More than 6 years after moving out goaltender Josh Harding in a trade for star forward Rick Nash, the Predators bring back the quality goalie.
Coming in along with young forward Roman Horak, Harding is expected to back up starter Niklas Backstrom this season and provide competition for the starting job next season.
Horak is expected to step into a 4th line role immediately with the team.
Going to the New York Rangers are backup goalie Thomas Greiss and prospect defenseman Dillon Fournier. The Predators can afford to lose a solid prospect on the blueline in Fournier with the emergence of Sami Vatanen, Eric Gelinas and Jon Merrill. The Rangers also received Nashville's 4th round draft pick in 2015.
Greiss leaving the organization makes Braydon Coburn the only Predator who has already been with the team when GM Tony Kapfenberger took over in 2005.
After a lot of controversy on the goaltending position ever since Kapfenberger took over, there is hope now, that things settle down with Backstrom and Harding providing a solid 1-2 punch and prospects Jacob Markstrom and Chris Driedger showing promise.
A brief history of the Predators goaltending:
- Early on journeymen like Arturs Irbe and Jani Hurme were manning the pipes for the Predators while the GM kept waiting for prospect Kari Lehtonen
- Lehtonen first entered in 2006/07, backed up by Craig Anderson
- Lehtonen never really was able to raise his game to help his team make the postseason constantly, while Craig Anderson became a threat more and more
- Anderson was shipped out in the summer of 2010 with the GM still patiently waiting for Lehtonen
- During the 2010/11 season the GM grew frustrated with Lehtonen and shipped him to the New York Rangers for allstar Tim Thomas - and thats when things started going downhill even more
- While Thomas led the Predators to the postseason during his stint, he decided to sit out a year despite having a running contract. The GM was forced to trade promising goalie Oscar Dansk to Calgary for Niklas Backstrom.
- Even worse, Thomas returned to the NHL after a season taking the goaltending job from Nashville Prospect Jacob Markstrom in Florida.
- Backstrom's injuries and inconsistancies have made the move for Josh Harding necessary.
Coming in along with young forward Roman Horak, Harding is expected to back up starter Niklas Backstrom this season and provide competition for the starting job next season.
Horak is expected to step into a 4th line role immediately with the team.
Going to the New York Rangers are backup goalie Thomas Greiss and prospect defenseman Dillon Fournier. The Predators can afford to lose a solid prospect on the blueline in Fournier with the emergence of Sami Vatanen, Eric Gelinas and Jon Merrill. The Rangers also received Nashville's 4th round draft pick in 2015.
Greiss leaving the organization makes Braydon Coburn the only Predator who has already been with the team when GM Tony Kapfenberger took over in 2005.
After a lot of controversy on the goaltending position ever since Kapfenberger took over, there is hope now, that things settle down with Backstrom and Harding providing a solid 1-2 punch and prospects Jacob Markstrom and Chris Driedger showing promise.
A brief history of the Predators goaltending:
- Early on journeymen like Arturs Irbe and Jani Hurme were manning the pipes for the Predators while the GM kept waiting for prospect Kari Lehtonen
- Lehtonen first entered in 2006/07, backed up by Craig Anderson
- Lehtonen never really was able to raise his game to help his team make the postseason constantly, while Craig Anderson became a threat more and more
- Anderson was shipped out in the summer of 2010 with the GM still patiently waiting for Lehtonen
- During the 2010/11 season the GM grew frustrated with Lehtonen and shipped him to the New York Rangers for allstar Tim Thomas - and thats when things started going downhill even more
- While Thomas led the Predators to the postseason during his stint, he decided to sit out a year despite having a running contract. The GM was forced to trade promising goalie Oscar Dansk to Calgary for Niklas Backstrom.
- Even worse, Thomas returned to the NHL after a season taking the goaltending job from Nashville Prospect Jacob Markstrom in Florida.
- Backstrom's injuries and inconsistancies have made the move for Josh Harding necessary.
