Predators Rising from Extinction
Aug 21, 2022 14:45:49 GMT -5
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Post by Nashville Predators on Aug 21, 2022 14:45:49 GMT -5
What a summer it has been in Nashville! Despite another year in the basement of the VHL standings, the Predators organization continues to build on what was already a young, up-and-coming roster. Preds fans have suffered for several years, but there finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The following is a summary of the Nashville’s off-season moves and the current state of the franchise:
Trade Deadline
You cannot start analyzing the Predators off-season without looking at the moves made leading up the past trade deadline. GM Nikolas Bon began the process early acquiring goaltender Cal Petersen from Seattle for a relatively inexpensive price tag. He then traded forwards Sean Monahan and Alex Barabanov in separate deals for packages of picks and prospect. However, the blockbuster moves would come closer to deadline. First line winger Carter Verhaeghe was flipped to the Anaheim Ducks for a package that included centerman Evgeni Kuznetsov, who was promptly traded to Las Vegas as part of a three-way trade. The latter deal was not without controversy, as the paper-work was filed incorrectly, but the deal was eventually approved by the VHL. All together, Bon turned Verhaeghe, Monahan, and Barabanov into the following return:
Brayden Tracey
Kale Clague
Filip Johansson
Issac Lunderstrom
Jacob Bernard-Docker
Nick Abruzzeze
VGK 2022 1st round pick
ANA 2024 1st round pick
VAN 2022 2nd round pick
DET 2023 2nd round pick
BUF 2023 2nd round pick
EDM 2023 2nd round pick
ANA 2022 3rd round pick
NJD 2024 3rd round pick
Entry Draft
Nashville was “rewarded” for their awful season by winning the lottery for the 2nd overall pick. Shortly after the lottery results were released, GM Bon pulled off another blockbuster, shipping two of his 2021 first round picks (Dylan Guenther and Sebastian Cossa) to division rival Chicago, in exchange for Matty Beniers and the 3rd overall pick in the 2022 draft. With no clear consensus at the top of the 2022 draft, there were several directions Bon could go with the 2nd and 3rd picks. While it is rumored Shane Wright was his preferred choice, Bon seemed more than satisfied selecting Slovakian star Juraj Slafkovsky and the top-ranked defenceman David Jiricek. He would also select two other towering defenceman, Lian Bischel and Maveric Lamoureux, with his remaining first round picks. Nashville also managed to snag the top-rated goalie, Topias Leionen, at the beginning of the second round. This draft made it clear Nashville is looking to build a strong blue-line as the base of it’s rebuild. A summary of the Predators full draft can be found below:
#2 – W - Juraj Slafkovsky
#3 – D - David Jiricek
#19 – D – Lian Bischel
#27 – D – Maveric Lamoureux
#33 – G – Topias Leionen
#83 – W – Alexander Suzdalev
#90 – G – Dennis Hildeby
#92 – D – Jack Sparkes
Free Agency:
Bon is not a GM who normally makes a big splash in free agency, but this year was an exception, with the Predators landing several free agents, and were reportedly in the mix for several others. The biggest signing of the bunch was landing Jonas Brodin to a 4-year, $24 million contract ($6 million AAV). While it doesn’t usually make sense for a rebuilding team to go after a top free agent, landing the best defenceman on the market to a very reasonable contract cannot be seen as anything other than a win for Nashville. They also landed depth defenceman Will Butcher, goalie Filip Gustavsson, and veteran center Jason Spezza to lessen the burden on their developing prospects. There are also confirmed reports Nashville offered Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko a lucrative one-year deal, but in the end weren’t willing to match the multi-year contract he ended up signing in Vancouver.
Future Outlooks:
The acquisition of Matty Beniers, and emergence of Tage Thompson gives Nashville a strong one-two punch down the middle, and prospects such as Alex Holtz, Arthur Kalyiev and Juraj Slafkovsky are all candidates to get top-6 minutes as early as the 2023-24 season. The bottom-6 is deep with vets and young role players all competing for roster spots. Veterans Morgan Reilly and Jonas Brodin now anchor a defence core that is stocked with several talented young defencemen, and has potential to develop into one of the best bluelines in the VHL. The one glaring weakness with Nashville’s roster / prospect system is in net. Cal Petersen has yet to establish himself as a full-time starter, and Joonas Korpisalo has long been on trading block. While they have several young goalie prospects, no one immediately stands out as a sure-fire starter for the future. GM Bon will have to address this area of weakness in the future to ensure the team he is trying to build is not hampered by subpar goaltending.
