Top Five Players that Could Be Traded By Nashville Predators before Deadline
#5: Colton Sissons
Remaining Contract: 3 Years Left, $2.857M AAV
This first one on my list would drive a stake into my heart if it happened because I appreciate the hell out of how he plays and carries himself. Colton Sissons has been a mainstay in the depth of the Predators lineup since 2016-17 when he played in 58 games and added another six goals and six assists in the playoff run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.
And yes, Sissons did indeed score.
Moving on from that to current times, there are a lot of teams who would love to have a Sissins type of player on their roster. I think he fits a rebuilding team more so than a team competing for a Stanley Cup.
Dealing Sissons would have to really make sense for the Predators, but you would shed some cap room and a long-term deal with three years remaining, even though he is relatively cheap for what he gives on the ice. That’s why I think some teams will be intrigued if he’s made available. Because he is a bargain for a two-way veteran forward who wins faceoffs and plays valuable penalty kill minutes.
I don’t see this actually happening, but Sissons starts off my list because if the Predators do lose eight of their next 10 or something crazy like that before the deadline, you have to consider dealing almost anyone and tearing this thing back down to the studs.
#4: Mattias Ekholm
Remaining Contract: 3 Years, $6.25M AAV
Mattias Ekholm isn’t higher on my list because I just can’t fathom General Manager David Poile bringing himself to dealing a stalwart veteran defenseman. It would truly mean he was throwing in the towel and saying “You win, I’ll finally commit to a full-on rebuild”.
With that said, Ekholm is probably your most valuable and tradeable asset right now. You could get a rather generous return package from a competing Stanley Cup team right now.
Ekholm was originally on Frank Seravalli’s first trade market board for Daily Faceoff, but since has dropped to No.25 on his list. He’s the only Predators player on Seravalli’s current trade market board.
The problem is Poile still sees that glimmer of hope that this doesn’t have to be the end in terms of some of his coveted core veterans like Ekholm is. Dealing him would undoubtedly make this team worse in the short-term, but finally signal a fresh approach to the long-term future viability of this franchise.
If we see a bad stretch like losing seven or eight of the next ten, then the calls will get louder to trade Ekholm and get a large return. I just have my serious doubts.
#3: Mikael Granlund
Remaining Contract: 2 Years, $5M AAV
This current contract that Mikael Granlund is one looked like the bargain of the decade the way it began. Granlund was piling up the assists, and a new formation of combined with Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene was paying dividends for the Nashville Predators.
It has been fruitless to put it mildly this season, and Granlund has struggled to find his place on a Predators team that makes generating scoring chances as painful as pulling teeth.
Granlund is my top player I’d like to see the Predators trade, but I’m not convinced that there will be a lot of suitors. Maybe a few, but will the Predators like the offers? Probably not considering Granlund’s offensive game has fallen off a cliff to the tune of averaging his lowest total of shots on goal per game at 1.27, good for just six goals in 49 games.
Now, you can you argue that there’s a team out there that believes Granlund just needs a change of scenery and he’ll bounce back. That’s a fair assessment and I hope that’s the case so the Predators can move on from Granlund and clear up more roster space.
Granlund isn’t cracking the top-six of the lineup on any Stanley Cup contending roster, so you’ll likely have to take a modest return if you move on from him.
#2: Kevin Lankinen
Remaining Contract: UFA in 2023
Kevin Lankinen is another example of why this 10-game stretch leading up to the trade deadline is so crucial for the Predators who just keep hanging around the playoff bubble. If they fade backwards and fall around eight to 10 points out of the wildcard, you have to move on from Lankinen and get what you can, which should be decent.
Lankinen has been outstanding backing up Juuse Saros, and there’s are teams kicking themselves for not signing him as their starter in the 2022 offseason. He has played like a goaltender who should be starting regularly somewhere.
With that said, if the rest of the season becomes planning for your future, I say you call up Yaroslav Askarov to finish out the season with Saros, and even balance the starts out more generously in favor of Askarov.
Of course, if the Predators remain in this position of being just a few points out of the playoffs, they’ll retain Lankinen for the remaining grind and part ways with him for nothing in the offseason. Have to keep it on the table to deal him off regardless.
#1: Dante Fabbro
Remaining Contract: RFA in 2023
Dante Fabbro is at the top of my list of players that the Predators are most likely to trade before March 3. He has improved his trade value over the course of the season and being just 24 really helps his value even more.
Fabbro isn’t going to get you some massive haul in return, but he is a player you can move on from potentially even if the Predators remain in the same spot in the standings over the next 10 games.
It’s going to be tricky to retain Fabbro in the upcoming offseason, so why not unload him now? I’m just not confident that Fabbro’s ceiling is much higher than it is at right now. A quality defenseman who has a place in this league, but not on most teams’ top two pairings. Perhaps a few, and maybe there’s a team out there who really sees something in him. That’s what you need to be looking into if you’re Poile.
Fabbro has now played over 500 games for the Nashville Predators and is just 24-years-old. He has a ton of NHL experience for being so young. It would be difficult to let him go knowing he still has a long career ahead of him, but if the right deal comes along you take it and run.
Next. Preds Shore Up Young Core, Re-Sign Tommy Novak. dark