Nashville Predators: Daniel Carr Makes the Opening Night Roster
By Chad Minton
The opening night 22-player roster is set for the Nashville Predators, and Daniel Carr joins Matt Duchene as the newcomers.
We finally have the roster that the Nashville Predators will trot out to face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. It will open up the 2019-20 regular season as the Predators look to avenge a first-round playoff exit last season.
The final bit of roster news featured forward Daniel Carr making the roster. This leaves the roster at 22 players, as the Predators passed on making any waiver wire pickups. Carr has 100 games of NHL experience, with most of his time coming with the Montreal Canadiens. He did spend a brief amount of time with the Vegas Golden Knights this past season.
Now we have to wait and see how the lines will be constructed as opening night is just 48 hours away. Both the top-six and bottom-six could be arranged several different ways. Even the top line of Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen could be changed up. Carr joins Matt Duchene as the newcomers of the 2019-20 roster.
Who is Daniel Carr?
Carr has never played more than 38 games in a regular season. He’s always been a fringe player to make an NHL roster playing on the wing position. More of a guy to get called upon when injuries happen at the NHL level. However, he’s getting his big opportunity to really stick now that he’s starting on the opening night roster with one of the top teams in the NHL.
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The Predators signed Carr this past summer to a one-year $700,000 deal. He’s fresh off a MVP season in the AHL, which is impressive considering he’s a guy that’s known for doing the dirty work in the trenches. This is what the Predators need in their bottom-six.
It’s fair to say that Carr isn’t going to come anywhere close to his 71 points in the AHL last season, but he is going to log physical minutes on the ice and wear down the opposition. He’s also going to be an agitator of sorts, and come up big with loose pucks in front of the net.
Carr managed ten shots on goal in his four preseason appearances for the Predators, but zero points. He still did enough to earn himself a spot thanks to his high energy and physical brand of hockey.
Where does Carr fit?
Carr is definitely a bottom-six player. This is no knock on him as he’s perfect for that spot in the lineup. He plays hard, battles on the boards for loose pucks and brings a ton of energy. That’s what you need from your depth players.
The fourth line seems like a likely destination for Carr when he gets the start. He may be a healthy scratch on some occasions. When he is in the lineup, I like him on the fourth line alongside Austin Watson and maybe Nick Bonino at center. This trio would bring a nice blend of physicality and scoring potential. It’s not far-fetched to possibly see him climb up to the third line, either.
Who knows how this will all be sorted out with the Duchene effect in place. We don’t even know if the top line is going to stay intact, which means the shifting of players like Craig Smith, Kyle Turris and Forsberg. As for Carr, great job on his part by making an impression on the coaching staff in training camp to start off the regular season on a NHL roster.