The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Brady Skjei to a 7-year deal worth $49 million according to Elliotte Friedman.
He’s previously played with the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes, but now he’s heading off to Nashville.
Solid Two-Way Defenseman
Skjei is a defenseman who can contribute in both ends of the ice. He started his career with the Rangers, but really found himself after joining the Hurricanes during the 2019-20 season. The Hurricanes’ defense has become a bit of a benchmark that teams around the league look to match, and losing Skjei is a major blow to their blue line.
Offensively, Skjei typically hovers around 40 points per season and scored a career-high 18 goals during the 2022-23 season. Importantly, he doesn’t miss much time due to injury either. He tends to be in the lineup more often than not, which means not only is he a tremendous player, but he’s also a reliable one. He eats a lot of minutes, averaging 21:17 of time on ice during the 2023-24 season. He can play on both the power play and penalty kill, and he’ll be great at both.
Fit in Nashville
Skjei can be a solid top-four option and take some of the pressure off Roman Josi. He can fill on the second power play unit and had his best stretch as a professional in Carolina. The deal is a big jump from the $4.4 million he was making in Carolina last year, but that was to be expected.
Related: 2024 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Overall, the Predators added a defenseman who can do pretty much anything. He’s going to be a key part of their blue line moving forward. At 30 years old, there may be a bit of concern about his age; however, he’s the type of player who undoubtedly deserved a long-term deal.
