Be smart with the large amount of cap space
As it stands in early June, the Nashville Predators have the eighth-most projected cap space per Spotrac, and if they re-sign Forsberg and other restricted free agents, they will be left with approximately $10M.
Poile has mentioned that he wants to spend to the cap as much and as wisely as possible, and there are plenty of free agents who he could go after. Poile could also opt to add players via trade, and there are definitely pieces on the roster that could be moved.
But as has been mentioned before, the Predators must be careful and while taking a risk is not the worst idea, Poile must make sure that it is a sensible and tactical one.
Trading a second round pick for Jeremy Lauzon was a desperation move and while it could aid their future, they could have gotten him for much less.
If the Nashville Predators are to go after someone in free agency, a two to four-year deal seems appropriate based on the usual timeline of prospects’ development. Anything more than that would stunt the development of the youth and would hold back their future, which looks really bright right now.
There are some guys who could be available for trade who have three or fewer years left on their contracts, and that might be the most appropriate at the right price.
The goal with this is to give the Predators more juice in their top-six and give Ryan Johansen some help, which could ultimately boost his trade value and not sacrifice the team’s future.
Unlike other trades that have been made with the purpose of improving the top-six, Poile has to make sure that the players fit well and are actually ones that can get the team over the first round playoff hump.