As the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline closes in on Friday, general manager Barry Trotz and the Predators have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL. The Hockey News Nashville Predators is here to track and detail every move the Predators make in this busy week.
It's playoffs or sell-off for the Nashville Predators.
As the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline closes in on Friday, general manager Barry Trotz and the Predators have been one of the busiest teams in the NHL.
The Hockey News Nashville Predators is here to track and detail every move the Predators make in this busy week.
Joakim Kemell Late Call-Up Ahead Of Game vs. Bruins
Pregame roster reporter showed that forward Joakim Kemell has been called up from the Milwaukee Admirals. The Predators made the announcement official during warm-ups.
The call-up likely fills the void left by Michael Bunting, who was traded Thursday afternoon to the Dallas Stars.
This will be the right-winger's third game of the season and first since Oct. 13, which was a 4-1 win over the Senators in Ottawa. He had been previously called up in November, but was scratched twice.
In Milwaukee, he's played 46 games, scoring 29 points (10G, 19A) and logging 56 penalty minutes.
He is the fourth Admirals player to be called up to Nashville in the last 24 hours as the Predators recalled defenseman Ryan Ufko and forwards Matthew Wood and Reid Schaefer.
LW Michael Bunting Traded To Dallas Stars For 3rd Round Pick
More players for picks as the Elliotte Friedman reporter, Thursday afternoon, reported that forward Michael Bunting has been traded to the Dallas Stars for a 2026 third-round pick.
The Predators now have 11 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft: 1st (one pick), 2nd (two picks), 3rd (one pick), 4th (two picks), 5th (three picks), 6th (one pick) and 7th (one pick).
Bunting has had a massive impact on the Predators' bottom six this season, scoring 31 points (13G, 18A) in 61 games and logging 16 penalty minutes. The PIM total is a career low for Bunting.
He is in the final year of a 3-year, $13.5 million contract, which he originally signed with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023. Bunting will be a unrestircted free agent at the end of this season.
Bunting was acquired by the Predators in March 2025 in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators dealt Luke Schenn and Thomas Novak for Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Predators Recall Reid Schaefer, Ryan Ufko, Fedor Svechkov From Milwaukee
With Nashville down a defenseman, a center and a winger, three call-ups were made Wednesday night following the Nick Blakenburg trade.
According to Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey, LW Reid Schaefer, D Ryan Ukfo and C Fedor Svechkov have all been recalled from the Milwaukee Admirals.
Schaefer has played 27 games in Nashville this season as a rookie, recording four goals and two assists for six points and 13 penalty minutes. In Milwaukee, he has 28 points (15G, 13A) in 31 games and 55 penalty minutes.
This is Ufko's first call-up of the season. He has 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) in 50 games and 20 penalty minutes. Ufko was the Admirals' lone AHL All-Star and is second in the league in defenseman points.
Svechkov has spent the majority of the season with the Predators, recording nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 49 games. He was assigned to the Admirals ahead of the Olympic break. In 10 games in Milwaukee, Svechkov has eight points (5 goals, 3 assists).
D Nick Blakenburg Traded To Colorado Avalanche For 2027 5th Round Pick
The Predators now have 12 picks in the 2027 NHL Draft, four of which are in the third round.
The 27-year-old was in the final season of a 2-year, $1.55 million contract, with him becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Blankenburg is also the third upcoming UFA that's been traded by the Predators.
Blankenburg is in the midst of the best season of his career, scoring 21 points (6G, 15A) in 49 games and logging just 10 penalty minutes. This is the first season he has not split time between the NHL and AHL since 2022-23, and the first time he has recorded more than 20 points.
LW Cole Smith Traded To Vegas Golden Knights For 2028 3rd Round Pick, D Christoffer Sedoff
The Predators now have nine picks in the 2028 NHL Draft: two in the second and third rounds, one in the first round, and rounds four through seven.
Smith's trade was written on the walls as he played just three seconds in the Predators' 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, likely due to the trading rule. Smith was originally scratched alongside McCarron.
This season, Smith had 10 points (6G, 4A) in 41 games and 31 penalty minutes, skating on Nashville's fourth line. He is in the final year of a 2-year, $2 millon contract and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Sedoff, a 24-year-old, 6-foot, 2-inch defenseman, was signed by the Golden Knights to a 3-year, entry-level contract in 2023, worth $2.61 million, which will expire at the end of this season.
Sedoff has yet to play an NHL game, spending three seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights. This season, in 38 games, Sedoff has no goals, four assists and 15 penalty minutes.
C Michael McCarron Traded To Minnesota Wild For 2028 2nd Round Pick
The Predators announced McCarron had been scratched prior to Tuesday’s road game against the Blue Jackets due to “roster management purposes.”
Nashville now has eight picks in the 2028 NHL Draft: one first round, two second round and one each in rounds three through seven.
He is in the final year of a 2-year, $1.8 million contract. McCarron will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
The 31-year-old, 6-foot-6-inch center has played in 59 games this season, recording 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points. McCarron has also logged a team-high 73 penalty minutes.