- The Predators have returned winger Cole Smith to Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. He got into a pair of games with Nashville on his emergency recall, bringing his total this season to eight although he has yet to record a point. He has been much more productive with the Admirals, however, with 22 points in 33 games.
Predators Rumors
Nashville Predators Sign Mark Borowiecki To Extension
The Nashville Predators signed defenseman Mark Borowiecki to a one-year contract extension worth $900,000, as announced by the team. The one-year deal will make him a Predator through the summer of 2023.
Borowiecki, a 32-year-old native of Kanata, Ontario, has two assists in 39 games with the Predators this season. Over his past two seasons, both spent with Nashville, he’s totalled three assists in 61 games. He currently leads all NHL skaters in penalty minutes this season with 103.
The veteran defenseman has now skated in 11 NHL seasons, the first nine of which were spent with his hometown Ottawa Senators. This is Borowiecki’s sixth NHL contract, over the span of which he’s tallied 54 points in 436 career NHL contests.
A true heart-and-soul type of guy, ’Boro Cop’ is a defensive specialist whose main attraction is his leadership and physicality. His extension gives Nashville a reliable sixth/seventh defenseman in the organization for yet another year.
Borowiecki was in the last season of a two-year, $4MM total contract he signed with Nashville as a free agent in 2020.
Preds To Pick Up Extension Talks With Filip Forsberg
- The Predators plan to escalate talks on a possible contract extension for pending UFA winger Filip Forsberg, GM David Poile indicated in an appearance on ESPN 102.5 (audio link). The alternate captain is having the best season of his career with 38 points (including 24 goals) in 33 games and while he was speculated as a possible trade candidate earlier in the year, the fact that Nashville is soundly in a playoff spot (second in the Central) likely takes that option off the table. Forsberg has a $6MM salary and AAV and will be looking to beat that on the open market this summer.
Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning Trade AHL Forwards
The Tampa Bay Lightning have completed their second minor trade within a matter of hours, sending center Jimmy Huntington to the Nashville Predators in exchange for center Anthony Richard.
Earlier in the day, the Bolts sent Alexey Lipanov to the Dallas Stars, acquiring Tye Felhaber in return.
Huntington is a 23-year-old undrafted forward with no NHL experience yet. However, he’s put up somewhat decent numbers with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch over the past few seasons. After a tough professional debut in 2019-20 with just three assists in 33 games with Syracuse, he’s scored 11 goals, 16 assists, and 26 points in 55 games in the following two seasons.
Richard actually has some NHL experience to his name. The 100th overall selection in 2015 by Nashville is now 25 years old, and with his AHL numbers starting to plateau, the organization was ready to move on. Richard has seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 31 games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals this year. He’s still searching for his first NHL point, with his two games of experience coming in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Roman Josi, Evgeny Kuznetsov Headed To All-Star Game
The NHL announced today that in light of injuries to the Central Division’s Nathan MacKinnon and the Metropolitan Division’s Adam Fox, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi and Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov will serve as their replacements at the 2022 All-Star Game in Las Vegas next weekend. Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski will replace MacKinnon as Central Division captain.
Josi heads to the game as Nashville’s second representative, joining goaltender Juuse Saros. The 2020 Norris Trophy winner has a spectacular 43 points in 43 games this season, enjoying what’s on pace to be the best offensive campaign of his 11-year-career. He’ll be the team’s second defenseman alongside Colorado’s Cale Makar.
Kuznetsov is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance campaign, seeing increased production back alongside Alex Ovechkin. His 43 points in 42 games put him on his first point-per-game pace since the 2017-18 season in which Washington won the Stanley Cup. He’s seeing heavy usage this year, playing over 21:25 per game under head coach Peter Laviolette.
