A Milwaukee Admirals top center will remain in the Nashville Predators system for at least one more season.
Monday, the Predators announced that they had signed center Jake Lucchini to a 1-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 for the 2026-27 season. His original 2-year, $1.55 million contract was set to expire at the end of this season.
Lucchini has been a force for the Admirals down the middle, recording 38 points (13G, 25A) in 48 games and logging a low 17 penalty minutes.
He's one of the many Admirals players who have deserved a call-up, but have not moved from Milwaukee for the entirety of the season. The signing could signal that Lucchini may spend more time in Nashville next season.
Put it in ink ✍️
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) February 23, 2026
We've signed forward Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract beginning in the 2026-27 season. pic.twitter.com/7XR50dfICE
The 30-year-old from Trail, British Columbia, went undrafted but signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins following his senior season with Michigan Tech in 2019.
He'd spend a season and a half with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 2020. He played two seasons with the Laval Rocket before being traded to the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2021-22 season.
Lucchini played the bulk of the 2021-22 season with the Belleville Senators, but made his NHL debut with Ottawa the following season. He played 11 games and scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 1, 2023, against the Buffalo Sabres.
During the 2023-24 offseason, Lucchini signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on a one-year, two-way contract. He played 30 games with the Iowa Wild and a career-high 40 NHL games with the Minnesota Wild, scoring five points (2G, 3A).
Upon his contract expiration, Lucchini signed a two-year contract with the Predators in July 2024. Last season, he played three games with the Predators, recording two penalty minutes.
The signing comes less than 24-hours after the Predators announced that forward Zach L'Heureux and Matthew Wood were called up from Milwaukee.