Preds Prey: A Rebuilding Offseason

The Nashville Predators are coming off another disappointing season after losing in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team was lucky to make the postseason in a tough redesigned Central Division due to COVID-19 restrictions. The team was inconsistent from start to finish and had trouble finding the back of the net. The points leader was defenseman Roman Josi who had 33 points. It seemed like general manager David Poile’s goal was to start a rebuild while still trying to be competitive on the ice.

The Predators’ offseason started with a bang. Viktor Arvidsson was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for two draft picks, which included a 2021 second-round and a 2022 third-round pick. The move was probably made because of the upcoming expansion draft, and Arvidsson was one player the Predators would not have protected. Arvidsson spent the last seven seasons in Nashville but had his fill of injuries while with the team. He managed to put up offensive numbers, and it may be hard for the team to replace his production. The trade also freed up $4.25 million in cap space over the next three seasons.

The Predators’ offseason continued with the announcement of the retirement of goaltender Pekka Rinne. There were rumors during the season that it could be his last season, and it was made official over the summer. Rinne was drafted by the team in 2004 and played his whole career with the organization. In 683 games, he was 369-213-75 with a .917 save percentage, and 2.43 goals against average. He was an integral part of the franchise and helped to lead the Predators to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. It may have been time for Rinne to retire, but I’m interested in seeing how much it impacts Juuse Saros, who has been Rinne’s partner in net for the past few years.

The next offseason move made by Poile fit under the rebuild category. The Predators traded away 30-year-old defenseman Ryan Ellis to the Philadelphia Flyers for youngsters Phillipe Myers and Nolan Patrick. Patrick was then traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Cody Glass. Ellis played 10 seasons with the Predators and was injured last season. The trade gave the Predators cap space, and now Myers should get a chance to see some regular minutes in the NHL if he can stay healthy. Myers is a big defenseman who can skate and will contribute in the offensive zone. He has the tools to be a good defenseman, but his defensive game needs some work, which should come with some playing time.

Glass, who was acquired from the Golden Knights, has played in only 66 NHL games. In those games, he has nine goals, 13 assists, and 22 points with an average 13:51 of ice time. When Glass was in the Golden Knights’ lineup, he played bottom six minutes, but a change of scenery and a chance at a bigger role could help his game.

The Predators, like all the other NHL teams, had to make tough decisions on which players to protect and which to leave exposed for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. The Predators lost forward Calle Jarnkrok to the Kraken with the pick, but another $2 million came off of the books for the Predators’ upcoming season. Jarnkrok was another long-time Predators player, spending eight seasons in navy and gold. He was a solid player having scored 10 or more goals in the past six seasons, to go with 25-plus points. Jarnkrok’s production can be replaced, but with him the Predators lost another veteran player that contributed to the offense. The forward was also versatile in that he could play up-and-down the lineup.

During free agency, the Predators let Erik Haula and Brad Richardson walk. They also let a lot of organization depth go, but Haula and Richardson were the most notable players lost in free agency. The one addition in free agency was backup goaltender David Rittich, who signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract. Rittich will be Saros’ backup, which he should be well-suited to do. The Predators let forward Mikael Granlund test the free agency waters but re-signed him to a four-year, $20 million deal. In 130 games, Granlund scored 31 goals, 31 assists, and 62 points while averaging 18:20 of ice time. Granlund will be 30 in February and is past his prime years, and for this reason, I feel like Poile overpaid for Granlund’s services.

Poile did manage to re-sign most of his young players to new contracts. The biggest one went to goalie Saros, who signed a four-year, $20 million deal. It comes with a $5 million cap hit per season. Saros started taking over the Predators’ number one goalie spot during the 2019-20 season when he played in 40 games and faired pretty well. He was the number one goalie last season and played well. In 36 games, he was 21-11-1 with 2.28 goals against average, and a .927 save percentage. The contract is based on his past two seasons of work and could turn out to be a steal, but right now looks like a bit of an overpayment.

The Predators signed Mathieu Olivier to a two-year, $1.5 million contract that comes with a $750,000 cap hit. Tanner Jeannot signed a new two-year, $1.6 million deal. Another big signing was that of defenseman Dante Fabbro, who earned a two-year, $4.8 million deal. Fabbro’s contract came with a $2.4 million cap hit. Eeli Tolvanen, who was good on the power play last season, received a three-year deal worth $4.35 million, and a $1.45 million cap hit per season. I like the bridge contracts that were given to the kids because Poile can see how they do with more NHL playing time. If the Predators are in a better position in the next two to three years then they can be used as trade assets or given new contracts.

I give Poile and the Predators a C-minus for the offseason moves that were made. A big part of this grade is that they traded or lost a lot of experience and leadership for unknown, younger players. He still does have Josi and Matthas Ekhlom on the blue line. The Predators overpaid Saros and Granlund in their new deals. It seems like Poile is banking on veterans like Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, and Filip Forsberg to have a bounce back seasons, and it will be needed.