Preds Sign Pickard

Goaltending in Nashville was somewhat of a concern for the Predators last season, but Dan Ellis did perform admirably for the Preds in the playoffs. Well, the back-up goaltending situation may have gotten a little more crowded as the team has signed their 18th overall pick in June, Chet Pickard, to a new entry-level deal on Monday.

Pickard, 18, will be in Predators training camp in September and he will bring a large frame to the crease for Nashville after playing three seasons with the Tri-Cities Americans in the WHL, winning the goalie of the year award for the league.

Of course, as goaltending goes in the league over the past few seasons, there hasn't been a big rush to move a lot of young goalies into the spotlight of the big league, but there isn't any reason why Pickard couldn't use the same shoes that former teammate, Carey Price, used to get into the big leagues in a season or two.

The Nashville Predators scouting division has got to be one of the better collections in the league, as they are now exceptionally deep on the blueline and now in goal. The signing of Pickard will file him away with top prospects, Pekka Rinne and Jeremy Smith, almost to the point where they could move one of them for a good young forward in the next season or two. If the team actually turns out to lose Alexander Radulov, they may be forced to make a move or two to fill his gap left behind and a young goalie is a good bargaining chip.