The Nashville Predators traded right wing Nino Niederreiter to the Winnipeg Jets for a second-round draft pick in 2024, both teams announced on Saturday.
Niederreiter, 30, was signed by the Predators as a free agent last season to a two-year, $8 million contract. He had 18 goals and 10 assists in 56 games for Nashville, averaging 16 minutes, 3 seconds in ice time per game.
He was acquired to bolster what general manager David Poile hoped would be a playoff contender this season. But Nashville was seven points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference on Saturday and recently lost top center Ryan Johansen for around three months following leg surgery.
Niederreiter has 396 points in 788 games across 12 NHL seasons, having previously played for the New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes.
The Jets had been in pursuit of San Jose Sharks star right wing Timo Meier, but this trade likely signals the end of that chase. Winnipeg did not have a 2023 second-round pick, having traded that pick to the Washington Capitals in the Brenden Dillon trade in 2021.
The first goal Niederreiter scores as a Jets player will be the 200th of his career.