Predators: Two Ideas of What May Be Happening with Kyle Turris

Kyle Turris has been scratched for the last three games for the Nashville Predators. He has undoubtedly been more deserving of playing time.

Recently the Predators have elected to essentially bench Kyle Turris in favor of inexperience from the minor leagues. This is no knock on Mathieu Olivier, who has been his replacement, but this quite frankly doesn’t make much sense on its surface.

So now we can start speculating on what the root cause is of this shocking roster decision. Turris’ days seem to definitely be numbered in a Nashville Predators uniform. Of course this hinges on finding a trade partner for his enormous contract.

For most fans this doesn’t add up. Turris deserves better than how he’s getting treated, so let the conspiracy theories begin. In my opinion there can only be two realistic scenarios in play.

Conspiracy Theory #1: What Did He Say?

The first scenario is that Kyle Turris may have said or done something that prompted internal disciplinary action. While this is complete speculation, it may not be unrealistic. This is behind-the-scenes stuff that you can only wonder about.

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Turris and the staff seem to have had some sort of bad blood since last season. Maybe Turris lashed out at the staff,  but who knows. If this is the case, we probably won’t ever be able to confirm this, but it would be a legitimate reason as to why no one is telling us why he’s riding the bench.

Again it’s worth repeating that this scenario is purely speculation. It just makes you wonder. After all, these guys are all human and egos do clash in this business. Something just smells fishy that Turris is getting benched at a time when the Predators were struggling greatly.

Peter Laviolette predictably didn’t give much of an answer as to why Turris was originally scratched. The question asked by Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean:

What you have to ask yourself is this; is clashing egos really worth sacrificing the overall success of the team? Did the Predators downgrade by benching Turris for an AHL player with no NHL experience? It’s a small sample size so it’s difficult to make that call at this particular moment.

It is worth noting that Olivier is actually played very well in his first three games of NHL action and just earned his first NHL point last night in a win over the Blues. He should’ve been credited with a goal, but either way he’s playing pretty well so far.

Conspiracy Theory #2: Trade Rumors

Maybe a Turris trade is on the horizon and the Predators are benching him to keep him injury free. The Predators will obviously need to move some contracts to make way for Roman Josi’s new, giant, salary.

This seems like a much more likely scenario than the first option. We don’t know what kind of talks are being made that hasn’t leaked out to the public. For all we know, the Predators are close to finding a partner that wants Turris, and the finer details are just being worked out.

Turris’ deal has seemed unmovable up to this point and any team willing to take the gamble at this contract knows that the consequences could be severe if he doesn’t move back into a first or second-line center role. However, what if GM David Poile has found a way around this?

Johnny hockey up in Calgary is slumping and trade rumors are heavily circulating around him. Johnny Gaudreau and Turris have similar contracts as far as length and term. What if a one-for-one trade was done?  Granted, the Predators may have to add some prospects or picks to spruce up this deal, but a change of scenery may help amplify each of these players’ game.

Let me offer up another trade scenario, without even speculating potential trade partners. Daniel Carr is killing it in Milwaukee right now with 20 points in 15 games. If the Predators call him up, he will probably have to stay in Nashville. It is unlikely he would be able to clear waivers again. So, what if Nashville uses their AHL superstar as trade bait for a team to take Turris?

I am not a general manager, but I would assume Poile would almost have to retain some of Turris’ salary, at least for a couple of years, in order to maximize a team’s interest. As much as I would love to see Carr have success in a Predators uniform, this may be enough to sweeten a trade deal for a team on the fence about Turris.

Conclusion

Both scenarios as to why Turris has been scratched are complete speculation. I have no evidence to back it up, but both scenarios seem realistic. It truly is head-scratching as to why Turris has been benched.

Turris deserves better in my humble opinion. If it doesn’t work out in Nashville, he deserves a chance with a new team and that’s what I hope happens to him if the Predators continue to give him a healthy scratch.