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Predators Activate Zachary L’Heureux From IR

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The Nashville Predators received some more good news on the injury front as rookie forward Zachary L’Heureux has been activated from injured reserve, per reporter Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game.

The 21-year-old is set to return ahead of tonight’s game against the Kings after a 12-game absence with an upper-body injury. He was originally injured prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

The team’s 2021 first round pick (27th overall) has scored four goals and collected nine assists through his first 45 games in the league. The 5’11, 197-pound L’Heureux plays a physical style that has endeared him to the Nashville fan base. His feisty play includes 145 hits on the season, but also a three-game suspension for slew-footing Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon.

L’Heureux has a history of suspensions dating back to his time in the QMJHL, where he was disciplined 10 games for an assault on a fan with a stick. Additionally, he was suspended on two separate occasions during the 2023-24 season in the AHL.

Disciplinary issues aside, L’Heureux has also displayed the talent and pedigree that made him a first-round choice. He put up 190 points in 167 QMJHL games, and scored 48 points in 66 games last season for the AHL Milwaukee Admirals. After a quick start to the AHL season, he was recalled for his first NHL contest on Oct. 22, and he has remained with the Preds since.

The team also activated trade deadline acquisition Michael Bunting from injured reserve yesterday, and Bunting suited up in last night’s 2-1 loss to Anaheim. The return of Bunting and L’Heureux should help the Preds offense that has generated just 2.62 goals per game on the season.

Predators Activate Michael Bunting From IR

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The Predators are slated to get one of their top returns from the trade deadline in the lineup, as winger Michael Bunting has been removed from IR and is a game-time decision for tonight’s game in Anaheim, according to reporter Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game.

The Preds acquired Bunting and a fourth-round pick from the Penguins in exchange for forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn. After the deal, Nashville GM Barry Trotz stated Bunting was an “impact player” the Preds were interested in acquiring, and noted the team’s desire to keep the 29-year-old Bunting in the fold moving forward.

Bunting has fought through injuries this season – as well as a short stint as a healthy scratch – in Pittsburgh prior to the trade. However, after a slow start, he started to turn things around to the tune of 14 goals and 29 points through 58 games. He also led the Penguins in power play goals (9) at the time of the trade. Through 326 career games, Bunting has scored 90 times, including two 20-plus goal seasons under his belt.

Although he’s only in his ninth NHL season, the Predators will mark the fifth NHL team Bunting will suit up for after stints with Arizona, Toronto, Carolina, and Pittsburgh. But Bunting should provide a veteran presence, solid top nine play, and power play production to the rebuilding Preds.

Bunting has one year remaining on his current contract with a 2025-26 cap hit of $4.5MM.

Predators Trade Mark Jankowski To Hurricanes

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The Hurricanes and Predators got a minor deal done before the deadline. Forward Mark Jankowski is headed to Carolina in exchange for the Hurricanes’ 2026 fifth-round pick, the team announced.

Jankowski has spent the entirety of the season on the NHL lineup after splitting the last two seasons between the NHL and AHL. He’s totaled nine points, 15 penalty minutes, and an even plus-minus through 41 games while serving in a bottom-six role for the Predators. The performance is a slight downtick from the 15 points, eight PIMs, and plus-11 that Jankowski managed in 32 games last year. He also scored 47 points in 40 AHL games last year, good for third on the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring.

Jankowski has filled the role of depth forward throughout his 11-year professional career. He was originally drafted 21st overall in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames. He went on to play a productive four years at Providence College before turning pro at the end of the 2015-16 season and playing his rookie AHL season in 2016-17. Jankowski was instantly effective, netting 62 points in his first 72 games in the AHL. That scoring wasn’t enough to make the full-time jump to the NHL, but Jankowski made sure to earn the call-up wiht eight points in six AHL games of 2017-18. With that, Calgary awarded him his first full season at the top flight. Jankowski seemed to be taking early advantage, netting 17 goals and 25 points in 72 games as an NHL rookie. He improved on the performance with 14 goals and 32 points in 79 games in his second year, but quickly fell off a cliff after that.

Jankowski spent one more season with Calgary after his 32-point campaign – and only managed seven points in 56 games. He spent the next three seasons between stops in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Nashville – all while averaging just nine points each season at the NHL level. He curbed the slow performances with 27 points in 32 AHL games in 2021-22 – but nonetheless fell firm into the rut of menial NHL scoring and near point-per-game minor scoring.

