The Nashville Predators have announced that they have extended defender and captain Roman Josi for 8 years, at an average annual value of 9.059 million dollars per year (90 for his international jersey number and for the target sum, 59 for Nashville). The deal also includes a full no-movement clause (NMC), which means Josi cannot be waived, assigned to Milwaukee or traded without his consent. This breaks with General Manager David Poile’s usual tendency, with Pekka Rinne (full NMC) and Matt Duchene (partial NMC from 2023-26) the only other players to receive protection.
This deal makes Roman Josi the third-highest paid defender in the NHL, a benchmark that Josi’s agents have reportedly had set for some time. It also marks the largest contract given out by GM David Poile, eclipsing the $8 million AAV given to new center Matt Duchene this offseason and to returning center Ryan Johansen before that.
Josi has been one of the brightest stars on the blue line in a locker room full of them in Music City. He has been named a NHL All-Star twice and was named the Predators’ captain two seasons ago. This season Josi and Ryan Ellis became the first defense pair to reach 13 points each in 11 games since the 1992-93 season.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as they become available!