Despite this, the last several months have seen the Predators acquire a significant amount of young talent and several of their prospects represented their respective counties at the 2022 Would Junior Championship (Winter and summer versions). Nashville also has 12 picks in the next two drafts that they can either use or move for established players, and cap space they can weaponize to acquire further future assets. It’s hard to look at Nashville’s current roster and prospect system without a sense of optimism for the future.
Trade Deadline
You cannot start analyzing the Predators off-season without looking at the moves made leading up the past trade deadline. GM Nikolas Bon began the process early acquiring goaltender Cal Petersen from Seattle for a relatively inexpensive price tag. He then traded forwards Sean Monahan and Alex Barabanov in separate deals for packages of picks and prospect. However, the blockbuster moves would come closer to deadline. First line winger Carter Verhaeghe was flipped to the Anaheim Ducks for a package that included centerman Evgeni Kuznetsov, who was promptly traded to Las Vegas as part of a three-way trade. The latter deal was not without controversy, as the paper-work was filed incorrectly, but the deal was eventually approved by the VHL. All together, Bon turned Verhaeghe, Monahan, and Barabanov into the following return:
Brayden Tracey
Kale Clague
Filip Johansson
Issac Lunderstrom
Jacob Bernard-Docker
Nick Abruzzeze
VGK 2022 1st round pick
ANA 2024 1st round pick
VAN 2022 2nd round pick
DET 2023 2nd round pick
BUF 2023 2nd round pick
EDM 2023 2nd round pick
ANA 2022 3rd round pick
NJD 2024 3rd round pick
Entry Draft
Nashville was “rewarded” for their awful season by winning the lottery for the 2nd overall pick. Shortly after the lottery results were released, GM Bon pulled off another blockbuster, shipping two of his 2021 first round picks (Dylan Guenther and Sebastian Cossa) to division rival Chicago, in exchange for Matty Beniers and the 3rd overall pick in the 2022 draft. With no clear consensus at the top of the 2022 draft, there were several directions Bon could go with the 2nd and 3rd picks. While it is rumored Shane Wright was his preferred choice, Bon seemed more than satisfied selecting Slovakian star Juraj Slafkovsky and the top-ranked defenceman David Jiricek. He would also select two other towering defenceman, Lian Bischel and Maveric Lamoureux, with his remaining first round picks. Nashville also managed to snag the top-rated goalie, Topias Leionen, at the beginning of the second round. This draft made it clear Nashville is looking to build a strong blue-line as the base of it’s rebuild. A summary of the Predators full draft can be found below:
#2 – W - Juraj Slafkovsky
#3 – D - David Jiricek
#19 – D – Lian Bischel
#27 – D – Maveric Lamoureux
#33 – G – Topias Leionen
#83 – W – Alexander Suzdalev
#90 – G – Dennis Hildeby
#92 – D – Jack Sparkes
Free Agency:
Bon is not a GM who normally makes a big splash in free agency, but this year was an exception, with the Predators landing several free agents, and were reportedly in the mix for several others. The biggest signing of the bunch was landing Jonas Brodin to a 4-year, $24 million contract ($6 million AAV). While it doesn’t usually make sense for a rebuilding team to go after a top free agent, landing the best defenceman on the market to a very reasonable contract cannot be seen as anything other than a win for Nashville. They also landed depth defenceman Will Butcher, goalie Filip Gustavsson, and veteran center Jason Spezza to lessen the burden on their developing prospects. There are also confirmed reports Nashville offered Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko a lucrative one-year deal, but in the end weren’t willing to match the multi-year contract he ended up signing in Vancouver.
Future Outlooks:
The acquisition of Matty Beniers, and emergence of Tage Thompson gives Nashville a strong one-two punch down the middle, and prospects such as Alex Holtz, Arthur Kalyiev and Juraj Slafkovsky are all candidates to get top-6 minutes as early as the 2023-24 season. The bottom-6 is deep with vets and young role players all competing for roster spots. Veterans Morgan Reilly and Jonas Brodin now anchor a defence core that is stocked with several talented young defencemen, and has potential to develop into one of the best bluelines in the VHL. The one glaring weakness with Nashville’s roster / prospect system is in net. Cal Petersen has yet to establish himself as a full-time starter, and Joonas Korpisalo has long been on trading block. While they have several young goalie prospects, no one immediately stands out as a sure-fire starter for the future. GM Bon will have to address this area of weakness in the future to ensure the team he is trying to build is not hampered by subpar goaltending.
Despite this, the last several months have seen the Predators acquire a significant amount of young talent and several of their prospects represented their respective counties at the 2022 Would Junior Championship (Winter and summer versions). Nashville also has 12 picks in the next two drafts that they can either use or move for established players, and cap space they can weaponize to acquire further future assets. It’s hard to look at Nashville’s current roster and prospect system without a sense of optimism for the future.
