The Nashville Predators will be shrouded in attention at this year's NHL draft. After falling short of expectations, the Nashville Predators are expected to begin reshaping their future. Whether that be at the draft or in free agency, changes will be made. One NHL analyst spoke out about his concerns with the underachieving Predators squad.
Mike Bartner—better known as MBonHockey—uploaded a video titled "20 Realistic Win-Win Offseason Trades" onto his YouTube channel. Among the 20 trades named, three of them involved the Nashville Predators. All of these trades would play a crucial part in changing the team's future, whether it be good or bad. Here is what Bartner had to say about each of his trade proposals.
Bartner Started Hot, Naming O'Reilly in a Trade with the New Jersey Devils
Bartner began the video with an extremely hot trade between the Preds and the Devils. New Jersey would receive forward Ryan O'Reilly in exchange for young winger Dawson Mercer and the 50th and 94th overall picks in the draft.
At first glance, this trade makes a lot of sense for both sides. The Devils would receive a reliable two-way centerman to play third-line minutes. The combination of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and O'Reilly would be hard to play against. New Jersey has been searching for a strong presence on the third line and the addition of the 34-year-old would fulfill that need. In the case of the Predators, they'd receive a young forward capable of scoring 20+ goals per season. Additionally, the picks would come in handy to draft more young talent.
The main concern with this trade is finding ample playtime for Mercer. The 23-year-old was last seen playing center for the Devils when he is predominately a right winger. Nashville already has the right side filled to the brim with talent. With the names of Luke Evangelista and Jonathan Marchessault on the right, it'll be pretty hard to get Mercer consistent minutes on his preferred side of the ice. Even if you threw him at center, it would be challenging for him to achieve top six minutes with Stamkos and Svechkov taking the lead at center.
What this means is that Mercer would be shoved in the bottom-six while getting paid $4 million AAV, per Puckpedia, which would benefit neither the Predators nor Mercer. However, Bartner unintentionally proposed a potential solution to this issue. With the news breaking that Marchessault is willing to part ways with Nashville, he listed a trade which would clear up more room for the arriving forward.