a chance to regain some confidence and some scoring touch in Milwaukee. He joins other notable Preds prospects, such as goalie Yaroslav Askarov and forward Egor Afanasyev, as the Admirals continue their stretch run.
Predators Recall McCarron, Send Down Afanasyev
The Nashville Predators announced a forward swap between the NHL team and their AHL affiliate. Michael McCarron has been called up from the Milwaukee Admirals while Egor Afanasyev has been sent down to the AHL. Afanasyev was up on an emergency basis, and McCarron’s recall was also on an emergency basis, so these do not count towards the four recalls the Predators are allowed to make after the trade deadline.
McCarron, a big, physical winger at 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds has split hit time between the NHL and AHL this season. He has played 19 games for the Predators, scoring one goal and two points while also suiting up for 13 AHL contests and scoring two goals and six points. He was sent down just two days ago so the team would have room to call up defenseman Kevin Gravel, but now McCarron returns to the NHL roster.
Afanasyev was called up on March 11 to make his NHL debut. He has played three games since then recording four shots on goal while averaging just under ten minutes of ice time per game. The 22-year-old Russian winger is having a decent season in the AHL, putting up 13 goals and 26 points in 55 games.
McCarron, at 28 years old gives the Predators a bit more experience in their lineup over Afanasyev. The Predators were sellers at the trade deadline, but sit just four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot and have played three less games than the Jets. They will continue their unlikely playoff push tonight when they host the Chicago Blackhawks.