Nashville Predators: Five Worst Contracts in Team History

2. The  2019 offseason blockbuster

It seemed as if Poile had his eyes on Matt Duchene since the end of the 2017 playoffs, when the Predators came up just short of winning their first ever Stanley Cup.  It was not until the summer of 2019 when Poile had a legitimate opportunity to acquire him, and he paid dearly to do so.

In what was a hyped move at the time, the Predators brought in Duchene on a seven-year, $56M contract, and he was supposed to be the piece on offense that took them over the top.  All this move has had has been the exact opposite effect.

Since putting on a gold jersey, this decision has become much maligned, as Duchene has only underperformed.  He has put up a whopping 55 points in 100 regular season games, and the Predators have been continually unable to put him in a place to thrive.

There are many people out there who will defend Duchene’s talent and argue that he would perform much better with more skilled teammates at his disposal at all times.

And like Johansen, much of the team’s direction has contributed to Duchene’s underperformance, and he has a chance to prove his worth moving forward. There’s also a No Move Clause that takes effect starting in 2023-24.

Regardless of whose fault it is, let’s be real, $8M per year for what he has accomplished so far looks really bad.  Once again, he has plenty of years to change the narrative, but if things stay the same, this decision by Poile will look even more regrettable.