Preds sign Niederreiter to 2-year, $8M deal

NASHVILLE, TENN. >> The Nashville Predators offered forward Nino Niederreiter the perfect combination of a competitive team stocked with friends and former teammates along with a physical playing style. His new two-year contract also gives him the flexibility to either hit free agency again or stick around if everything works out as he hopes.

Niederreiter signed a two-year, $8 million deal on Thursday to join a team he helped Carolina beat in the first round of the playoffs in 2021. He said the Hurricanes had a really hard time beating the Predators.

“They’re such a competitive team,”

Niederreiter said via Zoom from Switzerland. “They skate really hard. They’re very physical and hard to compete. And I think we had a really tough time. And I think this team is not very far from having such a great run.”

Nashville also reportedly is a team that Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk would consider as a trade destination. Niederreiter called Tkachuk a terrific player who scored a lot of points last year.

Signing Niederreiter was the Predators’ biggest free agency move since keeping forward Filip Forsberg off the market just before it opened. General manager David Poile also picked up defenseman Ryan McDonough from Tampa Bay via trade.

Niederreiter, 29, had 44 points in 75 games with Carolina last season and ranked third on the Hurricanes with 24 goals.

Penguins re-sign Kapanen

PITTSBURGH » The Pittsburgh Penguins avoided arbitration with forward Kasperi Kapanen, re-signing him to a twoyear deal with an average annual value of $3.2 million.

The dealkeeps the former first-round pick at the same salary level as the three-year deal that expired at the end of the regular season.

Kapanen was wildly inconsistent last season, scoring 11 goals to go with 21 assists in 79 games.