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Predators Claim Andreas Englund

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The Predators have claimed defenseman Andreas Englund off waivers from the Kings, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. No corresponding transaction is necessary after Nashville opened multiple roster spots yesterday with reassignments ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Englund, 29, was a second-round pick by the Senators back in 2014 and has skated in parts of seven NHL seasons since making his debut in Seattle in 2016-17. He’s only recently emerged as a roster fixture, though, factoring in solely as a bottom-pair enforcer. He played in all 82 games for Los Angeles last year after signing a two-year, $2MM contract, leading the club with 81 PIMs and 189 hits while averaging 13:13 per game. His career 2-16–18 scoring line with a -17 rating in 173 NHL games doesn’t inspire confidence that he’ll ever be anything else, and as such, he lost his regular spot with the Kings in 2024-25 and has only factored into 11 games, including an active run of 13 consecutive scratches leading into the break.

The move marks Englund’s third stint in the Central Division. He skated in 47 games split between the Avalanche and Blackhawks in 2022-23, his first year back in the NHL after spending two years buried in the minors.

His claim doesn’t spell good news for injured defender Jeremy Lauzon, who Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean now suspects could sit out the remainder of the season with the lower-body injury that’s kept him out of the lineup since New Year’s Eve. The 6’4″ Englund is an apt replacement for the heavy hitter, who led the league with 386 last season. A pending UFA, Englund will likely serve in a support role down the stretch while names like Nick Blankenburg and Adam Wilsby, the latter of which just signed a two-year extension, see routine deployment.

Lightning Reassign Dylan Duke, Gage Goncalves, Brandon Halverson

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The Lightning reassigned forwards Dylan Duke, Gage Goncalves, and goaltender Brandon Halverson to AHL Syracuse on Monday, per a team announcement. Tampa Bay was one of four teams on the schedule yesterday, the final day of game action prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off, explaining why these paper moves didn’t take place amid yesterday’s flurry.

The trio of Duke, Goncalves and Halverson join the many other players headed to the minors over the break to get more playing time. In all likelihood, Goncalves will be the only one back on the roster when their schedule resumes on Feb. 23 versus the Kraken. Duke had only entered the lineup recently, making his NHL debut in the Bolts’ final two games before the break. Halverson was up from Syracuse as the replacement for injured backup Jonas Johansson. Johansson enters the break with a day-to-day designation due to a lower-body injury, so he should be ready when Tampa returns to action in nearly two weeks.

Duke, 21, got on the box score in his first NHL try. The Ohio native and University of Michigan alum scored in his debut against the Red Wings on Saturday on his lone shot attempt across both games. Besides that, his performance was hard to judge with minimal usage. Duke skated just 15:43 total across the two contests, during which time the Bolts were out-attempted 14-7. However, Tampa was out-chanced heavily in both wins, so his Corsi share wasn’t too far south of the team average.

The Bolts selected Duke in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, and he’s looking like a good depth pick. The 5’10” winger/center plays a physical game and has transitioned well to professional hockey, leading Syracuse with 13 goals in 36 games in his rookie season. This likely won’t be his last recall of the season as he pushes for a full-time promotion to the active roster sometime over the next couple of seasons.

Goncalves has spent most of the season in the NHL, albeit with underwhelming results. The 24-year-old pivot has 1-6–7 through 33 games and cleared waivers last month, so the Bolts will extend his 30-day clock by ferrying him to the AHL over the break. He should go back to logging heavy minutes in Syracuse, with whom he’s torched the league for 4-10–14 in only 11 showings so far in 2024-25. He’s coming off a spectacular 45-assist, 58-point showing in 69 games last year, although the 2020 second-rounder is still learning how to transition his offensive upside to the NHL.

Halverson only recently signed a two-way deal with the Bolts, a necessity with Johansson banged up and Matt Tomkins standing as the only other goaltender under contract in the organization. The 6’5″ 28-year-old backed up Andrei Vasilevskiy on multiple occasions but failed to enter a game for the first time since the 2017-18 season. He has a .918 SV%, 2.20 GAA, four shutouts, and a 12-7-7 record in 26 games this year.

