The Nashville Predators have to regret letting Kiefer Sherwood go.
Sherwood spent two seasons in the Predators organization and finally established himself as an NHLer last season at the age of 28. He became a key part of their bottom-six with his hard-forechecking, hard-hitting game and also tallied 10 goals and 27 points in 68 games to provide some secondary scoring.
And then the Predators decided they didn't need him.
The Predators evidently weren't willing to give Sherwood the raise he felt he deserved, so he went to free agency instead and signed with the Canucks on a two-year deal worth $1.5 million per year. It seemed the Predators were saving up their cash to spend big in free agency, signing a series of big names: Steven Stamkos for four years at $8 million per year, Jonathan Marchessault for five years at $5.5 million per year, and Brady Skjei for seven years at $7 million per year.
So far, the big spending hasn't paid off for the Predators, who find themselves at the bottom of the Central Division with a 5-10-3 record.
Meanwhile, Sherwood has quickly proven to be worth the investment for the Canucks, as he leads the NHL with 100 hits through 16 games, on pace to shatter the NHL single-season hits record. More than that, he's chipped in offensively with 8 points in 16 games — the same number of points as Stamkos, who has played two more games this season.
Now, Sherwood finds himself in the Canucks' top-six alongside Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. It may not be a permanent promotion but it is a chance for Sherwood to prove the Predators made a mistake, even if he tried to downplay the importance of facing his former team.
“Once that puck drops, it’s business,” said Sherwood. “Obviously, I’m very grateful for them. I wouldn’t be here without them but I think it’s a business on all fronts. I’m happy to be here but it’s going to be fun to show them what they missed, I guess, or whatever. Definitely added more fuel to my fire this summer and now it’s time to go all out.”
Sherwood won't be the only former Predator in the Canucks lineup, as Kevin Lankinen also spent the last two seasons in Nashville. He left of his own accord, however, seeking a bigger opportunity after feeling he was buried behind Juuse Saros as the Predators' backup. He's certainly gotten that opportunity with the Canucks, as he's about to make his 13th start of the season.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
Coming off on Saturday night, the Canucks are unlikely to make too many changes to their lineup. The exception might be on defence after the Canucks — the other one — from the Abbotsford Canucks.
Tocchet called the recall "precautionary" as the team lacked an extra defenceman, saying Vincent Desharnais was "banged up."
With that in mind, here are the projected lines without Pettersson:
If Pettersson does draw into the lineup, it would presumably be on the third pairing in place of Noah Juulsen, though it's likely Brännström would be the one to move to the right side, as he has experience playing on his off-side at the NHL level.
The line of DeBrusk, Pettersson, and Sherwood was the Canucks' best against the Blackhawks but it will be interesting to see how they perform against, in theory, tougher competition in the Predators, even if the Predators are below the Blackhawks in the standings.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Kevin Lankinen, who has shown a few signs of being overworked in recent games but got the night off on Saturday night when Arturs Silovs backstopped the Canucks to the win over the Blackhawks.
Nashville Predators projected lines
Despite adding big names in free agency, the Predators' offence has been anemic. They're averaging 2.28 goals per game, which is the lowest in the NHL.
Filip Forsberg leads the team in scoring with 8 goals and 13 points in 18 games, while Roman Josi is close behind with 12 points in 18 games.
The Predators' projected lineup is a little bit different from their previous game, as Tommy Novak is set to return after missing six games due to injury:
Filip Forsberg - Ryan O'Reilly - Gustav Nyquist
Steven Stamkos - Colton Sissons - Luke Evangelista
Juuso Parssinen - Tommy Novak - Jonathan Marchessault
Zachary L'Heureux - Michael McCarron - Cole Smith
Brady Skjei - Roman Josi
Jeremy Lauzon - Alexandre Carrier
Marc Del Gaizo - Luke Schenn
Juuse Saros
Scott Wedgewood
Jeremy Lauzon is currently second in the NHL in hits behind Sherwood with 87 hits through 18 games. Unsurprisingly, former Canuck Luke Schenn is also on the NHL leaderboard in hits, currently sitting fifth with 64 hits.
The Predators' starting goaltender will be their number one, Juuse Saros, who will face his former backup in Lankinen. Saros has been a lone bright spot for the Predators, with a solid .915 save percentage, but his team hasn't given him a lot of goal support. Two of his four wins this season have been shutouts
