BARGAIN HUNTING
THE PREDATORS’ prospect cupboard has been rather barren for years, but Nashville heads into the 2020 draft with a chance to replenish a thin system. The trade of P.K. Subban landed the Preds another second-round selection and they have five picks in the first three rounds – the first time they’ve had that many in a decade.
IMMEDIATE NEEDS: The Preds need a game-breaker – or, for those who consider Filip Forsberg a talent of that caliber, another game-breaker. Nashville has lacked an elite scorer or playmaker who can take over a contest at a moment’s notice for years, and assembling a by-committee offense has resulted in a middling attack. Add to it the $28 million sunk into their four highest-paid forwards and there appears to be a tipping point. Money is only going to get tighter when Roman Josi’s new deal kicks in next season. LONG-TERM NEEDS: At some point in the next few years, push will come to shove and the Preds will need to make a difficult decision on the blueline. By 2022-23, Mattias Ekholm will command a raise as a UFA, and that will come on the heels of Dante Fabbro’s RFA status. If Nashville doesn’t start investing in D-men at the draft, its blueline will start sliding down the rankings. CAP SITUATION: Nashville has no major pending UFAs. However, the Predators have utilized team-friendly deals to bolster the bottom half of its blueline the past few seasons, and two of those pieces, Dan Hamhuis and Yannick Weber, are set to hit the open market. IN THE SYSTEM 2020-21: It’s now or never for Eeli Tolvanen. He was one of Nashville’s most highly touted young guns after his excellent run in the KHL but has failed to crack the NHL. Despite career-best stats in the AHL, he’s still not the dominant scorer some expected. DID YOU KNOW: Netminder Connor Ingram, acquired from Tampa Bay for a 2021 seventhrounder, played in the AHL AllStar Game, and his .933 save percentage this season was third-best in the league.