The Nashville Predators have officially announced that they have signed Frédérick Gaudreau to a new three-year contract. The details of the contract are such that the first two-years of the deal are on a two-way contract before bumping up to a one-way NHL contract for the 2019-20 season. He will make $650,000 (NHL) and $70,000 (AHL) from the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons before earning $700,000 once the deal becomes a one-way NHL contract.
The Milwaukee Admirals have announced that Derek Army will be returning to the team for the 2017-18 season on a one-year AHL contract. Army had previously joined the Admirals from the Wheeling Nailers on a professional try-out contract during the 2016-17 season.
The AHL has officially unveiled the 2017-18 schedule. The Milwaukee Admirals season will begin Saturday October 7th on the road against the Iowa Wild and their home opener will take place on Friday October 20th against the Hershey Bears.
It feels as though the first month and a half of the season is rather stretched out before the games really pack up against the Admirals. This season there are only three weekends of three-in-three hockey. In fact, the first three-in-three weekend doesn’t take place until mid-December. It’s rather nice seeing three-in-three’s slowly getting reduced in the AHL – at the very least – on the Admirals side of things. It isn’t entirely the case for some teams in the Eastern Conference.
Speaking of which, the Admirals will see a return of Eastern Conference opposition when they face-off against the Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season. Both teams already have a nice history against the Admirals as both were opponents faced by the Admirals in their two Calder Cup Finals appearances: 2004 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2006 against Hershey.
The School Day Games will also be back. The Admirals will once again host two AM games this coming season with the first coming on Wednesday November 8th at 10:30 AM CST against the Chicago Wolves. The second of the two School Day Games will take place on Wednesday March 7th at 10:30 AM CST against the Manitoba Moose.
To view the schedule in full you can always check our “Schedule” page on the website or you can view the 2017-18 schedule in full after the jump.
Saturday was my last day in Nashville as I wanted to stay the extra day outside of the 2017 Nashville Predators Rookie Development Camp because the following day was the start of NHL Free Agency. My night ended with the news that the Nashville Predators had signed former Rockford IceHogs forward Pierre-Cédric Labrie. I then spent the entire Sunday driving back to Wisconsin and, in doing so, completely dropped the ball on this news: Mike Liambas was signed by the Anaheim Ducks on a one-year, two-way contract.
This ends Liambas’ second spell in the organization and comes after a season in which he made it to the Nashville Predators where he played his first career NHL game and was also named the PHPA’s Built Tough Award. Liambas played 213 career games with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL while also contributing 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists). His 648 career penalty minutes is second in Admirals’ AHL history to only Kelsey Wilson‘s 699 career penalty minutes. Liambas’ has also worn the “A” during his time in Milwaukee as voted by his teammates for his great leadership skills.
The AHL’s 2017-18 schedule has yet to officially drop but should the San Diego Gulls lock up against the Admirals this season it would not be Liambas’ first spell playing against his former team. Liambas signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on a one-year, two-way contract during the Summer of 2015 and played with the Rockford IceHogs. Liambas played in 6 games against the Admirals during the 2015-16 season, didn’t score a point, had 21 penalty minutes stemming mostly from 3 fighting majors, and a plus/minus rating of +1.
After being drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators there was plenty of speculation as to where Eeli Tolvanen was going to play next season. It was rumored enough times throughout last week and this morning was made official: Tolvanen will be returning to his native country of Finland to play for Jokerit in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on a one-year contract with an option for the 2018-19 season.
Tolvanen is a native of Vihti, Finland and started his rise through the hockey ranks as part of the Espoo Blues youth academy where he played up to the Under-20’s squad before deciding to embark to North America. The past two seasons the 18-year old has played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). During that time in the USHL he has produced 92 points (47 goals, 45 assists) in 101 games.
In one of the more head-turning moves of the opening day of NHL Free Agency we received the following. The Nashville Predators signed Pierre-Cédric Labrie, formerly of the Rockford IceHogs, to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $650,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL.
