Predators’ Roman Josi out week-to-week with upper-body injury

One of the best blueliners in the game is going to be on the shelf for the next little while.

On Saturday, Nashville Predators reporter Brooks Bratton announced that defenseman Roman Josi is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

According to the team, the ailment isn’t related to his postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) diagnosis that arose this past June. Something seemed amiss in Nashville’s latest matchup with the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, as Josi registered a season-low of 18:09 of ice time. The Predators managed to come away with a 2-1 victory, despite the limited action of their captain.

Josi had appeared in all eight of the Predators’ games so far this season, scoring a goal and four assists for five points. His lone tally came in a 7-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 14. Prior to Thursday, the Swiss rearguard had played close to 25 minutes per game thus far. He has a plus/minus of -4 with an official average TOI of 24:05.

With Josi out of the lineup, Nashville will have a noticeable hole on the backend as it rounds out its five-game home stand, which features tough matchups against the Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Josi had been hoping for a clean 2025-26 season after his previous campaign ended prematurely. In late February, he suffered a concussion after being hit by Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett. The injury led to the former second-round pick being shut down for the rest of the year after playing just 53 games.

In 14-plus seasons in the NHL, all with the Preds, Josi has played in 970 regular-season games, scoring 191 goals and 538 assists for 729 points, winning the Norris Trophy in 2019-20. He’s added another 45 points in 91 postseason games.

The Predators (3-3-2) are hosting the Kings on Saturday night.