Nashville Predators: Filip Forsberg Shouldn’t Be a Trade Option

Everything seems to be for sale when it comes to the Nashville Predators right now.  Even Filip Forsberg is at the forefront of this conversation.

The team looks like a dud to make the playoffs this season, and the time is near to break up the core and start fresh. That 2017 Stanley Cup run is a distant memory that Predators GM David Poile tried desperately to replicate with this same core.

There’s a lot of talks surrounding some big time players being on the trading block for the Predators, and even Forsberg is starting to come up.

I’m here to tell you the Predators shouldn’t go that far with their sell-off. Plenty of other valuable pieces to start rebuilding, plus you have a prospect pool that’s showing upside.

An offer the Nashville Predators can’t refuse?

I’m trying to put my love for Forsberg aside right now and analyze this objectively, but seeing Forsberg in another uniform would be crushing regardless of what the return might be.

Forsberg obviously has more trade value than any player on the roster, with the exception of Roman Josi. Josi definitely isn’t going anywhere, but the possibility of Forsberg being moved is rising with each loss the Predators take.

Check out what Adam Vingan shared regarding Elliotte Friedman’s report on Predators “untouchables” on the roster, and it’s not that many players:

That’s a really short list of Josi, Ryan Ellis and Pekka Rinne. That throws Forsberg into the conversation, but I think the Predators should go elsewhere in their sell-off and keep Forsberg in Nashville.

More from Predlines

• Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Kiefer Sherwood
• Captain Candidates if Nashville Predators Didn’t Have Roman Josi
• The All-Time 25 Games or Less Nashville Predators Lineup
• Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Cody Glass
• Joakim Kemell Flashes his Offense in Nashville Predators Loss to Tampa

Forsberg has one more year left on his contract after this season, and he’s going to require a big pay day after 2021-22. The Predators should be thinking heavily about that, and several teams would probably love to take that $6M contract that has just one year left on it.

The Predators would definitely get a large haul for Forsberg, but I just can’t come to terms with that. Even if the Predators go full-on rebuild, they still need some type of a foundation to build around.

Forsberg is a foundational player that very well could still have his most productive seasons ahead of him.

If the Predators keep their defensive one-two punch together in Josi and Ellis, that’s one part of the foundation to build around. But keeping Forsberg is critical for me in terms of going into a rebuild.

Forsberg is in the midst of his most efficient season in his nine-year NHL career, but it’s being wasted by a poor team performance. He’s got 15 points in 17 games and has been the most reliable player on the team, which is just 7-10-0 on the season.

You’re going to start seeing a lot of trade scenarios thrown out there with Forsberg as a centerpiece in the trade. We’ve even seen one from a NY Rangers blog including the maligned Tony DeAngelo, which was shared by Alex Daugherty of AtoZSports. Please, no:

Plenty of trade pieces to consider

The Predators won’t have a problem finding suitors for Forsberg, but the issue I have is suddenly the team has no trusted offensive weapons in their forwards and will really have to “tear it all down”.

The thought of a Philip Tomasino playing alongside Forsberg is something I want to see become a reality next season, or even this season if things really go off the rails.

There’s the possibility that a team comes along and offers something crazy for Forsberg that will force the hand. I’ll wait until that actually happens before even thinking about being understanding of the proposition of a Forsberg trade.

I’ve come to grips with reality that Mattias Ekholm should be considered as a top trade piece, assuming teams will also offer a lot for him. He’s another player that should get a good haul in return.

Others that I’d be completely content with being moved is Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Calle Jarnkrok and even Viktor Arvidsson. Pretty much everyone on this team is a possibility.

I’m really hoping the Predators don’t pull the trigger on trading Forsberg. It’s unlikely to happen, but if a huge offer comes up then it’s certainly possible that they won’t be able to resist.

This is especially true if this week goes awry and the Predators drop two games to the Detroit Red Wings.

This will be one of the darkest seasons for the Predators in quite a while if Forsberg ends up being traded, but this team is likely going to look a lot different by the time the regular season comes to a close.