In an apparent victory for Anders Lindback in the competition for the backup job behind Pekka Rinne, the Nashville Predators have assigned Mark Dekanich to the Milwaukee Admirals:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has assigned goalie Mark Dekanich to the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. The reduction puts Nashville's Training Camp roster at 26 players - 16 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. All NHL teams must set their Opening Day player rosters (23-player maximum) by Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. CT.   

While at least 3 more players must be cut (barring an injury in the coming days), I wouldn't be surprised to see 4 get sent down as the Preds typically carry 21 or 22 players on the active roster. We may have to wait a few more days for those final cuts - last season, for example, the Preds set their roster just 3 days before the opener in Dallas.

The next question is what happens to Jeremy Smith, who was sent back to Milwaukee last week. Do the Admirals carry 3 goalies, since Chet Pickard is likely to get the bulk of the starts, or does Smith go back to Cincinnati of the ECHL?