The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Nick Perbix to a two-year deal worth $5.5 million.

Perbix, 27, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017. After making his debut in 2022, he had 13 goals and 50 assists in 220 games with the Lightning.

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A right-hander, he was a bottom-pair defenseman playing mostly with Emil Lilleberg. Perbix, 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, has averaged 15:45 minutes per game in his career, but saw his minutes dip slightly last season, playing only 14:41 minutes per game.

General manager Barry Trotz explained that Perbix’s size, age, and right-handedness were what convinced the Predators to sign him.

“We wanted to get bigger and younger,” he said July 1 at Bridgestone Arena. “Getting someone like (Perbix) who was at the right age and maybe a little bit undervalued in his previous situation.”

Perbix’s cap hit will be $2.75 million per year, which makes him the fourth-highest paid defenseman on the Predators. He will be 29 and an unrestricted free agent when this contract expires in 2027.

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Perbix joins a suddenly crowded Predators defensive group, which includes Roman Josi, Brady Skjei, Justin Barron, Jordan Oesterle, Andreas Englund, Adam Wilsby, Nick Blankenberg and Nicolas Hague, who they acquired via trade with Vegas on June 29. As a right-side defenseman, Perbix likely would slot in with either Skjei or Hague.

With Perbix’s cap hit of $2.75 million, the Predators have approximately $9.3 million left in salary cap room for the 2025-26 season, according to Puck Pedia.

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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators sign Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix to 2-year deal