Nashville Predators: Grading Every Major Move in 2022 Offseason
Trading Olivier for draft pick
This was the first trade Poile made during the offseason, and it is honestly one that everyone should be on board with.
A week before the draft, Poile shipped off Mathieu Olivier to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 122nd overall pick (fourth round), which ended up getting traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who ironically were the original owners of that pick.
I cannot mention this trade without mentioning that Oliver is someone who was originally beloved by the Predators and their fans. He is an original member of the “herd” line, and someone like him who is tenacious and always willing to get into the dirty areas is someone you love to have on your team.
But let’s be real, with the way the Predators are and were set up at the time of the trade, Olivier was never going to see that much action in Nashville. His value was not very high, and to get a mid-round draft pick in return for him is tremendous work by Poile.
Considering that the pick ended up being traded and that the player selected was not going to make much if any impact for the team in the next few seasons, we cannot sit here and praise Poile like he just pulled off the fleece of the century.
Nonetheless, you still have to commend Poile for getting something in return.