Trade Rumors: Canucks, Tippett, Mrazek, Ducks
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek didn’t hold back on their reporting late this evening on “Hockey Night in Canada”. The duo behind “32 Thoughts” had plenty to contribute, starting with Friedman’s report on the Vancouver Canucks. With the Vancouver front office finally coming together, with Patrik Allvin being named GM of Jim Rutherford’s new-look front office, the Canucks are starting to get busy in trade talks. Although the .500 club is still in the Western Conference wild card race, the reality is that any true playoff success for Vancouver lies in the future. It should come as no surprise then that the Canucks are listening to trade offers – and not just for talked-about target J.T. Miller. Friedman reports that nearly any Vancouver forward could be had for the right price outside of captain Bo Horvat and young star Elias Pettersson. That includes Conor Garland, who the team just acquired themselves this past summer and signed to a reasonable five-year, $24.75MM deal. It is believed that the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers are in pursuit of Garland, though there is likely no shortage of interest in the skilled forward, who has 102 points in 155 games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.
- The Florida Panthers are one of the biggest surprises of the season, currently leading the top-heavy Atlantic Division with a .744 points percentage that is also third-best in the NHL. The Panthers are expected to go all-in on a Stanley Cup run this season and specifically are hoping to land a legitimate top-four defenseman. As they go about working the phones, Marek reports that one major name they are dangling is Owen Tippett. The 2017 first-rounder still has yet to make his mark in the NHL, struggling to find enough consistency at the top level to stick in the Florida lineup. However, he is only 22 and still a well-regarded as well as well-liked prospect. Tippett will likely end up as the centerpiece to any big trade the Panthers make this season.
- With Jack Campbell playing at an elite level this season while Petr Mrazek has struggled with injuries and inconsistency, the latter has proven to be little more than a pricey backup for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season while the former will be the team’s offseason priority as an impending free agent. As a result, teams have begun to inquire about Mrazek’s availability. If Campbell does stay in Toronto, the team will have a proven starter and have some promising young options like Joseph Woll and Ian Scott behind him. Marek also adds that the Maple Leafs are in hot pursuit of undrafted OHL standout Mack Guzda, who would further boost the depth chart if Toronto can win a heated race for his services. This hypothetically makes Mrazek and his $3.8MM cap hit expendable, even though he just signed with Toronto this past summer. However, for now the Leafs are maintaining that Mrazek remains a part of their plans. Marek was not so sure about that, but does report that any decision on a Mrazek trade will have to wait for the offseason.
- Among the other suitors for Guzda are the Ducks, Hurricanes, Islanders, Rangers, Penguins, and Predators. (Notably, Guzda is a Tennessee native.) One of those teams is about to get much more serious in their pursuit, as well as in the trade market. Friedman notes that Anaheim is closing in on naming a general manager. While there are still several names in contention, he believes that Pat Verbeek is the odds-on favorite. Once a permanent GM is named, the Ducks will become a fascinating team to watch; they are both well within the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, yet also possess numerous high-value rentals.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/29/22
Even with today’s game between the Kraken and Islanders being postponed, it’s still a busy day on the schedule with 20 teams in action so there should be plenty of roster movement throughout the league. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Atlantic Division
- The Senators announced (Twitter links) that they have recalled defenseman Lassi Thomson and forward Mark Kastelic from the taxi squad. Thomson has played in 14 games with Ottawa this season, picking up four points while Kastelic – who will make his NHL debut today against Anaheim – has 11 points in 31 games with AHL Belleville.
Metropolitan Division
Central Division
- The Jets announced (Twitter link) the recalls of defensemen Declan Chisholm, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Leon Gawanke from the taxi squad. To make room for them on the roster, Nathan Beaulieu was placed on injured reserve.
- The Coyotes assigned defenseman Cam Dineen from the taxi squad to AHL Tucson, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 23-year-old cleared waivers last week but has only made one minor league appearance since then so he’ll get another shot at getting into a game when they play Bakersfield tonight.
- The Blackhawks have sent defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to Rockford of the AHL, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). The 24-year-old was up with Chicago for the past week but didn’t play and has made just four NHL appearances this season.
- After a brief recall, veteran defenseman Matt Tennyson will head back to the minors. Nashville has announced that Tennyson has been returned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, where he has played 30 of his 34 games this season.
Pacific Division
- The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve brought up defenseman Noah Juulsen to the taxi squad from AHL Abbotsford. The 24-year-old has suited up twice for Vancouver this season but has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, collecting 10 points in 25 games.