Friedman: Islanders Not Making Noah Dobson Widely Available

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Contrary to a report late last week, the Islanders are not actively making defenseman Noah Dobson available for trade, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.

I don’t think he’s generally been out there. There’s too many teams that hadn’t heard it, so I’ll say this. If Dobson was discussed, he was discussed in a specific case or two or however many it was. There was one specific team or one specific player that the Islanders were looking at, and if they had gone down the road on that trade, then Dobson might have been included. I think that’s the fairest way to look at all of this.

Most would suppose the Canucks were the club Friedman’s referring to – including Friedman, who said Vancouver would be “very logical” but couldn’t report with certainty. He assumedly would have been part of the return for Elias Pettersson should a trade have crossed the finish line. Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News reported multiple times over the past few months, including as recently as last week, that the Isles have maintained interest in Pettersson since his name re-emerged in trade rumors earlier this season.

While it’s feasible the Islanders could offer up Dobson again as part of a return for a similarly valued asset, Friedman makes it clear they won’t be selling the 25-year-old as the centerpiece of a deal for futures. The 6’4″ righty is one year removed from a 60-assist, 70-point campaign that earned him an eighth-place finish in Norris Trophy voting. He hasn’t been as dominant offensively this season, mainly due to the club’s power play woes, but his 0.52 points per game still lead the Isles’ blue line, and his 143 shots on goal rank fourth on the team.

Of course, his season came to a halt nearly three weeks ago when he fell awkwardly on his right leg while attempting a check, landing him on long-term injured reserve. He’s listed as week-to-week and didn’t require surgery, and Newsday’s Andrew Gross reported at the beginning of the month that he’s expected to return to the ice during the 4 Nations break. There’s a chance he gets back into game action before the trade deadline as the Islanders, also hamstrung by injuries to Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock, among others, enter the break only four points back of a playoff spot.

The Islanders picked up a trio of puck-movers to help them out in Dobson’s and Pulock’s absences, but none of Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo or Scott Perunovich are signed past this season. Neither is Dobson, a pending restricted free agent set to at least double his current $4MM AAV. The Isles have nearly $29MM in cap space for 2025-26 but also need new deals for notable RFAs Alexander Romanov and Maxim Tsyplakov as they continue extension talks with Brock Nelson.

Yet Dobson is the youngest and most established top-four player out of any of those names. He’s sticking around for the long haul unless, as mentioned, he’s leveraged for an elite forward who can jumpstart an Islanders’ offense that’s ranked in the bottom ten every season since 2017-18.

Trade Deadline Primer: Dallas Stars

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off break upon us, the trade deadline looms large and is less than a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Dallas Stars.

The Stars have barely missed a beat following an offseason that raised more questions than it answered. Questions arose about their defensive depth for the first time in a while, but they’ve managed to keep their two-way system alive and remain a legitimate championship contender. After making two notable adds last month in Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the Sharks, could there be more for Dallas to do to improve their roster in the wake of injuries to key players?

Record

35-18-2, 2nd in the Central

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$5.52MM on deadline day + $12.3MM LTIR pool, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: DAL 3rd, NJD 5th, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th
2026: DAL 1st, DAL 2nd, DAL 3rd, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, TOR 7th, DAL 7th

Trade Chips

While Dallas may have already made their big splash, they’ve got plenty of financial flexibility to make another with Nils Lundkvist and Tyler Seguin on long-term injured reserve, and both are expected to remain out through the regular season. None of their top trade chips from last year’s deadline are available – Lundkvist was one of them, as were then-AHLers Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven, who are now top-nine forwards on the NHL roster and won’t be going anywhere. If general manager Jim Nill still wants to make a big splash for a defenseman, he could make 2022 first-rounder Lian Bichsel available. Still, even he’s working his way into a third-pairing role on the Stars’ defense with injuries to Lundkvist and star Miro Heiskanen.

