Alexei Emelin is not returning to the Nashville Predators next season, and although there is familiarity, the Montreal Canadiens shouldn’t sign him.

A team being eliminated opens the door for fresh scents on the open market. The latest playoff elimination were the Nashville Predators who lost in an interesting fashion to the Winnipeg Jets. It’s disappointing for them, as they were a team looking to earn another ticket to the Stanley Cup Final. However, Nashville is out, and on the surface, there’s a new name of lists for the Montreal Canadiens to pursue.

The Predators have four UFAs on their main roster including a handful of others in their system. The latest news is that Scott Hartnell and Alexei Emelin will not be returning to the team next season and will test free agency. Now the talk of the town is whether the Montreal Canadiens should give Emelin a round-trip ticket back to the team.

The 31-year-old found himself on Nashville in a series of events that started with last year’s Expansion Draft. George McPhee selected Emelin from the Habs helping them out of a less than ideal contract. A $4.1 million deal with a no-trade clause is a little claustrophobic, but thanks the Vegas, it was taken off Montreal’s hands.

However, his time with the Golden Knights didn’t last too long. Emelin was later traded to the Predators on July 1st in exchange for a 2019 third-round pick.

Emelin played in 76 regular season games and 10 in the playoffs for the Predators. He was thought to only be a stop-gap for Ryan Ellis, who was to miss the first four months of the year recovering from knee surgery, but he found a niche for himself on the bottom pair.

But the run in the music city is over. Should the Habs sign him on July 1st?