On Tuesday, the Nashville Predators moved on from forward Cody Glass, who played parts of three seasons with the team. The 25-year-old was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with a third-round pick in 2025 and a sixth-round pick in 2026, in exchange for forward Jordan Frasca.
Frasca, who was an undrafted free agent, signed with Pittsburgh in 2022. He has yet to make his NHL debut but suited up for both the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers last season.
The Predators brought in Glass to see if a change of scenery could help grow his game. He came into the league as one of the top draft picks of the 2017 Draft class. Now, Glass is heading to his third organization in his sixth campaign in the league as he tries to find his game.
Glass’ Time in Vegas and Nashville
Glass was selected sixth overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, becoming the franchise’s first-ever draft selection. (The organization had two other picks in the first round of that draft, selecting forward Nick Suzuki and defenseman Erik Brannstrom.)
Glass developed his game with the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks. His best season in junior was in 2017-18 when he scored 37 goals and 102 points in 64 regular-season games. In the postseason, he tallied four goals and 13 points in 12 games.
Glass made his NHL debut for the Golden Knights in the 2019-20 season. He played in 39 games, recording five goals and seven assists. He also suited up 27 games in 2020-21, scoring four goals and 10 points.
Glass only played two seasons in Vegas. The franchise was very successful out of the gate, so management focused more on icing experienced veterans than growing young talent, and he is just one of many draft picks the team has traded, including Suzuki, Brannstrom, Paul Cotter, Peyton Krebs, and Zach Dean. All of these players turned into Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Alexander Holtz, and Akira Schmid.
Glass was traded to Nashville in a three-team deal on July 17, 2021. Vegas acquired Nolan Patrick from the Philadelphia Flyers, Predators’ blueliner Ryan Ellis headed to Philadelphia, and Nashville also acquired defender Philippe Myers.
Glass likely hoped to become a big-name player in Nashville. He joined a group with solid veteran leadership, including Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Mikael Granlund. However, he only appeared in eight games in 2021-22 and posted an assist. He spent most of the campaign in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals, where he played 66 games and tallied 62 points (14 goals and 48 assists).
Related: Predators’ Cody Glass Finally Getting NHL Opportunity
During the 2022-23 season, Glass finally earned a full-time role on the Predators. In 72 games, he scored 14 goals and 35 points. He seemed to have become a good complementary scorer for the team, giving him something to build on. In 2023-24, however, he only played 41 games in a disappointing campaign, with six goals and seven assists.
Glass’s New Start in Pittsburgh
Predators general manager (GM) Barry Trotz has turned the roster into a Stanley Cup contender. He put Nashville in win-now mode by adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. While the Predators did not need to move on from Glass, Trotz decided to move on from the player.
Fans should keep an eye on Frasca. He might find his way onto the NHL roster this season.
Glass now joins a Penguins team that will be rebuilding when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang hang up the skates. He is only 25 and could become one of the faces of their offense in the post-Crosby Era. Pittsburgh will build a younger core for the chapter, and he could potentially be a significant piece to that. Maybe the third team is the charm for him. It will be a matter of how he gels with his new teammates and sometimes things can click for a player with the right organization. Time will tell if that is the case for Glass with the Penguins. If things work out, Glass could be in Pittsburgh for a little while.
Former Predators GM David Poile took a chance by grabbing Glass from Vegas. However, testing things out with Glass did not work out, and Trotz made a move he feels was best for the roster. Penguins fans will have to see how Glass does for them.
