The Nashville Predators used the offseason’s free agency period to stockpile depth defenders, hoping to find a fitting pair to sure up the team’s third pairing. Free agent blue liners Yannick Weber, Matt Carle, and Matt Irwin were all brought in to compete with second-year players Anthony Bitetto and Petter Granberg for playing time at the NHL level.
Wildly enough, it has been perhaps the least notable name on the list to make the biggest impact through the first eleven games of the season. Twenty-nine year old Matt Irwin has been earning praise and turning heads by skating into Tuesday night’s contest on a three game goal streak, notching four points in his five games since being called up to play with the Predators.