Predators Reassign Cameron Reid, Release Scott Harrington
The Predators have trimmed their training camp roster by two this morning, saying goodbye to a pair of semi-notable defensemen. The club announced they’ve reassigned first-round pick Cameron Reid to OHL Kitchener and released Scott Harrington from his professional tryout.
Reid, 18, was the No. 21 overall pick in June’s draft and was never expected to challenge for an NHL job on his first try. That’s not to detract from the mobile lefty’s skills – more than a few public rankings had him going in the teens, but at “just” 6’0″, he slipped in a draft where teams prioritized height on the blue line. He was the fifth defenseman off the board and had a well-rounded showing for Kitchener last year, posting a 14-40–54 scoring line in 67 appearances with 44 PIMs and a +39 rating. He also won a gold medal with Canada at the under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup at the beginning of the season.
Reid was in Nashville’s camp by virtue of his presence on their reserve list. They’ve yet to sign him to an entry-level contract, so he’s not eligible to play in a regular-season contest yet anyway. He’ll return to Kitchener for a third junior season before getting a longer look at an opening night slot next fall.
Harrington was brought into camp for veteran depth to help them meet exhibition game minimums early on in the preseason schedule, but he ended up not making an appearance. The team did not say whether he had been assigned to their AHL affiliate’s camp. Considering he hasn’t signed a contract or tryout agreement with Milwaukee, it’s fair to assume this is a true departure from the organization and he’ll need to look elsewhere to play in 2025-26.
The 32-year-old’s resume boasts over 250 games of NHL experience, although none since the 2022-23 season. He spent last year on an AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he had five points and a -5 rating in 49 appearances.
Afternoon Notes: LaFontaine, Luukkonen, Predators
The New York Islanders have announced that prolific centerman Pat LaFontaine will be inducted into the team’s Hall-of-Fame. LaFontaine spent eight years with the Islanders beginning in 1983, when New York drafted him third overall. He also spent seven years with New York state’s other NHL clubs – six years with the Buffalo Sabres, and one year with the New York Rangers. LaFontaine ended his career with 1,013 points in 865 games – enough to earn an induction into the NHL Hall Of Fame in 2003, alongside Grant Fuhr.
The Islanders managed to land the 1983 third overall selection in the midst of four consecutive Stanley Cup wins, after trading Dave Cameron and Bob Lorimer to the Colorado Rockies in 1981. The move proved to be franchise-defining, awarding them a young superstar in LaFontaine to help replace aging vets like Butch Goring. LaFontaine did just that, contributing 25 points in his first 31 NHL games to help push New York to a Stanley Cup Final loss in 1984 – and then taking reigns for the organization when Mike Bossy retired in 1987. LaFontaine’s 105 points in 1989-90 made him just one of four Islanders to break the century mark. He left Long Island with 566 points in 530 games – good for ninth in all-time scoring for the franchise.
Other notes from around the league:
- Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned to the practice sheet after missing the start with a lower-body injury. He said he expects to be fully ready for the start of the season, and that his absence was due to a flare up with a minor injury late in the summer. His return will be great news for the Sabres, who seem set to roll out the 26-year-old as their starter for a third season. Luukkonen posted a stout .910 save percentage and 27-22-4 record in 54 games of the 2023-24 season; but fell to a .887 save percentage and 24-24-5 record last season. He’ll look to return to a positive record as he faces a similar workload this year.
- Nashville Predators centerman Zachary L’Heureux is listed on the roster for a team scrimmage on Thursday, after missing the last few days with an injury. Defense prospects Tanner Molendyk and Cameron Reid also returned from injury ahead of the scrimmage. L’Heureux seems well set on earning a roster spot out of camp, while Molendyk will likely head to the AHL, and Reid would need a colossal performance to avoid a return to the OHL. The trio are three of Nashville’s top prospects – and should be exciting names to watch as they face off against organizational teammates in Thursday’s scrimmage.
Nicolas Hague Out Four To Six Weeks With Upper Body Injury
Predators offseason acquisition Nicolas Hague won’t be available for around the first month of the regular season after sustaining an upper-body injury in Sunday’s preseason split-squad game against the Panthers. The team issued a four-to-six-week recovery timeline for him today, according to Max Herz of 102.5 The Game.
