Nashville Predators: Top Offseason Priorities to Address
By Chad Minton
Shed a long-term contract, preferably Duchene’s
Let me start by saying I have the utmost respect for Matt Duchene and his skillset. Much of the criticism he gets just isn’t warranted, but in the end it does come down to actually producing goals, and that hasn’t happened as efficiently as his contract says it should.
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Duchene’s $8M per year contract is tied with Ryan Johansen for the second-highest on the team, only trailing Roman Josi‘s $9.05M contract.
Even though it’s not all on Duchene, this experiment just needs to end for the Predators if they can find a new home for him. The first thought is enticing the Seattle Kraken to take him, but I have my doubts that they’ll take on his full contract.
Johansen is a player I still think has a place here in Nashville. He showed me a lot down the stretch of the season, but I also see him getting more attention from other teams if the Predators want to try to move him.
If possible, the Predators need to explore all options to shed one of these eyesore contracts. It might be too much to ask, and it won’t be a surprise at all to me if they’re both on the roster to start next season. But they should at least try to find suitors.