Nashville Predators Finding True Center
Third Line
Enter here the curious case of Mike Ribeiro. Ribeiro has generally been a full-fledged success since donning the gold jersey on a trial basis two seasons ago. He manned the second line after the Johansen acquisition and flourished, gathering together a 50-point season as an assist specialist. But then- the playoffs began.
The 36-year-old playmaker seemed to suffer the effects of the aforementioned second line grind- he looked slow, became a liability, and was eventually sat as a healthy scratch for two games. He transformed into the bane of Nashville social media and with one year left on his contract, GM David Poile and Coach Peter Laviolette had this to say about his offseason:
Poile on Ribeiro: "He did struggle down the stretch ... Mike really needs to have the summer of his life" to regain position on top lines.
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) May 18, 2016
Coach Laviolette - "It's going to be a big summer for Mike Ribeiro. He has to come into training and really push himself."
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) May 18, 2016
So Ribeiro’s position on the Nashville roster next season? Arguably handling second/third line duties with Fisher, with an outside chance of sitting and watching.
Next: Story Continued: Fourth Line