Nashville Predators hint at defenseman Nic Hague's injury replacement in loss to Tampa Bay
With this summer's defensive addition, Nicolas Hague, out 4-6 weeks to begin the season, the Nashville Predators are working to find his replacement on the top pairing with Roman Josi.
In their 4-1 preseason loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sept. 27 at Benchmark International Arena, the Predators auditioned rookie defenseman Adam Wilsby for that role.
Wilsby, a fourth-round pick by Nashville in 2020, made his NHL debut last season, scoring one goal and four assists in 23 games before suffering a shoulder injury that kept him out the rest of the season. The 25-year-old will still qualify as a rookie in 2025-26 because he did not skate in at least 25 games the previous season.
Against the Lightning, Wilsby played 15:13 minutes, adding one shot on goal and four penalty minutes. In the preseason, he has played in three of the four games. He has yet to score a point.
He had been skating on the bottom pairing with Justin Barron in practice and in the opening preseason game against Florida. But coach Andrew Brunette, who gave Wilsby high praise early in camp, seems keen on giving Wilsby a chance at the top pairing with Josi.
"(Wilsby) looks strong and he looks bigger from last year," Brunette said on Sept. 19.
Wilsby seems the prime candidate to replace Hague, who suffered an upper body injury on Sept. 21 against Florida. Hague signed a four-year, $22 million contract with the Predators on July 1 after being acquired via trade with Vegas, which sent Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon to the Golden Knights.
With Hague out, the Predators' defensive pairings could look like this on opening night:
Adam Wilsby, Roman Josi
Brady Skjei, Nick Perbix
Andreas Englund, Justin Barron
The loss to Tampa Bay was the Predators' fourth game of the preseason. After sweeping the Panthers on Sept. 21, the Predators have lost two straight, both to the Lightning.
They have two more games in the preseason: On the road against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sept. 28, then a home game against Carolina on Oct. 4.
The Predators open the regular season Oct. 9 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena.
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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at [email protected]. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators hint at Nic Hague's injury replacement in 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay