Zachary L'Heureux
If there is any player who has shockingly not entered the lineup this year, it is L'Heureux. He was in the lineup for the vast majority of last season with 62 NHL games, and was expected to do the same this year, but injuries are a huge reason why he has not played a game in Nashville this year.
L'Heureux had an injury that sidelined him in training camp, and caused him to start the season in AHL Milwaukee so that he could get back up to speed. Once that happened, he was called up to Nashville, only to suffer another injury and go on injured reserve for awhile, and he has not been back in Nashville since.
In a brief amount of action for the Milwaukee Admirals this season since returning from injury. L'Heureux is exactly a point-per-game player with 18 points in 18 games as the Admirals sit near the bottom of their division with a 16-17-3 record.
Assuming the Predators sell at least some of their pieces at the trade deadline, L'Heureux is among the first guys who will be in contention to make the jump to Nashville. That is especially the case when you realize that Michael Bunting is among the guys likely to be dealt.
Their skillsets are not entirely similar, but both of them have that grit and sandpaper aspect to their games, and L'Heureux could end up slotting into a similar role. And with his physical, grinding style of play, he also would be a fit in the bottom six, so there are a lot of lineup spots for him that would make sense.
L'Heureux brings that blue collar, tenacious aspect while also having untapped upside as a former first round pick, so the Predators would be wise to call him up at some point this year