Predators' Hodgson hoping to put 'disaster of a season' behind him with new team

Cody Hodgson is ready for a fresh start with the Nashville Predators.

The 25-year-old forward was bought out two years into a six-year, $25.5-million contract with the Buffalo Sabres after recording 13 points in 78 games last season. He joins the Predators on a one-year deal worth $1.05 million with a chance to prove his on-ice struggles are over.

"It was a rough year all the way around, on the ice, off the ice, everything (that) could go wrong went wrong," Hodgson told David Ammenheuser of The Tennessean. "It was a disaster of a season by all accounts. It's a new day now."

Hodgson said he signed in Nashville because he likes the up-tempo attacking style employed by head coach Peter Laviolette. He also happens to love country music, which makes Music City an ideal destination.

The Predators have enjoyed success with other teams' castoffs before. Mike Ribeiro signed an identical deal to Hodgson last season after he was bought out by the Arizona Coyotes and he rebounded with a 62-point campaign in 2014-15 before signing a two-year, $7-million extension.

Hodgson, who has never quite lived up to his lofty draft position after the Vancouver Canucks selected him 10th overall in 2008, wants to follow a similar path.

"Hopefully, I can do what (Ribeiro) did. It's a new opportunity for me like it was for him," Hodgson said. "Hopefully, I can make the most of it like he did."