The Nashville Predators are heading into a Game 7 against the Winnipeg Jets, where a win puts them in the Western Conference Championship for a second consecutive year. Yeah, it’s crunch time, folks. But, there’s one rumor swirling around over the past few days that has nothing to do with playoff hockey, and everything to do with one of the Preds’ stud defensemen, Ryan Ellis.
The Edmonton Oilers may be upset that they are not involved in the current playoff run, but they are surely enjoying watching the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators in action during the second round of the series. They are liking the look and performance of one specific player, whom they hope to pry out of Music City and get as one of their own next season.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis has just one year left on his bargain deal, which only counts $2.5 million against the cap, and it was expected that intense speculation would pick up on his case as the summer approaches.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman weighed in with,
“I can’t see Nashville moving Ellis,” said Friedman. “I just don’t see it. He’s a Predator born and bred. He’s happy to be there. He’s one of theirs, right. I think they would try to sort out the whole situation with Ellis before they would consider moving him. I think he’s a very big part of their identity and who they are.
“I think Nashville would exhaust every possibility about keeping him before they would consider moving him. And from everything I know about Ryan Ellis, he loves it there and he would make it work.
“Until I’m led to believe anything otherwise, I believe he’s going to be there forever and ever and ever amen.”
Happy to see Friedman reply with common sense. But, it is a little concerning how unfounded claims like this end up swirling out of control to a point where NHL analysts are actually paying attention to them. I mean, where is the source for this? Who initially said that the Oilers were interested in Ellis? Or, is this just one of those cases where the player is so good that of course they’re interested in him! Every team in the NHL is probably interested in Ryan Ellis!
But, this isn’t just about Ellis and how much he loves Nashville, or how excellent this defensive corps has been over the last few seasons.
What on Earth would entice the Preds to even make this move? This is already a pretty damn good, pretty damn deep hockey club. What could Edmonton possibly offer up to make trading away one of the best defensemen in the league worth it? They gonna slide Connor McDavid our way? It just doesn’t make sense.
Now, Ellis does only have one year left on his contract, and after that’s up, he figures to get paid with a capital “P.” P-A-I-D. But, like Friedman, I feel like David Poile is going to do whatever he can to keep Ellis in Preds gold. It’s just the philosophy of how this team was built – it’s not just “oh, Ellis is good, so let’s add him.” No, it’s “this team is going to be about defense and we’re going to get the best.” Ellis fits in perfectly. He’s a part of the very fabric of this franchise.
Again, I have no idea where these rumors are coming from. Usually, I will avoid them until we see a reputable source, which is probably the best practice if you actually care about journalistic integrity. But, shit – it got Elliotte Friedman talking. And, hell – what else are we going to write about right now? Not like anything big is going with the Preds as is….
So, can we just bury this now?
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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