Defenseman Kevin Gravel has been no stranger to being recalled this season and he is once again rejoining the Predators as Nashville has recalled him from AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log.
It is the seventh promotion of the season for the 31-year-old, all of which have been on an emergency basis. The recall is needed with four blueliners – Roman Josi, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, and Mark Borowiecki – all banged up and the team hesitating to play college free agent signing Jake Livingstone in a regular role while the Predators remain in the hunt for a playoff spot; they’re one point out of the final Wild Card spot with four games left in their season.
Gravel has played in 23 games with Nashville this season, picking up an assist along with 36 blocked shots and 23 hits while averaging a little over 14 minutes on the back end. It has been his first taste of NHL action since getting into three games with Toronto back in 2019-20. Gravel will likely reprise his typical third pairing role in what is basically a must-win game against Winnipeg tonight.