The Nashville Predators are about to embark on their “bye week” as mandated by the NHL this season. That allows for them to make a few moves that can help the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday night while the Predators are stationary. The Predators have recalled Marek Mazanec and reassigned Juuse Saros and Pontus Åberg.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, TN – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Saturday that the club has recalled goalie Marek Mazanec from Milwaukee (AHL) and assigned forward Pontus Aberg and goalie Juuse Saros to Milwaukee.

Mazanec has appeared in four games for the Predators this season and is 0-2-0 with a 4.72 goals-against average and .839 save percentage. He is 13-11-0 with a 2.68 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in 26 games for the Admirals this season.

Aberg has two points (1g-1a) in 15 games for the Preds this season. Saros is 5-5-2 with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in 12 games for Nashville this season.

The Preds have the next five days off and will return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 18, at Minnesota. The game will be televised at 7:00 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Tennessee and can be heard on the Predators’ flagship radio station, 102.5 The Game.

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The Nashville Predators have placed Harry Zolnierczyk on injured reserve and recalled Pontus Åberg from the Milwaukee Admirals. The two teams play tonight at home with the Predators playing against the Vancouver Canucks and the Admirals against the Cleveland Monsters.

Åberg has been enjoying one of the best spells of hockey in his pro career as of late. He has been getting tasked with double shift duty on a near nightly basis given how well he has been performing. This season with the Admirals he has produced 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in 33 games. He leads the team in goal scoring by a pair of goals ahead of team captain Trevor Smith. The Swede has played 11 games this season as a member of the Predators. Åberg  has scored 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) in that time.

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It was a successful return to action for the Milwaukee Admirals out of the AHL All-Star break. They defeated the Rockford IceHogs 4-3 in overtime on home ice Friday night and followed it up with a 5-4 win on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday night. Frédérick Gaudreau played a large part in the weekend’s success for the Admirals and the league has recognized him by awarding him the CCM/AHL Player of the Week.

Press Release via AHL:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Milwaukee Admirals forward Frederick Gaudreau has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 5, 2017.

Gaudreau registered four goals and one assist for five points in two games last week, including his second career AHL hat trick.

On Friday evening, Gaudreau scored three times in regulation, took a team-leading five shots on goal and was named the game’s first star as Milwaukee defeated Rockford in overtime, 4-3. It was Gaudreau’s first multi-goal game of the season and the first hat trick by an Admirals skater since last February.

Then on Saturday, Gaudreau picked up another goal and added an assist as the Admirals defeated Grand Rapids, 5-4, to close to within five points of the first-place Griffins in the Central Division.

In his third professional season, Gaudreau has recorded 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 35 games with Milwaukee this season. The 23-year-old from Bromont, Que., signed as a free agent with Nashville on Jan. 5, 2016, and made his NHL debut with the Predators earlier this season, tallying one assist in nine games. Gaudreau, who represented Milwaukee at the AHL All-Star Classic in 2016, has totaled 29 goals and 48 assists for 77 points in 153 career AHL games, all with the Admirals.

In recognition of his achievement, Gaudreau will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Admirals home game.

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The Nashville Predators have recalled Juuse Saros from the Milwaukee Admirals. The move comes complete with the reassignment of Marek Mazanec from the Predators to the Admirals. The two swapped places on Saturday when the organization had duel bouts against the Detroit Red Wings organization.

Saros was assigned briefly with the intent to get him back in net after a break in game action with the Predators. He stopped 22/26 shots on goal as the Admirals earned a 5-4 victory on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins. It was the Admirals first win in the Van Andel Arena against their division rivals in over two-years. In the process, Saros improved his 2016-17 AHL record in the process to 12-2-0-0 from 14 starts. In his AHL career he has won 78.8% of his 52 starts in net.

Mazanec had a great seat in the Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night as he was backing up Pekka Rinne on the evening against the Red Wings. The story of that game is a very familiar one for Admirals fans who remember the name Petr Mrázek. The Red Wings goaltender put on a clinic and earned a 42-save shutout in a 1-0 contest.

