Spencer Stastney's Injury Could Mean Tyson Barrie's Return to Predators' Lineup

The Nashville Predators announced on March 15 that rookie defenseman Spencer Stastney is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Skating in his first game with Nashville since being recalled from the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals on March 12, the 24-year-old looked primed for a full-time NHL role in the Predators' 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 13. However, Stastney left the game late in the third period with an undisclosed injury after he took a hit from Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov in the corner and appeared to be holding his shoulder as he exited to the locker room.

The Predators initially recalled Stastney to replace Dante Fabbro, who is out 2-3 weeks with an upper-body injury suffered in Nashville's OT loss to the Minnesota Wild on March 10. However, even with the injuries to Stastney and Fabbro, they still have six healthy defensemen on their NHL roster: Roman Josi, Ryan McDonagh, Jeremy Lauzon, Alexandre Carrier, Luke Schenn and Tyson Barrie.

The Predators didn't announce a corresponding roster move with Stastney's injury designation, indicating that Barrie could be poised to return to the lineup for the first time since Nashville's 9-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 15.

Barrie had already been the odd man out on the blue line for most of the season. But between the Predators' ensuing 13-game point streak and their depth on the back end with Stastney and Marc Del Gaizo — who have both played NHL minutes this season, as depth pieces in Milwaukee who can be trusted to come in and make an impact at the next level in the event of injuries or other unforeseen circumstances — Barrie's presence in the lineup became all the more superfluous.

He could be back in the mix, though, if the Predators want to save their recalls. Per the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams are permitted to make four regular recalls and unlimited emergency recalls after the trade deadline, and Nashville has already used one of theirs on Stastney. Since they currently have six healthy defensemen on the roster, they would not be permitted to use the emergency recall designation if they wanted to call up Del Gaizo or another defenseman from Milwaukee.

That leaves Barrie, who has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) while averaging 18:26 of ice time in 35 games with Nashville this season. The Predators had hoped that Barrie would be a highly-valued trade chip who could be flipped for more assets at the trade deadline before he hit free agency this summer. Instead, when the news that he had requested a trade leaked in December, he fell out of the lineup and saw his trade value plummet, causing general manager Barry Trotz to keep him in Nashville for the time being.