Nashville Predators fans were left with mixed emotions following the NHL Draft Lottery. Despite the team holding the best odds of securing the third overall pick, the lottery saw the Preds dropping to fifth overall—a slight drop but still within striking distance for drafting a superstar. For a franchise looking to acquire their first elite prospect, the fifth overall is a bit of a letdown. However, a recent headline has the capabilities to bring Nashville back into the top three draft selections.
In a recent report by The Athletic's Eric Stephens, the San Jose Sharks are listening to trade offers in regard to their second overall pick. Stephens wrote that Sharks GM Mike Grier is putting most of his focus on the New York Islanders and their birthday wish first overall pick. However, he also said that if he's opening up the pick to league attention then Grier could consider moving down if it meant getting pricy assets like NHL-ready talent.
A Trade Would Open Many Doors for Nashville's Future
It’s clear that Nashville lacks true young star power — a weakness many analysts have pointed to as the team's most pressing issue. With their fifth overall selection, Nashville has the chance to draft their next superstar player for years to come—like Porter Martone, Anton Frondell, and Caleb Desnoyers. What the team really needs though is a franchise player. Could these three guys truly become that franchise cornerstone—the chances are low, however moving up increases the chances of acquiring one.
Even trading up to the fourth overall pick would give Nashville more opportunities. With San Jose listening to offers for their no. 2 pick, Predators GM Barry Trotz should consider striking a move. If Nashville had access to the pick, they would also have the access of potentially drafting either franchise defenseman Matthew Schaefer or franchise center James Hagens.
The last time the Predators had access to a top three selection, they were able to draft one of the franchise's best players to ever touch the ice in David Legwand. A repeat of such scenario could provide another shift to the weakened Smashville squad. Taking a look at our current franchise pieces, our top defenseman Roman Josi is in his mid 30s and is going to exit the league in a few years. Our best forward Filip Forsberg, 30-years-old, still has some gas left in the tank but could begin to regress with time. Nashville needs a backup plan and this is exactly that.
This trade scenario provides the material to make up for the absence of one of these two while adding even more talent than previously. If a trade for the second pick were to happen between the two organizations, here are two ways it could potentially go down.
Trade Scenario 1: Svechkov, Stastney Reunites with Former Admirals Goaltender
Russian center Fedor Svechkov has proven to the league that he is NHL ready. In his rookie year with the Predators, the former first round pick recorded 17 points—eight goals and nine assists—in 52 games. His solid two-way game combined with his speed worn down opponents while opening up scoring chances for the Preds offense.
I know I recently took a jab at Nashville's frequent nature of abandoning their youth talent but hear me out on this one. We could grab more NHL-ready talent with a higher pick. Plus, we already have some strong prospects up on the rise with Matthew Wood already taking the next step with Joakim Kemell not too far behind. The Preds have a lot of promising forward pieces ready to make the jump into the NHL so losing Svechkov won't hurt as bad. With that being said, here is a potential t
If you need a quick refresher of our draft selections in each round, we have a lot. Nashville has three picks in the first round, two in the second and sixth, and a single selection in rounds three through five. With this trade, Trotz would only have one selection in the second round, whether it is with the Nashville or Tampa pick, it will still be a good trade asset.
In this deal, the Sharks would also acquire defenseman Spencer Stastney. the 2018 draft selection played 23 games with Nashville this season, putting up three assists. At 25-years-old, Stastney still has some potential but was often brought down by more promising young defensemen—like Marc Del Gaizo and Nick Blankenburg. Playing the left side is already a hard task for a defenseman trying to find a permanent roster spot in Nashville with Roman Josi and Brady Skjei occupying LD1 and LD2.
Trading away Stastney not only adds more trade value to the package—gives San Jose an NHL-ready defenseman—but also opens up more space in the AHL for incoming top defensive prospect Tanner Molendyk. This deal takes into account both current and future prospects, giving both equal opportunities to acquire big minutes on their respective teams.
Trade Scenario 2: Nashville Moves on from O'Reilly
Veteran centerman Ryan O'Reilly has been the center of trade attention ever since the Predators began to fall apart this season. To former Conn Smythe winner scored 21 goals and recorded 32 assists in 79 games this year. He will enter the offseason with two of his four contract years in the books—none of which carry any trade clause. Even though Trotz made it clear that he likes to imagine O'Reilly has a clause, he can't keep imagining for too long. Would he be willing to move on from Factor if it meant saving the franchise?
Another question is whether or not the Sharks would even want O'Reilly in the first place. Sure, he is 34 years old and nearing the end of a fabulous career, but San Jose may consider the leadership aspect of him instead. The former Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner is one of the best leaders in the game, as shown by his guidance in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals. With current captain Logan Couture hanging up the skates this offseason, the Sharks will need some more leadership.
O'Reilly's trade value could be equivalent to a high-end second round pick. Knowing this, adding another 2025 2nd round pick would almost equate to trading two mid-range first rounders for a high range first. Out of the two scenarios listed, this one is the least likely as San Jose would likely prefer drafting higher in the first round than falling back to the last nine selections. However, as mentioned previously, the veteran leadership could be an asset itself in this deal.
Taking into consideration that stages that both the Predators (retool) and Sharks (rebuild) are in, it is highly unlikely that something would occur between the two teams in this sense. However, it is fun to imagine a 'what if?' scenario where both teams would trade assets like an AI in a video game. Hopefully, Trotz will at least attempt to make a deal with the future juggernaut Sharks.