The Nashville Predators reportedly made a small minor league deal (yet to be announced) ahead of the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline, and that’s it.
Update: The deal has finally be reported.
The @PredsNHL have acquired former @MSU_Hockey blueliner Corey Potter from Arizona. He’ll report to @mkeadmirals https://t.co/W1puJFA1Ru
— KWilsonPreds (@KWilsonPreds) February 29, 2016
Well, that’s not counting the huge Ryan Johansen for Seth Jones swap David Poile made back in January. That deal was a blockbuster, and dramatically changed the dynamic of the team. Nothing was going to come close to matching that.
Looking around at the deals being made on Monday, general managers were either seriously over paying on most assets (looking at you, Dallas Stars and Kris Russell) or the names in play like Loui Eriksson and Jonathan Drouin weren’t getting dealt. That’s not even mentioning all the big-name players already dealt before today (your Andrew Ladd’s and Eric Staal’s and whatnot). Nothing made sense, so opting not to engage is the best course of action.
While the team has a few holes in it, there wasn’t anything on the market that would have been a major improvement. If Poile thought this team was a piece or two away from competing for the Stanley Cup, odds are he would have been more ready to part with assets. That isn’t the case, and it’s better for the team in the long run to hold on to players like Kevin Fiala, Vladislav Kamenev and Yakov Trenin.
Trading for Ryan Johansen extended Nashville’s competitive window for several years. Those players will develop while the older contract expire, meaning the Predators can tinker and build around that.
And that’s the right move. Now let’s all pay attention to Harvard’s season.