Free agency opens up in less than three weeks, and the Nashville Predators are one of those teams that figure to be rather busy in retaining its own players and adding some newcomers as well.
Before free agency gets going on July 28, the Expansion Draft and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft have to occur. Who the Nashville Predators lose in the expansion draft to the Seattle Kraken will really affect how free agency goes, and they have some players they absolutely have to protect first and foremost.
When it comes to free agency, the Predators are expected to have some voids to fill once we get to free agency. The Predators have three unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents among their forwards this offseason.
We’ve already covered the free agency defensemen and goaltenders for the Predators to keep on their radars:
Nashville Predators will have voids to fill
The Predators have some unrestricted free agents of their own they might end up losing from their group of forwards:
- Mikael Granlund
- Brad Richardson
- Erik Haula
For the sake of everyone, I’m going to leave off the heavyweight free agent forwards off the list. Star players that will be extremely expensive like Alex Ovechkin, Taylor Hall and Gabriel Landeskog don’t need introductions, and probably aren’t ending up with the Predators. If they do, then I’ll gladly admit I was wrong.
With that said, the Predators could end up finding themselves in need of a free agent forward or two a couple weeks from now, so let’s take a look at some that stick out on the open market.