Nothing like a July 25th signing of a depth defenseman to get tongues wagging in Pred Nation. At 10:02am yesterday, the Nashville Predators announced the signing of Dan Hamhuis to a two year $2.5 million contract, returning to the team that drafted him 12th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He played 483 games for the Predators between 2003 – 2010, then moved on to Vancouver where he spent six seasons with the Canucks and the last two seasons with the Dallas Stars.
The 35 year old blueliner was part of Nashville’s initial bumper crop of defensemen that established the team’s reputation as a factory for the position. Hamhuis went on to win gold medals for Team Canada in two different World Championships and the 2014 Winter Olympics.
This is just the kind of veteran add that has worked well for the Predators and honestly, if this wasn’t a return to the team of a player that spent his first eight seasons, most all of Pred Nation would be applauding the move. There is a small, but loud, section of the fanbase that is decrying the move… why?
Who knows? Maybe it is because of a comment made ... never mind that it was true. Maybe it was because of his performance over the past few seasons... whatever the reason, I, for one, am glad that Hamhuis is coming back. This is putting top two d-pair talent into a third d-pair role. The 13 -15 minutes a game he should garner will give the top four a bit of a break and rolling three D pair will do nothing but help this team once the playoffs start. Hamhuis still has a bit left in the tank and he certainly sounds motivated to come back to his first NHL home for a chance to dance with Lord Stanley.
That leaves the Predators with 8 NHL level defensemen. The competition for the final D pair is going to be intense… You can make a case for each of the remaining three defensemen, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber and Anthony Bitetto. Bitetto being the youngest with the most problem in cracking the Preds lineup, only playing in 32 games last season. Matt Irwin has some offensive upside and has done well when called upon for the most part, he played in 50 games. Yannick Weber has been solid when called upon in his 47 games. Any of these players can grab the 6 spot, but the upward pressure on these players will certainly keep them from getting comfortable in it.
The other, rather interesting take on the Hamhuis acquisition is that it spells trouble in the extension negotiations with Ryan Ellis. I have no direct knowledge but that does feel like a bit of a stretch to connect the two events. That being said… the surprise acquisition of Alexei Emelin at UFA time last year was an indicator of the extent of Ryan Ellis’ injury in the playoffs and I do recall that the announcement of his recovery time came after that acquisition, so I guess I can understand that take if you look at it through the same lens.
With the calendar about to flip to August, and school getting ready to start, you will start seeing more players return to town and hitting the ice at Centennial. The 2018-19 season is just around the corner.
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Random Notes
- There is an article on the team’s website describing the new features being installed at Bridgestone Arena, new sound system, new ribbon boards and replacing all of the backlit signage. As a part of the game ops crew… I can’t wait to get in there and play with the new toys!!!
- Interesting rankings in a new post to The Athletic by Scott Wheeler. They rank the top 50 NHL prospects for 2018. Eeli Tolvanen is ranked 6th. Former Pred prospect Vladislav Kamenev is ranked 44… that seems a bit of an overreach. No other Pred prospects are listed.
- Speaking of The Athletic, Scott Burnside has a great Q&A with Glen Metropolit. Longtime Nashville hockey fans will recall that name from his time as a point per game plus guy with the old Nashville Knights in 95/96.
- He’s putting the band back together… Barry Trotz and the New York Islanders just hired Mitch Korn as their Director of Goaltending.
- Shame on the Carolina Hurricanes for not renewing Hall of Fame Voice of the Hurricanes Chuck Kaiton… after 39 years of covering the franchise… he deserves to leave on his own terms, not be insulted by the owner’s offer of an 80% pay cut to remain. All to save a buck… there’s a new sheriff in town in Raleigh… and apparently loyalty means nothing to the ‘Canes new owner.
- There has got to be an NHL team that needs an awesome voice, they could do no better than Chuck Kaiton.
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