Nashville Predators: Four of the Best Midseason Trades in Team History
By Chad Minton
Trade with your brain, not your heart
This is the classic example of not letting your heart get in the way of making a wise business decision for the team. Going back to March 2014, the Predators were turning into a lame duck team again.
The Predators were about to miss the playoffs for the second-straight season, and it was time to be brutally honest about their original draft pick, David Legwand. Although you always wanted to see him retire with the Nashville Predators, it just didn’t make sense anymore.
To make it even more difficult, the trade partner was the Detroit Red Wings. How odd it was to see Legwand in a Red Wings uniform, but in return th Predators would acquire Calle Jarnkrok, who went on to be a vital piece to the team’s rebuild back into a perennial playoff team.
The Predators haven’t missed the playoffs since this trade in 2014. Seven-straight playoff appearances. Along with Jarnkrok, the Predators snagged a second-round draft pick and Patrick Eaves, who only played five games and never registered a point.
Be that as it may, the acquisition of Jarnkrok was beneficial enough to make this a very wise trade that was difficult to make at the time.