The NHL Trade Deadline officially passed, and the Nashville Predators ultimately parted with four players before 3 PM ET on March 6. It was not the full scale teardown many people thought it could be, but it was still enough to give some of the young guys opportunities that they otherwise would not have gotten.
That includes call-ups for guys such as Zachary L'Heureux and Joakim Kemell, as well as another chance for Fedor Svechkov after a stint in Milwaukee. The impact is also being felt by the young guys currently on the roster, especially Matthew Wood, who is now getting an opportunity to play at center.
Wood has previous experience at the position, and some were wanting the Predators to try it out with him given how thin they are down the middle. They finally did it this past week, potentially out of necessity, and early reviews suggest that they should and probably will keep it going.
Matthew Wood is seizing opportunity to be part of Nashville Predators' future at center
To illustrate just how few options the Predators have, the only other guys they have who have actually played at center this year are Ryan O'Reilly, Erik Haula, Fedor Svechkov, and Tyson Jost. Incase it has not been made abundantly clear at this point, Steven Stamkos is not among those viable options at this point in his career.
The Predators have a major deficiency of NHL-caliber centers, which is a very likely reason for why Haula was not dealt at the deadline. We will never know if Wood would have gotten this opportunity if not for the current state of affairs, but he is still showing that it was very well deserved.
Since returning from the Olympic break altogether, Wood has been well on his game, netting four goals and an assist in six games. It has been refreshing to see, since he started out the season well and eventually tailed off, and it looks like the return to Milwaukee throughout February was a worthwhile reset.
It was not until this past Thursday that Wood officially got his chance at center, but in that game and the one that followed, he recorded three goals. In the most recent game, he was centering Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista, and while they did not get any goals together, they had multiple strong shifts and could have gotten one.
Two of the three goals that Wood scored since Thursdays game started were not prototypical even strength goals, but one of them clearly showcased his net front abilities, and the one that was a more traditional goal did as well.
Wood has many abilities that translate to success at the center position, such as a big frame, strength, good hockey IQ, and as mentioned, net front abilities, whether scoring or playmaking.
It is from an extremely small sample size, but Wood is showing that those traits are helping him make an impact as a center. He needs to stay in that role for the rest of the season until proven otherwise, which will hopefully result in even more comfort and success as time goes on.