Preds hit the reset button
Photo by Casey Gower/Nashville Post
It was a busy week in Smashville as the Predators officialy hit the reset button, in more ways than one. Amid a flurry of trades came possibly the biggest news of the week, their GM is retiring at the end of the season.
David Poile is a legend of hockey. He is the all-time winningest GM in league history, the only GM to oversee 3,000 games, and has been the only GM in Nashville Predators history. He announced that at the conclusion of what is his 25th season that he will be retiring and that Barry Trotz, the teams first ever head coach will be taking his place. In his time with Nashville, Poile built the Preds into the respected franchise they are today and has turned Nashville into a major hockey city. The team made the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 and won the Presidents Trophy the following season.
In his last trade deadline as GM, Poile went out with a bang and set the franchise up for future success. Poile turned three players into eight draft picks, two solid defensemen, and an intriguing prospect, as well as acquiring wing depth for future considerations.
The first trade of deadline week was sending Nino Niederreiter to Winnipeg for a 2024 second-round draft pick.
The next trade signifies a lasting legacy for the Predators and David Poile, trading an undrafted young player having an awful season for five draft picks and a player. Tanner Jeannot was shipped to Tampa in exchange for a 2023 third, fourth and fifth pick, a 2024 second, a 2025 first rounder and defensemen Cal Foote. Jeannot finished seventh in Calder voting last season as he greatly impressed as a rookie scoring 24 goals and 17 assists for 41 points on the year. He has not been as fortunate this season, with just 5 goals and 9 assists for Nashville before the trade. If the Preds can successfully draft just one good player from these picks they will have won the trade.
His next move sent Nashville centerpiece Mattias Ekholm and a 2023 sixth round pick to Edmonton. The return was interesting, acquiring a 2023 first and third round pick but also offensively minded defensemen Tyson Barrie and right wing prospect Reid Schaefer. Ekholm was drafted by the Predators in 2009 and had spent his whole career with the team since debuting in 2011.
The last major move of the deadline was trading Mikael Granlund to Pittsburgh for a second-round pick in the upcoming 2023 draft. Granlund never scored more than 17 goals during his time in Nashville which spans over parts of five straight seasons. Pittsburgh also took on 100% of his contract which includes $5 million for next season as well. A tremendous move for Nashville in many ways.
Defensemen Dante Fabbro and backup Goalie Kevin Lankinen, whose names were often heard in trade talks were not traded and both players signed one-year extensions with the team.
The Preds are now embracing a youth movement; their top prospect Luke Evangelista was called up and has already showed to be an impactful player. Tommy Novak, Philip Tomasino, and John Leonard are now getting quality minutes for the team. Cody Glass has rapidly developed this season and Juuso Parssinen has been a valuable piece at just 21 years old.
The 2023 NHL draft will be hosted by the Predators in Nashville where thousands of their fans can come and see their team make 13 draft selections. The team that was once pressed against the cap now has $17.4 million in cap space. This money can be used on their upcoming free agents and could be used for offer sheets on restricted free agents around the league. As David Poile is set to hand the keys to Smashville to Barry Trotz, he quickly made the future brighter and showed why he is the winningest GM in league history.
