NASHVILLE — New Nashville President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland has been a busy man since taking the helm of the Predators organization this summer. He made several offseason moves and trades as he assembled his first roster on Broadway. The trades continued last week as MacFarland acquired defenseman Jayden Struble from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2027 second-round draft pick.
Struble got the call Friday night that he was moving to the Predators. Luckily, Nashville played in Montreal on Thursday night and was set to play the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
"He was great," Roman Josi said. "I think that's not easy. He got the call the night before and came the next morning, played right away, played in a different system. New team, new teammates. There's a lot going on and I thought he did a great job."
Struble traveled from Montreal to Ottawa, joining the team for Saturday's morning skate and was immediately thrust into the fire. He saaw 19:07 of ice time on 23 shifts, making six hits with two blocked shots and two takeaways in his first game in a Nashville sweater.
"Well, I loved his game," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "I really thought he controlled gaps with his feet, and his battles, he won most of his battles where he was physical and on top of things. Yeah, I thought he fit in really good with Willy [Adam Wilsby]. It's a one-game viewing that we had him, but I'm very impressed with him."
Nashville has struggled on the blue line this season, giving up too many quality chances to opponents and squandering a big lead to Toronto last Tuesday. Brunette has made it clear the organization's looking for someone to step up and solidify things on the Predators' back end.
Struble admitted that being traded was a bit strange after spending his first four seasons with the Canadiens, but said he's looking forward to the chance to shore up the blue line on Broadway.
"It's great," Struble said. "Anytime you can put yourself in a better opportunity, you just want to seize it and make the most out of it, so that's what I'm going to do. Kind of an everyday thing, getting settled in here. Making sure I'm present every day and try to learn, just get better every day so that more games like the first game. Just keep stacking and keep stacking."
Struble has to settle into a new city, but he said he's enjoyed visiting Nashville and is looking forward to exploring his new surroundings after coming to Music City for games and concerts. But the biggest change for the defenseman is the Predators' defensive system on the ice.
"The D-zone is definitely a lot different - from going to a man-on-man to a zone," Struble said. "I found myself lost a couple of times, but honestly, it's not bad. There's more to think about, but I'm sure it'll come naturally, pretty quickly."
He made a strong impression on his new teammates on Saturday night, helping the Predators hold the Senators over 20 minutes without a shot in a shootout loss.
"I thought he looked great," Brady Skjei said. "I thought he had a really, really strong game. You can tell right away that he skates really well. I think that was noticeable in his gaps in the neutral zone, killing plays. I thought he looked very comfortable. He wasn't second-guessing himself, just fit right in, did a great job. I thought him and Wils [Adam Wilsby] played really well last game."
Struble enjoyed an off day on Sunday to help settle into Nashville and already updated his number from No. 38 to his childhood jersey No. 3. He skated with Adam Wilsby in Monday's practice and will be on the ice in Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday night as the Nashville Predators take on the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
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