Nashville, TN – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Saturday that the club has signed forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie to a one-year, two-way contract for 2017-18 worth $650,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level.
Labrie, 30 (12/6/86), appeared in 52 games with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in 2016-17, recording one goal, eight points and 96 penalty minutes in 52 games. The 6-foot-3, 226-pound winger has appeared in 178 AHL games with Rockford over the past three seasons, amassing 58 points and 311 penalty minutes during that span. A native of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Labrie has 46 games of NHL experience, all with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2011-14, tallying five points (2g-3a) and 65 penalty minutes.
Undrafted, Labrie captured the 2012 Calder Cup Championship as a member of the Norfolk Admirals. Since 2007, Labrie has skated for Manitoba, Peoria, Norfolk, Syracuse and Rockford of the AHL, posting 183 points and 1,033 penalty minutes in 566 games.
I believe giving some time to digest this news quickly game me an answer as to why it likely happened. When you think back to the Milwaukee Admirals past two playoff exits to the Grand Rapids Griffins, both sweeps, you immediately think of a Griffins that continually got under the skin of Admirals players and grinded them out. Labrie is a veteran presence that can calm and squash that area of a game and do it around a young Admirals squad to allow the skill players to do what they need to do.
That isn’t to squash Labrie into an enforcer sort of role, either. He is a season removed from scoring 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) in 66 games… with the IceHogs. In his career he has 566 games of AHL experience as well as 46 games of NHL experience with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Labrie will turn 31-years old in December and adds to a veteran leadership group for the Admirals that -at the moment- consists of Trevor Smith and Cody Bass. The Admirals currently lack a veteran anchor for the defense, as Adam Pardy has yet to sign anywhere, so that duty goes to a 24-year old named Jimmy Oligny. Goodness knows if the organizational landscape at defense changes after acquiring Alexei Yemelin from the Vegas Golden Knights. But there is always a need for a much more experienced and established veteran waiting in the wings in Milwaukee. In the event a recall is needed (e.g. Matt Irwin, acquiring Pardy in an AHL trade and then signing him to an NHL contract).
What the organization received in Labrie is a proven pro, someone who has good leadership skills, and can step up to the plate against the Tyler Bertuzzi types of the AHL. What this means when it comes to the likes of Adam Payerl and Mike Liambas – I don’t know. But this was a signing that does fit a good role in Milwaukee that is always needed.
The Nashville Predators have officially signed goaltender Matt O’Connor to a one-year, two-way contract. The terms of his contract are $650,000 in the NHL and $75,000 in the AHL. O’Connor spent the previous two seasons as a member of the Ottawa Senators organization and was a highly touted goaltending prospect out of Boston University prior to turning pro.
O’Connor is 25-years old and is a Toronto, Ontario, Canada native. In his already very brief professional career he has seen spurts of action across the NHL, AHL, and ECHL. The most tenured league for him to date is the AHL where he played with the Binghamton Senators. In his AHL career he has a record of 24-38-5-1 from 71 appearances with a 3.27 goals against average and 0.895 save percentage.
While that doesn’t look particularly good, nor does his finish at Boston University, it is worth pointing out that the Senators were the second worst team in the AHL last season with a 0.395 points percentage. They were the fourth worst team in the league the season before that, 0.454 points percentage. In that two year span the Senators featured a goal differential of -113 (394 GF, 507 GA).
Perhaps then a change of scenery could do him a world of good. Standing at nearly 6’6″ and needing to find that place to rebound. You can’t help but make a quick comparison to the 2013-14 season when the Milwaukee Admirals ECHL option for goalie was Scott Darling. With the different organization, and new coaches, O’Connor could rebound. And I believe that is what the Predators will be hoping for. Did O’Connor just pick the wrong starting point with the Senators organization or will that blunder in the NCAA National Title Game against Providence always haunt him?
The Nashville Predators have signed Anders Lindbäck to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2017-18 season. The terms of the deal are worth $650,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL. Lindbäck was drafted by the Predators in 2008 and played for two-seasons in the organization.
