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The Five Most Immovable Contracts on the Nashville Predators

By Max Greenberg

ELMONT, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: Matt Duchene #95 of the Nashville Predators celebrates his 300th NHL goal into an empty net at 18:47 of the third period against the New York Islanders and is joined by Nino Niederreiter #22 (L) and Ryan Johansen #92 (R) at the UBS Arena on December 02, 2022 in Elmont, New York. The Predators defeated the Islanders 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
ELMONT, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: Matt Duchene #95 of the Nashville Predators celebrates his 300th NHL goal into an empty net at 18:47 of the third period against the New York Islanders and is joined by Nino Niederreiter #22 (L) and Ryan Johansen #92 (R) at the UBS Arena on December 02, 2022 in Elmont, New York. The Predators defeated the Islanders 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Mikael Granlund

If there is one guy who has been an enigma during his time with the Predators, it is Granlund. His status with the team has always seemed to fall on the extremes of either being extremely valuable to them, or being a liability.

This year, Granlund has returned to being more of a liability, and like Johansen, keeping him in the top six just has not helped, no matter how necessary it seems on paper.

After Johansen, Granlund is probably the guy who Poile would like to trade the most, but his contract would be tough to move too. It is not quite as bad as Johansen’s, and Granlund also only has two more years remaining on his, but many of the issues he has had this season have been identical to Johansen’s.

So potential trade suitors again have to ask themselves if they think Granlund’s struggles are his own, or if he is being held back by a team whose system is counterproductive to maximizing forwards. It is probably a little of both, as his time in Nashville has shown that there is a particular situation that suits him best on the ice, but the Predators have done him absolutely zero favors this year.

This year has definitely made it tough for Poile and the rest of the front office to get value for Granlund, but he is someone who could be a big help to a team pushing for a Stanley Cup. I am still of the opinion that a trade is unlikely at the deadline, but there is a better chance of it in the offseason when teams have more cap space to work with.

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