As part of the head coach firing in Boston, a full-blown rebuild might be on the horizon for the Bruins, ironically something that Nashville Predators fans have been clamoring for during the past two-plus years.
The Boston Bruins shocked the hockey world this past Monday, firing head coach Bruce Cassidy over three weeks after losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in a seven-game series.
Among the players that might be on their way out of Beantown, one of them is David Pastrnak. He is coming up on the final year of his contract, and reportedly will not even entertain re-signing if current general manager Don Sweeney keeps his job.
The latest update from Elliotte Friedman is that the Bruins front office wants to push for an extension with Pastrnak, but there’s no guarantees both sides will reach an agreement:
As someone with the offensive production Pastrnak has and a Rocket Richard Trophy under his belt, he will certainly spark a lot of interest from just about every front office in the NHL.
Nashville Predators GM David Poile absolutely should be a potential suitor for the star forward.
Nashville Predators can make trade for Pastrnak work
For starters, Pastrnak is exactly the type of player the Predators would be looking for this offseason. He just turned 26-years-old and is someone who should be at the top of his game for years to come.
Poile has also been on record saying that he wants to add a top-six forward this offseason to give Ryan Johansen some help. What would be a better way to do that than give him a proven elite goal scorer and sniper like Pastrnak?
Pastarnak is also lethal on the power play, which would be more important to the Predators than people think. Their first unit was potent and helped the team jump to sixth in the league at over 24 percent, but their second unit was noticeably weaker and honestly out of sorts many times.
An addition like Pastrnak would elevate the power play for the Nashville Predators from being one-dimensional, and might even make them one of the very best units in the league.
In terms of cap space, the Predators can afford him as well as re-signing Filip Forsberg. They are likely to be left with $10M if they bring back Forsberg and other restricted free agents, which is more than enough money to accommodate Pastrnak and his current contract.
You can’t compromise your future for Pastrnak
As exciting and beneficial as it would be to acquire Pastrnak, it would also be a costly move. Number one, if the Bruins are to deal him, they are going to want a generous combination of high level prospects, draft picks, and probably even some current players.
Parting with any of Eeli Tolvanen, Philip Tomasino, and Luke Evangelista would be a tough pill to swallow and something that many fans, if not even Poile himself, would hate to see.
You would have to think that Dante Fabbro, Luke Kunin, and a first round pick would just be a starting point for Pastrnak. If Poile were to offer that much, two more high draft picks, and a prospect, that would be a nice package, but would it be enough when so many other teams are going to be willing to part with valuable assets for Pastrnak’s services?
You also have to take into account that both the Predators and Pastrnak himself are very likely to want to sign a contract extension as a part of this trade, which would be very expensive. Whatever Forsberg signs at, that is going to be the bar for Pastrnak.
For a player of Pastrnak’s caliber, this expensive trade is worth it, and sometimes it is necessary to take risks like these if you want to elevate your team to the next level. But if Forsberg comes back on a lucrative contract, signing a bigger one in the same offseason is bold, to say the least.
Regardless of the price, when a player like Pastrnak is rumored to be on the move, looking into trading for him is merely doing your due diligence. He is a perfect fit for what the Nashville Predators need and want this offseason, so if you are Poile, you have to go for it.