Ranking the Five Best Trades in Nashville Predators History
#5 Nashville Acquires Draft Pick Resulting in Saros
This is another trade that on the surface does not look like much, as the Predators traded a first-round draft pick for Paul Gaustad and a fourth round pick the following year from the Buffalo Sabres. Now anytime you trade for a draft pick you run the risk of that pick being wasted on a player that does not make it in the NHL.
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That was not the case with this one. With the pick acquired in the trade, the Nashville Predators drafted Juuse Saros. I guess you could say this trade was in fact a win, win, win for the Predators as Gaustad skated in 248 games for the Predators, Saros is the current starting goaltender, and Buffalo drafted young Mark Jankowski, whom the Predators have since acquired in a recent trade.
Out of the three players that ended up being involved in the trade, the former Vezina Trophy candidate, Juuse Saros, has been the most impactful. At 28 years-old, Saros already has 286 games to his name posting a remarkable 2.58 goals against average and .919 save percentage.
#4 Forsberg Acquired from Washington Capitals
Prior to even making his first start in the NHL the Washington Capitals traded Filip Forsberg to the Nashville Predators in return for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.
Playing ten and a half seasons in Nashville prior to being traded, Erat skated in 723 games, had 164 goals and 320 assists. Forsberg has surpassed Erats number of goals and points in just 616 games in a Predators sweater.
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While those two players involved in the trade had illustrious careers in the NHL, Latta went on to skate in 113 games and only had four goals and 13 assists in his career. Latta last played in the NHL during the 2015-16 season.
Forsberg’s statistics did not increase as much this season as many expected due to the concussion symptoms that he dealt with after hitting his head on the ice on February 11th.
#3 Nashville Predators Trade for Sullivan
February 16, 2004 is a day that Predators fans will remember as the day that Steve Sullivan was traded to Nashville in exchange for two draft picks that went to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sullivan was a strong winger that skated in 317 games. Tallying almost a point per game while in Nashville, Sullivan had 100 goals and 163 assists for a total 263 points.
Another statistic that shows Sullivan’s ability to showcase his offensive ability while also helping on the back end is the fact that he was a +34 in his time with the Predators.
With the picks that Nashville gave to Chicago in exchange for Sullivan, Chicago drafted Ryan Garlock and Mike Blunden. Garlock never played in the NHL and Blunden skated in 127 career games with five different teams.
Sullivan is eighth in franchise history in power play goals with 37 and second in hat tricks with four.
Seeing what Sullivan produced compared to Blunden’s seven goals and six assists, the Nashville Predators were the winners of this trade.
#2 Nashville Predators Trade Two Draft Picks for One
Another trade that sticks out in Predators history happened in 2008 when the Predators traded two draft picks in the 2008 NHL Draft to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a better pick in the 2nd round.
When David Poile made that trade, he had his eyes set on a young Swiss born defenseman by the name of Roman Josi.
Now it should go without saying that Josi, the current captain of the Nashville Predators, has been a pivotal piece to the success of this team in his time here.
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The two picks that the Predators traded to Arizona yielded Colby Robak and Mathieu Brodeur. Robak played in 47 NHL games and Brodeur never made a NHL start.
In 827 career regular season games with Nashville, Josi has 158 goals and 443 assists. His veteran presence and ability to jump into play in the offensive zone makes him a top tier defenseman in the NHL.
#1 Nashville Predators Trade Timo Helbing for 8th Round Pick
On February 25, 2004 the Nashville Predators would trade Timo Helbling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2004 8th Round Draft Pick. This would turn out to be in my opinion the best trade in Nashville Predators history.
With that 8th round pick, a round that doesn’t even exist anymore, the Nashville Predators would draft Pekka Rinne.
Rinne spent his entire career with the Predators and proved that he could potentially be the best NHL player to come from the 8th round.
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Rinne played 683 games for the Predators and had a record of 369-213-75. In addition to his winning record, he also has 60 shutouts to his name.
Being the staple of the Nashville Predators from the 2008-09 season through the 2020-21 season, when he announced his retirement, Rinne led the team to the playoffs eight seasons.
Posting a 2.43 goals against average and .917 save percentage over the course of his career, Rinne is easily the best Finnish goalie to ever play in the NHL.
What did Nashville lose in this trade? Well, Helbling went on to play 11 NHL games in his career. Definitely an all-time great trade on Nashville’s end.