Nashville Predators: Tracking the Biggest Storylines of the Season So Far

Forsberg Trade Rumors

As the March 21 NHL trade deadline gets closer, what will happen with Filip Forsberg will become a bigger storyline for the entire league. As of now, it remains the biggest storyline for the Predators season.

What is the right move for General Manager David Poile as his long-time superstar is due to become an unrestricted free agent, and there’s still no certainty that he’ll choose to work out a new contract to stay. He might very well decide to go elsewhere to a more viable Stanley Cup contender.

This is where the trade deadline rumors come into play. The thoughts of losing Forsberg for nothing next offseason fresh off another first round playoff exit is nightmare fuel.

If the Predators make the difficult business decision to trade a surging Forsberg who is scoring goals at will and a vital part to the team’s success, then it will be a tough blow to the fanbase and the locker room. It might be necessary, however.

It’s also very possible that Forsberg himself has no idea what he wants to do yet, and is waiting to let this season continue to play out. Perhaps he can be more easily persuaded to take a team-friendly deal if he sees strong progress from the team. If you can get him to believe in what they’re building, then maybe he chooses Nashville in the offseason. That’s a major risk, though.

Not going to pretend to have the correct answer to this. I can see both sides, but it’s absolutely the biggest storyline of the Predators season and will keep growing as the trade deadline gets closer.

Honorable Mention:

The emergence of the Forsberg, Duchene, Mikael Granlund line is so refreshing to see. The Predators appear to finally have their search for a high quality top line solved. For a while the team was scrambling every night to piece together a consistent lineup, and it was hard to know what the proper top line combination was.

Another honorable mention is the Stadium Series jersey reveal, which is already behind us now. We’ve seen them, and the reviews are overwhelmingly negative from fans and media. Maybe they grow on us and they look much better in person at Nissan Stadium on February 26.

We sent a poll question out asking our readers what the biggest Nashville Predators storyline has been so far. Here’s the results, and you can follow along with those results on our twitter account @PredlinesNSH.