Jankowski will bring modest depth and a six-foot-four, 212-pound frame to the bottom of Carolina’s lineup. He should be in for routine minutes – likely bumping Tyson Jost back out of the lineup and filling the hole left by Jack Drury’s departure. But Jankowski will need to stay on his toes to hang onto a lineup role. Carolina is currently tied for fourth-place in an Atlantic Division that got some major upgrades at the deadline. They’ll need all hands of deck as they start to fight for playoff seeding, and aim for an extended postesason.

Jankowski is signed through the end of the 2025-26 season with a cheap $800K cap hit.

New Jersey Devils Have Expressed Interest In Ryan O’Reilly

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According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the New Jersey Devils have contacted the Nashville Predators regarding Ryan O’Reilly’s availability. New Jersey is desperately attempting to fill the void left by Jack Hughes after losing him for the remainder of the season due to shoulder surgery.

O’Reilly makes sense as a Devils’ trade target for several reasons. He won’t be able to replicate Hughes’s high-level scoring, but he’s a robust two-way center with plenty of playoff experience. Even when Hughes returns next September, adding O’Reilly would give New Jersey a solid center trio through the 2026-27 season.

The 16-year veteran is in year two of a four-year, $18MM contract signed with the Predators in 2023. He performed admirably in his first year with the club, scoring 26 goals and 69 points in 82 games. On the defensive side of the puck, O’Reilly carried a 53.9% faceoff rate, with many of those draws coming in the offensive zone. Because of his performance last year, O’Reilly finished 36th in Selke Trophy voting.

Like many players on Nashville’s roster, O’Reilly has struggled offensively. Still, there are a few positives to take away from his performance this season. O’Reilly has increased his faceoff rate to 56.6% and his CorsiFor% at even strength to 55.1%. He would make a valuable addition to New Jersey for his faceoff rate alone, given the team ranks 24th in the category with a 49.05% success rate.

There would be offensive struggles in New Jersey the rest of the way simply because there’s no replacing Hughes in the lineup. Still, O’Reilly is an adequate second-line center on any team and could slide down to the third line next season. Unfortunately, the Predators won’t let him be had very easily.

Although his contract doesn’t have trade protection, the Predators have publicly stated they’ll treat O’Reilly as if he has a full no-movement clause. Meanwhile, despite being 30th in the league standings, Nashville hasn’t expressed much desire to move him.

The Devils must present the Predators with a substantial offer if they want O’Reilly to change hands. Since he is not a rental player, this might be something they are willing to consider.

Predators Claim Jakub Vrána, Jordan Oesterle

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The Predators have claimed winger Jakub Vrána off waivers from the Capitals and defenseman Jordan Oesterle off waivers from the Bruins, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic.

Nashville needed some depth after trading winger Gustav Nyquist to the Minnesota Wild a few days ago and moving Thomas Novak and Luke Schenn to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday evening. Newly acquired Michael Bunting will become a regular feature in the lineup upon his recovery from appendix-removal surgery, but Vrana and Oesterle will fill in in the meantime.

After a few subpar years with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, Vrána successfully converted a PTO into a one-year, league minimum deal with the Washington Capitals. It was a feel-good story at the time, given that the best years of Vrána’s career had come in the Capitals organization. Before being acquired by Detroit at the 2020-21 trade deadline, Vrána had scored 76 goals and 157 points in 284 games, including a Stanley Cup ring from the 2018 postseason.

Thanks to a relatively healthy forward core this season, the Capitals haven’t utilized Vrána much. The nine-year veteran has been limited to 26 games this season in Washington, scoring four goals and 11 points while averaging 9:50 of ice time per night. There’s no guarantee he’ll have more access to playing time in Nashville, but he could make a decent fit on the team’s fourth line.

Meanwhile, Oesterle joins the seventh organization of his career from the waiver claim. The product of Western Michigan University had recently signed a two-year, $1.55MM agreement with Boston last summer. Similarly to Vrána, Oesterle had been a lightly called upon depth option on the Bruins’ blue line.

He’s likely to find a similar role in Nashville. Oesterle doesn’t appear better on paper than any of the Predators’ other options unless the team has not finished dealing from their defensive core. The 11-year veteran has registered one goal and six points in 22 games for the Bruins this season, averaging 17:36 of ice time. The pair of Nashville’s waiver claims were briefly teammates throughout their time with the Red Wings from 2021 to 2023.