Both the Admirals and Predators return to action on Tuesday night on home ice. The Admirals will be hosting the Cleveland Monsters at 7:00 PM CST. The Predators will be seeing the Vancouver Canucks at the same start time in Nashville.

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If this news day wasn’t exciting or frantic enough there is yet another twist to deliver. The Nashville Predators placed Mike Ribeiro on waivers yesterday following news that he demanded a trade. He has since cleared waivers and has been assigned by the Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, TN – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Saturday that the club has activated defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve and assigned forward Mike Ribeiro to Milwaukee (AHL).

Josi has missed the previous nine games due to injury. He has earned 22 points (5g-17a) in 42 games this season, and is third on the team in power-play points with nine. Josi ranks 10th among NHL defensemen and fourth in the team in shots on goal (124). He is first on the team – and ninth in the NHL – in average time on ice per game (25:14).

The Preds return to the ice tonight against Detroit at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be televised at 7:00 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Tennessee and can be heard on the Predators’ flagship radio station, 102.5 The Game.

Whether or not Ribeiro reports to the Admirals is the next question that crops up. What you would ideally hope for is that the 36-year old Montréal native joins the group, plays a veteran leadership role, and does well enough at the AHL level that it carriers him back up to where he would prefer to be playing. That’s is a question mark though.

Ribeiro has 25 points (4 goals, 21 assists) in 46 games with the Predators this season. In his NHL career he has played 1,074 games while contributing 793 points (228 goals, 565 assists). He has played 103 career games in the AHL where he has 90 point (35 goals, 55 assists). His last AHL games came during the 2002-03 season and he only played 3 games in that time.

The Admirals are on the road playing against the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight at 6:00 PM CST. It’s unclear at this point if Ribeiro will be joining the team tonight or at all.

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The Nashville Predators are going back to the goaltending rodeo from earlier this season. Marek Mazanec has been recalled and will be joining the Predators tonight. Meanwhile, Juuse Saros has been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals. This roster move comes on a day in which the Predators and Admirals will both be doing battle against the Detroit Red Wings organization. The Admirals face the Grand Rapids Griffins on the road at 6:00 PM CST tonight.

Mazanec started his season with the Predators and made 4 appearances and 2 starts where he had a 4.72 goals against average and 0.839 save percentage. It seemed that his move down to the Admirals back on 12/14/16 was a permanent move down to the AHL. He spent the AHL All-Star break, this past week, clearing out his Nashville apartment (interview). With the Admirals he has logged 23 starts, has won 12 games, and has a 2.61 goals against average, 0.910 save percentage, and 3 shutouts.

Saros is returning to the AHL by no means of poor performance. He’s actually done better statistically in the NHL this season. For the Predators he has made 10 starts while holding a 1.79 goals against average and 0.941 save percentage. On 12/30/16, Saros earned his first career NHL shutout while stopping 25/25 shots on goal against the St. Louis Blues. With the Admirals this season Saros has made 13 starts, won 11 games, and has a 1.76 goals against average, 0.938 save percentage, with a shutout.

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The Nashville Predators have activated defenseman Petter Granberg from injured reserve and assigned him to the Milwaukee Admirals. Granberg last played with the Predators in the middle of January when they played on the road against the Colorado Avalanche. He had been out due to injury since.

Granberg has split time between the NHL and AHL this season but the majority has been spent with the Admirals. He had played 18 games in the AHL opposed to 10 games in the NHL with the Predators. His return to game readiness will be a welcome addition to an Admirals group that could benefit from the defense first style defenseman as that’s been the issue lately for the team. It also allows the Admirals to return back to head coach Dean Evason‘s preferred method of three left handed shots and three right handed shots being grouped together on defense.

