The Nashville Predators aren't tricking us again, and here's why this team is different

Every year we seem to go through this horrible seesaw ride with the Nashville Predators where they show us a little life to get the fanbase buzzing again, only to come crashing down. Well, except for last season when they stumbled towards 68 points, nearly their worst season in franchise history.

Aside from that, yes it is true that the Predators always do this to us. They show fight, they string together a winning stretch of hockey and just hang around. Even in 2017 when they made the run to the Stanley Cup Final, it took a late push to even make the playoffs with 94 points.

Among all of the playoff teams from that 2016-17 season, the Predators had the lowest along with the Calgary Flames. And yet they swept the heavily-favored Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, won a pair of series in six games over the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks, and then fought hard against Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins and nearly pushed it to seven games.

Here's why I bring that up; it's not because I think this year's team can replicate that same magical run this year and it's simply because this current team isn't even going to be together if the Predators sneak into the playoffs.

The Nashville Predators are a team that has rallied around each other despite the looming possiblity of a huge sell off at the trade deadline

GM Barry Trotz is backed into a corner with a lot of free agents coming up and a stated objective of wanting to make the roster younger for the long-term future. A desire of the fanbase for a long time, and one Trotz can't avoid even if the team is winning.

So I don't think this team is fooling us again like some fans are saying. This team had a lot of drastically underperforming veterans last season that are finally living up to their talent and their contracts. Steven Stamkos being the biggest and most obvious example, but it's not just that. It's also an influx of youth that is making impacts as well, like Luke Evangelista, Matthew Wood, Reid Schaefer and Adam Wilsby.

If they had done this last season, maybe it would be different. But a part of me feels that Trotz's mind is already made up that some of these players that have been key to the recent winning are about to be traded, and hopefully by playing so well lately it's going to add to their trade value. It's about the best case scenario you could have hoped for, really.

Increasing the trade value, and if the team keeps winning as a result of that then it's a bonus. Then we can see post trade deadline if the younger talent and whoever is left over can finish the job to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What a story that would be for the NHL.

Imagine a team selling heavy some of their most prized veterans, and then the younger talent finishing what they started to get this team into the playoffs while the front office also stacks some assets for the future. That's a win-win in my book, and could still happen depending on how long the Predators can stay in this wildcard race begore the selling begins.

There just isn't any justification for Trotz to not sell this season. The reprecussions of losing player for little to no value while also having the real possibility that the team either misses the playoffs anyway or gets absolutely blasted in the first round by the Avalanche are the two most likely outcomes. You can't pass up on getting maximum value at the trade deadline for some of these veterans just for that to eventually happens. The fanbase would revolt, as they should if that ends up happening.

This is a unique situation of a locker room that is building culture, but also up against a trade deadline sell off that is unavoidable

These guys want to keep playing together. They want to see this through together in Nashville, but the nature of the business just isn't going to allow that. If the Predators are in a wildcard spot in the week or two leading up to the trade deadline, does Trotz pull back on accepting some great trade offers? Hard to say right now with a lot of games left before we have to come to that decision.

So I don't think this team is actually fooling us again. This is a different situation than we saw in the past where there were fantasies of just getting into the playoffs and seeing what happens. This is about building trade value and setting up the future generation of this roster up for success.

And what's really crazy is that I don't actually think it's that far-fetched for the Predators to hang around post-trade deadline in the wildcard race which is full of painfully average teams. If the young talent keeps this team alive down the stretch then first off that's valuable learning experience and also just a great story. It would also be a huge boost to Head Coach Andrew Brunette's coaching.

Some people want to harp on the draft lottery angle and hate seeing the team win, which I'll just never get on board with. You can't hope the team loses while also simulataneously hope the veterans build their trade values.

If the veterans are playing well and building the trade value, then guess what, the team is probably going to stack some wins along the way as well. They kind of go hand in hand, you know?

I'm actually pretty pleased with how the season has gone to this point, especially based on how it started. Now I'm reserving judgement on exactly how I feel about this whole process until I see how Trotz makes out on his trades. If he gets completely fleeced on a Ryan O'Reilly trade or just gives away Steven Stamkos, then obviously I'll be much more critical.

This shoudl all make for a fascinating next month or two to see if the Predators can remain on that wildcard bubble and withing a few points. Who will Trotz trade and how much does he believe in this team's chances agianst a team like the Avalanche, Oilers or Golden Knights in the first round?

I'll wrap this up by saying that I have a lot of respect for how this team didn't just lie down and take it with how the season opened. They could've accepted their fate and realized that a fire sale was coming. Packed it in and started thinking about their next destination, but instead they rallied around Nashville, the fans and around their head coach. Kudos to that.