NHL Free Agency: Grading Every Offseason Addition for the Predators
Luke Kunin, Forward
The free agency move that has sent the most shockwaves throughout the Predators fanbase has probably been the draft day trade of Nick Bonino for the much younger Luke Kunin.
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As much as I love and respect Bonino and what he accomplished for the Predators, this was a smart move that’s addressing the long-term future.
Kunin will plug into Bonino’s role nicely on the third line next season. His best NHL years are hopefully ahead of him while Bonino has most certainly already peaked in his NHL career. The Predators had to get something out of his high trade value.
If you scan over how Wild fans feel about the loss of Kunin, they’re not crazy about losing such a young player with high upside.
In the strategy of getting younger and faster this is a solid move for the Predators, but also not one that’s going to provide massive results right away.
Grade: B+
Mark Borowiecki, Defenseman
This move addressed an immediate need for the Predators which is shoring up their defensive core behind Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis.
What this move does is return some toughness and grit to the third defensive pairing, while also providing some veteran leadership and intangibles. What it doesn’t do is bring any kind of offensive punch.
I aslo wouldn’t be shocked if Borowiecki gets a spot on the second pairing with Mattias Ekholm, moving Dante Fabbro down as he continues to round out his game.
You’d prefer to be getting a player that can at least have some sort of offensive skillset, but that’s just not Borowiecki’s game, and that’s just fine considering what the Predators really need him to do.
The Predators are getting a leader with this move, and someone who is going to push back physically on teams that try to impose their wills on the Predators. He’ll kill penalties off, stand up for teammates and provide some bone-crushing hits.
Borowiecki is coming to the Predators at a relatively modest deal of two years for $4 million. I can live with that deal, and it gives the Predators a solid foundation to work with now on defense.
Grade: B
Brad Richardson, Center
Usually the saying goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them”. Well in this case, it’s “I beat you, and now I’m going to join you”.
Brad Richardson slammed the door shut on the Predators’ postseason hopes in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. That was just his second career game-winning goal in the postseason.
Richardson has seen a lot of ice time in his 15 NHL seasons, playing for four different franchises. The Predators will be his fifth as he heads into the ending of his long and respected career.
Some don’t like this move for the Predators because he isn’t going to provide really any type of heavy offense and he’s just another limited center when the team needs scoring wingers.
However, I do think Richardson will provide the role of leadership and assisting on the penalty kill and faceoff circle. He’s not going to transform this team in any major way, but he’ll serve an important purpose on the fourth line.
Fans are rightfully let down a bit because they wanted a bigger name and perhaps someone who can play alongside Matt Duchene in the top-six. Instead, you’re getting a veteran who is offensively limited and will basically be Austin Watson‘s replacement.
Grade: C
Nick Cousins, Forward
Again, it’s maybe not the big free agency splash some fans were hoping for, but I don’t mind the move. It’s another low-risk move that will boost the depth of the roster and provide some defensive help for the forwards.
Cousins gets a two-year deal worth $3 million, which continues the league-wide trend of short-term deals as teams prepare for next year’s expansion draft.
What Cousins is going to bring of value is more defensive presence, forechecking and hitting. But his value doesn’t stop there. He can get involved in the offense as well, and also figures to find a nice role in the bottom-six for a young Predators squad.
Much like their other free agent signing, Cousins isn’t going to necessarily transform the outlook of the team next season. But as a collective group of signings to go along with the top stars of the team and the upcoming prospects, I remain cautiously optimistic that this team can remain a fringe playoff contender.
I’m looking for Cousins to, at the very least, to maintain his career trajectory offensively by registering around 25-30 points and just providing solid depth minutes to take pressure off the top two lines.
Grade: C+
Matt Benning, Defenseman
Predators made another modest, but effective, free agent signing with Matt Benning. This raises questions about who will start on the third pairing, and might likely mean that both Jarred Tinordi and Alexandre Carrier will initially not be starters.
Benning can definitely be an upgrade to either of those two, but I’m also a little reserved by the fact that the Predators won’t use one of their up-and-coming defensive prospects, like Carrier, to see what they have.
The Predators signed Benning to a two-year contract worth $2 million. If Benning can continue to develop his game in Nashville, then this pickup will look great in a couple years.
Benning was a pretty important piece for the rising Edmonton Oilers. He’s here to provide more defensive depth and make this team more formidable defensively. They’ve lost that edge since going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.
The offseason strategy has been clear for the Predators, and it’s to get younger and be a defensive-minder team. With the exception of Richardson and Borowiecki, the new arrivals on the Predators starting roster next year will predominantly be young and have minimal NHL experience.
Benning has a lot of upside and really needs to keep improving for this move to really bring back value. As for now, he should fit in nicely on the third pairing in 2021. Nothing to get overly excited about, but it does address a need.
Grade: B
More. Reconstructing the Predators Starting Lineup for 2021. light
Final thoughts
Another move could be up the sleeve of GM David Poile, but he’s most likely done with all of the major moves. He didn’t make any big signings, particularly for the top-six, which is disheartening to many of the fans.
However, Poile is thinking about the long-term future and addressing defensive needs that had to be figured out. We’ll see if it’s enough to return the Predators back into a team contending for a division title. I’m skeptical that enough was done to do that.
The losses of Nick Bonino, Mikael Granlund, Kyle Turris and Austin Watson will be challenging to overcome, even if those players were constantly underperforming. This much roster turnover is going to provide some growing pains.
The moves that were just graded weren’t terrible moves, but didn’t make big splashes to instantly fix the problems. The pressure is largely going to fall on the top core that’s been together for several years, while also leaning on the upcoming prospects to show they’re ready for NHL-level hockey.
My overall grade for the Predators free agency moves comes in at a B-. They could’ve done a lot worse, but didn’t do anything to change the outlook much. They’ll remain a competitive team that hangs around that wildcard group, but the days of having Stanley Cup aspirations are gone until the youth of this team develops more together.