The Nashville Predators are at a bit of a crossroads this offseason. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final last Summer and getting a taste of that championship success, they were booted from the playoffs in the second round at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets this Summer. Without a glaring weakness (other than “actually play inspired hockey next time”), this franchise has to figure out a way to improve upon a season that saw them net the Presidents’ Trophy.
We’re talking about a damn good team with a damn good roster and not a whole lot of wiggle room when it comes to the salary cap. So, where do they go?
There’s going to have to be a bit of finesse with this situation, and quite frankly, I’m not sure what the answer is. But, the Preds are in a position where, if they want a quality impact offensive player, they may have to break up what’s been the most valuable corps on this team. Otherwise, this elite defensive unit may be playing together on borrowed time.
Four of maybe the 10 best defensemen in the NHL are on this one team. Between P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, the Preds have four guys who would each be the number one defenseman on their team should they be separated. Yet, somehow, the Preds have put them all together on one team. I’ve said it on Talking Preds before and I’ll say it again: David Poile is a magician. This seems like a pretty rare thing in the NHL, so it begs the question:
Did the Preds catch lightning in a bottle? And, how long is that sustainable?
How long can we expect for all of these guys to play together in their prime? And, perhaps more importantly, how long can the Preds afford all of them? Ellis looks to be the first domino to drop.
He’s currently making $2.5M on a ridiculously team-friendly deal. There’s only one more year left on the contract, so theoretically, this could be his last year as a Predator. I give it an absolute 0% chance that he’s back in that price range. This guy is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league, and he’s going to want to get P-A-I-D.
Then, there’s the Subban trade talks. For a hot minute there, it sounded like there was an awful lot of smoke for there not to be any fire. Subban’s making a lot of money, and we know if the Preds were to pull off a blockbuster trade, it’d take a player of his caliber to do it. So, though nothing ever amounted to those rumors (yet, anyway), perhaps he’s not as safe as one would think.
And, with all of the hubbub surrounding Ellis and Subban this offseason, people seem to forget that Josi only has two years left on his deal. After that, he’s free to walk as well. That sure makes it seem like Ekholm is the only one who’s truly “safe,” still having four more years on his contract. But, at just $3.75M per season, you can’t help but wonder whether or not he’ll play himself into a raise.
I mentioned that there’s not a lot of cap room to play around with this offseason – they only have a little over $12 million to use. So, the prevailing theory is that the Preds would have to use one of the defensemen as an asset in a trade.
So, do you move one of these four guys to acquire the “missing piece” on offense? Is a swap for John Tavares worth it? Who out there would be?
Personally, I wouldn’t risk it. There’s too much of a good thing going here to start getting desperate for adding talent. But, even if you don’t trade any of them soon, this group is only guaranteed to be around for one more season.
It’s going to be interesting to see how David Poile handles these four. But, it’s completely unrealistic to think this corps is going to stay intact for years to come. My advice for all of us would be to enjoy it while we have it.
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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