That creates an opening on the Preds’ top pair to begin an important season for the club, looking to shed off the rust from an incredibly disappointing 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish with the third-worst record in the league. Hague, acquired from the Golden Knights for a package including Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon in June, had taken early reps alongside captain Roman Josi in camp. While both lefties, Josi played a good chunk of last year on his off side on a pairing with Brady Skjei.
When Hague returns the lineup, Nashville is banking on a breakthrough season from the 26-year-old. Acquired as an RFA, the Preds promptly signed him to a four-year extension with a $5.5MM cap hit. The 6’6″, 245-lb rearguard had been an impressively staunch depth presence throughout his first six NHL seasons with Vegas, managing a 20-63–83 scoring line with a +20 rating in 364 career appearances while averaging 110 blocks and 129 hits per 82 games. That output came in almost exclusively bottom-pairing duties behind a combination of Brayden McNabb, Alec Martinez, and Noah Hanifin on the left side of a stacked Vegas defense group, though. He’s averaged 17:33 per game for his career – including some significant penalty killing time. That number is likely to jump to the 20:00 range when his season gets underway.
For a Preds team looking to get off to a strong start, there are suddenly renewed concerns about their defensive depth. Hague being a big piece of the puzzle on the back end was a huge part of general manager Barry Trotz’s offseason strategy, allowing the club to move Skjei down to a more comfortable second-pairing role and spread the wealth in their top four. That’s still an option, but not a particularly appealing one. With Hague gone, that could mean forcing someone like Adam Wilsby into top-pairing minutes for a small stretch if they decide to keep Josi on the right side. Aside from Skjei, there aren’t any NHL-experienced options that have proven capable of shouldering top-pair minutes for any length of time.
Thus, his absence could provide a break for 2023 first-rounder Tanner Molendyk to break camp with the NHL club. The 20-year-old lefty was the 24th overall selection two years ago and will be transitioning to the pros this fall, whether in Nashville or AHL Milwaukee, after five years of major junior play. He split last season between WHL Saskatoon and Medicine Hat, continuing his strong offensive output with 47 points in 49 regular-season games and a 4-16–20 scoring line in 18 playoff contests as he guided the Tigers to a league championship.
Since Molendyk is two years post-draft, burning a year of his entry-level contract isn’t a concern – it’ll go into effect this season regardless of how much NHL action he sees. Unfortunately, the Preds haven’t gotten a look at him in preseason yet. He’s been dealing with a minor lower-body injury since the beginning of camp, although he did skate today for the first time, per Herz. He’ll have all the more motivation now to kick things into high gear with a clear path to his NHL debut on the line.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/22/25
Several teams participated in their first or second preseason contest yesterday. The intense camp battles will persist throughout the week, but many teams will also begin making cuts to their rosters. This will involve players who were highly unlikely to make their respective NHL clubs’ opening night roster or those who are just getting a few days of experience in a professional environment. The remaining players can be found on our Training Camp Rosters page.
