In the least surprising news of the day, the Nashville Predators have returned Chris Mueller to Milwaukee. This brings them back down to 22 on the Active Roster, with Patric Hornqvist and Brian McGrattan on Injured Reserve.

Chris Mueller

#17 / Center / Nashville Predators

Height: 5-10

Weight: 180

Born: Mar 06, 1986

The Predators just issued the following:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has reassigned forward Chris Mueller (KRIHS MEW-luhr) to Milwaukee (AHL).

Mueller, 25 (3/6/86), did not dress for Nashville during its 3-1 victory over Vancouver last night after being recalled earlier in the day.

Once the roster limit is lifted after the Trade Deadline, we could see him back up here as an emergency option. The Milwaukee Admirals might not even make the AHL playoffs, so he would be available.

In an email discussion this morning, one OTF reader talked about seeing the Nashville Predators play in Ottawa a few weeks ago, and how Mike Fisher received such a welcoming reaction from Senators fans (including several in Nashville jerseys with Fisher's name on the back).

My question to you this morning, is which former Pred do you think would warrant such a welcome at Bridgestone Arena? Steve Sullivan? Scott Hartnell?

Ponder that while reading your morning hockey notes...

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The NHL trade market continues to percolate as we enter the final week leading up to the Trade Deadline on Monday. Just moments ago, two related deals came across the wire:

COL trades Kyle Quincey to TB for Downie.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 21, 2012

Confirmed. TB trades Kyle Quincey for DET's first round pick.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 21, 2012

So Colorado picks up a productive pest, while Tampa Bay moves Quincey, who they got from the Avs, to Detroit in exchange for a 1st-round pick. That's not a bad piece of work, turning Downie into a 1st-rounder, even if it will be late.

And now, on to your daily hockey notes!

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Welcome back, Chris Mueller - with Mike Fisher and/or Patric Hornqvist possibly unavailable for tonight's game vs. Vancouver, the Preds have called up the versatile forward from Milwaukee. With Hornqvist and Brian McGrattan on Injured Reserve, this move brings the Predators to 23 on the Active Roster, which is the limit.

Chris Mueller

#17 / Center / Nashville Predators

Height: 5-10

Weight: 180

Born: Mar 06, 1986

An excerpt from the team's press release follows...

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Now that the big blueliner has been added, and the Nashville Predators' front office is locked up, the next big piece of news has to be a sexy addition at forward, right? Right?

Well, we don't have anything to report on that front, but there's plenty to keep you busy in the meantime...

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The Nashville Predators have locked down their front office leadership for three more seasons, with an announcement today that general manager David Poile and assistant GM Paul Fenton have signed extensions, with Poile's through the 2014-2015 season (the length of Fenton's isn't specified). If I recall correctly, Poile had been operating on a series of one-year agreements ever since the ownership change in 2007, so this marks a significant commitment on behalf of both sides to keep the same gameplan in place going forward.

Obviously, Nashville's "draft and develop" model has delivered impressive results over the last several years, as the team has consistently qualified for the playoffs despite usually sporting one of the lowest payrolls in the league.

In particular, locking up Paul Fenton is as essential as Poile. As general manager of the Milwaukee Admirals and overseer of the team's Entry Draft, he's the one responsible for driving the acquisition and development of young talent on a day-to-day basis. It's widely expected that at some point he'll run an NHL team of his own, but Preds fans should be happy to keep him here for a while longer.

An excerpt from the team's statement follows...

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Our Monday morning hockey notes kick off with the story behind Mike Fisher's surprise scratch from yesterday's game at Dallas...

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The Nashville Predators can look forward to a hectic schedule this week, with four games in seven days. The good news is, they'll have the benefit of home cooking as they welcome in a trio of Western Conference playoff contenders.

Follow after the jump as we break it all down!

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