Their prospect pool is thinner than in years past (for a good reason; they’re reaping the rewards), but they still have a recent first-rounder in winger Emil Hemming to leverage if they’re able to swing a significant upgrade for a thin right side on the blue line. The 18-year-old was the 29th overall pick last year and jumped to North America from his native Finland. He’s suiting up for the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts and has done reasonably well amid a deep forward group there, posting 14-22–36 through 44 games. He also scored once and added three assists in seven games for the Finns en route to a silver medal at last month’s World Junior Championship. The 6’2″ sniper likely checks in as a B-tier prospect in terms of his trade value, though – too valuable to leverage for a lower-level rental stopgap but not valuable enough on his own to land a big fish.

Regarding roster players who could move out, they likely don’t need to do any salary-matching in any other acquisitions they make, given their vast in-season flexibility. But they have a substantial free-agent crop this summer, including Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston. They’ll likely be tight fits even with the salary cap increasing to $95.5MM, so if there’s an opportunity for the Stars to send out a contract with term in a swap, they may take it. Dealing from a position of need may be puzzling, but 30-year-old Mathew Dumba has underperformed in the first year of his two-year, $3.75MM AAV deal. If he has any positive trade value left (or even if he doesn’t and the Stars need to attach a draft pick with him), it wouldn’t be surprising to see him head out the door to make room for a more dynamic player on the right side.

Outside of Hemming, another prospect who could draw interest is forward Antonio Stranges. The 23-year-old was in the ECHL as recently as two seasons ago but has exploded in the AHL this season, leading the Texas Stars in scoring with 17-22–39 through 41 games. The 5’11”, 185-lb left-winger was a fourth-round pick in 2020, and while his development may have been a bit of a slow burn thus far, his breakout indicates he still has fringe top-six potential.

Other Potential Trade Chips: F Matěj Blümel, F Justin Hryckowian, D Christian Kyrou

Team Needs

1) Right-Shot D Upgrade: Ceci’s acquisition gives them a serviceable second- or third-pairing stopgap (and is a Dumba upgrade if they can move him), but they’re missing a secondary offensive presence behind Thomas Harley in Heiskanen’s and Lundkvist’s absence. Even when healthy, Lundkvist had emerged as arguably their top right-shot option – not a particularly strong one for a championship contender. Even without Heiskanen, the left side is set in the interim, with Harley and Esa Lindell anchoring the top four. Rasmus Ristolainen and David Savard are some of the top options available, but don’t put up the point totals of the archetype they need. Could they be among the few teams making sense for a Seth Jones trade?

2) Cheap Forward Depth: Scoring isn’t what the Stars need – they’re a top-10 offense that’s already added Granlund. Their AHL call-up options are high-ceiling, but they’ve been given minimal ice time when dressed. A more experienced fourth-line piece/13th forward could be more desirable for head coach Peter DeBoer to rotate in along with Oskar Back, Colin Blackwell and Sam Steel.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Five Key Stories: 2/3/25 – 2/9/25

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Regular season action halted this evening as the league shifted its focus to the 4 Nations Face-Off. Trading dropped significantly compared to last week, but there was no lack of speculation. The league’s 32 general managers will have two weeks off to discuss trades before the regular season resumes on February 22nd. Let’s review some of the key stories from the week before turning our attention to the international best-on-best tournament.

Quick Extension For Pettersson: The Vancouver Canucks are once again in the headlines this week after making a pair of trades last week. They moved quickly on one of the players acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in last week’s flurry of moves, signing defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a six-year, $33MM extension. The native of Skelleftea, Sweden now has the second-longest active contract on the Canucks’ blue line behind Filip Hronek despite having only played four games. Of course, it shouldn’t be considered a hasty extension given Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford’s familiarity with Pettersson dating back to their time in the Penguins organization.

