Questions about Turris future in Nashville after multiple benchings from Laviolette.

Turris clearly in the doghouse.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Questions about Turris future in Nashville after multiple benchings from Laviolette.
Steve Roberts/CSM/Zuma

If you're a fan of the Nashville Predators you're probably feeling fairly good about the form your team is starting to show at this late stage of the 2018 - 2019 National Hockey League regular season. The Predators appear to be stepping the accelerator at the right time and with two big back to back wins for the Predators things seem to be headed in the right direction with perhaps just one notable exception.

Although it has been an excellent time for his team and his teammates, veteran center Kyle Turris has not been a part of that excitement as of late as he has surprisingly found himself riding the bench for the past few games. Turris has been a healthy scratch for both of those aforementioned wins and in his absence 25 year old Predators forward Colton Sissons has been earning praise while ostensibly taking Turris spot in the line up.

In many ways it has been a career worst season for Turris who is currently earning big money as a member of the Predators and it is likely for that very reason that Predators head coach Peter Laviolette felt so comfortable benching him,

“I’m going to leave it at this,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said as per The Athletic“I made a lineup decision tonight. There’s been conversations with Kyle. I’m going to keep those internal between Kyle and myself.”

Those comments were made on Thursday and since then Turris has once again been benched in spite of being in the very first year of a 6 year $36 million dollar deal he signed with the Predators back in November of 2017. It is a very bad sign for the Predators and what is even worse is that Turris does not seem to be taking this well at all. 

Turris was asked if he felt this could be a learning experience or if he could benefit from the benching in some way, and hi answers left no doubt as to how he feels about this decision from Laviolette.

“No,” Turris said flatly. “I’m an optimistic guy and a positive guy, but I don’t think there’s any optimistic way to look at this.

“It’s frustrating. Obviously, I want to be out there playing and helping the team. I think I can be doing that. I just have to be able to play my game to do that.”

Predators insider Adam Vingan believes that Turris future with the team is a "conversation that needs to be had," but if the Predators do want to get him out of town that will have to wait until the summer.

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