Five Teams Nashville Predators Could Trade with Before 2024 Trade Deadline

Colorado Avalanche

The real hot name for the Predators at the upcoming Trade Deadline is Juuse Saros, but a trade of him is highly unlikely to happen now with the team's winning streak. If it would be hard to get Nyquist out of Nashville, it would require moving the heavens and the earth in order to get Saros traded, and it was already going to take an absurd return as was before the heater.

Even if Saros is likely going nowhere, they have a very good backup goaltender in Kevin Lankinen whose contract is expiring this offseason. Although that would prevent Yaroslav Askarov from finishing the season in Milwaukee, that should not keep them from dealing Lankinen.

The Predators would gain much more from the return for Lankinen as opposed to keeping him on the roster, because he is not enough of a difference maker as a backup goaltender.

Askarov from what we have seen looks like he can be the backup if needed, and he of course would not be relied on to be anywhere near a starter, so bringing him up would not be terrible even if not totally ideal.

There are always teams looking to shore up their goaltending situations before the playoffs begin, and the Colorado Avalanche are one of those teams this year. Their backup situation is so bad right now that Alexandar Georgiev has played 49 of the team's 61 games this year, and I am sure they would like to prevent that from happening if they can.

While it may not make a huge difference come playoff time when teams should roll with just one starter, the games beforehand still can affect playoff performance. The playoffs take a toll on every player especially goaltenders, and if Georgiev continues playing games at the pace he currently is, he might get burnt out way too early.

The Avalanche would be holding themselves back if they were not willing to trade a mid to slightly late round pick to acquire a quality backup goaltender like Lankinen. And from the Predators point of view, they are of course better off getting something in return for him as opposed to letting him walk for nothing in the offseason.