Predators Recall Ozzy Wiesblatt

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The Predators have recalled winger Ozzy Wiesblatt from AHL Milwaukee, Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game reports. No corresponding transaction is necessary since Nashville opened a roster spot in last night’s trade with the Penguins.

Wiesblatt, 22, earns his third recall of the season after a torrid stretch of play in the minors. The Sharks 2020 first-rounder has 2-5–7 in his last five games with Milwaukee and is now up to 14-18–32 in 51 games on the year.

The feisty 5’10” winger has seen his game take off in the Preds organization after they acquired him from San Jose last offseason in exchange for the signing rights to Egor Afanasyev. His development had stalled in the Sharks’ farm system, where he posted just 11-18–29 in 85 games with the Barracuda across three seasons. He’s now outperformed that total production in just months with Milwaukee.

That explosion has led to a pair of previous recalls this year, yielding his NHL debut. He’s yet to record a point in three appearances but has a plus-one rating while averaging 11:10 per game. He’s recorded a shot on goal and five hits, but the Preds have been shelled 45-16 in shot attempts in his even-strength minutes. Nonetheless, he’ll get another shot in the lineup tonight against Seattle with Thomas Novak dealt to Pittsburgh and pickup Michael Bunting still recovering from an appendectomy.

Predators Acquire Michael Bunting

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The Predators and Penguins have made a multi-player swap.  Nashville has acquired winger Michael Bunting along with a 2026 fourth-round pick from Pittsburgh in exchange for center Thomas Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn.

Pittsburgh acquired Bunting last season as the most prominent part of the package from the Jake Guentzel trade with Carolina.  However, the 29-year-old has struggled in his first full season with the Pens.  Through 58 games this season, Bunting has just 14 goals and 15 assists.  By comparison, he had 19 points in 21 games down the stretch last year and hasn’t recorded fewer than 49 points over the last three seasons, a streak that seems likely to come to an end.

Nashville will undoubtedly be hoping that the change of scenery will get him back to the level of production he had.  They’re taking on the final year and a bit of a contract that carries a $4.5MM cap charge.  When Bunting is at his best, he’s worth that type of money as a top-six winger who plays with an edge but he’ll be joining a team that has had several veterans underachieve this season.

The move is an interesting one from their standpoint.  While the expectation was that they’d be looking for younger pieces who are longer-term fits, they actually get a little older up front with the swap while losing some club control with Novak still having two years left on his contract after this one.  It suggests that GM Barry Trotz feels his team isn’t that far away from being a playoff contender once again and that a tweak or two to the forward group could propel them back in the right direction next season.  Bunting won’t be able to help in the short term, however, as he is currently on IR after undergoing an appendectomy.

As for Pittsburgh’s return, Novak is the headliner.  He’s a bit of a reclamation project himself as he’s in the midst of a down year as well.  The 27-year-old had two straight seasons of more than 40 points heading into this one, a performance that earned him a three-year, $10.5MM contract a little before the trade deadline last March.

But, like many of Nashville’s players this season, Novak hasn’t been able to produce to expectations.  He has just 13 goals and nine assists in 52 games while his playing time has dipped to just over 13 minutes a night.  Meanwhile, his struggles at the faceoff dot continue as he’s winning just 43% of his draws which has resulted in him spending more time on the wing this year.

Clearly, Pittsburgh feels that a fresh start will be beneficial for Novak.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see him moved back down the middle with a center group that’s on the older side, featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes.  If they can get Novak back to even being a capable third-line option, that would be a solid outcome for a team that clearly isn’t looking to rebuild despite being on pace to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

Schenn, meanwhile, has been a fixture on the third pairing of several teams in recent seasons.  After faring well with Vancouver and Toronto in the 2022-23 campaign, he signed a three-year, $8.25MM contract with Nashville in the 2023 offseason.  But his role has been more limited with the Predators as he has barely averaged 15 minutes a night since joining them.  While he brings plenty of physicality to the table – he has notched more than 200 hits in four straight years – he hasn’t been able to elevate himself to being higher than sixth on the depth chart.  Meanwhile, he has just five points in 61 outings this season although offense has never been his calling card.

It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh intends to hold onto Schenn or if they intend to flip him, just like they did earlier tonight with Vincent Desharnais.  Despite Schenn’s struggles, his success at being a late-season addition before coupled with his toughness will undoubtedly have playoff-bound teams kicking the tires on the potential of him being moved once again.  If it doesn’t happen, he’s likely to have the same role on the depth chart with the Penguins on their third pairing.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the players involved while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first with the pick inclusion.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

Predators Assign Kieffer Bellows To AHL

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The Predators have opened up a roster spot in advance of their game against Seattle on Thursday.  The team announced that winger Kieffer Bellows has been assigned back to AHL Milwaukee.

