It is without a doubt that this season will go into the Nashville Predators record books, for every wrong reason of course. Not only did the team fail to miss the playoffs for the second time in the past three years, but they failed to reach a single grain of fan expectations. With that being said, Nashville did all they could to compensate for a diminishing season.
Throughout the course of the season, Preds General Manager Barry Trotz made a total of 13 trades. While some were just minor league swaps, it's still crucial to note the importance of each trade, whether it be a swap of picks or prospects. Without further ado, let's jump into the first trade Trotz made to kick off the year.
Preseason Trades
Cody Glass & Picks in Exchange for Jordan Frasca
Prior to be traded, Cody Glass was looked to be one of the brighter pieces in the Nashville organization. In the 2022-23 season, Glass broke out as a reliable scoring centerman—recording 14 goals and 21 points in 72 games. Injuries and constant lineup unavailability ultimately took the best out of Glass. Despite putting up roughly the same points-per-game average the following year, it was clear that he wasn't the same.
Even though Glass wasn't the player he used to be, Trotz could have gotten something decent out of him. In mid-August, Glass was shipped to Pittsburgh along with a 2025 3rd round pick and a 2026 6th. In return, Nashville received forward prospect Jordan Frasca. The 23-year-old was once projected to be future second line centerman for Pittsburgh but ultimately fell off as time went by. He is now projected to barely even get NHL ice time in the future, per DobberProspects.
Yaroslav Askarov & Assets in Exchange for Prospects and 2025 1st
This was Nashville's biggest trade this year and for good reason. After failing to give top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov NHL ice time, a demanded trade resulted in him getting shipped—alongside Nolan Burke and a 2025 3rd rounder—to the San Jose Sharks. In exchange for one of the biggest goalie prospects, the Sharks sent prospects David Edstrom and Magnus Chrona and a 2025 1st.
While Nashville did lose their best prospect in net, they did receive a huge haul that could land them another. The 2025 first round pick has the Preds selecting at 26 which is in the range of the draft's best goalie, Joshua Ravensbergen. Magnus Chrona is a goalie with potential—not as much as Askarov—and has the chance to be a potential fringe backup in the future for Nashville. David Edstrom is a promising forward and with him in the AHL, his development could prosper. He recorded 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 12 international games with Sweden this year.