Nashville Predators: Running Down the List of Tradeable Players

If there is a positive to cherry-pick from the Nashville Predators’ season so far, it’s that management seems to agree that it’s about time to shake up the team’s core.

In a tweet from Adam Vingan, he posted a report from Elliotte Friedman that the Predators are willing to trade all but three players from here on out:

Those three players are Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Pekka Rinne, according to the report.

As the tweet states, critical players such as Filip Forsberg and Dante Fabbro are potentially up for grabs, which has raised some eyebrows among the Predators’ fanbase.

I personally don’t want or expect to see every notable player being shipped away, but I definitely expect a few of them to be wearing different uniforms by the start of next year.

Here is a list of notable Predators who were exposed, and an explanation of whether or not I expect them to be dealt.

The Untouchables

Let me give a quick summary of the three untouchables — Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Pekka Rinne.

First and foremost, Josi’s no-movement clause was always going to prevent him from being traded, and keeping a player of his caliber and importance to the team is a no-brainer anyway.

It was a question of whether Ellis or Forsberg would be the next most untouchable player, but Ellis’ contract makes him a more logical choice to keep because of the length of his contract. That and he has turned in arguably the second best performance on the team since the start of 2019-2020.

And of course, keeping Rinne off the trade market is a pure loyalty move by David Poile.

Realistically, it wouldn’t be a horrible idea to trade him for some future compensation, but Rinne is such a prominent member of the Predators organization, and I cannot argue with what Poile is doing.

Rinne has a clause in his contract that has a 10-team list, per CapFriendly.com. Take that for what it is.

Filip Forsberg

Now to the important stuff; let’s get out of the way the one player everyone agrees should stay on the team — Filip Forsberg.  You get no disagreement from me on that one.

There are trade rumors out there swirling regarding teams interested in Forsberg and trying to come up with trade packages for the Predators to entertain .

Forsberg is the best and most talented forward on this team, and has proven to be consistent over the years.  He is also on a tear to start the season, recording eight goals and seven assists in 17 games.

He may not be among the league’s “elite” forwards, but he is still a valuable asset with his blend of skill and consistency.  And at age 26, it is reasonable to think that he has several years of high level play in his future.

Forsberg is due for a new contract and likely payday in 2022-2023, and that could be a point at which a decision is made on his future with the team.  The Predators would be smart to pay him, because he is a foundational player and one of the best forwards the organization has had.

He may not get paid until after the offseason, but expect him to get another contract to remain on the team for several more years.

Viktor Arvidsson

It hurts to be discussing Arvidsson right now, as it looks as if the guy has hit a permanent wall.  He had cemented himself by averaging 30-plus goals in three seasons starting in 2016-2017, but was just never the same player after 2018-2019.

He appeared to re-gain his form in Edmonton last August, but has once again struggled to start this season.  It is a shame for a guy as talented as Arvidsson, but for whatever reason, he just hasn’t put it together lately.

But it’s not all bad with him, as he is on a reasonable contract of $4.25M per-year through the 2023-2024 season.

Even with Arvidsson’s struggles, part of that can be blamed on the team around him also struggling, and I am sure there would be a team that would take a chance on him rejuvenating his career with a fresh start.

What is likely the worst that happens?  That team gets a middle-six forward making about what his performance is worth on the ice.

Arvidsson could return to form, but that is unlikely to happen on the Predators, so I think Poile is going to take advantage of the opportunity he has and trade his former 30-goal scorer.

Ryan Johansen

If anyone was on the fence, I bet they now feel differently about Johansen and his contract.  He has looked near invisible on the ice for most of last year through now, and most everyone can agree that he has one of the worst active deals in the league.

Finding a trade partner for him would be highly preferable, but that is unlikely to happen.

Contracts of $8M-plus per year are seldom traded, and knowing how bad Johansen’s is, I cannot imagine any other team touching it.

That is unless Poile finds a way to make the Seattle Kraken select him in this offseason’s expansion draft, which actually has a good chance of happening.  But Johansen’s name is not likely to generate much interest on the trade market.

