Niederreiter heads for Nashville

Nino Niederreiter signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Nashville Predators on Thursday. The deal will earn him an average of $4 million per season.

« Nashville was high on my list, » Niederreiter said. Knowing (Roman) Josi and some other guys already made it even easier to decide to sign with [les Predators]. Nashville is a great city and I’m really excited to be going there. »

The 29-year-old forward had 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists) in 75 regular season games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season and five points (four goals, one assist) in 14 playoff games. the Stanley Cup.

Drafted by the New York Islanders in the first round (fifth overall) in 2010, Niederreiter has 368 points (181 goals, 187 assists) in 732 regular season games with the Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Islanders, and 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) in 82 playoff games.

The Predators (45-30-7) finished fifth in the Central Division last season, qualifying for the playoffs by virtue of their second-place finish as fourth ace in the Western Conference. They were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

“They have a very competitive team. They are quick, very physical and difficult to play against, Niederreiter noted of his new roster. We had a lot of difficulties against them [en séries] two years ago. I think this team is not that far from a long run in the end-of-season playoffs. »

Since the start of the offseason, Nashville has reached agreement on an eight-year contract extension with the forward Filip Forsbergobtained the services of the defender Ryan McDonagh in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and signed the forward Zach Sanford (one year) and the guardian Kevin Lankinen (one year) in the free agent market. The Predators also traded forward Luke Kunin to the San Jose Sharks for forward John Leonard and a draft pick.