Nashville Predators: Roster trimmed to 27 with a few surprises
As the preseason winds down, rosters change. On Monday, the Nashville Predators reduced their roster to 27 players. One player move was a shock.
Training camp is difficult. Players come in, put in work and learn. All in hopes to make a major sport roster. But, as time goes by, roster moves are a must. The decision on who stays and who goes is often challenging. But, the Nashville Predators must put together the most complete roster possible.
On Monday, the team announced the reduction of their roster to 27 players. For most, the call was not much of a surprise, knowing that the depth and talent in Nashville is as deep as ever. Still, there was a surprise or two.
Who’s out
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After the dust settled from Sunday’s win in Columbus, eight players were told they were assigned to start the season in Milwaukee. The list includes Alexandre Carrier, Jack Dougherty, Petter Granberg, P.C. Labrie, Andrew O’Brien, Emil Pettersson, Trevor Smith, and goalie Anders Lindback.
Of those, a few names stand out. Lindback showed well this preseason. In 61 minutes on the ice, only two pucks passed his pads. Both of those were on power-plays. Lindback finished with a .938 save percentage this preseason. Juuse Saros, who is considered the next full-time goalie, did not fair as well. Though his minutes were more significant, nine pucks found the net behind him. Six of those came during even strength opportunities. Saros’s .875 save percentage is concerning.
Two other names of interest are Pettersson and Carrier. Pettersson heads back to Milwaukee after scoring a goal and two assists in three games. He also won over 60 percent of his face-offs in two of those games. The depth above him, however, forced David Poile’s hand. As for Carrier, his preseason was not what the Nashville Predators were hoping to see. With only two blocks, no points, and a plus/minus of -1, Carrier came short of filling the Ryan Ellis-vacancy.
Who’s left
With the roster down to 27, there is one more round of cuts to come. That includes Ellis’s spot. That means battles for spots will be in full display this week. Miikka Salomaki has led the offensive charge this preseason, and will see more changes this weekend. Could he take a spot from Pontus Aberg? Possibly. He is certainly proving to be worthy of it so far. But, is there room? At least two, if all three, of the cuts will come from the forwards positions. Vladslav Kamenev will likely be one of those assigned to Milwaukee. That leaves Cody Bass, Frederick Gaudreau, and Aberg to battle for the remaining spots.
As for the defense, Samuel Girard has impressed the Predators. However, the young defenseman still have a year remaining on his QMJHL contract. Anthony Bitetto‘s solid play should land him on the roster.
Next: Aberg Or Salomaki On The Third Line?
The choices will be hard. With three players to move in order to get down to the required 23 spots, look for Girard to return to the QMJHL while Bass and Kamenev are assigned to Milwaukee.