Johansen is slated to return to the Predators starting lineup against the Detroit Red Wings to try to get his season on track.

Matt Duchene

Rounding out the list of the most prominent Predators forwards is Duchene, who also has one of the worst contracts in the NHL right now.  He also is highly unlikely to be mentioned in trade rumors, and honestly, is likely to stay in Nashville for the foreseeable future.

Unlike Johansen, Duchene has made his presence felt in the lineup multiple times this year, and would be a better player to keep between the two of them.

Don’t be surprised if Duchene is exposed in the expansion draft, but expect Poile to at least try to convince the Seattle Kraken to take Johansen instead.

If it was legitimately possible to trade Duchene, that would be ideal, but there obviously is little to no chance of that happening.  And a buyout really is not an option either, given the length of his contract and that the Predators recently bought out Kyle Turris.

It looks like more of a bad investment than not at this point, but Duchene is a player that the team may just have to hang onto for several more years.

Mikael Granlund

Granlund’s time in Nashville has been, inconsistent, to say the least.  Besides two stretches — a potent one late last regular season and another in his very first few games of this season — he hasn’t worked out with the Predators, and there is no reason to think he has a real future on the team.

He would be a perfect guy to get rid of at the trade deadline, as he is in the middle of a cheap one-year, $3.75M contract.

Granlund has been a consistently lethal player in the past, so there is hope that he too could be a player that is rejuvenated by a fresh start and help another team push for a Stanley Cup.

The Predators will not get the biggest haul in return for him, as there is no doubt that his overall performance for them has hurt his value.  Nonetheless, they should take what they can get for him as opposed to letting him walk free.

Granlund in a turn of events rejoined the team over this past offseason after not re-signing with them initially. The Predators are struggling to score goals, and they need him to start contributing.

Rocco Grimaldi

I went back and forth on whether to include Grimaldi on this list, but I decided I needed to say something about the inexperienced forward.  At age 28, he is not young, but his gradual improvement as a player has been evident.

Grimaldi has always been smooth with the puck on his stick, but one thing he needed to improve since last year was his shot, and it has only gotten better.  He has also scored some highlight reel goals this season.

Grimaldi is by no means one of the showcase players on the Predators, but losing a player with his blend of skill, tenacity, and progression would hurt badly.  He is also unlikely to command big money anytime soon, so he is another valuable asset who should be prioritized for the future.

Some teams will show interested in Grimaldi, so it will be interesting to see if the Predators get an offer they maybe weren’t expecting for him.

Mattias Ekholm

Ekholm seems to be the hot name on the trade market for the Predators right now, and fans are starting to say their goodbyes to the veteran defenseman.  And for good reason.

He is undoubtedly someone who the team would love to keep for the future, but doing so just doesn’t make sense given the current situation.

With the way the Predators have declined since 2017-2018, and Ekholm being due for a sizable pay raise in 2022-2023, it does not make sense to pay him that much when he is going to be a second pairing defenseman.

Trading him soon would make much more sense, because there is a chance that the Predators could get a luscious package in return.  Remember that if Ekholm did not play for such a defense-heavy team, he would be a top pairing defenseman.

He would be a big help for any other team whose Cup window is within the next two seasons.  I especially could see teams like the Florida Panthers — who have serious playoff aspirations but holes on their blue line — giving the Predators a nice sum for Ekholm.

Panthers or not, he is likely to be out of Nashville sooner rather than later.

Dante Fabbro

Fabbro is another player whose name not being on the “untouchables” list was slightly surprising.  But it is understandable as to why he is not among them.

I would not call Fabbro a bust by any means, but he has yet to put it all together early in his career.

Fabbro has gotten better in his own end since assuming a full-time role with the Predators, but has made some costly neutral zone turnovers that have resulted in goals against.

And what is likely the biggest reason for Fabbro’s mistakes?  It’s that he is 22-years-old and is still going through normal growing pains. And on a team trending as badly as the Predators are, it makes sense that he would make occasional errors.

Fabbro’s best hockey is likely in front of him, and if Poile is still serious about the “youth movement,” he will keep Fabbro on the roster for several more years.