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Nashville Predators’ Mattias Ekholm “Available”

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There is a brand new name to throw out onto the 2023 trade deadline hot stove, and it’s a big one. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff writes that Nashville Predators general manager David Poile “is ready to consider moving” Mattias Ekholm, and lists him as “available” in his first Trade Targets board.

Ekholm, 32, signed a four-year $25MM extension with the Predators in 2021 that just kicked in this season, but like many others in Nashville over the years, was not able to secure any trade protection. Poile has only given no-trade or no-movement clauses out to Pekka Rinne, Roman Josi, and most recently Filip Forsberg, opting instead to maintain all control if he needed to part with a key player.

That would certainly describe Ekholm, who has been a rock on the Nashville blueline for more than a decade. The veteran defenseman has played 697 regular season games for the franchise, averaging nearly 22 minutes a night. He even received some Norris Trophy attention in 2018-19 when he set a career-high with 44 points, though his responsible defensive game gets much more attention than his offensive ability.

Ekholm’s name has come up a few times in the past when the Predators are facing a cap crunch thanks to underperforming veteran contracts. That’s the case this season, with Nashville dropping to 15-14-6 after some recent struggles. They are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league (only the Anaheim Ducks have scored fewer goals so far) and yet have three forwards making at least $8MM per season.

Ryan Johansen’s encouraging 2021-22 campaign looks like a mirage, as his offense (and playing time) is back down, while Mikael Granlund is on pace for fewer than ten goals in the second season of a four-year, $20MM contract. If Poile and the Predators start to sell, there aren’t a ton of attractive assets to move.

Even Ekholm, who carries a $6.25MM cap hit, may not bring back what he could have a few years ago. He’ll turn 33 in May, has a lot of miles on his body (including 886 blocked shots), and doesn’t have the same offensive impact he once did. Signed through 2025-26, it would require a significant investment from the acquiring team.

Seravalli also lists Ryan McDonagh as a possibility, though suggests the Stanley Cup champion’s no-trade clause (which was given to him by the Tampa Bay Lightning) could make that more difficult. With seven 30+ players on the roster making at least $4MM per season – and none of them on expiring contracts – the Predators could be in for some tough times if things don’t turn around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nashville Predators Recall Roland McKeown

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Jan 2: The up-and-down continues for McKeown. After being assigned back down to the AHL yesterday, the Predators have brought him back up today.

Dec 29: The Nashville Predators have announced that defenseman Roland McKeown has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

The move adds a seventh defenseman to the Predators’ roster, giving the team some reinforcements in advance of a back-to-back. McKeown is replacing Jordan Gross, who was sent down on December 21st when veteran blueliner Ryan McDonagh was activated off of injured reserve.

McKeown is now in line to play his fourth NHL game of the season, should head coach John Hynes opt to include him in a game-day lineup.

The 26-year-old had long been a member of the Carolina Hurricanes organization since arriving in a Andrej Sekera mid-season trade. Drafted 50th overall in 2014, McKeown had been seen as a quality prospect earlier in his career, scoring at decent rates in the OHL for the Kingston Frontenacs and then quickly playing a regular role for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

He was never quite able to take the next step in his game and break into the NHL, though. After playing 10 NHL games for the Hurricanes in 2017-18, he didn’t earn any games in the following two years, leading to his exit from the organization.

After spending 2020-21 in Sweden playing for Skelleftea in the SHL, McKeown returned to North America in 2021-22 to serve as an experienced defensive option for the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate.

This year, McKeown has gotten back to the NHL, playing in three games for the Predators, as previously mentioned. McKeown averaged 13:44 time-on-ice per game, including 1:32 on the penalty kill.

With this recall, McKeown has a chance to put some quality NHL performances on his resume and establish himself as a go-to depth option for the Predators, who have him under contract for next season as well.

Matt Duchene Misses Tuesday's Game For Birth Of Child

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  • The Nashville Predators are without forward Matt Duchene this evening as they take on the Dallas Stars at home, though fortunately it’s for good reason and not injury related. The team announced it was the birth of Duchene’s child that is keeping the star away from the rink. The Predators next play on Friday against the Ducks in Anaheim.

Predators Recall Tommy Novak

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Dec. 27: As expected, the Predators have recalled Novak from Milwaukee today.

Dec. 24: Tommy Novak did well in his first recall of the season but, at least for the time being, he’s off to the minors as the Predators announced that they’ve loaned the center back to Milwaukee of the AHL.

The 25-year-old was recalled back on Monday and picked up a point in each of his three games with a goal and two assists while logging a little over 13 minutes per game.  While it’s a small sample size, that’s a nice improvement compared to the goal and six helpers he had in 27 contests with Nashville last season.  Novak has also been quite productive in the minors with the Admirals this season, collecting 11 goals and 15 assists in 25 contests, making him Milwaukee’s leading scorer.

As Novak was recalled after December 11 and didn’t require waivers to go back down, Nashville was permitted to assign him today even with the roster freeze in effect.  Considering how well he did this past week, there’s a good chance that he’ll be recalled in advance of their game on Tuesday against Dallas.  If that happens, the Predators will save about $12K in cap space with this move.

Ryan McDonagh To Return For Predators; Jordan Gross Sent To AHL

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Dec 21: McDonagh has now been officially activated from injured reserve and will play tonight.

Dec 20: After staying up with the Nashville Predators on an emergency loan for more than two weeks, Jordan Gross has been returned to the AHL. The team had recalled him when moving Ryan McDonagh to injured reserve, and he played seven games since then.

With McDonagh returning tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks and Alexandre Carrier getting back in the lineup last night, Gross is no longer needed at the NHL level.

