Predators envision 3rd-line role for Cody Hodgson

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The Nashville Predators are more than happy to give Cody Hodgson another chance.

After the 25-year-old center's contract was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres, general manager David Poile jumped at the opportunity to sign him to a low-risk one-year deal worth $1 million, with a clear vision of where he'll be slotted in the lineup.

"Our goal is to try to get a third line that can be a little bit more productive this year," Poile said Wednesday. "We had two lines last season that were very productive and we just need to get more goals out of our third line."

Hodgson is expected to line up with Calle Jarnkrok, with a view to giving the club some added scoring from the bottom six.

For his part, Hodgson sees Nashville as the perfect fit to get his game back on track.

"The Predators called me pretty early just to see if there was interest, but at the same time, it was a team that I really targeted and wanted to see if I had an opportunity here," he said. "I know Nashville as a team and as an organization is only going to do good things, so I wanted to be a part of it."

Hodgson posted a career-high 20 goals and 24 assists with the Sabres in 2013-14, and will certainly get an opportunity to thrive with the Predators in a relatively sheltered role.