Predators Suffer Major Blow to Defense

Josi has been the true number one defenseman in Nashville for many years now, and losing him again after being without him for a good chunk of last season certainly hurts for the Predators. He has been that guy that has been stable on the Predators blueline and their number one powerplay unit. He is a tough guy to replace.

But head coach Andrew Brunette is going to have his hands full trying to find somebody that can handle Josi's daily workload and his presence on the powerplay. But there might be a simple solution.

The Predators could have Josi's short-term replacement already on their roster

The Predators acquired former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague in an offseason trade. But Hague had suffered an injury in the preseason and has been out of the lineup ever since then.

But Hague is getting ready to return and could be back in the lineup for the Predators upcoming home game with the Los Angeles Kings. If Hague is to return to the Predators lineup, it would be a big boost for Nashville's backend.

Hague is a guy that was getting steady minutes for the Golden Knights and would be that guy that could be counted on in a game-to-game basis. Even though Hague was not playing top pairing minutes in Vegas, he could definitely do that in Nashville as long as Josi is sidelined.

Hague could have been seen as Josi's new defense partner when he was acquired in the offseason from the Golden Knights. But now with Josi's injury, this is Hague's chance to show the Predators what he can do and how he can be relied on moving forward.

The Predators are going to need someone to really step up to play Josi's role and how many minutes he usually plays a game. Josi plays usaully between 22 and 26 minutes a night. That is one heavy workload and coming off of a recent injury, Hague might have his work cut out for him.

But if anybody can step in and make sure that Josi's minutes are covered and can really step into his role, it is definitely Hague. But the Predators are going to have to come up with this decision and soon and Brunette could have an easy decision come Saturday night's contest.