Unlike the past few offseasons, the Nashville Predators are not going to have to sort through a bunch of pending free agents and figure out if they want to re-sign them. Gustav Nyquist is the only unrestricted free agent.
Nyquist has predictably regressed in 2024-25, but it's not all on him as the entire Predators roster went backwards with their offensive production. They're the worst finishing team on their scoring chances in the entire NHL.
Nashville's goals scored above expected is -31.67, which is much worse than last season's -7.29. But when it comes to deciding whether or not to bring back upcoming free agents, there's not a whole lot to chew on. General Manager Barry Trotz can decide to bring back this same roster if he chooses to.
Nyquist should be traded soon, Preds should preserve cap space until offseason
Nyquist should be a sure lock to be traded. I can't see him getting re-signed in the offseason by the Predators at age 35 and clearly on the regress. However, Nyquist could be a decent playoff rental for someone out there.
Kiefer Bellows was just called up by the Predators but has yet to play in an NHL game this season. He'll be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 and could get his first NHL chance on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Bellows has 95 games of previous NHL experience but hasn't played an NHL game since the 2022-23 season. This is his tryout to get back to the NHL and stick around with the Predators in 2025-26, so it will be intriguing to watch how he handles this opportunity.
I can't imagine Trotz bringing back this exact same roster next season. There has been just too many shortcomings, and something has to obviously change. With there being no need to worry about too many negotiations on the free agency market, Trotz should be focusing on trades and freeing up any additional cap space he can.
We know the Predators core roster isn't going anywhere. Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and Juuse Saros are here to stay for the near and distant future. But Trotz has to start building a better support system around this core group.
The Predators are already in a strong position with their current salary cap space. According to PuckPedia, the Predators have the fourth-most current cap space with approximately $13.62 million, while their projected cap space sits at $6.53 million. Also fourth-highest among NHL teams.
This leads me to believe that Trotz is going to be aggressive once again on the trade market, but not so much as a buyer for this current season, but as a buyer for beyond into 2025-26. Use those draft picks to add more speed and young talent while unloaded some veterans that can be used as rentals by playoff contenders.
I like this strategy because it will allow plenty of room for playing time to finish out the season for the younger players. See what you have in these prospects long-term and how they handle the pressure. If they rally and play successful hockey in the second half of the season, then it gives you optimism moving into next season.
Preserving the cap space for the offseason will also allow Trotz to be more aggressive in offseason free agency to add a big piece or two. But the last thing I want to see is Trotz go big game hunting before the 2025 trade deadline. Now just isn't the time for that.
One thing seems for certain; this upcoming offseason will have a very different feel to it than last offseason.