After a disappointing 2024-25 season, Predators general manager Barry Trotz looked to improve his team, especially on defense where he emphasized the need to get bigger and stronger.
Defensemen Nicolas Hague and Nick Perbix were brought in to provide some of that size and strength, with Hague standing 6-foot-6 and Perbix a bit shorter at 6-foot-4.
Those acquisitions, along with getting back blueliners like Roman Josi and Adam Wilsby, who missed significant time at the end of last season due to injuries, theoretically pushed Nick Blankenburg down to eighth on the team’s depth chart for defensemen.
Blankenburg is in the final year of a two-year contract that pays him a league-minimum $775,000 this season on a one-way contract, meaning he makes that salary at either the NHL or AHL level.
Teams usually dress six defensemen each game, so the probability of Blankenburg playing much this season was not in his favor despite his having a successful 2024-25 campaign, scoring four goals, adding 12 assists and averaging 19:33 of ice time in 60 games played.
At the start of this season, Blankenburg was a healthy scratch for 10 of the first 11 games. Since then, he’s been a fixture in the lineup, even in games with the seven other defensemen who were above him to start the season available to play. Wilsby and Justin Barron have been the odd men out when Predators coach Andrew Brunette has been filling out his lineup card.
“It’s a testament of his character,” Brunette says. “Nothing’s ever came easy for him. And he was fine with where he was. He’s a great teammate, came to work every day. He was a great professional, and when he got his opportunity, he captured it.”
Versatility key
Blankenburg, in addition to earning his way into the lineup, has earned significant minutes, including both on the power play and the penalty kill. While Blankenburg getting time on the man advantage isn’t unusual for a player with his skillset, his time on the penalty kill is intriguing in that he is seeing time there as a forward.
When Cole Smith was sidelined with an upper-body injury Nov. 1, Blankenburg started seeing time on the penalty kill up front. His poise with the puck and evasive skating ability are characteristics that make him a good choice to move up front on the penalty kill, and Brunette is now being rewarded for having the foresight to have him change positions, albeit usually for two minutes at a time.
“We lost some of our killers, and probably our best one with Cole Smith,” Brunette says. “We were looking for the replacement. Blankie’s done a really good job on the kill in the back end over the last couple of years, so to throw him in was kind of a no-brainer, and he’s been really good. He’s probably one of the better killers right now.”
When playing as a penalty-killing forward, Blankenburg has to rewire his brain to think more like a forward. He credits the Predators primary penalty-killing forward Michael McCarron with helping him adjust the different position.
“I think sometimes my mind kind of goes as a defenseman and sometimes I’ve got to focus on being more of a forward,” Blankenburg says. “It’s been really good and it’s exciting. It’s fun to be a forward for a little bit.”
Weighing the costs
On the power play, Blankenburg leads all Predators in power-play goals scored through November with three, and that’s with being a healthy scratch for most of October. He and Luke Evangelista tied for the team lead in points in the month of November with 11 each.
“He’s just such an easy guy to cheer for, just kind of an underdog story,” Evangelista says. “He starts out of the lineup and he comes in and he’s been one of our best players.”
Predators general manager Barry Trotz will have some decisions to make in the near future when it comes to Blankenburg. With the success he’s had lately, other general managers will likely come calling as the trade deadline approaches later in the season. Trotz could also attempt to sign Blankenburg to a new deal to keep him in Nashville. The Predators already have five defensemen under contract for next season and several prospects in the system looking to make their way onto the NHL roster.
Moving forward, keeping Blankenburg in the fold will cost more than league-minimum salary, but moving him in a trade or letting him walk via free agency at the end of the season may cost Trotz a player who has been a consistent performer in the defensive zone and a contributor offensively on a team that has struggled mightily to score goals.