The Nashville Predators have signed 21-year-old defenceman David Farrance to an entry-level contract. The two-year deal will take him through the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. The team announced the deal Sunday afternoon.
Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the team has signed defenseman David Farrance to a two-year, entry-level contract.https://t.co/0PqDbxd9eX
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 28, 2021
David Farrance Joins Nashville Predators on Entry-Level Deal
Farrance was originally drafted by the Predators in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Since Draft Day, the 6′ 0″ / 183 cm offensive defenceman carved out an impressive four-year career at Boston University. He finished with 88 points in 113 games, earning two Hobey Baker Award nominations along the way. He also served as an assistant captain in his last season and accomplished a higher-than-point-per-game pace in his last two years.
With three regular defencemen (Ryan Ellis, Matt Benning, Mark Borowiecki) out of Nashville’s lineup, the signing could have immediate implications. Nashville is bolting back into the playoff picture. Without Ellis’ services, in particular, the Preds are struggling to produce offence from their defence. Farrance’s offensive skill easily might earn him a shot in the lineup against players like Jeremy Davies and Ben Harpur, who’ve both seen action as injury replacements.
Even as a bit of a late bloomer at university, Farrance joins a Nashville system that’s notoriously skilled at churning out star defencemen. Shea Weber, Seth Jones, Cody Franson (of yore), Roman Josi, and Ryan Suter are some names to come out of Tennessee in recent years. In the long-term, Farrance projects to possibly join this list of star defencemen produced by Nashville.
If Farrance does slot into the lineup, it’s likely in a third-pairing role. He’ll probably play the left side behind Mattias Ekholm and Roman Josi. Expect him to make his AHL debut later this season once Nashville gets healthier on the back end.
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