Avs Still Looking To Deal: Despite connecting on the biggest in-season trade in recent memory, the Colorado Avalanche are reportedly still open for business. Multiple reports earlier in the week asserted the Avalanche were one of the teams to propose a trade to the Canucks for J.T. Miller before he ultimately went to the New York Rangers. The trade proposal did not persuade Vancouver away from their eventual deal with the Rangers. However, reports indicated the Avalanche were willing to trade Casey Mittelstadt in the proposal and remain open to moving him for a difference-maker. Aside from adding to their forward core, an additional report linked Colorado to San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro.

Center Trade Market Heating Up: As the deadline season approaches, there is a strong market for rental centers, and those with multiple years remaining on their contracts are also attracting interest. Dylan Cozens of the Buffalo Sabres has six years and $42.6MM left on his contract and has been in the rumor mill for much of the regular season. On Wednesday, Kevin Weekes from ESPN confirmed that the market for Cozens has specifically picked up with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Cozens wasn’t the only one as TSN’s Darren Dreger shared his belief that the St. Louis Blues are gauging interest in captain Brayden Schenn. The former Stanley Cup champion may prove more difficult to move with four years and $26MM remaining on his deal with a 15-team no-trade clause.

Hughes Out, Sanderson In For Team USA: A fear has become a reality for Team USA heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Canucks shared this afternoon that defenseman Quinn Hughes has withdrawn himself from Team USA’s roster due to a nagging hand injury. As much as Hughes would have liked to participate in the best-on-best tournament, he’s putting his energy toward helping Vancouver compete for a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Replacing Hughes on the roster will be Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson, who suited up in one game for the United States during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

Ten For Hartman: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety got involved in the news this week bestowing a whopping 10-game suspension on Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman for roughing Senators’ forward Tim Stützle. Hartman has a history of supplemental discipline throughout his career, leading to a lengthy suspension, but revealed a few days later that he will be appealing the decision. Should commissioner Gary Bettman uphold the suspension, it will be the longest since Radko Gudas, with the Philadelphia Flyers, was suspended for an identical length for slashing Winnipeg Jets’ forward Mathieu Perreault in the neck.

Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images. 

Montreal Canadiens, Jake Evans Not Close On Extension

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Thanks to a 13-3-1 record from December 17th to January 21st, there was growing belief that the Montreal Canadiens may pull one of the top rental centers off the trade market and instead target an extension. However, due to a 1-6-1 record through their last eight contests, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun believes the Canadiens have repivoted toward trading Jake Evans at this year’s trade deadline.

LeBrun shared that Evans and Montreal exchanged numbers on a hypothetical contract extension but haven’t gotten close. He also hints that more teams have called the Canadiens regarding Evans’ availability since they began sliding down the Eastern Conference standings.

There’s no question that Evans would make a valuable rental candidate for almost any contending team. He’s only two points shy of reaching a career-high in points while being the leading center on the seventh-ranked penalty kill in the league. The Toronto, Ontario native also gained ample playoff experience during Montreal’s Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

Evans’ 11 goals and 27 points through 55 games this season don’t suggest he should be placed in a top-six role with a playoff team, but he’s an ideal third-line center for most clubs. The Canadiens may be able to create a bidding war, given his reasonable $1.7MM salary without any trade protection.

The Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets could all use more depth down the middle as they continue their push toward the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Montreal should have plenty of flexibility to capture the best available return.

Quinn Hughes Won’t Play In 4 Nations Face-Off, Jake Sanderson Named To Team USA

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A third and arguably best defenseman has bowed out of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. The Vancouver Canucks announced defenseman Quinn Hughes would miss the international tournament due to injury. Shortly after, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators would replace Hughes on Team USA’s roster.

Hughes’ departure from Team USA’s roster follows on the heels of Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Vegas Golden Knights’ defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Both blue-liners are dealing with injuries (the former recovering from knee surgery) and have already been replaced on Team Finland and Team Canada.

With all due respect to Heiskanen and Pietrangelo, the Canucks captain is the highest-profile name to be removed from the competition. He’s missed the last four games for Vancouver due to a hand injury and the team is prioritizing their playoff hopes over Hughes’ participation in the tournament.

