Manor Nashville Predators Claim Andreas Englund off Waivers from LA

[LGKbot]

After weeks of searching for a compatible trade partner, and coming up empty, the LA Kings placed defenseman Andreas Englund on waivers over the weekend. Monday morning brought news that the Predators have claimed him. It didn’t take long for the 29-year-old rearguard to get snatched up either. As the third-worst team in the league, only Chicago and San Jose had a shot at Englund before Nashville.

Additional context and backstory can be found in our article last week, breaking down which direction the Kings were looking to move in now that defensemen Drew Doughty had returned to the lineup:

From what we’re hearing, they’ll hold steady with the nine defensemen through the games this weekend against Dallas and Anaheim (i.e. in case of possible injury replacement issues). Then, come Sunday, we’re expecting Andreas Englund to go on waivers. It’s a move that will serve multiple purposes, including: saving cap space by having one less player on the roster, trimming to a more manageable eight rearguards (although that could be argued as still possibly being one too many on the roster), and ultimately creates a path toward another player potentially joining the team — either via a call-up or acquisition prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

For his part, Englund was brought in during the summer of 2023 with a specific role in mind. He played all 82 regular season games with the Kings during 2023-24, his first year of a two-year contract carrying a $1M AAV. Set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the 29-year-old has seen action in 11 games thus far this season. Kings GM Rob Blake is believed to have been testing the waters on a possible trade for Englund over the past week.

Through the 4 Nations Faceoff break in the NHL schedule, LA is expected to hold at 22 roster players, helping save a little bit on their salary cap calculations. We’ll have to wait and see what happens from there, where they could recall Sammy Helenius or Andre Lee prior to their first game back on Feb. 22 — or Blake could add a player from outside the organization via a trade. For more on the whole situation, see article linked below.

MORE LA KINGS NEWS:

REPORT: Doughty’s Expected Return Game, Plus Impact on Kings Lineup and Salary Cap Situation

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