They say that whenever one door closes, another opens. For Joe Balsamo, his recent placement on waivers by the AM Lumber staff has opened a door for him elsewhere. After parts of three consecutive seasons, both parties felt that it was time for Balsamo to appear on a roster that wasn’t AM Lumber's. He only had to call 35 teams across 8 leagues in order to find himself a new home, on the Nashville Predators.

The aim was to clear up cap space, enabling management to continue tempting call-up Alex Rudolph with a contract that he will probably never sign.

Midway through last season, Balsamo formally requested a trade. Through the trade deadline, and all of the offseason, he remained on the AM Lumber protected list. Finally, it seems that AM Lumber has given up hopes of finding a suitable replacement for the accomplished forward, and has released him to the NHL. “We wish him the best, and are excited to see him evolve as a player in the National Hockey League. The slower pace should help him develop his skillset, and become the player we always thought he could be”, said DeLauretis, Head Coach of AM Lumber.

Over three seasons as a Lumberjack, Balsamo notched 13 goals and seven assists, for 20 points in 19 games. He left the organization sitting at 5th on the PIMs chart, with 14. FIAHL News reports he is currently negotiating an 8 year contract with the Predators, while playing for their minor league affiliate, the Virginia Beach Towels of the Southern Far Away Minor League.