Although Heiskanen may ultimately be more valuable to his team, that’s only a testament to Team USA’s defensive depth. Hughes, who won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s best defenseman only one year ago, has scored 31 goals and 151 points in his last 129 regular-season games. The native of Orlando, Florida, last represented Team USA at the 2019 IIHF World Championships. If he does not play for the United States’ World Championship team this upcoming summer, he’ll have to wait until the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan to compete again.

Replacing Hughes on the roster is Ottawa’s Sanderson, who last played for Team USA in the 2024 IIHF World Championships. The Whitefish, MT native is only two and a half years removed from debuting in the NHL scoring 19 goals and 105 points in 211 career games. Given the rest of the talent on Team USA’s blue line, Sanderson should represent the team’s seventh defenseman although he’ll likely play in a handful of games.

Minor Transactions: 2/9/25

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The league will continue to see many AHL demotions today after all but four teams wrapped up their pre-4 Nations Face-Off break schedule on Saturday. We’ve already seen a few this morning, namely in Pittsburgh and Boston, and we will continue to track the rest in this article as fringe players head to the minors to get playing time over the next few weeks.

  • The Predators announced they’ve reassigned wingers Joakim Kemell, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and defenseman Kevin Gravel to AHL Milwaukee. They now have three open roster spots, two of which could go to IR-bound Mark Jankowski and Jeremy Lauzon in the likely event they’re ready to return from injury when their schedule resumes on Feb. 22. The most notable of the trio is Kemell, who made his NHL debut across Nashville’s Friday-Saturday back-to-back and managed eight shots on goal across the pair of games. However, he’s still looking for his first NHL point. The 2022 first-rounder has 9-16–25 in 38 AHL contests this season.
  • Wild winger Liam Ohgren will return to AHL Iowa over the break, per a team announcement. The fellow 2022 first-rounder has bounced between Minnesota and Iowa this year but spent the past couple of weeks filling in the Wild’s top six with Marcus Johansson and Kirill Kaprizov missing time. It hasn’t been an overly productive first look in the NHL for the Swedish winger, who’s managed 2-4–6 in 23 appearances since debuting late last season. He’ll likely be back up after the break, with Kaprizov still set to miss another couple of weeks following lower-body surgery.
  • The Sharks reassigned forwards Collin Graf and Andrew Poturalski and defenseman Jack Thompson to AHL San Jose, the club said. Their post-break returns likely depend on the health of Nikolai Kovalenko, Jan Rutta, and Nico Sturm, all of whom enter the break on injured reserve with day-to-day designations. If all three are ready to return, the Sharks will need those roster spots to activate them, as they were carrying a full roster before this morning’s moves.
  • The Blues sent forward Zachary Bolduc down to AHL Springfield this morning. It’s just the second time this season he’s been assigned to Springfield, and the first was a one-day demotion before opening night to help St. Louis optimize their LTIR capture. The 21-year-old has 6-12–18 through 46 games and will return to the NHL following the break. In the meantime, the 2021 first-round pick will continue to get reps in Springfield amid a promising sophomore campaign in the majors with good possession numbers.
  • Blackhawks rookie defenseman Ethan Del Mastro is back down with AHL Rockford, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The 22-year-old lefty has one assist and 13 hits in six games since being recalled on Jan. 23. His 52.0 CF% at even strength is far above team average and is a promising sign for the 2021 fourth-rounder’s prospects at making the opening night roster next year. The 6’4″, 210-lb active defender has eight assists in 38 showings with Rockford this year, along with a plus-four rating.
  • The Rangers returned goaltender Dylan Garand to AHL Hartford after his services were needed to backup Jonathan Quick in last night’s 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. The 22-year-old will only be back up after the break if Igor Shesterkin, who missed the game due to an upper-body injury, isn’t cleared to return. The 2020 fourth-rounder is coming off an appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic and has a 2.68 GAA, .913 SV%, three shutouts, and a 12-7-4 record in 23 showings for Hartford.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has assigned Josh Doan to the minor-leagues per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. This move is likely intended to keep Doan on the ice while the club prepares for their two-week break. Doan has been in the NHL roster routinely since January 10th. He has five points in 15 games in that span, including two in his last two games. He’s been highly impactful even despite modest scoring totals, and should get a chance to continue carving out a role when Utah returns on February 22nd.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov Out Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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The two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off couldn’t come at a better time for Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov, who head coach Jon Cooper shared is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Benjamin Pierce, the Lightning’s Manager of Media Relations. Cooper added that Kucherov tweaked something at Saturday’s practice, forcing him to miss Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win over Montreal on Sunday. The Sunday win marked the end of a busy stretch in Tampa Bay’s schedule, marked by two home games and two away games in just a five-day span. That busy stint could have exacerbated any minor injuries Kucherov was facing, but he’ll now have plenty of time to recover with Tampa Bay’s next game not until February 23rd.

