A complete fire sale before the 2026 NHL trade deadline seems inevitable right now for the floundering Nashville Predators, who already look dead in the water before officially even reaching the one quarter mark of the regular season.
It's about trends and how this team looks in key areas more than it is about the actual standings this early on. The Predators are five points back of the last wildcard spot, so obviously you can overcome that gap with 64 games left. The problem is, this team is showing no signs of improving, and quite frankly may even be worse than they were last season when they finished with 68 points.
Only the Calgary Flames have a worse goal differential with a -20. The Predators are tied with the Blues at a -18 goal differential, compared to last season when the Predators finished with a whopping -60 goal differential.
It would be one thing if the Predators were defending well despite the lack of scoring, but they're suddenly bad in that area too after starting the season off with some encouraging signs. They have surrendered the most goals in the NHL while also being 29th in goals per game at 2.56. Right on par with their 2.59 goals per game in 2024-25.
Furthermore, even though we're not officially a quarter of the way through the 82-game regular season, the same underperformers from last season are doing so again this time around.
Barring some sort of epic turnaround that no one sees coming, the Predators will be heavy sellers and this roster is about to be full of youth by the time we reach April and the closing games of the regular season. That result will mean another lottery pick, and maybe just maybe they'll have better luck and land the top overall pick.
It's about all Predators fans feel like they can hope for anymore in these dire times. So with that, here are my untouchables, with everyone else being up for grabs and tradeable if you can find a good deal.