The 33-year-old McDonagh has been out since December 2 after taking a puck to the face and is practicing with a full cage as he gets ready to return. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was averaging more than 20 minutes for the Predators when he went down, and had recorded six assists in 23 games.

While he is no longer the two-way force that dominated for the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning in his prime, McDonagh is still a very capable defender that should only strengthen a Predators team coming off a statement win over the Edmonton Oilers last night.

Coincidentally, Gross actually scored his third NHL goal in that game, as three of the four tallies from Nashville were from their defense. The 27-year-old will likely be back up at some point, should the team face any further injuries from this point.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Novak, Sharks

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Alex Ovechkin taking the top spot. The legendary Washington Capitals forward became just the third player in NHL history to score 800 goals, and the third to record 18 consecutive 20+ goal seasons. Gordie Howe, ahead of him on both of those lists, is the target now, as Ovechkin’s next goal will tie him with Mr. Hockey at 801.

Second and third place went to Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and Mats Zuccarello of the Minnesota Wild, who both had eight points on the week. Thompson, 25, continues what has become one of the most impressive breakouts in recent memory, with 25 goals and 49 points this season. Through his first six seasons of professional hockey, Thompson scored 44 goals at all levels combined (including playoffs). Since the start of 2021-22, he now has 63. Zuccarello meanwhile just continues to impress in Minnesota. The undrafted, 5’8″, 35-year-old playmaker now has 36 points in 31 games and is well on his way to another outstanding campaign.

  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Tommy Novak from the AHL, and he’ll get quite the opportunity. Team reporter Emma Lingan tweets that Novak will center Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund while also getting a chance on the powerplay. The 25-year-old has 26 points in 25 games for the Milwaukee Admirals this season after getting his first chance in the NHL during 2021-22.
  • The San Jose Sharks, off today after a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames last night, have sent Nick Cicek and C.J. Suess to the minor leagues. With Tomas Hertl likely facing a suspension, it wouldn’t be surprising to see additional moves tomorrow ahead of the rematch in this odd two-game, no-travel series with the Flames.

Nashville Predators Re-Assign Kevin Gravel, Roland McKeown To AHL

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The early roster shuffling on this Sunday morning continues with the Nashville Predators, who announced they’ve re-assigned defensemen Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to the Milwaukee Admirals, their AHL affiliate. Both players had been recalled on an emergency basis on December 12th. No corresponding move was announced, but with Jeremy Lauzon’s return last night, Nashville did have flexibility to send a defenseman down.

Gravel, 30, certainly didn’t go unused during his stint with Nashville. The defenseman made his Predators debut, getting into four games this week, averaging 14:38 while dishing out seven hits and blocking six shots. These games represented Gravel’s first NHL action since he appeared in three with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019-20. A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2010, the St. Cloud State alum has spent the bulk of his NHL career to date with the Kings (70 games) and the Edmonton Oilers (36 games).

A fellow Kings draft pick, McKeown, 26, also made his Predators debut this week, getting into three games, averaging 14:33 over that time. A longtime AHL veteran, this was McKeown’s first appearance in the NHL since his only other stint: 10 games with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017-18. In the time since, the defenseman has appeared with the Charlotte Checkers, Colorado Eagles, and the Admirals in the AHL, as well as 24 games with Skelleftea AIK in the SHL during the 2019-20 season. Through 22 games for Milwaukee this season, McKeown has eight points along with a very healthy +12 rating.

Nashville Predators Make Several Roster Moves

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After losing Eeli Tolvanen on waivers, the Nashville Predators recalled Kevin Gravel and Roland McKeown to help their bruised and battered defense corps. The team also announced updated timelines for two players with upper-body injuries. Alexandre Carrier will be out week-to-week, while Jeremy Lauzon is now listed as day-to-day.

Adding help on defense is one of the biggest reasons why the Predators were forced to waive Tolvanen in the first place, though neither one of the players coming up should be expected to make a huge impact. Gravel is the more experienced of the two with 109 NHL games under his belt, though his last appearance was in 2019-20. The 6’4″ left-shot defenseman can be a useful penalty-killing option but offers almost no offense, with just one goal and 12 assists in his career.

McKeown, meanwhile has a bit more well-rounded game, though it has landed him only ten NHL appearances so far. The 26-year-old was the 50th overall pick in 2014 and played all ten of those games with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017-18. He is the right-shot that can help replace Carrier, though certainly won’t be able to fill his shoes entirely.

Seattle Kraken Claim Eeli Tolvanen

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As expected, Eeli Tolvanen’s time with the Nashville Predators is over (at least for now). The former top prospect has been claimed off waivers by the Seattle Kraken, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Given Seattle’s place in the standings, quite a few teams passed on the chance to take the 23-year-old sniper. Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside tweets that the Predators’ front office was “pretty confident” that Tolvanen would clear, likely because of the $1.45MM cap hit that Seattle will be taking on in full. Signed to a three-year, $4.35MM deal in 2021, Tolvanen has just two goals and four points this season in 13 games. He hasn’t played since November 19, and even then was seeing limited minutes.

Expansion clubs are often where a player can rejuvenate their career, though, and perhaps the Kraken can do it for Tolvanen, the 30th overall pick in 2017. A rather similar player, Daniel Sprong, had experienced his own rollercoaster ride through waivers and trades before arriving in Seattle, where he seems to have found a home with 15 points in 20 games so far this season.

There is no shortage of skill in Tolvanen, who possesses one of the hardest shots in the league and has scored at every level – including the NHL. In his rookie season, he had 11 goals and 22 points in just 40 games, totals that were only barely matched in his sophomore year.

It is important to remember that several teams could not have claimed Tolvanen because of cap space, and the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t have a contract slot available. Still, it is somewhat surprising that he reached the Kraken, who were 23rd in line.

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