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Nashville Predators Hire Todd Richards

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The Nashville Predators have hired another assistant coach, adding Todd Richards to John Hynes’ staff. Richards joins Dan Lambert and Dan Hinote as the other assistants in Nashville. Predators GM David Poile released a statement on the hire:

We are extremely pleased to be able to bring in Todd and his expansive coaching background to our staff. He not only has an experienced resume, but a winning one as well, and further added to it this past season by winning the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay. He began his rise through the professional ranks in our organization with the Milwaukee Admirals, and we are happy to have him back with us to complete John Hynes’s coaching staff.

Richards comes to Nashville just a few weeks after raising the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, an organization he had been with for the last four seasons. Prior to that, he had served as head coach in both Columbus and Minnesota, where he reached the playoffs only once.

Even though his time running an NHL bench didn’t result in much postseason success, Richards did register a 204-183-37 record in parts of seven seasons as a head coach. He also took the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins deep in the playoffs twice, reaching the Calder Cup Final in 2008.

As a player, Richards spent almost his entire career in the minor leagues, suiting up just 19 times for the Hartford Whalers.

Predators Re-Sign Rem Pitlick

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Oct 20: Nashville has officially announced the contract for Pitlick, at the same terms that CapFriendly reported.

Oct 18: The Predators have reached an agreement with one of their remaining restricted free agents as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that forward Rem Pitlick has accepted his qualifying offer.  It’s a one-year deal worth $874,125 in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of Nashville (76th overall) back in 2016 and turned pro in 2018 following two seasons at the University of Minnesota.  So far, his time in the pros has almost exclusively been with AHL Milwaukee except for one game with the Preds back in 2018-19.  Last season, Pitlick had 20 goals and 16 assists in 63 games for the Admirals before the pandemic put an end to the rest of their season.

Pitlick is still exempt from waivers for the upcoming season and even though the Predators have freed up some roster spots for their prospects, it’s likely that he’ll return to Milwaukee for more development although he will be a candidate to be recalled when injuries arise.

The Predators now have one remaining restricted free agent to deal with in offseason acquisition Luke Kunin.  The winger recently wrapped up his entry-level deal and is not eligible for salary arbitration.

Predators Holding Daily Talks With RFAs Kunin And Pitlick

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  • The Predators are involved in daily discussions with remaining restricted free agents Luke Kunin and Rem Pitlick, notes Brooks Bratten of their team website. Kunin was the centerpiece of the draft day trade that sent Nick Bonino to Minnesota and is coming off a 15-goal season while Pitlick had 36 points in 63 games with AHL Milwaukee.  Neither player is eligible for salary arbitration and their qualifying offers will expire at 4:00 PM CST on Sunday.

Nashville Predators Still Considering Free Agents

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The Nashville Predators made huge moves in the days preceding free agency, moving out Nick Bonino to the Minnesota Wild and buying out the remaining four years of Kyle Turris’ contract. That freed up more than $8MM for the team, and since then they’ve only used a small portion of it. Mark Borowiecki, Nick Cousins and Matt Benning were all brought in as depth options, but the Predators still haven’t made the big splash that was expected.

Today, when speaking with the media including Adam Vingan of The Athletic, Predators GM David Poile explained that that may not be done yet:

I think we’re open and we have cap space. I think we’re going to look for opportunities.

Unlike normal years where free agency is essentially finished just a few days after it begins, there are still real difference-makers available right now. Three of our top-10 ranked unrestricted free agents are still unsigned, though Mikael Granlund is one of them and likely isn’t making a return to Nashville. The other two, Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov, are both high-powered offensive weapons that could change the look of the Predators upfront. Poile was quick to point out today that Nashville is one of only a handful of teams in the league that can already boast four 30-goal scorers, though none of the players he is referring to actually did that in 2019-20.

Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen still make up the core of the forward group for Nashville, but all of them significantly trailed defenseman Roman Josi in points this season. In fact, only Forsberg scored more goals than the Norris winner with 21, the team’s only player to crack the 20-goal threshold. Even in the shortened season, Hoffman and Dadonov meanwhile scored 29 and 25 respectively and were 70-point players as recently as 2018-19.

There are more than just those two available, meaning the Predators have much to choose from over the next few days and weeks. With nearly $13MM in cap space and only Luke Kunin to sign among notable restricted free agents, there is also plenty of room to fit in more than one player if necessary.

Predators Among The Teams Interested In Mike Hoffman

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Seravalli notes that at that price point and term, the Bruins, Blue Jackets, and the Predators are among the teams showing the most interest in Hoffman’s services.  He added that the Canucks are looking for help on the wing and also have shown some interest in the veteran but that they would have to clear some cap space first to do so; he also pegs the Canadiens as a team in that situation but after their addition of Tyler Toffoli yesterday, the fit with them may not be as strong as it previously was.

Kasimir Kaskisuo, Tyler Lewington Sign With Nashville Predators

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The Nashville Predators have added some more goaltending depth, signing Kasimir Kaskisuo to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. Kaskisuo was a Group VI unrestricted free agent after spending the last several years in the Toronto Maple Leafs minor league system. The team has also signed Tyler Lewington to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level.

Kaskisuo, 27, has just a single NHL game under his belt but has been a strong contributor for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL since signing in 2016. A standout at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, he entered the system as an undrafted free agent and has a .909 save percentage in 95 AHL regular season games. Those numbers improve in the Calder Cup playoffs where he has a .913 in 22 appearances.

Lewington meanwhile comes over from the Washington Capitals system, where he has racked up over 600 penalty minutes in just over 300 games. The 6’2″ defenseman has 37 fights in the minor leagues and another two in the NHL (five, if you count preseason action).