- The Kings have made their usual roster shuffle, announcing (Twitter link) the recall of defenseman Austin Strand from the taxi squad while sending blueliner Jacob Moverare back to the taxi squad. Both players have been shuffled back and forth frequently since the taxi squads were re-established, a trend that should continue for a few more days until after the All-Star break.
Mattias Ekholm Added To COVID Protocol
When the Nashville Predators take the ice against the Boston Bruins this afternoon they will be missing another one of their cornerstone players. The team has announced that defenseman Mattias Ekholm has been placed into the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol. With forward Filip Forsberg also still on the COVID list, the Predators will be missing two impact players for the foreseeable future.
Ekholm is part of Nashville’s dominant top pair alongside Roman Josi, who each play over 23 minutes of ice time per night. While the second pair of Alexandre Carrier and Dante Fabbro have performed well this season, Ekholm’s absence will be felt, especially if he misses an extended stretch. The Predators have a busy week ahead, starting a stretch of five games in eight days on Saturday, with divisional match-ups against St. Louis and Winnipeg among them. While the Preds have the appearance of a division leader due to total points, their record is in fact fourth in the Central, sandwiched between the Blues and Jets. Ekholm’s stable play in big minutes and critical penalty kill role are not easily replaced, so the Predators will hope he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
Nashville did get one name back from the COVID Protocol though and that is forward Yakov Trenin. The physical winger has cleared the protocol’s requirement and is back in the lineup on Saturday. Trenin is fifth among Predators forwards with nine goals this season and in the top ten in points too, well on his way to a career year.
Roman Josi Activated From COVID Protocol
The Nashville Predators have their captain back just in time. The team will take on the Chicago Blackhawks this afternoon in their first game of 2022 and Roman Josi has been activated from the COVID protocol in time to participate. Josi returns along with Colton Sissons, who has also been activated. Meanwhile, Michael McCarron has been recalled from the taxi squad and Mathieu Olivier takes his place.
Unfortunately, just a few minutes later, the team announced that Dante Fabbro has entered the protocol.
Nashville has lost the first two games following the holiday break, both played without Josi in the lineup. The 31-year-old defenseman is the most important skater on the Predators roster, playing in all situations and driving the offense almost single-handedly at times.
In 30 games, the 2020 Norris Trophy winner has ten goals and 29 points, good for the team lead (tied with Mikael Granlund). Josi averages almost 25 minutes a night, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll see that much ice time in his first game back.
Sissons too is an important player to have back in the lineup, given his role as one of the team’s regular centers. While not a huge offensive contributor, his 13 points in 29 games are still a good bit of secondary scoring.
With these two back, the Predators were almost completely out of the woods when it comes to their current COVID placements. Fabbro’s presence will obviously be missed, meaning they won’t be at full strength for a little while longer.
Predators Place Three In COVID Protocol, Activate Eight
There was plenty of COVID-related activity for the Predators on Monday. The team announced that defenseman Roman Josi, center Tommy Novak, and winger Colton Sissons have all been placed in COVID protocol. However, they also got several players back from protocol in wingers Nick Cousins and Philip Tomasino, center Mikael Granlund and Ryan Johansen, and defensemen Mark Borowiecki and Ben Harpur. Josi, Novak, and Sissons will be out for at least the next ten days as a result; today’s announcement from the CDC that cuts the quarantine period from ten days to five doesn’t automatically apply to the NHL.
Josi is easily the biggest loss of the three for the Predators as he’s their leading scorer with 29 points in 30 games while averaging just shy of 25 minutes per game. Sissons isn’t a minor loss either as he’s logging nearly 16 minutes a night on the wing while chipping in with 13 points in 29 contests.
The returns of Granlund and Johansen should certainly help Nashville’s offense. Granlund is averaging just shy of a point per game with 27 in 28 games, sitting second behind Josi in team scoring. As for Johansen, he is having a nice bounce-back campaign with 24 points in 27 contests.
On top of these moves, the Predators assigned wingers Matt Luff and Michael McCarron to the taxi squad. Both players had been up in recent weeks to cover for injuries and absences before hitting COVID protocol themselves but with more players returning than leaving today, there wasn’t room on the NHL roster for them to be placed back there.