In Lindbäck’s time with the organization he played 44 games between the NHL and AHL. The majority of his time was spent in the NHL as a member of the Predators where he played for 38 games, earned 16 wins, and had a 2.51 goals against average, 0.914 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. He played 6 games previously with the Milwaukee Admirals: 3 wins, 3.13 goals against average, and 0.897 save percentage.
He has been on quite the odyssey ever since being traded by the Predators to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2012 off-season. He has since played for eight different teams across three different leagues since his time with the Lightning came to a close. In his 2016-17 season he was signed to a PTO Contract with the Ontario Reign in the AHL, was released, and ended up playing back in his native Sweden with Rögle BK.
The 2017 NHL Draft is officially in the books. After selecting Finnish winger Eeli Tolvanen thirtieth overall in the first round the Nashville Predators had five more draft picks to make. Here were their selections from Day 2 of the 2017 NHL Draft.
~Day 2~
Grant Mismash, (2nd Round, 61st Overall): An 18-year old center from Edina, Minnesota. He was part of the United States National Team Development Program fresh out of the famed Shattuck St. Mary’s program. He was part of the 2017 IIHF World Juniors gold medal winning United States U-18 team. And is committed to University of North Dakota.
David Farrance, (3rd Round, 92nd Overall): An 18-year old left-shooting defenseman from Victor, New York. Farrance was a teammate of Mismash at the USNTDP as well as with that 2017 IIHF World Juniors winning team. Farrance is committed to Boston University and he will be joining fellow Nashville Predators prospects Dante Fabbro and Patrick Harper.
Tomáš Vomáčka, (5th Round, 154th Overall): An 18-year old goaltender from Trutnov, Czech Republic. Vomáčka breaks the trend by the Predators of drafting Czech goaltenders who catch with the right glove, Marek Mazanec and Karel Vejmelka. Standing at 6’3″ and catching with the left glove, Vomáčka has spent the past season in North America as a member of the Corpus Christi Ice Rays of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He is committed to the University of Connecticut.
Pavel Koltygin, (6th Round, 176th Overall): An 18-year old forward from Moskva, Russia. Koltygin is a flexible forward that can play out on the wing as well as down the middle at center. He played this past season in North America with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Québec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) where he produced 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists) in 66 games. It was his first season in juniors after developing in his native Russia as part of Dynamo Moskva’s youth academy.
Jacob Paquette, (7th Round, 216th Overall): An 18-year old left-shooting defenseman from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Paquette was part of the Ottawa Jr. 67s program before being selected in the 2nd Round of the 2015 OHL Drafy by the Kingston Frontenacs. He has spent his last two seasons playing for Kingston and has a nice track record going for himself: 23 points (4 goals, 19 assists) in 115 games with a plus/minus rating of +6. He will start his third junior playing season in 2017-18 on the back of his first playoff run with Kingston that ended in the second round of the 2017 OHL Playoffs.
What are your overall thoughts on the Nashville Predators 2017 NHL Draft Class? Are you surprised at all that the Predators didn’t make any trades during the draft or could it be like last year where trade talks were initiated at the draft? What steps are next for the Predators off-season?
The Nashville Predators selected Eeli Tolvanen with the thirtieth overall selection in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft. The 18-year old from Vihti, Finland has spent his last two seasons playing for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
Tolvanen’s track record shows that he has a knack for finding the back of the net. In the Espoo Blues youth academy system he scored 59 goals in 47 games in 2013-14 and followed that up by scoring 41 goals in 48 games in 2014-15.
He would leave his native Finland to play hockey in North America for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons as part of the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL. He has produced 92 points (47 goals, 45 assists) in 101 games during that time. Tolvanen announced on Twitter that he would be joining Boston College for the 2017-18 season but he was declined by Boston College Admissions Department.
What were your thoughts of this draft pick and the opening round of the 2017 NHL Draft? Are you surprised to see the Nashville Predators not active on the trade market at this time or is that a smart move if asking prices are too high?
Admirals Roundtable 