The Tampa Bay offense fired on all cylinders without Kucherov on Sunday, but the star Russian has still served as the team’s beating heart. He’s scored eight points in his last five games and leads the Lightning lineup with 25 goals and 82 points in 52 games this season. He’s scoring at an 82-game pace of 39 goals and 129 points. Those marks would – impressively – not even scratch Kucherov’s career-high in scoring, which he set with 44 goals, 100 assists, and 144 points in 81 games last season. Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid became the first players to reach 100 assists this century last season. The feat had previously not been accomplished since Wayne Gretzky achieved it in the 1990-91 season. That was Gretkzy’s 11th consecutive season reaching the scoring mark that only four other players have ever hit, none more than once.

With a well-timed break in store, Kucherov shouldn’t miss any prolonged time with this injury. He’s appeared in at least 21 minutes of ice time in each of Tampa Bay’s last 10 games, and should continue in that role when the team returns from the 4-Nations break. If he does, only a few players in the league will stand as more of an assured scoring threat.

Predators Sign Adam Wilsby To Two-Year Extension

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The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Adam Wilsby to a two-year, $1.55MM contract extension. It will be a two-way contract in 2025-26 and a one-way deal in 2026-27. Wilsby has played in the first 23 games of his NHL career this season, netting five points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-three while averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time. He has also played in 13 minor league games, with five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five. Wilsby was set to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, after signing a one-year, league-minimum deal with Nashville this summer.

Nashville originally drafted Wilsby in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft out of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, the country’s second-tier pro league. He spent the two seasons following his draft with Skelleftea AIK of the SHL, where he carved out a solid role as a middle-pair defender. Wilsby totaled 35 points, 46 penalty minutes, and a scorching plus-42 in 99 games with Skelleftea, before moving to join the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals at the end of the 2021-22 season. He wouldn’t make it over in time for any regular season games, instead debuting in the minor league with three postseason games. Wilsby got a more formal start to his AHL career in the following year and quickly carved out another productive niche on Milwaukee’s second pair. He recorded 18 points and 32 penalty minutes in 72 games of his rookie AHL season and started to break out in the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs with eight points in 16 games. He’d return for much of the same last season – netting 24 points in 76 AHL games between the regular and post seasons.

Wilsby seemed doomed to repeat his productive minor-league role this season, until a trio of injuries and the trading of Alexandre Carrier forced Nashville to tap into their defense depth midseason. He earned the first call-up of his career on November 13th, after starting the year with five points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five in his first 13 AHL games. Wilsby bounced between rosters over the next two weeks, before eventually making his NHL debut on November 27th. It’d take Wilsby eight games until he recorded his first point – an assist in a game he’d end with a plus-four and 22 minutes of ice times. He’d go on to score in his next two games and hasn’t looked back since. Wilsby has been on the NHL roster since late-November and played a career-high 22:36 of ice time in his most recent game – a 2-5 loss against the Ottawa Senators on February 3rd. He’s still working to bring his productive two-way play to the top flight, but his confidence in driving the puck through the neutral zone and getting shots on net is clearly growing. This two-year extension will be a bode of confidence from the Predators’ brass, and could give Wilsby the security he needs to start making a consistent impact on the NHL roster.

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