Predators Sign Captain Roman Josi to Eight-Year Contract
October 29, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release
Nashville, Tenn. - Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/GM David Poile announced today that the team has signed defenseman Roman Josi to an eight-year, $72.472 million contract that will keep the Preds Captain in Nashville through the 2027-28 season. Josi will earn $9.059 million per season from 2020-21 to 2027-28.
"Roman Josi is one of the top defensemen in the National Hockey League and our team leader as captain," Poile said. "As he enters his prime, we look forward to Roman continuing to showcase his elite skills in Smashville and guiding our team in pursuit of the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup."
Josi, 29 (6/1/90), is off to the best start of his nine-season NHL career, posting 13 points (5g-8a) in his first 11 contests of the 2019-20 campaign. He's one of six defensemen (minimum 10 games played) to average at least a point per game this season, and after posting six points (2g-4a) in Nashville's last three games, he was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for the week ending Oct. 27, a career first. Josi joined Ryan Ellis in becoming one of two defensemen in franchise history to record 13 points in the team's first 11 games of a season and currently sits tied for second in goals (5) and points (13) among League blueliners.
Last season, his eighth with the franchise, Josi matched his career high in goals with 15 and his 56 points (15g-41a) ranked second on the Preds. His 56 points were tied for the eighth-most by a defenseman, the fourth time in his career he's finished among the Top 10 blueliners in the category. Skating in every game in 2018-19, Josi became the first defenseman in Predators history to record four seasons with at least 50 points - he was five shy of tying his career high of 61, which he set in 2015-16. Josi's 15 goals were seventh among NHL defensemen and his 41 assists - the fourth time in his career he's tallied at least 40 - were tied for the 12th most. He skated 25:10 per game, his highest since 2015-16 and the fifth-most in the NHL last season, en route to being one of just three blueliners (Kris Letang, Brent Burns) to record at least 15 goals, 55 points and 25 minutes of ice time last season. Josi also was second among defensemen and 13th in the League in shots with 274, a career high. In the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 6-foot-1, 201-pound Josi led Nashville in points with four (2g-2a) in six contests.
Drafted by the Predators in the second round (38th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Josi was named the eighth captain in franchise history on Sept. 19, 2017 and is one of two Swiss-born players to sport the letter in NHL history. A member of the Preds since the 2011-12 season, he sits tied for third in team history in plus-minus (+52), fourth in points (361) and assists (263) and fifth in games played (574). He is second in goals, assists and points among franchise defensemen and holds the Preds record for most points by a blueliner in a single season with 61 (14g-47a) in 2015-16. Josi is one of four defensemen to post at least four 50-point seasons since the 2014-15 campaign; he is also one of four active blueliners to score at least 10 goals in each of the last six seasons. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the two-time NHL All-Star (2016, 2019) has recorded 327 points (88g-239a), tied for the fourth-most among League blueliners, and has averaged 25:30 of ice time, the sixth-highest in the NHL.
Josi has appeared in 71 career Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Predators, tied for the most by a skater in team history. His 32 postseason points (10g-22a) are the third-most in the club record books and are the most by a defenseman. Josi has amassed seven multi-point efforts in the playoffs and has one game-winning goal to his credit, the decisive tally in Game 3 of the 2017 Western Conference Final against Anaheim.
The native of Bern, Switzerland, has extensive international experience playing for his country, including an appearance in last May's World Championship, the eighth he's participated in. He helped lead Switzerland to silver medals in the 2018 and 2013 editions of the tournament, the latter of which he was named Most Valuable Player, the first Swiss skater to accomplish the feat. Josi competed in the 2014 Olympic Games for the Swiss and skated in three World Junior Championships (2007-09) and two Under-18 World Junior Championships (2007-08); he also earned silver with Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Prior to making his NHL debut with the Predators in 2011, Josi spent one season with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals and four with SC Bern of the Swiss national league.
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