Calgary Flames (per team announcement)
D Mace’o Phillips (to Green Bay, USHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team announcement)
F Max Curran (to Edmonton, WHL)
D Linus Funck (to London, OHL)
F Christian Humphreys (to Kitchener, OHL)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
D Anthony Cristoforo (released from ATO)
F Brandon Gorzynski (to Calgary, WHL)
D Niilopekka Muhonen (loaned to Medicine Hat, WHL)
F Charlie Paquette (to Guelph, OHL)
F Cameron Schmidt (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Dawson Sharkey (to Newfoundland, QMJHL)
Edmonton Oilers (per team announcement)
F Tommy Lafreniere (to Kamloops, WHL)
F David Lewandowski (to Saskatoon, WHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)
F Jan Chovan (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Jimmy Lombardi (to Flint, OHL)
D Nate Corbet (to Kelowna, WHL)
G Carter George (to Owen Sound, OHL)
Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)
F Lirim Amidovski (to North Bay, OHL)
F Adam Benak (to Brantford, OHL)
F Carter Klippenstein (to Brandon, WHL)
F Ryan McGuire (released from PTO)
G William Rousseau (released from PTO)
F Matthew Sop (released from PTO)
D Rowan Topp (released from ATO)
D Jordan Tourigny (released from ATO)
G Chase Wutzke (to Red Deer, WHL)
Nashville Predators (per team announcement)
D Hayden Barch (released from ATO)
F Hiroki Gojsic (to Kelowna, WHL)
D Alex Huang (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
F Alex Kostov (released from ATO)
G Jakub Milota (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
F Viktor Nörringer (to Muskegon, USHL)
New York Islanders (per team announcement)
G Burke Hood (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Tomas Poletin (to Kelowna, WHL)
F Luca Romano (to Kitchener, OHL)
San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)
F Max Heise (to Prince Albert, WHL)
F Teddy Mutryn (to Moncton, QMJHL)
D Jack Bar (released from tryout)
D John Gormley (to San Jose, AHL)
D Artem Guryev (to San Jose, AHL)
G Joshua Ravensbergen (to Prince George, WHL)
G Christian Kirsch (to Kitchener, OHL)
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
D Alexis Bernier (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
D Jakub Fibigr (to Brampton, OHL)
D Blake Fiddler (to Edmonton, WHL)
F Julius Miettinen (to Everett, WHL)
F Jake O’Brien (to Brantford, OHL)
D Will Reynolds (to Newfoundland, QMJHL)
St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)
F Antoine Dorion (to Quebec, QMJHL)
D Lukas Fischer (to Sarnia, OHL)
F Adam Jecho (to Edmonton, WHL)
G Matthew Koprowski (released from ATO)
D William McIsaac (to Spokane, WHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (per team announcement)
D Peteris Bulans (to Chicoutimi, QMJHL)
D Mazden Leslie (to Kelowna, WHL)
G Jordan Papirny (to Henderson, AHL)
F Mateo Nobert (to Blainville, QMJHL)
D Bronson Ride (to North Bay, OHL)
D Carter Sotheran (to Portland, WHL)
F Andreas Straka (to Quebec, QMJHL)
F Alex Weiermair (to Portland, WHL)
Winnipeg Jets (per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton)
F Jacob Cloutier (to Saginaw, OHL)
D Edison Engle (to Brantford, OHL)
D Ethan Frisch (released from PTO)
F Kevin He (to Niagara, OHL)
F Owen Martin (to Spokane, WHL)
G Alex Worthington (released from PTO)
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Evangelista Leaves Nashville, Will Return To Canada While Waiting For Contract To Be Done
While it appears that the Predators and Luke Evangelista have agreed that the winger’s next contract will be for two years, things don’t appear to be going well in terms of discussing money. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are still well apart on the financial side, so much so that the 23-year-old has left Nashville and is returning to Canada to train on his own while waiting for a contract to be hammered out. Evangelista has two straight years of more than 30 points under his belt and is averaging exactly half a point per game in 172 career NHL appearances. Despite that being a more concrete track record than many players have coming off their entry-level pacts, the two sides don’t appear to be close to an agreement just yet.
Predators Have No Intension Of Trading Luke Evangelista
- Despite being the only member of the team without a new contract heading into training camp, there’s little chance forward Luke Evangelista is moving on from the Nashville Predators. Speaking with Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, General Manager Barry Trotz said that trading Evangelista is “not even a thought.” Over the last two years, playing full-time in Nashville, Evangelista scored 26 goals and 71 points in 148 contests.
[SOURCE LINK]
Predators Sign Scott Harrington, Isaac Ratcliffe To PTOs
The Predators are bringing in defenseman Scott Harrington and winger Isaac Ratcliffe into training camp on professional tryouts, reports Brooks Bratten of NHL.com. Both are likely angling for contracts with their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee for the upcoming season.
Harrington, 32, has over 250 games of NHL experience but hasn’t played in the league since the 2022-23 season, which he split between the Sharks and Ducks. He spent last season on an AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ affiliate, and made 49 appearances. While historically more of a two-way defender, the offense wasn’t there for Harrington, who only contributed a goal and five points with a -5 rating. The year before, he had four assists in 14 games with Switzerland’s ZSC Lions – the only overseas experience of the lefty’s lengthy professional career.