The 26-year-old got into five games with Nashville after being recalled last month, his first taste of NHL action since the 2022-23 campaign.  Bellows was held off the scoresheet in each of those contests while averaging just under 11 minutes a night of playing time.  For his career, he has 14 goals and 14 assists in 100 NHL outings.

Bellows has spent the bulk of this season in the minors with the Admirals.  Through 41 games with them, he has 14 goals and 15 assists.  Those numbers are below his minor league output from a year ago when he had 27 goals and 22 helpers in 52 outings with AHL Toronto, a performance that earned him a one-year, two-way deal this summer after being strictly on an AHL pact last season.

With the demotion, the Predators now have two open roster spots.  It seems likely that one or both of those will be filled relatively quickly, perhaps as early as Thursday.

Predators Sign Joey Willis To Entry-Level Contract

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The Predators announced today they’ve signed forward prospect Joey Willis to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. His signing rights were set to expire on June 1 if an agreement was not reached.

Nashville selected Willis, 19, in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. He will remain on assignment to the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs, who acquired him from the Saginaw Spirit in January, through the end of their season. If the dates line up, he would be eligible to make his professional debut for AHL Milwaukee down the stretch once his junior obligations end.

The Illinois-born forward has seen a jump in production in what’s likely to be his final junior season. The center/left-winger has 21-23–44 in 38 appearances split between Saginaw and Kingston this season, his first time breaching the point-per-game mark.

Willis recorded 50 points in 66 regular-season games for the Spirit last year. While the club fell short of the OHL championship, they won the Memorial Cup as the host city with Willis contributing four points (2 G, 2 A) in five games. The 5’11” playmaker also added a pair of assists in two games for the United States at this year’s World Junior championship, adding a gold medal to his résumé.

However, Willis was not ranked among the top 15 prospects in Nashville’s system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic last month. Other public outlets are higher on Willis’ ceiling, with Dobber Prospects giving him a 65% chance of developing into a full-time NHL player – likely in a third-line scoring role.

He turns 20 later this month, so he’ll be eligible for a full-time assignment to Milwaukee in 2025-26. Since his 20th birthday falls after Jan. 1, 2025, his contract is only eligible for an entry-level slide this year, provided he plays in fewer than 10 NHL games as expected. He’ll likely earn a small signing bonus for the 2024-25 campaign, though, lowering the cap hit of his deal when it goes into effect next season. He will be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028.

Morning Notes: O’Reilly, Gourde, Evans

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The Nashville Predators are reportedly listening to trade offers on veteran center Ryan O’Reilly (as per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic). The Predators aren’t in a hurry to move the 34-year-old as he still has two years left on his current contract at $4.5MM per season and continues to provide strong two-way play, despite his offensive production dipping this season. O’Reilly is just a year removed from posting 69 points in 82 games and has put up points at a reasonable rate this year with 14 goals and 22 assists in 56 games.

The Predators aren’t actively trying to trade the Clinton, Ontario native, but it does sound as though they are open to doing so if they receive a trade offer that is to their liking. They currently sit 16 points out of a playoff spot but have many veterans inked to long term deals and are unlikely to initiate a rebuild anytime soon.

In other morning notes:

  • The Seattle Kraken have not closed the door on re-signing pending free agent center Yanni Gourde (as per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic). Gourde is out of the lineup at the moment recovering from successful sports hernia surgery and has not played since January 2nd. He is expected to return before the NHL Trade Deadline and could be moved if Seattle can’t sign him to an extension. The situation is not unlike that of Jordan Eberle last year, who lingered on trade boards up until he signed a two-year extension to remain in Seattle.
  • The Montreal Canadiens are reportedly open to keeping forward Jake Evans and won’t just move him for the sake of trading him (as per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic). Montreal remains in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference, sitting just three points back of Detroit for the final Wild Card spot and has plenty of draft picks at their disposal. The Canadiens have reportedly communicated their willingness to hang onto the 28-year-old Evans, who is set to become a UFA on July 1st.  LeBrun believes that Winnipeg, New Jersey, Minnesota, Toronto and Edmonton are among the teams that have inquired about Evans.

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