The Admirals are currently enjoying their AHL All-Star break. They return to action this Friday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena when the Rockford IceHogs turn up for the first of three meetings in the month of February. The Admirals then travel overnight to play against the Grand Rapids Griffins and the formidable Van Andel Arena on Saturday.

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This morning the Milwaukee Admirals have released forward Shawn O’Donnell from his PTO Contract. He will be rejoining the Admirals’ ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones a day prior to them hosting the Rapid City Rush at the US Bank Arena.

O’Donnell first showed up to the Admirals ahead of the season during Training Camp where he was in courtesy of the Cyclones to get an AHL audition. O’Donnell impressed enough that he has made stops with the Admirals this season and he has managed to play 6 games. In that time he has been a high energy worker who also recorded a pair of fighting majors.

In the ECHL for the Cyclones, O’Donnell has produced 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games. He has a plus/minus rating of -2 and 19 penalty minutes. The Cyclones currently have a record of 18-20-4-0 (40 points, 0.476 points percentage) and are in sixth place in the South Division and eleventh in the Eastern Conference standings.

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The highs and lows of the hockey season can get condensed at times into news stories such as today. The Nashville Predators reassigned defenseman Alex Carrier to the Milwaukee Admirals. There was then the announcement that forward Cody Bass will be out for the rest of the season due to a lower-body injury.

Starting first with the Bass news. This injury occurred on 12/28/16 when the Admirals hosted the Iowa Wild. Bass clashed legs in front of the bench area and went down clutching the back of his leg immediately. The last that I had heard was he underwent an MRI to his hamstring. It appears this injury is significant enough that he will no longer be able to factor in for the rest of the season.

That there was the continuation of hard news to swallow as of late. Yet, there is some real good news when it comes to Carrier returning to the Admirals. I’ve stated often enough this season that the 20-year old defenseman doesn’t look or play as if this is his first pro season. That translated well enough into seeing him make his NHL debut with the Predators on 1/17/17 on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. He played twice in his recall with the Predators and returns to the AHL where he is the Admirals leading defenseman in offense this season and their AHL All-Star representative.

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The Nashville Predators have traded forward Max Görtz to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Andrew O’Brien. The move likely sees the two switch between AHL affiliates as both have yet to reach the NHL level. This should mean a switch of scenery for both between the Milwaukee Admirals and San Diego Gulls.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, TN – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Thursday that the club has acquired defenseman Andrew O’Brien from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Max Gortz.

O’Brien, 24 (11/21/92), has appeared in 10 games for the San Diego Gulls (AHL) this season and recorded two assists and 16 shots on goal. The Hamilton, Ontario, native set career AHL highs in goals (6) and plus/minus (+3) in 2015-16 with San Diego, and totaled 14 points (6g-8a) and 54 penalty minutes in 59 games.

O’Brien is a 6-foot-4, 208-pound blueliner who was drafted in the fourth round (108th overall) of the 2012 Entry Draft by Anaheim. He has appeared in 135 career AHL games and registered 30 points (10g-20a) and 180 penalty minutes.

This is likely one last blow to what has already been a tough sophomore season for Görtz. He was the Admirals second leading scorer last season when he produced 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 72 games. He hasn’t just failed to replicate his offensive production this season but has also struggled to maintain a place in the lineup as a result. Görtz has been a healthy scratch for the Admirals eight times this season while producing just 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists).

I can only assume that O’Brien has been banged up this season as he has only played in the AHL for San Diego but had missed out on 22 games for them so far. His first pro season came in 2013-14 where he split time between the AHL and ECHL. The majority of his career to this point has been in the AHL under the Anaheim banner where he has logged 135 career games while recorded 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists), 180 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus rating of -19.

This could well be a case of swapping two struggling prospects in the hopes of finding a spark for both while getting that spark in a position of need. The Admirals have been banged up on defense the last month and a half. In their most recent game Adam Pardy crashed into the end boards favoring his left shoulder in the second period and did not return to the game.

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