Nashville beefs up blue line with veteran defenseman on busy first day of free agency.
As reported by TSN's Pierre LeBrun and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, among others, the Nashville Predators have signed veteran defenseman Brady Skjei to a seven-year, $49 million contract on the opening day of NHL free agency.
A former first-round pick (28th overall) by the New York Rangers in the 2012 NHL Draft, Skjei has spent the past five seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. He has averaged more than 21 minutes of ice time per game each of the last three seasons, recording nearly 40 points per season each year.He brings both size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) and scoring touch, recording 13 goals and 34 assists for a career-high 47 points in 80 games for the Hurricanes last season.
The addition of a veteran presence in Skjei goes a long way in filling the void left on the Predators' blue line by Ryan McDonagh, who was re-acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this offseason. Unlike McDonagh, Skjei is a left-shot defenseman, meaning he could be paired with one of the Predators' right-handers in Luke Schenn or Dante Fabbro. However, with Roman Josi able to play on the right side, it's possible we could see Skjei on the Predators' top defensive pairing next season.