
5. Luke Schenn, Defenseman, 1 Year Left at $2.75M
Proposed trade return: Late round draft pick, No salary retained
I originally had Jeremy Lauzon on this list over Luke Schenn, but Lauzon continues to be injured and hasn't played a game in over a month and his season numbers before that were about as exciting as watching C-SPAN for 24 straight hours.
On the other hand, Schenn has the intangible that prospective playoff teams are always looking to add, and that's championship pedigree. Along with veteran experience and just a big, physical presence could help a playoff team that might be lacking in that department. A team that has plenty of speed and needs some extra beef on the blueline.
The Predators are going to have to basically give away Schenn to move him, however. That's why at fight thought I left Schenn off. However, the list is short on the valuable pieces the Predators actually have to trade, so sadly Schenn lands at No.5.
If retaining 50 percent salary, which Hot Take Hockey on X proposed to me below, is what it takes to move Schenn then do it. It's time to move on from some of Trotz's failed free agency pickups over the last two seasons.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Luke Schenn (50% retained) and Colton Sissons
— Hot Take Hockey (@HotTakeHockey) February 2, 2025
Nashville Predators Acquire David Kampf, Pontus Holmberg, Topi Niemela, 3rd Round Pick (2025) https://t.co/pLp34p6Mb0
I've counted 3 defensive giveaways by Luke Schenn and we're just past the 10 minute mark of 1st period. #Preds have no connection to each other. Zero chemistry. Just guys trying to force things that aren't there.
— Chad Minton (@chad_minton) February 4, 2025