Nashville Predators Sign Brad Richardson

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The Nashville Predators have added an accomplished veteran to their bottom-six group, announcing that they have signed Brad Richardson. Richardson’s price tag comes in at one year and $1MM, a good value for the two-way center and locker room leader.

Richardson, 35, is entering his 16th year in the NHL, the past of which have been spent with the Arizona Coyotes. A career bottom-six forward, Richardson has still managed to be an impact player for a decade and a half. While Richardson usually maxes out around 15-20 points and managed just 11 this past season, his 27 points in 66 games in 2018-19 was one of the top scoring rates of his career. Depending on line mates and ice time in Nashville, Richardson could still be capable of a 30-point campaign.

Of course, the real value in Richardson is his defensive ability. An elite face-off man and a disruptive force in the forechecking game, Richardson is an asset as an experienced, capable two-way player. Nashville has needed a strong fourth line center for some time, a need emphasized further by the loss of solid, two-way third line center Nick Bonino. Richardson should fill that role seamlessly and should prove to be a good value at a minimal salary.

Latest On Taylor Hall

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3:46 PM — NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty reports that Boston has offered a short-term contract to bring in Hall. However, that could be a problem financially with the team still needing to sign Debrusk, Grzelcyk as well as bringing back Zdeno Chara.

3:08 PM — There are plenty of unrestricted free agent forwards parked, waiting for Taylor Hall to make a decision on where he intends to play next season. Hall, the top free agent forward on the market is considering short-term offers with contending teams and is hoping to take that and bet on himself to cash in on a bigger contract after the pandemic settles down.

While many were expecting that the Colorado Avalanche would be high-stakes players in landing Hall, that isn’t expected to happen now, according to Adrian Dater of ColoradoHockeyNow, who writes that with the acquisition of Brandon Saad from Chicago Saturday, it’s extremely unlikely the team will spend even more money on another high-priced forward, even on a short-term deal.

Saad’s acquisition likely fills the team’s need for forwards and it’s likely that if the team does go after another free agent, it’s going to be on defense. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline also adds that the Columbus Blue Jackets are not likely a candidate to sign Hall despite the available cap room that the team has.

Dater writes that the two leading candidates to sign Hall are the Nashville Predators and the Boston Bruins.

Nashville makes sense as the team has traded away or bought out several players, including Nick Bonino, Kyle Turris and Austin Watson, while also allowing Mikael Granlund and Craig Smith to depart via free agency. The moves opens up a potential fit for the Predators. On top of that, Hall is believed to be close to both Ryan Ellis. The two played junior hockey together for three years and won a Memorial Cup together. He also has spent time playing alongside center Matt Duchene, who he played in the Ivan Hlinka and in U-18’s with.

Boston already signed Smith to a three-year deal, but the addition of Taylor Hall would be a big boost to the Bruins’ second line and for a big run with the veteran players they already have on board. The team does still have $11MM in cap space to work with, although they do have a number of restricted free agents to sign, including Jake Debrusk and Matt Grzelcyk.

Predators Loan Egor Afanasyev To CSKA Moscow

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One of the Nashville Predators’ top prospects is headed to one of the best teams in Europe. Egor Afanasyev, the Predators’ second-round pick in 2019, has been loaned to CSKA Moscow of the KHL, Nashville announced. The club did not specify whether the loan is for the entire 2020-21 season or merely until NHL training camp begins.

Afanasyev was born in Russia, but this will be his first time playing at a competitive level in his native country. Afanasyev moved to the United States earlier in his life and came up through the USHL before jumping to the OHL this past season. However, this move to the KHL – short or long term – could be a major benefit to Afanasyev’s development. The 6’4″, 200-lb. winger recorded 31 goals and 67 points in 62 games in his first OHL season and looked like he had already outgrown the junior ranks. Playing against older competition, and some of the best outside of North America, in the KHL will only help prepare Afanasyev to make the jump to Nashville sooner rather than later.

CSKA Moscow is not a bad place to start your pro career either. The 2019-20 regular season champs and 2018-19 Gagarin Cup champs are an elite squad. Afanasyev will be joining a roster that is flush with NHL experience and has made an effort to get younger. While he may not get significant ice time, Afansysev will be able to compete for opportunities and to learn from a number of player who know what it takes to break into the NHL.

Senators Acquire Austin Watson

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The Senators have added some muscle on the wings, announcing the acquisition of winger Austin Watson from Nashville.  In return, the Predators acquire Colorado’s fourth-round pick in 2021 (previously acquired by Ottawa).  GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement on the deal:

Austin Watson is a big, strong winger who will bring a significant presence to our forward group. He was among Nashville’s forward leaders in blocked shots last season, was the team’s leader in hits and is someone who is especially physical on the forecheck. We also expect him to be a valuable asset on our penalty kill.

The 28-year-old is coming off a fairly quiet season offensively after putting up six goals and eight assists in 53 games in 2019-20, his lowest point total since his rookie year in 2015-16.  However, as Dorion alluded to, he has been one of Nashville’s more physical players over the years and will bring that dimension to the Senators.  He has two years remaining on his contract with a $1.5MM AAV and that same salary each season.

As for Nashville, Watson’s spot is effectively being filled by Nick Cousins who signed a two-year deal yesterday with the same $1.5MM AAV.  The Preds now have over $14MM in cap room to work with, per CapFriendly but have several forwards to sign to fill out their roster.  Moving Watson out gives them a bit more flexibility as they look to reshape their forward group following the departures of Nick Bonino, Craig Smith, Kyle Turris, and Mikael Granlund.

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