Worth the price?
Considering the price that Nashville paid to get him, it better be Ryan Hartman. The Predators acquired Hartman & a fifth-round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks back in February for Victor Ejdell, their first & fourth round picks. He got off to a good start with Nashville, putting up three goals & three assists within his first eleven games with the team. Unfortunately, Hartman played ten more regular season games & accounted for zero of the Predators’ goals or assists. He couldn’t even crack the positive side of the plus/minus stat in a game.
A torn labrum probably played a part in Hartman’s lack of production late in the season. He did get the game-winner in Game 2 of Nashville’s first-round series but missed a number of playoff games due to a suspension, ineffectiveness & bad penalties. (And maybe that shoulder issue, but good luck getting that information out of Nashville.) Ideally, Hartman is a guy you can plug-in anywhere in the lineup & get good solid play out of. He hasn’t shown much of note in the first two games, especially in Game 1 where he & his linemates Nick Bonino & Calle Jarnkrok, struggled to get anything going on either end of the ice. He was more active in the Islanders game, throwing three hits & blocking two pucks.
Freddy Gaudreau could make a big impact on either the Nashville Predators or Milwaukee Admirals’ season, and I wouldn’t be surprised with either outcome. Zac Rinaldo’s role is pretty clear at this point: he’s the new Cody McLeod. You’ll get physical play & silly mistakes. Eeli Tolvanen still needs some time to develop before living up to our hopes of him as a key part of the Predators offense. Barring injury, Ryan Hartman will see more ice time than any of these men. If he doesn’t make a bigger impact than they do, he’s had a bad season.