Tanner Jeannot will return to Bridgestone Arena tonight to face his former team as the Predators welcome Jeannot and the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. It will mark Jeannot's first trip back to Nashville and his 200th career game in the NHL.
This is what Jeannot had to say about returning to Nashville in last night's postgame media. {Credit: Diandra Loux, site editor and reporter covering the Tampa Bay Lightning for The Hockey News}
Jeannot signed a three-year, entry level contract with the Nashville Predators as an undrafted free agent on April 2, 2018. Before working his way into the NHL, Jeannot played eight games with the Florida Everblades in the ECHL and then spent time in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals between 2018-2020. Jeannot played 13 games with the Chicago Wolves during the 2020-2021 season before making his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators on March 2, 2021.
Jeannot quickly became a fan favorite with his physical style of play. He was a crucial part of the "Herd Line" for Nashville that consisted of Yakov Trenin and Matthieu Olivier who was later traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Colton Sissons centered Trenin and Jeannot for much of the 2021-22 season, a rookie season in which Jeannot played 81 games and scored 24 goals and 41 points. Despite finishing first in goal scoring, first in hits, and eighth in total points among all rookies, Jeannot was overlooked and was not even a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
Expectations for Jeannot were high heading into 2022-23, but like several other Predators players who had career seasons in '21-22, Jeannot struggled to repeat his offensive production. When it became clear that Nashville was going to sell at the trade deadline, David Poile made a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning for Tanner Jeannot that left the league's jaw on the floor. On February 26, Jeannot was pulled from pre-game warmups in Arizona for trade related reasons, and later it was announced that the Lightning acquired Jeannot in exchange for defenseman Cal Foote, third, fourth, and fifth round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, a second round pick in 2024, and a protected 2025 fifth round pick.
While many were shocked at the haul — especially with Jeannot's underwhelming five goals and 14 points in 56 games up to that point in the season — Nashville knows the difference maker Jeannot can be not just on the scoreboard. Known for his physical play, Jeannot finished last season fifth in the league in hits. He is also one of the the NHL's toughest fighters sitting second in the league right now for fighting majors, and while he may sit in the box for dropping the gloves, Jeannot rarely loses a fight.
Jeannot has six goals in his 27 games so far this season with the Lightning, including a goal last night in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins that helped Tampa Bay secure a 3-1 win. The Lightning had lost four in a row before winning their last two games against the Dallas Stars and Penguins.
Jeannot was a fan favorite for his physicality, production, and line chemistry with Trenin and Sissons. The Predators saw Jeannot and the Lightning back on October 10 in the opening game of the 2023-24 season, but this will mark Jeannot's first trip back to the ice at Bridgestone Arena. It will also be the 26-year-old's 200th NHL game, a milestone the crowd in Nashville will be happy to acknowledge for Jeannot tonight.
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