He officially just became the next Rich Peverley.
The Nashville Predators have put Ryan Jones on waivers.
The 25-year old University of Miami-Ohio alum has shown flashes of talent at every level but has never really caught on in the Preds organization due to an overload of promising young players and non-moveable veterans. Today, Jones became yet another depth casualty.
Nashville fans will surely remember Peverley of the same ilk. Showed plenty of talent but couldn’t ever find a niche within the organization due to a logjam at the NHL level. Peverley was exposed to waivers in January of 2009 and was picked up by the Atlanta Thrashers. All he did was go onto score 35 points in 39 games wearing a bird on his chest, causing Preds fans everywhere to cry foul as their team got nothing to show for his departure. His success didn’t stop there however. He’s tallied 44 points in Atlanta’s 60 games so far this year.
Jones, while not as talented as Peverley, should garner similar success depending on the team that claims him.
The Chatham, Ontario native has 11 points in 41 NHL games this season, including a four game goal scoring streak back in December. He hasn’t appeared on the score sheet since January 26 when he recorded an assist in the 3-2 loss to Columbus.
Whether the Preds are clearing cap space or not, something is certainly up here. Yesterday they acquired defenseman Denis Grebeshkov from the Edmonton Oilers and now Jones is on waivers. Dan Hamhuis has long been rumored to be headed out of town due to his impending free agency status come July 1 so this might be just another step in that direction. Or, it could be as simple as General Manager David Poile has managed to bring in a winger to take Jones’ spot in the lineup without giving up Hamhuis or back-up goaltender Dan Ellis.
The NHL’s trade deadline is Wednesday at 2pm Central. Whatever the case, this will all become clear then.