Nashville Predators fans need to make time for one last goose call. Veteran center Paul Gaustad, affectionately known as “Goose,” decided Friday to retire from the sport of hockey.
Gaustad was a perennial depth center in Nashville, bringing size and grit to the ice while serving in a defensively minded forward role. He was a mainstay on the team’s penalty kill unit and consistently ranked with the league’s best faceoff specialists, finishing his career with an all-time 56.8 faceoff win percentage.
Goose flew to Smashville via trade from Buffalo in 2012 packaged with a fourth round draft pick (Juuse Saros) for the Predator’s first round selection, which the Sabres subsequently traded to Calgary (Mark Jankowski).