The Nashville Predators announced their 2026-27 opening night roster on Sept. 28, trimming the roster to 23 players ahead of their home opener against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 1.
This is the first opening night roster submitted by Chris MacFarland, who was hired as president of hockey operations and general manager on June 2, replacing Barry Trotz.
It follows a busy summer for MacFarland, who added forwards Mavrik Bourque, Jack Drury, Ross Colton, Alex Kerfoot, and Nils Hoglander to the roster. On defense, Roman Josi returns for his 16th season with the Predators and his 10th season as captain. Juuse Saros and Justus Annunen will also return as the top goaltenders.
Andrew Brunette will enter his fourth season as coach of the Predators, joined
by assistant coaches Luke Richardson, Derek MacKenzie, and Darby Hendrickson.
Here's the final 23 players that made the cut:
Forwards (12): Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg, Matthew Wood, Nils Hoglander, Alex Kerfoot, Mavrik Bourque, Jonathan Marchessault, Jack Drury, Ross Colton, Adam Edstrom, Reid Schaefer
Defensemen (9): Roman Josi, Brady Skjei, Nicolas Hague, Ryan Ufko, Adam Wilsby, William Trudeau, Jack Ahcan, Nick Perbix, Ilya Lyubushkin
Goaltenders (2): Juuse Saros, Justus Annunen
Two additional moves were made prior to roster submission. The Predators signed forward Tyson Jost to a one-year, two-way contract after joining camp on a professional tryout agreement (PTO). He was waived on Sept. 28 and, if he clears, will begin the season in Milwaukee. Also, the Predators assigned forward Vitali Pinchuk to Milwaukee and he is expected to begin the season with the Admirals.
Predators waive three defensemen, claim William Trudeau
Nashville was active on waivers in the days before announcing their final roster.
On. Sept. 26, they waived Justin Barron, the 24-year-old defenseman acquired from Montreal for Alex Carrier in December 2024. The next day, Barron was claimed by the St. Louis Blues, ending his brief career with the Predators.
In a corresponding move, the Predators claimed defenseman William Trudeau off waivers from the New York Rangers. Trudeau, who has yet to make his NHL debut, was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft by Montreal, but signed a one-year deal with the Rangers this summer.
On Sept. 27, the Predators waived defensemen Nick Perbix and Ilya Lyubushkin, but both players cleared waivers on Sept. 28. Players that clear waivers can be assigned to the AHL, but the Predators are holding both Perbix and Lyubushkin on the NHL roster for now.
Perbix, 28, played 79 games with Nashville last season. The 6-fot-4, 206 pound right-hander scored three goals and 10 assists while playing 19:07 per game.
Lyubushkin was acquired on July 1 via the trade with Dallas to bring Mavrik Bourque to Nashville. The Stars included Lyubushkin to offload their salary cap while trying to sign star forward Jason Robertson. The 32-year-old, 6-foot-2 right-hander scored one goal and eight assists in 53 games last season.
According to Puck Pedia, the Predators will enter the 2026-27 season with $11.9 million in cap space.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who made the cut? Nashville Predators reveal 23 players on opening night roster