There’s little downside for the Predators in adding an experienced rearguard to their depth ranks, but the likelihood of him landing an NHL contract – let alone a call-up – isn’t all that high. The team already has 15 defenders signed to contracts for the upcoming campaign, and redundant veteran names like Andreas Englund, Kevin Gravel, and Jordan Oesterle to fill veteran injury replacement roles with more recent NHL experience.
Ratcliffe, 26, only has 10 games of NHL experience back in 2021-22 with the Flyers. He scored a goal and three assists during that call-up. A 2017 second-round pick, Nashville initially acquired him for future considerations midway through the 2022-23 campaign but left him stashed with Milwaukee for the balance of the campaign. He’s spent the last two years on AHL deals, hopping to the independent Chicago Wolves in 2023-24 before returning to Milwaukee for last year. The 6’6″ forward was injury-limited to just 13 games, scoring a goal and two assists. His PTO will serve as an AHL tryout as well, much like Harrington’s, in an effort to extend his playing career.
Evening Notes: Evangelista, Canadiens Rookies, Cootes
Negotiations between winger Luke Evangelista and the Nashville Predators have begun to stall per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, who reports that yearly salary is what’s created the wedge. Evangelista is one of the top unsigned restricted free agents after players like Connor Zary and Marco Rossi both found new deals. The 23-year-old Evangelista posted an impressive 10 goals and 32 points in 68 games last season. It was a suitable encore to the 16 goals and 39 points he posted in 80 games of the 2023-24 season.
A pair of successful scoring seasons would surely make the player’s camp confident in earning a hardy salary. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger recently signed a two-year, $4.5MM contract extension, while New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer recently signed a three-year, $12MM contract. Those could be the boundaries for a short-term, bridge contract for Evangelista, who has certainly proved he can stick in Nashville’s top nine. Should contract talks continue to stall, the Predators could opt for a one-year, sub-$1MM contract and kick negotiations back to next summer.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Montreal Canadiens have assigned a group of rookies back to their respective leagues after rookie camp came to a close. In turn, Montreal assigned defensemen Carlos Handel to the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, Andrew MacNiel to the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, and Bryce Pickford to the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. Goaltenders Arseny Radkov and Mikus Vecvanags will return to Russia and Latvia, respectively. The team has also returned a handful of rookie camp invites. All of the moves come as expected, though it rings as exciting news for fans of Medicine Hat and Halifax, as their top defenders return for another season.
- Top Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes was absent from the team’s final rookie camp scrimmage on Sunday, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Drance later added that Cootes was held out for precautionary reasons and will still attend training camp next week. That will keep the reigning 15th overall pick on track to take his first crack at breaking into the NHL. Cootes had a strong season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds last year. He dominated the middle of the ice with quick plays all year long, working up to 63 points and 60 games in total. Cootes seems most likely set for a return to Seattle next season, though a strong training camp could earn him the chance at sticking in the pros for nine games.
Tanner Molendyk Injury Reportedly "Not Serious"
- Nashville Predators prospect Tanner Molendyk was the subject of an injury scare Thursday after taking a hit during one of the team’s rookie tournament practices in Tampa. At the time, The Tennessean’s Alex Daugherty reported that Molendyk’s absence from the rest of practice appeared precautionary, and today Daugherty confirmed that Molendyk indeed avoided major damage. Daugherty said today that Molendyk’s injury “isn’t serious,” and that while he may not return to the ice in Tampa, “he will be fine” for the team’s main training camp next week. The 2023 first-round pick is set to begin his pro career and was recently ranked by EliteProspects as the club’s fourth-best prospect.
Nicolas Hague Had Verbal Agreement With Knights Before Trade
In a recent interview with Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nashville Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague spoke about the end of his tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights. According to Hague, it doesn’t sound like he was given a particularly warm goodbye from the only organization he had ever known.
As it turns out, Vegas pivoted away from their purported verbal agreement with Hague, needing to open the necessary cap space to acquire Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a sign-and-trade. The day before the trade was made for Marner, the Golden Knights traded Hague to the Predators for Jeremy Lauzon, Colton Sissons, and a 2027 third-round pick. Hague subsequently signed a four-year, $22MM extension in Nashville.