Another day, another round of cuts for the Nashville Predators, and this time, six players are heading to Milwaukee.
From the Predators’ release:
Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has assigned Patrick Cehlin, Joonas Jarvinen, Joonas Rask, Miikka Salomaki, Colton Sissons and Austin Watson to Milwaukee (AHL).
Watson, of course, scored a nifty goal in yesterday’s 2-0 triumph over the New York Islanders, but is simply caught in a numbers game at center, with the quartet of Mike Fisher, David Legwand, Matt Cullen and Paul Gaustad ahead of him.
With another game coming up tomorrow against Tampa Bay, the competition for the final roster spots will heat up. 27 players are left in camp, leaving at least four more cuts to come.
One will presumably be goaltender Marek Mazanek, along with defenseman Joe Piskula and forward Simon Moser. That leaves one more player who will head north sometime soon, of which Filip Forsberg or Taylor Beck can be dispatched without having to be exposed to waivers, and run the risk of being claimed by another NHL team. I should note that it’s possible (but extremely unlikely) that the Predators could send a defenseman like Ryan Ellis or Victor Bartley down instead and run with only six to start the season, but that would leave three extra forwards in Nashville, hardly a desirable situation.
If this all comes down to a battle between Beck & Forsberg for the final spot on the Opening Night roster, who do you think will win out?
More from On the Forecheck:
- Monday’s Dump & Chase: Fight! Fight! Fight!
- Nashville Predators 2, New York Islanders 0: Pekka Rinne Strong in Pre-Season Debut
- Sunday’s Dump & Chase: It’s Game Night In Smashville!
- Fantasy Hockey 2013-2014: Projections for the Nashville Predators
- 2013 Nashville Predators Training Camp: Magnus Hellberg Deployed to Milwaukee/