Predators Looking at One More Trade Ahead of NHL Expansion Draft

Nashville Predators general manager David Poile made a trade ahead of this year’s NHL Expansion Draft when he moved Viktor Arvidsson. Not everyone liked the trade, but Poile didn’t have much choice after recent conversations with the Seattle Kraken suggested that the NHL’s newest team would have taken Arvidsson. Poile confirmed that it was a huge factor in the trade and that their protected list meant they’d have lost him for nothing.

Poile suggested he’s not done making moves yet either. While a guest on the Darren, Daunic and Chase podcast this past Poile said, “I’ve had a couple of conversations with them [Seattle Kraken]. Ideally, if we could strike a deal so there’s certainty as to who we would lose, I would probably do that.”

Essentially, Poile confirmed Nashville learned they were losing Arvidsson if not protected. He’s also confirmed that he’d like to work something out with the Kraken to control who that team takes during the draft. Poile must believe he’s going to lose another good player despite moving Arvidsson. Alternatively, Poile would like to get Seattle to help them out with a contract the team would like to move.

Who is Poile Talking About?

The GM didn’t drop names or suggest which direction the team was leaning. It wouldn’t take a lot to figure out who might be a target. Among the easy names to throw out there are Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. Both players are on massive contracts that are viewed as big overpayments today. Each makes $8 million, Duchene for the next five seasons and Johansen for next four seasons. If the Predators can get Seattle to grab one of these two players, it opens up a lot of space for Nashville to do other things.

Poile said that there players he will be looking at in free agency and already acknowledged some of the money that comes from Arvidsson’s trade will go there. If another $8 million goes out, Poile will surely be among the biggest buyers this summer.

Poile is not looking to rebuild. He believes that there are young players who can step in, but the team wants to get younger. He sees this team as a middle of the pack type team and nobody in Nashville is happy with that. There’s goig to be some tough decisions and some of them are going to be risky the GM admitted.

Difference Between $4 Million and $8 Million

“We’re all going to be challenged this year in terms of the cap and it will be interesting to see how many trades there are,” Poile said. “Seems to me, there are only four or five teams that can actually fit in certain players or have that ability to do what LA did today.” He went on to say there were other teams interested in Arvidsson, but wanted to give back salary. That wasn’t an option for them.

While he didn’t say the team would look to move one of their big-ticket assets, he hinted with his Arvidsson comments that there may not be a market for an $8 million forward. The next step for them is trying to determine who the team will lose in the draft. It sounds like he’d like to have some say over that.

Next: New Nate Schmidt Trade Details Emerge, Player Pushing for Deal?