Five Teams Nashville Predators Could Trade with Before 2024 Trade Deadline

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights are the defending Stanley Cup Champions and are still well in the mix this year. Jack Eichel continues to be injured and Mark Stone was just announced to be out for the remainder of the regular season, so it looks like they are once again playing the LTIR game.

That will of course give them more cap space before the Trade Deadline, and they could really use it. Even with Eichel and Stone healthy, the Knights could still use some more help in their top six, and the Predators have a legitimately tradable top six player in Gustav Nyquist.

The 68 points Nyquist is on pace for would decisively be a career high for him, and he has meshed greatly on the Predators' top line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly. He is exactly the kind of player who can round out the top six of a contending team, and the Predators are unlikely to get better value for him than they could get now.

The problem with trading Nyquist though is, unlike the other players on this list, it would have a real effect on the Predators' chances to succeed now. The chemistry he has gained with Forsberg and O'Reilly would be difficult to replace, especially at this point in the season, and he is not a player you ideally trade if you are making a playoff push.

That is not to say that Trotz should just hang up the phone if another GM inquires about Nyquist, but it would take quite a bit to get a deal done. Especially since Nyquist still has another year on his contract, the Predators do not have to trade him now, and could still get a pretty nice return for him if they wait to trade him in the offseason.

Trotz would have the leverage in a potential Nyquist trade, and likely demand an overpay in order to be convinced to trade him. You never know how things will unfold, but I do not see this happening.