On July 4, the Nashville Predators announced the signing of goaltender Troy Grosenick to a one-year, $775,000 contract. It was a coming home of sorts for the 34-year-old goaltender who has played most of his professional career in the AHL, including three seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals. Grosenick has four NHL starts to his name, two for the San Jose Sharks and two for the LA Kings. Last season Grosenick battled injuries and only played a handful of games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
When the free agency calls came in and Grosenick heard from the Nashville Predators, coming back to a familiar franchise appealed to him right away.
"When I heard there was interest here, it was immediately high on my list," Grosenick said.
"I've kept in touch with a lot of people in this organization over the years. It means a lot to just have that comfortability, and you're not starting off in the first square. You're three squares ahead already."
The opportunity to return to the Predators organization was appealing to the Brookfield, Wisconsin native for off ice reasons as well.
"I'm at a point in my career and with my family to be playing back home in Milwaukee and be affiliated with Nashville is just the right decision," Grosenick explained.
"We've got three little ones now, so being close to family is something that is definitely important to us. It's not something we're going to take for granted. We're very lucky that I get to play pro hockey and be close to family, so we're very grateful to the organization for the opportunity to come back and play at home."
It was a great fit for the Predators as well after goaltender Devin Cooley signed with the Buffalo Sabres organization on July 1. Bringing in a goaltender who has won the Aldege (Baz) Bastien Memorial Award for best goaltender in the AHL one season, averaged a .906 save percentage in his ten AHL seasons, and is familiar with so many in the Nashville franchise already made this a move to get excited about.
With Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen the presumed tandem in Nashville, Grosenick is expected to join Yaroslav Askarov in Milwaukee to start the season.
"I've been really lucky over the years that I've had a lot of great goalie partners that I'm still close to to this day. I look forward to developing that relationship with Yaro. We've already started talking. He's a fun young guy to be around."
Grosenick isn't looking to use his experience to "teach" 21-year-old Askarov as they get to know each other and play together. He believes the best goalie tandems work in a much different way.
"It's probably one of the most unique relationships in sports, right? He's the only other guy on the team that knows what I'm going through. I'm the only other guy on that team that knows exactly what he's going through," Grosenick explained.
"It's really a yin and a yang when it comes to goalie partners. We're learning from each other. It's not just a one way street."
What is one thing Grosenick thinks he'll gain from his relationship with Askarov?
"Hopefully he'll be able to keep me young a little bit."
Grosenick and Askarov will continue getting to know one another through training camp and the preseason. The two could potentially play against each other during Saturday's scrimmage scheduled for 10:15 am CT at Ford Ice Center Bellevue.
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