This morning the Nashville Predators announced that they’ve signed free agent defenseman Brett Palin.
Since this is almost purely a move to replace the departed captain of the Milwaukee Admirals Nolan Yonkman, this is hardly a signing of note. As a matter of fact, there hasn’t been a signing in recent memory that warrants the absolute bare minimum effort on our part (i.e. a copy and pasted press release) more than this one. So, here it is, the bare minimum effort.
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Nashville, Tenn. (July 9, 2010) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Brett Palin to a one-year, two-way contract worth $550,000 at the NHL level and $105,000 at the AHL level.
Palin, 26 (6/23/84), has spent the past five seasons with the Calgary Flames’ American Hockey League affiliates in Omaha (2005-07), Quad City (2007-09) and Abbotsford (2009-10), posting 43 points (6g-37a) and 242 penalty minutes in 287 contests. The Abbotsford Flames’ captain for its inaugural season in 2009-10, Palin was limited to 21 games due to injury this past season, posting three assists and 17 penalty minutes. The 6-2, 203-pound blueliner was an AHL All-Star in 2008-09 when he racked up an AHL career high five goals and 15 points in 57 games.
The Nanaimo, B.C., native capped a decorated five-season stint with the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets in 2004-05. In his time with the Rockets – which included three campaigns playing with Predators captain Shea Weber – Palin served as team captain, won a pair of WHL titles in 2003 and 2005, and a Memorial Cup in 2004.