The Nashville Predators are likely to lose one of their centers to the free agency market on Wednesday.
Erik Haula, who has reached the end of a three-year, $9.45 million contract, will be an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, as the Predators have not extended him a qualifying offer.
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The 35-year-old center scored 38 points in 81 games last season as one of the Predators’ anchors in the bottom six. He was acquired last June in a trade for Jeremy Hanzel and a 4th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Haula was also one of four Predators players who competed in the 2026 Winter Olympics, representing Finland and scoring six points (three goals and three assists) in six games en route to a bronze medal.
It’s his second time around in Nashville, as he was with the team during the 2020-21 season, scoring 21 points in 51 games.
General Manager Chris MacFarland has opted to go with a younger Jack Drury to fill the center role in the bottom six, trading for and signing the 26-year-old center to a five-year, $22.5 million contract.
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According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, Haula could end up in Los Angeles.
He is not the only UFA that could be on the move, as Tyson Jost was not extended a qualifying offer.
The 28-year-old forward was claimed off waivers in the 2025-26 preseason on a 1-year, $775,000 contract. He played in 69 games, scoring eight goals and eight assists for 16 points.
Defenseman Kevin Gravel, who played just one game in Nashville this past season, was also not extended a qualifying offer and is now an unrestricted free agent. He just finished a two-year, $1.555 million contract.
Restricted free agent defenseman Justin Barron and newly acquired forward Chase Bradley were both extended qualifying offers on Tuesday.
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NHL free agency opens on Wednesday at 11 a.m. CST.
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